Posted on 12/15/2005 8:33:20 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist
A half dozen production lines operate 12 hours a day, cutting small filters and stuffing them into tiny cups, dropping in 2 or 3 grams of coffee and sealing them before whisking them into boxes.
The scores of little coffee containers, known around Green Mountain Coffee Roasters as K-Cups, rolling off the line every few minutes represent what the small specialty brewer hopes will be a revolution in the way Americans brew their favorite roast at home.
The diminutive cups are a self-contained coffee brewing system that can be popped into a relatively new brand of coffee maker to produce a single cup of steaming java. Gone, promoters of the systems say, are the days of a full pot of coffee slowly burning before it's thrown down the sink.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. isn't alone. Brewers large and small, as well as appliance manufacturers, are getting in on the act and pushing the brewing systems as an ideal gift this holiday season for a population addicted to convenience.
"It's an instance of quality meets convenience," said T.J. Whalen, marketing vice president at Green Mountain Coffee. Green Mountain and other small specialty brewers like it are trying to capture the higher end of the market with their more expensive brews and their fancier brewing systems. But companies from Procter & Gamble Co.'s Folgers brand to Sara Lee Corp.'s Senseo and Kraft Foods Inc.'s Maxwell House also are trying to capitalize on what a number of companies believe is an emerging trend in the home kitchen.
The machines have taken off in offices, but a critical mass is only just beginning to be reached where consumers might consider buying them for their homes. Companies as diverse as Mr. Coffee, Black & Decker, Krups and Keurig now make systems that can brew single cups of coffee in as little as 30 seconds using coffee pods -- pockets of grounds that look like oversized tea bags -- and individual cups manufactured by the roasters and food companies.
"We know from different market research that there is a reasonable potential behind this segment," said Lars Atorf, a spokesman for Procter & Gamble's coffee products, including the gourmet oriented Millstone brand. "We can definitely see where awareness is rising in the U.S."
The major brands are hoping that the connection with the gourmet coffee industry can give them an entree to that lucrative part of the market.
The 2005 National Coffee Drinking Trends survey by the National Coffee Association of USA found that more than 172 million American adults consumed coffee and 15 percent -- some 32 million -- said they drank gourmet coffee daily. That's grown from 9 percent six years ago.
That survey also found that nearly two-thirds of consumers were aware of single-serve brewing systems, but only 2 percent reported owning one and 14 percent said they were very or somewhat likely to buy one.
Jon Harris, vice president of Sara Lee Food & Beverage, said the machines are not intended to replace Starbucks stores or the corner coffee shop. He said Sara Lee's hope is that the Senseo brand will complement the ubiquitous coffee houses around the country.
"People are looking for that experience at home," Harris said.
The brewing systems have only been mass-marketed for the past couple of years and there are skeptics about whether they'll take off. Peter Greene, vice president of the NPD Group home appliance marketing research firm, believes they'll never replace the familiar automatic drip coffee makers.
"I don't think your everyday coffee drinker and the majority of the population are going to go in this way," he said. He noted there are limitations to the technology and no uniform pod or cup fits all machines.
And the machines are more expensive than the typical automatic drip system.
A basic Senseo brewing machine is being sold online for $69.99. The higher-end Keurig machine is being sold for between $99.95 and $279.95 for a version that's also marketed for office use.
The coffee that goes into them isn't cheap, either. At a Safeway supermarket in Washington, D.C., this week, a package of Senseo pods good for 18 cups was $3.99, a 13-ounce vacuum-packed brick of Folgers coffee went for $3.95. A box of 24 of Green Mountain's K-Cups is available online for $13.95, while a 12-ounce bag of beans goes for $8.19.
Still, NPD Group's market tracking has determined that a little better than 4.5 percent of the estimated 27 million coffee brewing appliances sold this year will be single-serve systems, up from roughly 1.5 percent of the market last year.
"It all depends on how you define success," Greene said. "I'd say these are going to be a success, but only 5 percent of the market."
But some of the disadvantages of the systems can be especially amplified in homes where people often expect a superior brew, said a coffee reviewer. One are the machines themselves. There's no industry standard, at least not yet, and the coffee pod or cup that works in one machine often isn't compatible with another.
And the other issue, a bigger one for a coffee aficionado like Ken Davids, editor of Coffee Review, is the coffee that goes into the machines. Quality varies widely, he said.
"Some of these coffees taste flat-out stale," Davids said late last month as he was halfway through blind tastings produced from the single-serve machines.
Davids is not impressed, although there are some decent coffees available.
"It's a cafe-at-home if you consider powdered milk, sugar and instant as a cappuccino," he said. "If you consider freshly brewed espresso and fresh-frothed milk a cappuccino, it's not."
Why would I possibly need one of these? I drink 10 cups at a time!
http://www.sedonamg.com/caffevita/prodDetl.aspx?ID=4&CatID=2
you better try this! I thought Peets next day delivery was the best too....
Don't you ever get tired of complainingg about what other people choose to do? I am dogmatic because I prefer Starbucks? Do you really understand what you write? Have I told you what to drink? Who's being dogmatic here?
A careful reading of my comments will indicate that I have tried all sorts of coffee beans from various purveyors of coffee. There are many fine beans out there (except Safeway beans, which are largely Mexican jumping beans), but I prefer Starbucks. Why are you so bothered by that? I suppose the next big thing in your mind is that Starbucks coffee causes cancer.
So, go buy whatever coffee floats your boat and be happy. It is not good form to impose your tastes on others.
The company I've always used for buying roasters (I'm on #2; the first one lasted 4.5 years of heavy use) and green coffee beans is Sweet Maria's. Good people and good products - I now buy 20 lb. bags of mostly French Roast Blend and Liquid Amber Blend.
I roast in an iRoast machine and have a Rancilio Rocky to grind and a Rancilio Silvia espresso machine. For drip, I use a $2.00 Melitta #6 cone and Costco filters. I have an instant-hot water dispenser with carbon filter, calibrated to 195 degrees to use with the latter stuff.
Sounds froo-froo but I can roast outstanding beans for just over $5/pound and with the instant-hot dispenser can make a cup of coffee in less than 2 minutes with virtually zero cleanup (just dump the filter in the trash and rinse the Melitta cone).
There are several companies that sell beans 'n machines; just do a quick search. Also a wealth of websites and newsgroups for detailed advice.
My best tip: get a decent beginner book on coffee roasting; there are a few things to know. Most important is consistency; even the length of the extension cord used with the roaster can change the roast, so I do it exactly the same every time to get what I want. One more thing: it's a smoky process - you need an exhaust hood or do it outside.
Good luck and have fun.
I'm still wondering why you are so enamored of Starbucks. There has to be some reason apart from the taste; otherwise you'd be able to taste what you are drinking. Perhaps your taste buds are fried?
Get tired of it? I've only been doing this for 13 hours or so, your reactions are fun.
You're right about Starbucks house blend being to roast-y (burnt tasting) but the 100% Columbian is very nice.
I remember going to Starbucks #1 at Pike Place Market and buying beans in college....before they had drinks. And for the longest time they wouldnt add syrups to their coffee.
And when the chick had boobs.
Sounds like Peets. Until a few years ago, they didn't have syrups in the store. Must have been when they went public and became more interested in making their investors happy than making a decent coffee...
Peet's has syrups now? Bah. You could even mask the flavor of Charbucks, given a big enough whack of syrup. Wouldn't be coffee, might be drinkable. By somebody. Maybe.
"Get tired of it? I've only been doing this for 13 hours or so, your reactions are fun."
If you need fun, post to Hank, the FR Expert Coffee Guru, and tell him you love Safeway coffee. (Especially the frozen beans). Hank is well known for his taste buds.
Though it should be noted that owning a coffee roaster is for regular everyday pussies.
Thanks for all that info...I am definitely going to try it. BTW, I hope you and RTINSC "patch things up". It has always struck me as funny how a seemingly innocuous thread like this one can become a kind of scholastic referendum on opinions. I like it! That's the best of FR!
Got one in the office and this K cup coffee is pretty good. It's comparable to what you get fresh-brewed in a coffee shop.
Hey, I think that TASTER'S CHOKE was done by my old friend Jay Lynch! Glad I saw it---I've been meaning to get back in touch with him for about 6 months.
mmmmmm...Italian roast is my favorite.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned anything about "cold brewed" coffee.
Wow, that is yummy coffee . . . . not a trace of bitterness, tastes more like hot chochlate rather than coffee, I use only a fraction of the sugar in coffee when I cold-brew it compared to when I hot-brew it. Unfortunately, it takes 2-3 times more grind for the same amount of beverage, so it's much more expensive to do this way. And a little messier as well.
Excellent choice. But don't let Hank, the FR Expert Coffee tastebudsman, know or you will be besieged by his mindless comments that you have no taste for coffee. He may be coffee retentive. A strong possibility.
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