Satoffee

No longer in production

Coffee for sats.

Satoffee turned capsule coffee machines into Bitcoin coffee machines: scan the QR code, pay a few sats over Lightning, and the coffee pours.

2022 — 2024

See it in action

What it was

Satoffee (Satoshi + coffee) started as a DIY project inspired by Ben Arc, creator of LNbits, and his bitcoinSwitch. In October 2022 the idea was a coffee machine that brews when a Lightning payment arrives. By June 2023 it was working.

Each Satoffee had three parts: an ESP32 with a screen that showed the payment QR, a custom “parasite” PCB that talked to the coffee machine, and the software that unlocked a coffee once the payment arrived. Payments went straight to the owner’s wallet.

Machines ended up at Bitcoin meetups, offices and events, where they got many people to make their first Lightning payment.

Where it started

The first prototype was an ESP32, a relay and a small screen on a breadboard, wired to a Tassimo. The whole build is documented step by step.

ESP32 and relay on a breadboard sitting on top of a coffee machineBreadboard prototype with an ESP32, a relay and a screen showing a QR codeThe breadboard prototype wired to a Tassimo coffee machine

Read the original DIY project →

The machines

Bosch Tassimo coffee machine with the Satoffee screen showing a payment QR code

Satoffee Bosch Tassimo Style

A brand-new Bosch Tassimo, fully converted by hand, with custom PCB and software.

Nespresso Essenza Mini with the orange Satoffee module on top showing a QR code

Satoffee Nespresso Essenza Mini DIY

A kit to convert your own Nespresso Essenza Mini in about fifteen minutes.

Gallery

What people said

Bitcoin Reef@BtcCuracao

Satoffee machine in Curaçao. Thanks @WilliamSantiago for doing the setup! Coming soon to the Bitcoin Institute at Eden Mall. @MyfirstBitcoin_ Students will be able to make a Lightning donation to pay for the cost of the Tassimo pod and paper cup. @satoffee_bcm

Still from Bitcoin Reef’s video: the LNbits payment screen on a laptop

Timeline

  1. Oct 2022The idea: a coffee machine that brews when a Lightning payment arrives.
  2. Jun 2023The first working Satoffee.
  3. Jul 2023The DIY guide is published and Ben Arc, creator of LNbits, shares it.
  4. 2024A ready-made Tassimo machine and a DIY kit for the Nespresso Essenza Mini.
  5. Late 2024Production stops.

Why it stopped

Converting each machine by hand took far too long for what it could earn, so Satoffee stays what it always was: an experiment. Thanks to everyone who brewed a coffee with sats.

Have a Satoffee?

The web installer is still online. Use it to reinstall the software or change the WiFi and LNbits settings of your machine, from Chrome or Edge with a USB-C cable.

Open the installer →

Curious?

If you want to know more about the project or build something similar, write to .