A wine refining kit invented by four National Taiwan University of Science and Technology students has raised more than NT$3 million (US$93,545) online in the past two months.
The kit, named “Liquor Perfection,” is made of tin and features a helical body that is shaped like a ball, team leader Huang Hsin-ya (黃新雅) said.
Because tin is a porous metal that absorbs impurities in liquids, the kit can be fitted to the neck of a decanter before pouring a glass of wine.
Photo courtesy of National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
The device helps to reduce the pungency and bitterness of wine and enhances its aroma, Huang said.
The blades of the device separate liquid as it is poured, greatly increasing aeration, which also enhances the flavor of wine, she said.
Another kit, also made of tin and shaped like a stick, can be used when drinking beer or liquor, Huang said.
Users can put the rod in a glass before pouring liquid in, then wait a short time for the beverage to become “purified,” she said.
Huang said that the kits have met with an enthusiastic response after they were posted on online fundraising Web site FlyingV.
Huang said she and her teammates learned tin craft from tinsmith Chen Wan-neng (陳萬能), who is regarded as a master in the field, over the course of a year in a workshop held by the National Craft Research and Development Institute in Changhua County’s Lukang Township (鹿港) that allowed design students to earn credit by learning from government-certified craftsmen.
University president Liao Ching-jong (廖慶榮) said that as none of the students received business education, the university helped them launch the start-up through an incubator, where instructors trained them in marketing skills and taught them how to establish a firm.
Huang said that her team received guidance on accounting, established contact with angel investors and learned how to apply for subsidies.
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