DiFluid 소개

DiFluid는 남방과기대학교(Southern University of Science and Technology) 박사 과정을 그만둔 창업가 Linus Peng이 설립했습니다. 그의 아이디어는 단순하지만 야심 찼습니다. 실험실 수준의 정밀함을, 호기심을 갖고 써 보려는 누구에게나 건네는 것. 개인, 소규모 로스터, 독립 카페가 대형 업체와 같은 품질의 데이터를 측정하고 공유할 수 있다면, 업계 전체가 더 빨리 배웁니다.

Our story

From many liquids to one cup of coffee

Digitize Fluid

In 2021, R1 came in more than one color. Linus made a version for each liquid he wanted to read: fruit juice, honey, milk, coffee, even wastewater. DiFluid wasn't a coffee company yet. The name came from a much wider idea, Digitize Fluid: turn the changes you can't see inside a liquid into numbers you can read and compare.

Linus was working on a PhD at Southern University of Science and Technology at the time. With a background in electronics, optics and physics, he noticed something that didn't add up. Refractometers had been around for decades, yet the technology inside them, and the experience of using one, had barely moved. Buyers were stuck choosing between a high price, limited precision and awkward handling. He knew it could be done better, and built R1.

R2 Extract beside a phone running CoffeeOS and a pour-over on a scale

Where measuring matters most

A better device settled how to measure. It left open where measuring mattered most, so Linus went looking across liquids. Fruit was one of R1's first big uses. With a reading of 5% or 14% soluble solids, you know right away: not sweet, or sweet. Useful, and simple.

Coffee was different. Its TDS moves within a narrow range, yet a small shift changes the cup. Concentration, extraction, grind size, water temperature and brew method all pull on each other, so one reading starts more questions instead of settling them. Why do the same beans taste so different? Which step caused it? Can a great brew be understood, compared and made again?

Of everyone using R1, coffee people asked the most questions, and the hardest ones. Their curiosity kept pulling Linus back to coffee, to study how devices, data and taste connect.

A pour-over brewing on Microbalance, with R2 Extract and CoffeeOS beside it

Depth over breadth

Linus didn't drink coffee then. What drew him in was how hard its problems were. Over time he saw that measuring more kinds of liquid mattered less than understanding one liquid deeply.

In 2022, DiFluid released R2 Extract, built entirely for coffee. It was more than the next generation of R1. It was a decision: stop making a tool for every liquid, and build a complete way to measure concentration, extraction and brewing. Microbalance followed the same year, taking DiFluid from the result in the cup to the brew that produces it. By the time Omni arrived in 2023, there was no doubt where DiFluid was headed.

For several years, Linus ran his PhD and the company side by side. He left university only once the products, the users and the direction had all proven themselves.

A coffee bar at night, lined with brews and Moment devices

What coffee gave back

Coffee changed Linus too. The founder who didn't drink it became a devoted coffee lover. Through DiFluid he met coffee professionals and friends around the world, and in cafés from city to city he tasted countless ideas of what coffee can be.

DiFluid's direction was never fully written at the start. It was there in the many colors of the first R1, in the questions users kept asking, and in the moment Linus chose depth over breadth.

에코시스템

커피 데이터는 가치 사슬 곳곳에 흩어져 있습니다. 생산자, 수입업체, 수출업체, 로스터, 카페 운영자, 바리스타, 소비자가 모두 서로 다른 플랫폼, 도구, 방법을 쓰기 때문에 표준화가 매우 어렵습니다.

DiFluid는 서로 연결된 하드웨어의 수직 체인과 견고한 운영체제로 이 문제를 해결하고자 합니다.

Measure for clues. Taste to decide.

A cup of coffee is shaped by origin, roasting, grinding, water, equipment, environment and brew method. Through years of tasting and practice, coffee professionals learn how each one shows in the cup. Yet much of what matters can't be seen, and hard-won experience is difficult to record, compare and pass on.

A number means something only next to the conditions, the process and the taste behind it. Each DiFluid device makes one part of coffee visible: concentration, extraction, particle size, roast color, moisture, temperature. CoffeeOS connects them, so every measurement, tasting and brew becomes something you can compare, share and build on.

We don't decide what good coffee is for you, and we don't replace tasting with data. Whether you're a barista, a roaster or simply curious, DiFluid helps you see what changed, ask sharper questions and trust your own palate.

하드웨어

DiFluid는 커피 여정 전체를 아우르는 하드웨어를 만들어 왔습니다. 생산자와 로스터를 위한 수분, 수분활성도, 밀도, 스크린 사이즈 측정부터, 로스터를 위한 실시간 및 정적 로스팅 색상 측정과 연기 제거, 바리스타를 위한 입자 크기 분석과 추출 농도 도구까지. 그리고 이것은 시작일 뿐입니다. 수많은 신제품이 개발 중이며, DiFluid가 만드는 모든 제품은 하나의 공유 플랫폼, CoffeeOS 위에서 작동합니다.

CoffeeOS란?

CoffeeOS는 농장에서 컵까지 커피 여정의 모든 단계를 연결하는 전용 플랫폼입니다. 계속 커지는 DiFluid 하드웨어 에코시스템과 매끄럽게 작동하도록 설계되어, 모든 도구와 측정값, 인사이트를 하나의 앱에 담습니다. 단순한 보조 앱이 아니라 커피를 위한 운영체제입니다.

R1 gave liquids a language of numbers. Coffee gave those numbers meaning.

Coffee, understood.