The morning coffee is a ritual beloved by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Now a team of inventors has promised to improve this daily pleasure with metal beans that can keep your drink warm for up to five hours. The beans, called Coffee Joulies, cool down your beverage to a drinkable temperature three times faster than normal, and then maintain that temperature.

每天早晨一杯咖啡已經成為很多人雷打不動的一個習慣，為了讓這個習慣變得更完美，發明家發明了一種神奇的金屬豆，這種名叫“Coffee Joulies”的豆子能以比正常速度快2倍的速度降低剛沖好的咖啡的溫度，并且可以讓咖啡在5小時內保持理想的溫度。

They work by absorbing extra thermal energy in the drink when it's too hot, and then releasing that stored energy back into the drink to keep it at an optimum temperature as it begins to cool down. While this might seem to go against the laws of thermodynamics, Coffee Joulies contain a 'special non-toxic material' sealed within the beans' stainless steel shells. A spokesman said: 'This material is designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and absorbs a lot of energy as it melts. This is how Joulies cool your coffee down three times faster than normal. 'Once it reaches this temperature, the special material begins to solidify again, releasing the energy it stored when it melted. This is how Joulies keep your coffee warm twice as long.' Using Coffee Joulies couldn't be simpler; all you have to do is add a few to your drink as soon as it's poured.

據悉，這種金屬豆先是吸收剛沖好的咖啡里的熱量，然后在咖啡降到一定溫度之后便開始散發之前儲存的能量來保溫。這種金屬豆的外殼是由不銹鋼做成的，里面密封了一種特殊的“無毒金屬材料”，這種材料在高于140華氏度（約60攝氏度）的時候就會緩緩溶解（溶解發生在金屬豆內部，因此也不用擔心是溶解到你的咖啡里）。研制小組的專家表示：“這種材料溶解的時候會吸收大量的能量。這也是它冷卻咖啡的速度可達到正常速度的3倍的原因。但一旦溫度降至一定程度，這種特殊材料便開始凝固，釋放熔化時儲存的能量。”金屬豆的使用要比它們的工作原理簡單得多，你只需要將它們倒入咖啡中就可以了。

And you don't have to be a coffee lover to get the most out of the beans - they work in any hot drink, be it tea, hot chocolate or milk. Unfortunately, the beans - which are due to shortly go on sale in the US with a retail price of $50 for a bag - only work at their best when the cup is insulated with a lid. Place them in a standard kitchen mug and Coffee Joulies will keep your drink in the optimum temperature range for only a few minutes longer than usual. In a thermos flask, however, then the beans should keep your coffee at the perfect temperature for up to five hours. But don't forget to make more coffee than usual - the beans take up 15 per cent of the volume of your mug or flask.

這種金屬豆也可以滿足不喜歡咖啡的人們的需要，因為除了用于咖啡的冷卻和保溫外，這種金屬豆也可用于其他任何熱飲，比如：茶水、熱巧克力或者牛奶等。據悉，這種可保溫的金屬豆很快就會登錄美國市場，售價為50美元每包。 必須要提醒的是，這種金屬豆只有在“帶蓋”的杯子中才能達到保溫5小時的效果。如果使用普通的廚房用杯，咖啡豆讓飲品保持理想溫度的時間只比正常情況下長幾分鐘。但在保溫杯中，這種金屬豆可讓咖啡在長達5小時內保持理想溫度。咖啡豆的體積可達到杯子的15%，因此，沖咖啡時別忘了多倒一點水。

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（來源：國際在線 編輯：崔旭燕）