My coffee machine lives just out of sight from my desk. I’ll start a coffee, wander back to work while it’s brewing, then get completely absorbed in whatever I’m doing. Before I know it, an hour has passed and I’m greeted by a stone-cold coffee.

Clearly this called for an unnecessarily complicated solution.

My first idea was to design and 3D print a replacement drip tray with a built-in load cell. The mug would sit on the tray while the machine brewed. The software would continuously monitor the weight, watching it gradually increase as the cup filled. Once the weight stopped changing, it’d know the coffee was ready. If the mug still hadn’t been picked up after a few minutes, it’d sound an alarm.

It’s a perfectly sensible solution, if your definition of “sensible” includes designing custom hardware, wiring up electronics, writing firmware, and 3D printing replacement parts just to remember a cup of coffee.

I realised there had to be a better way. I had a few spare NFC tags lying around, so I stuck one to the side of the coffee machine.

Now, whenever I make a coffee, I tap the tag with my iPhone. An Apple Shortcuts automation displays a notification to let me know it’s armed, adds five minutes to the current time, and creates a reminder telling me not to forget my coffee.

I could just ask Siri to set a timer, but sometimes you don’t feel like talking to yourself. This takes a second to trigger and, at least while the novelty hasn’t worn off, it’s been surprisingly effective.

Of course, having to remember something in order to stop myself forgetting something else means it’s not perfect. Still, it’s been a fun use of an NFC tag, and the dream of a truly automatic solution lives on.