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.
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.
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 U.S. 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.
