Riffing Space

Seeing is believing. It’s the whole reason people tour the Guinness factory. Because we all stare in awe as hops get crushed, tableside chefs prepare Japanese cuisine or even when our cars get washed.Following in-step with experiential branding principles, Mike Caswell founded Roasting Plant in New York’s Lower East Side. After years developing technology to make the freshest cup of joe, the coffee stop has attracted a loyal, highly-caffeinated following. It’s no surprise given the technology they’ve developed to automatically roast, brew, and serve your drink of choice. It’s more of a coffee restaurant than a coffee shop.

With a menu ranging from mild Guatemala bean to stronger Sumatra, shots come a-la-carte to customize. As soon as you say ‘for here’ a micro-batch of the beans you chose flies through overhead pipes to get roasted in front of your eyes. The product never even gets touched by human hands.

And if even Howard Schultz acknowledges that the Starbucks experience is being commoditized, its no wonder new sensory-engaged coffee shops are popping up.

Check out this video to see the operation in action.

The Roasting Plant

A year ago, a good friend introduced my little boy to Kidrobot, “planet Earth’s premier creator & retailer of limited edition toys, clothing, mini-figures, artwork & books.” Filled with Japanese collector toys, this brain-child of a once comic-book artist has just signed deals to expand their line to over 200 retailers across the company. Talk about a niche.

Via YouTube, here’s a neat commercial from BMW South Africa starring TEDTalks star Theo Jansen. Lots of footage of Theo and his beautiful strandbeests:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Ny5BYc-Fs&rel=1]