First 500 backers; feedback
As of last Friday, we have shipped to the first 500 domestic enthusiast and personal pack backers. Every last manufacturing problem has not yet been solved, but we are 100% satisfied with the product that is going out the door, even if it's a little slower than we had hoped for.
Dave and I are continuing along a learning curve that is much steeper than we had ever anticipated when we launched our Kickstarter project. Next up is Lesson #57: Customer Satisfaction. Now that we have Joulies out in the wild, we will be taking some time to deeply investigate how Joulies are used by our backers, and what you think of them. Using what we learn from you, we will refine our marketing message, and our instructions accordingly. Our highest priority is to give all of our kickstarter customers the best Joulies experience possible.
Having invented, developed, tested and lived with Coffee Joulies for over a year, Dave and I are both pretty familiar with our product. We may have underestimated a little the customer's “learning curve” associated with having a stellar coffee drinking experience with Joulies for the first time.
All products have a learning curve. Some things anyone can pick up and use/enjoy immediately, others take some time to figure out. We're not exactly sure what the learning curve of using Joulies looks like just yet, but with your help we are going to figure it out. We think we are somewhere around here:
There are many different ways that Joulies can be used. All situations provide a slightly different effect on the the temperature profile of your coffee. The fact of the matter is, there is a highly engineered material inside going through a physical change. It stores and releases heat, depending on the temperature of your coffee. This change is invisible from the outside. When you find a great way to use Joulies to their highest potential in your routine, you will be rewarded with amazing performance.
We know that everyone is very excited to use Joulies, but please take plenty of time to get to know them. There are a lot of variables that affect the temperature profile of your coffee. If you are not finding the performance that you would like, please experiment with ratios of Joulies to coffee, initial pouring temperatures, and especially the container that you use them in. The more insulation the better. Use a lid for best results.
We will be contacting the backers who have their Joulies after a couple week long tryout period to find out how things are going. More updates will follow with the results.
So far, the feedback that we are getting is overwhelmingly positive, which is extremely encouraging to say the least:
“It's been about a half of hour since I got coffee... And it's still comfortably warm. @coffeejoulies for the win.” - Zach
“I have been using the Joulies all week and I am absolutely delighted with them. The coffee stays at an ideal drinking temperature for hours! I've been showing them to my coworkers and they are impressed.” - Steve
“Loved everything about them.” - Patrick
“The Joulies are fantastic!” - William
“They work! Ha, seriously.” - Andrew
“I have been using them one to two times a day. I'm loving them. I've used them in my vacuum-walled Sbux tumbler every day since I got them, and I'm never going back.” - Kyle
Thank you all for your help, continued support, and patience!
Best,
Dave & Dave
4,818
Backers
$306,944
pledged of $9,500 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding period
Mar 27, 2011 -
May 2, 2011
- First created · 15 backed
- David Jackson 678 friends
- Website: joulies.com
Pledge $40 or more
4246 backers
Personal Pack - Pre-order your very own set of five Coffee Joulies packaged in a reusable carrying pouch for a discount of 20% off the $50 retail price. Add $35 to your pledge for each additional set you'd like to order. Includes shipping within the USA. (add $3 to your pledge for shipping to Canada, $8 for international shipping)
Pledge $100 or more
463 backers
Enthusiast Pack - For this you'll get a set of five Coffee Joulies, a Thermos Sipp travel mug with the Joulies logo and "I backed Joulies on Kickstarter" printed on it, and your name listed on the website as a backer. Add $35 to your pledge for each additional set of Joulies you'd like. Includes shipping within the USA. (add $5 to your pledge for shipping to Canada, $10 for international shipping)
Pledge $500 or more
78 backers
Coffee Shop Pack - Pre-order a box of 20 sets of five Coffee Joulies, each packaged for resale in a jute carrying pouch. This is also great for budding entrepreneurs who want to sell Joulies themselves, and for people who want to get their birthday, anniversary, and holiday shopping done for the whole year with one purchase. Add $500 to your pledge for each additional box you'd like to order. Includes shipping within the USA. (add $10 to your pledge for shipping to Canada, $20 for international shipping)
Comments
Creator Alfred on October 2, 2011
Do you have any estimates on when you maybe shipping your next batch to your backer?
Creator Keith McWhorter on September 7, 2011
Yes - when are more being shipped?
Creator Julie Brigidi on September 7, 2011
Hi D$D,
I pledged, but have not received any notification of how or when I'll get my samples... help!
Creator MINSUNG PARK on September 6, 2011
Any updates for international backers? Seoul, South Korea
Creator Richard Dakin on September 3, 2011
Evening Gents. Any update on shipping dates please?
Many thanks
Creator Deven M. Davidoff on August 31, 2011
Receivced my international shipment. (Canada) Just starting to use them....
Creator Ronald Cheng on August 29, 2011
Any updates on when international backers can expect their joulies?? :)
Creator Bruce Fieggen on August 22, 2011
Harder to learn to use than chopsticks, huh...
I remember my first time with chopsticks at age 14. My whole family learned at the same time in a restaurant in Singapore. When the waiters removed the plates, the only part of the table-cloth that was still white was where the plates had originally sat.
Creator Jaya Srikrishnan on August 22, 2011
Reading these updates makes me want mine so badly!
Creator Q8GEEK on August 22, 2011
I just received my Joulies yesterday. The perfect temperature till the last drop <3
Creator Larry Wentzel on August 17, 2011
Here's what I did for my loose-leaf tea that I steep in the mug: Have two cups, one for your tea to brew in and drink from, a second for the Joulies. Boil water. Pour enough water over the Joulies to cover them, use the rest to fill your cup/mug not quite to full. Let tea steep as recommended. Remove tea leaves, add now-warmed Joulies to mug, and enjoy!
BTW, getting the Joulies made for a happy ending to a long day.
Creator Amaquieria on August 16, 2011
Oh I also forgot to mention that the joulies are absolutely beautiful! I'm almost tempted to turn one of mine into a necklace! ^_^
Creator Amaquieria on August 16, 2011
I love these new Coffee Joulies! I drink tea and I tend to like mine at just above the luke warm level. I've found the best scenario for me. I put all 5 of my joulies in at the same time as the tea bags in my thermos, pour in the hot water and let steep for about 5 minutes. When its ready to drink, my tea is just right flavor wise and it's at just the right temperature for a good long time.
Creator Corey Ward on August 15, 2011
@Dave (or Dave ;): Thanks for the comments. I think that providing/publishing your “Best Practices” would help a lot here. There's no sense in having hundreds of people try to figure out the best way to use them over again if you've already run the tests and figured it out. Even some quick tips like the bit about the motion helping the heat re-disperse would be really helpful I'm sure.
I've yet to get my Joulies in, but I'm quite hopeful that they'll at least make hot coffee more drinkable immediately without making it get cold any faster (in a ceramic mug at the coffee shop). If they do that even modestly well, I'll be a happy camper.
Thanks for the response!
Creator Morgan Barnhart on August 15, 2011
Reading these positive comments make me want mine soooo bad! :) Can't wait till we all can get ours! I want to show them off to all my friends and family.
Creator F. John Rickert on August 15, 2011
I have found that they work almost as fast as ice to cool off my coffee. However, I have also found that using too many Joulies in my mug cool off my drink too much. I always suggest using fewer at first to avoid making your coffee too cold.
Creator Anton on August 15, 2011
I jumped on the band wagon a little late, so I'm still eagerly awaiting these little jewels, but I've had a thought I might as well share:
What if you made the PCM+steel into the innermost lining for a travel mug? The whole thing could be made a little bigger so it'll take a standard amount of beverage, its guaranteed to be used with good insulation, the quantity of PCM could be optimised, you'd have good surface area, some material would be at the top of the mug and nothing would hit your nose even if you're careless.
Though I have a feeling you've probably already thought of that and found it infeasible...
Creator Jussi Myllyluoma on August 15, 2011
I think I was one of the first 500, so I've sort of been anticipating my Joulies ... missed that "domestic" bit, though!
So when will we overseas backers get ours?
Creator Judy Rudin on August 15, 2011
I don't have anything scientific to share, just my first impressions. I've used them a few times and the first attempt was disappointing. First off I'll say that I usually order my drinks extra hot because I like them that way and they last longer. I got an extra hot drink from Starbucks in a regular paper cup with the lid (4 Joulies to a Grande drink in a Venti cup), and didn't notice much of a difference at all except for the cooling at the beginning. Then I started using a Starbucks travel mug and ordering the drink extra extra hot, and it lasted nicely at a very comfortable temperature on a drive from San Diego to LA (about two hours). Usually when I order extra hot in a travel mug, it's too hot to drink for quite a while. Not so with the Joulies. That was definitely a bonus.
Today I didn't want to go to the trouble of asking for a larger cup at Starbucks and explaining about the Joulies, so I ordered my drink extra hot, took it home, and let the Joulies sit in a cup with just-boiled water for a couple of minutes before putting everything in a travel mug. That worked fine, though I'm not sure how much better it was than if I'd just taken the mug without the Joulies in the first place. Also, that's a lot of trouble to go to if you think about it.
One thing I will say is that every barista I spoke to about these was super interested in them. The concept is very intriguing, which is why I guess all of us pitched in for them. If you can make these things work properly for the average user, I think you'll have a tiger by the tail and get very rich. I haven't given up, and expect to continue experimenting with them to find the optimal way to use them.
I agree with whoever said that the price seems high for what we got, at least at this point. They're really nice looking, but $40 or $50 for a set of five may not work out in the big world, especially if you can't just plunk them into your average Starbucks cup and get a noticeable effect. I would be pretty bummed if it turned out that those of us who backed the Joulies ended up paying MORE than what they eventually retail for.
I remain hopeful for you and for your project.
Creator Dave & Dave on August 15, 2011
@Tashneil and @Robert - thanks for the feedback, we will be emailing you to get some more details from you directly.
@Corey - No knocks against Marco, but we wish he used his Joulies a little bit more in his own coffee before posting what at first blush seem like a relatively detailed inspection of their performance. His Contigo test would have shown dramatically different results if he used the lid during the test. I'm also guessing that the cups may have sat undisturbed while being tested, which is fairly unrealistic, as the act of tipping a travel mug to drink from it will stir up it's contents and will prevent the Joulies from nestling in the bottom of the tall mug where they can't contact the majority of the liquid inside. As for the tests in the ceramic cups, as stated on our original page, the effects in that situation are measurable but modest. In that situation Joulies will definitely cool your coffee faster, but not much heat is stored since it cools so fast already. A better container is necessary to get the "stays hot longer." We have some extremely satisfied backers using Joulies in this manner, but as Marco illustrated, that situation might not be right for everyone. We have run our own tests in literally dozens of scenarios, and the performance varies from greatly exceeding our claims to situations like Marcos. For example http://twitpic.com/63wcps is fairly middle of the road. Marco's review did teach us a ton about managing expectations and about the learning curve associated with our product. Since the first 500 backers are the first large group of people using Joulies, we will be learning together as we go.
Creator Corey Ward on August 15, 2011
What say you of this reasonably in-depth test run by a backer: http://www.marco.org/2011/08/10/coffee-joulies-review
He closes with this: “I wish Joulies had more of an effect, especially in the common mug-on-a-desk scenario. I was excited for this project since I saw it on Kickstarter, and the creators seem like nice, hopeful guys. I honestly feel bad for them — I really wanted their product to be great, but I can’t recommend it.”
Disheartening. :(
Creator Robert Zander on August 15, 2011
Have used them twice and have not experienced a noticeable difference in the temperature of my coffee after sitting when compared to the same conditions without the joules. Will continue to experiment to see if my experience changes.
Creator Tashniel on August 14, 2011
Tried them out this morning. They are AMAZING. I'm starting to regret only getting two packs though, I have a feeling my family will be stealing them when I move out.
Creator Steve Lawrence on August 14, 2011
Great news. Do you have a time line for when you will ship outside the USA?
Creator Jonathan Zuckerman on August 14, 2011
I echo Luke's sentiment! Let's get this curve going
Creator Luke Batt on August 14, 2011
Can't wait to get them :)