Every coffee drinkers dilemma; finding that perfect balance between a cup of java that is neither lukewarm and bland, nor tongue-scorching hot. Well, after running his own coffee shops for the last 15 years, inventor Nick Bayss has come up with a “smart” coffee lid that changes colour with temperature. The disposable lid is a bright red when the contents of the cup are hot, and slowly turns brown as the drink cools. Best of all, it’s only a penny each for the upgrade.

Because it changes colour with temperature, it also indicates whether the lid is securely in place, “The thicker rim of the coffee cup insulates the lid and creates a thick brown band. If the lid isn’t correctly in place, the steam passes through the gap and it can be clearly seen by the colour,” says Nick.

In his experience, Nick found “there were two ways people got burned with hot coffee. The first is that they underestimated the temperature of the coffee. The second, and probably the greatest cause of serious scalding, was when the lid was not put on the takeaway cup correctly.” His invention creatively addresses both situations.