Life is a curious journey, often filled with seemingly endless pursuits to shave off a few precious seconds or minutes from our daily routines. My latest endeavor stands as the most extreme testament to this quirk of human nature, a saga that unfolds in the realm of tea storage and organization.
For years, I’ve stored my tea in identical metal tins, a practical choice but one that presented a labeling conundrum. In a moment of inspiration, I embarked on a creative odyssey, designing custom labels for each tin and applying them to flexible magnets. I invested in label makers, meticulously calculated the perfect size, and crafted a template. The end result was aesthetically pleasing, yet the process of creating the labels was a frustrating chore. With the inability to type information directly into the label maker, I was forced to endure a cumbersome sequence of steps: connecting it to my computer, loading the template, modifying the data, and finally, printing. Adding to the hassle was the need to precisely position the label on the magnet, often salvaging old magnets by painstakingly peeling off the previous label for reuse.
This arduous process took its toll, leaving half of my tea languishing in bags, particularly those that were unlikely to be restocked or came in small quantities. My tea room counter became a chaotic mess of tea bags, a visual reminder of the inefficiency of my labeling system.
Then, a stroke of genius struck. E-ink technology, with its ability to display information without consuming power, seemed like the perfect solution. Coincidentally, I was in the midst of transforming half of my tea storage space into a pinball arcade. The idea of integrating e-ink labels into a bookcase that doubled as a secret door to the arcade was too enticing to resist.
The construction of the secret door was surprisingly straightforward. With an IKEA bookcase, lift-off hinges, and casters, I was able to create a seamless transition between the tea storage area and the arcade. The bookcase, carefully trimmed and integrated into the wall, blended in effortlessly.
However, the real challenge lay ahead. Navigating the world of commercial e-ink vendors proved to be a frustrating experience, filled with dead ends and unhelpful responses. Just when I was on the verge of giving up, I stumbled upon Openepaperlink, a project that repurposed old e-ink price tags from stores. Eager to bring my vision to life, I purchased a hub and a sufficient number of tags, even taking them on a month-long cruise to work on the project. By the end of the journey, I had designed elegant labels, developed software to manage them, and successfully configured the hub to send the information to the tags. I also created 3D printed mounts to display the labels in front of each tea tin on the shelf.
But my quest for perfection was far from over. I soon realized that if I accidentally swapped two tins or moved them to the tea table, I would be left scrambling to figure out which tin belonged where. To address this issue, I decided to implement a system that would allow the labels to follow the tea tins. After much deliberation and failed attempts at finding a clever workaround, I settled on using pn532 NFC sensors.
Integrating the NFC sensors into the metal tea tins presented its own set of challenges. Metal interference was a significant obstacle, but I was fortunate to have some “on metal” NFC tags from a previous project. After several iterations and adjustments to ensure the tags were positioned at the optimal distance from the sensors, I finally achieved success.
With the NFC system in place, I began testing the setup. While the initial tests were promising, I encountered a series of frustrating setbacks. The new NFC tags I purchased from various vendors failed to work consistently, leaving me scratching my head and searching for a solution. After weeks of trial and error, I discovered that by 3D printing an insert to separate the tags from the metal, I could achieve the necessary distance for the tags to function reliably.
After countless hours of experimentation and refinement, I finally completed the first row of automatic tea tin scanning. While the system wasn’t perfect, with occasional glitches and the need for reboots, it was a significant step forward. I continued to make improvements, upgrading to a Raspberry Pi Zero and then a full-sized Raspberry Pi, which ultimately resolved the remaining issues. I also designed new black plastic fronts for the e-ink labels to give them a more polished appearance and created custom mounts to accommodate the varying heights of the shelves.
In the end, my journey to create the perfect e-ink tea labeling system was a labor of love, a testament to the power of perseverance and the pursuit of innovation. While the process was often frustrating and time-consuming, the end result was a functional and aesthetically pleasing system that has transformed the way I store and organize my tea. And as I sit back and enjoy a cup of my favorite brew, I can’t help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment, knowing that all my hard work has paid off.
