When one of the Italian astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) declared that he missed a good espresso, Lavazza and Argotec, in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, were already working in the problem.

Yes, this is very clever – making good coffee in zero gravity apparently is pretty tough but recognizing how important it is for the astronauts, often in the ISS for many months, to have a place to chill and chat and enjoy a coffee, is genius.

Too often workplaces, wherever they may be, forget they are about people first. Adding environments where people can relax, get to know each other, exchange ideas and solve problems in a casual way is what leads to more communication, more creativity and a better workplace and service / product for everyone.

And, in case you missed it – it’s called ISSpresso – great name (I guessing they came up with that while drinking coffee and chatting)

When I go to The Lab today I’ll raise a cup to those floating somewhere aboveme – and smile a little.

For those fascinated by how to make coffee in space (where no one can hear you scream) I have included the information below. Images are from Lavazza – I found out about this on UrDesignmag (via notcot)