Aman Yatendra Rawat, Daniel Li, Kathy Wang, Rushal Butala, Yvonne Nguyen
Bestea is a customizable and low-maintenance tea machine designed to improve the well-being and relaxation of college students. Discover the perfect cup of tea for every moment with Bestea's personalized recommendations tailored to your mood. Elevate your daily ritual and savor the richness of life, one sip at a time.
Value proposition:
"Experience the Perfect Moment, One Sip at a Time with Bestea! Transform your hectic college life into a tranquil oasis with Bestea, the ultimate customizable tea machine. Designed to enhance your well-being and relaxation, Bestea brings the art of tea brewing to your fingertips with ease. Whether you crave a soothing chamomile to unwind after a long day of classes or a revitalizing green tea to kickstart your morning, Bestea's intuitive recommendations have you covered. Forget the hassle of traditional tea brewing – Bestea streamlines the process for you, offering low-maintenance convenience without sacrificing quality. Simply select your preferences, sit back, and let Bestea deliver the perfect cup of tea every time. Experience tranquility, rejuvenation, and the ultimate relaxation – all at the touch of a button. Discover your perfect cup of tea with Bestea and unlock a world of well-being and serenity today!"
<aside> 🤒 College Students are Stressed: College students are constantly under stress. In a Gallup poll that surveyed more than 2,400 college students in March 2023, 66% of reported experiencing stress and 51% reported feelings of worry "during a lot of the day.”
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<aside> ☕ Reliance on Coffee: College students rely heavily on caffeine intake to cope with academic demands. Based on a poll of 1,248 college students, 92% of college students drink coffee on a regular basis. While coffee notably increases short-term alertness and energy level, its long-term effects include decreased perception of fatigue, nervousness, insomnia, and it becomes a source of addiction.
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<aside> 🍵 Tea Benefits: On the other hand, tea is a milder source of caffeine compared to coffee because its caffeine chemical, L-theanine, releases more slowly into the bloodstream. Moreover, tea consumption is associated with health benefits such as improved heart health, better blood sugar management, and lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
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<aside> 📑 Market Opportunity: 87% of American Millennials reportedly consume tea, demonstrating a broad market interest within this demographic. Furthermore, they show heightened interest in healthy, functional ingredients and clean-label products.
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We conducted a survey, diary study, and user eneactments to investigate the problem space and identify design opportunities.
We designed a fifteen question survey to collect quantitative and qualitative data. We collected descriptive data about the participant’s demographics and planning behavior, as well as text entries from the participants to learn about participant’s stress management strategies.
The first part of our questions aim at discerning how students plan their day. In the context of our research objective, these questions aim to understand students’ mindset and which tools they utilize when planning for their tasks. The later part of our survey, which asks about stress and stress management, aims to disclose the possible events or factors that causes changes in students’ mood.
We used Qualtrics to create the survey and analyze the data. We used Voyant Tools to analyze textual data from the free response questions. Here are our findings:
<aside> 🛏️ Aside from academic tasks being the priority for students, they kept track of their chores/personal tasks, leisure activities, and social activities.
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<aside> 😄 Most keep track of their tasks on an “as needed” basis, showing how students value flexibility and adaptability.
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<aside> 🌈 To unwind, most respondents reported they enjoy watching tv shows, movies, or Youtube, engaging with family and friends, sleeping, and playing video games. These findings shed light on how student cope with stress.
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<aside> 💡 Tasks that give respondents the most stress include completing assignments or tasks on time, getting to class on time, and meal planning or finding what to eat.
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<aside> 📌 They prefer using digital, rather than physical methods to manage their daily tasks.
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Since our goal was to research how students feel over time, and how that related to their productivity, having a contextual understanding of user behaviors and experiences in the home and work environment was necessary. For these reasons, diary studies that measure changes over time were the best fit for our study. We recruited 12 college students (5 undergraduate and 7 graduate), who answered our questions four times throughout their day (morning, afternoon, evening, bedtime), over the course of 7 days. Our overarching research questions at this stage were: