Aroma

Classic coffee goes from stovetop to countertop

The perpetual interest surrounding the humble coffee bean can in part be attributed to its ability to be served in so many different ways. But whether imbibers enjoy their beverage hot or cold, sweet or bitter, there always needs to be a way to get from bean to cup. And as strong as preferences tend to color cups of coffee, so too is that opinion found in brewing method.

The Aroma AEM-621SS Hot Moka X-Press Electric Moka Maker offers a tried-and-true brewing method updated for the modern home. Modeled after a popular stovetop coffeemaker, the device is geared for countertop … Read more

Rice cooker builds flavor for one-pot meals

One-pot meals are perhaps the finest invention of humankind. Sure, the wheel may have been important, but you can't eat one. Now at the end of a long day, all we need to do to create a hot and healthy meal is to set some food in a pot over heat and soon a meal will be made. However, just throwing a bunch of ingredients into a pot can have mixed results; it would be nice if the meal was flavorful too.

The Aroma NRC-687SD-1SG NutriWare Rice Cooker and Food Steamer is a one-pot appliance that offers the ability … Read more

Multiuse cooking pot makes many meals

Deciding what's for dinner can be a difficult chore sometimes. There are a seemingly endless variety of ingredients available in our supermarkets, and what cannot be found at our usual shopping destination can often be found just down the street. Even more to the point is the fact that any recipe for anything can be found online. This is a good thing, for as we delve into the cuisine of other peoples, surely we understand them a little bit more. But that is neither here nor there, for the one thing that we all have in common is wondering … Read more

Smell-O-Vision? Kinda.

An advertising kiosk equipped with a 42-inch LCD screen has been wafting out supposedly enticing smells to passers-by in the underground mall of Tokyo Station. A company called Recruit Co Ltd. is marketing the Scent-emitting LCD Display System developed by NTT Communications.

The hope is that people will be attracted by the scent, stop to watch a commercial, and then pick up a coupon book to use for the real version of the supposed deliciousness their nostrils had just encountered.

NTT Communications has been searching for real-world business applications for this technology, testing it in stores, hotels, and cinemas. In … Read more

Big flavor from a small oven

When I was 19, I lived on a kibbutz in Israel, which meant that my living space was about the size of my current minivan. Back then, one of the kibbutz members let me use an ancient oversize toaster oven, and I cooked everything in it. It took up all of my available counter space, and because it had one setting--burn--everything I ate tasted like slightly burnt toast.

If only someone had told me about the Aroma AeroMatic convection oven back then.

This machine--about the size of a large crockpot---lets you broil, bake, fry, roast, boil, and grill right on … Read more

The smell-o-phone comes to the U.S.

Is there a big outcry for scented gadgets? The folks at Crave have commented on the uselessness of scented USB drives and the wackiness of aroma phones in Japan, but we may be in store for some more smelly goodness.

Motorola has received a patent for a handset that releases scents by heating a gel packet, similar to the way plug-in air fresheners work. According to the New Scientist blog, the phone's power amplifier could activate this feature without dramatically altering the phone's design. This is key for Motorola because slim, chic phones, like the Rizr, are the … Read more