Good design solves problems. If some of those problems are the kind that only nitpicky coffee snobs have, so be it. Such is the case with Joulies , a Kickstarter-funded (or should I say super-funded ?) project that combines industrial design with science to bring your coffee to a perfectly-drinkable temperature — from the moment the barista hands it to you, to the last sip when finally shut your Macbook and vacate the shop after not buying anything else for hours on end.

Depending on your taste, you may find these stainless-steel beans sleek or cheesy-looking — but there’s some serious scientific design going on inside them. As the designers explain, each Joulie is filled with a “special non-toxic material… designed to melt at 140 degrees Fahrenheit,” which absorbs heat from your coffee three times faster than normal. Just plop a couple Joulies into your cuppa, and it’ll transform from the scalding-hot lawsuit-magnet it is, into the lovingly brewed pick-me-up it was meant to be.

But what about later, when your perfectly-warm half-caf foam-top soy-only mochaccino has usually cooled to an undrinkable room temperature? Joulies apparently solve that, too: “Once it reaches [140° F], 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.” Science!

And who hasn’t absentmindedly sipped their morning Starbucks while rushing to work and gotten a nasty mouth-burn? There’s a reason why these designers have hauled in nearly $125,000 in donations to create their product: this is a design problem that should have been solved long ago.

[Read more about Joulies on their Kickstarter page]