Fair trade vs. direct trade coffee: Is fair trading a bad thing?

In a global marketplace the wages for the little man are often reduced to a bare minimum leaving the coffee farmers with a very little paycheck in the end. In a way for global coffee companies to reach the more critical consumer mass, which cares about the wellbeing of the farmers, the certification Fair Trade was developed. 

Digitized Aeropress

Being an esthetician that loves coffee and technology, this project really spun my curiosity. The guys over at Blossom Coffee have made a prototype called simply "one", this is made primarily of steel and wood with a PID and Arduino as the brain. The concept is simple; water is heated up to an interchangeable value and poured onto the coffee in a glass container. The coffee is then pushed through an espresso portafilter using a manual piston. Although this is pretty simple and reminds me a lot of the Aeropress, the innovation is in the computerized brain. Using a display and a small knob, the user is able to control not only the temperature but also the brew time.

In this interview with the Verge the founder explains the concept.

What do you think; waste of time and money or kind of brilliant idea?