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."
LOL..the famous Hank shows up passively to once again offer sage advice about what Hank thinks others should do, buy, or drink.. Hank thinks coffee beans are made in a factory, apparently.
I don't know that the french press in the cheapest, but it is my favorite.
I wish I had time every morning for that ritual! At least the Starbucks machine makes a decent cup. Using good beans of course.
On the surface, I like the concept. In practice, however, the fixed amount of coffee available to brew a cup is a real problem for me. I like my coffee stronger than the norm and don't think such a limited amount of coffee will be able to pull it off.
MM
There is no problem with Starbucks beans. Coffee is a matter of personal taste. Not all their beans are dark roasted. Their is a wide variety to choose from, depending on your taste. Ask passive Hank, he is an expert on coffee beans, the forum's Juan Valdez.
Single brews seem to require those little packets of coffee, preground. I prefer beans only. Most ground coffee goes stale quickly.
You use this same "argument" on every thread! It's lame and off-topic.
It's not that we're "bothered". Astounded, maybe. But not bothered.
You sure are touchy when a coffee thread inevitably gets around to pointing out the crummy quality of Charbucks. Why are you so bothered by what other people don't like? Is your last name Schwartz?
LOL..THAT is funny. Thanks. Go easy on Hank. He has coffee anger.
Well, that's something I didn't know existed. But why, God, why?????
Makes me want a couple dozen sliders, though. Haven't had one, or lived within a thousand miles of one, in over a decade. Can't even buy 'em frozen at Safeway anymore, near as I can tell.
Staleness negates any variation in roast.
Do you know when your beans were roasted? Mine were roasted on December 7, 2005. And they will be gone less than 2 weeks after that.
Believe me, I have tried many different types of coffee. There is a huge difference in taste between different roast styles. Try some other ones out, or are you afraid you might like something else better?
It's well worth the effort. Some of the lighter oils, the ones with the most complex flavors, steam off of the coffee bean as it cools. I know it breaks all the rules of coffee roasting -- that is, you're supposed to let the bean cool before brewing -- but I take the hot beans straight from the roaster and put them into the mill, and from there, as quickly as I can, I dump them into a French press where I pour boiling hot water over the grind while it still smokes from being roasted. There's a hiss and a mild eruption of tan-colored foam as the water hits the hot coffee, but I tell you, my fellow freepers, there nothing even close to the cup of coffee you'll get. It'll spoil you: the best coffee you can buy will taste like muddy water after you've had a cup made this way.
Well, if you want to discuss fast food burgers, I can be equally snobbish on that topic. =)
I went to In-n-Out this evening during my after work bike ride(after visiting one of my favorite coffee shops). Damn, I love that stuff. The cute girl behind the counter even said I was number 1!
Hank, you must have Starbucks coffee anger jitters. Everytime I post "I like Starbucks", you feel compelled to impute your own opinion about what I should like or not like. Why are you so angry at Starbucks coffee? What have they done to turn you into such an angry coffee critic? Why do you think your opinion is so important?
I've done side-by-side tests with my green beans and roaster, and there was a definite improvement with the coffee made using the day-after beans compared to those just roasted, so I always let mine rest overnight unless I'm just plumb out of beans and desperate.
But I usually make a coffee-cup full of espresso with a pretty high-pressure Rancilio machine, so maybe the resting period just works best for my technique.
That was the one good thing about moving back to Detroit. White Castles on every corner. Winos asking if you can spare an extra burger. You can even pick up a hooker with your order!
Frozen White Castles were like instant coffee, though, IMO. They didn't even come with pickles!
I'm going to have to try that. After I figure out the process of getting the inside of the bean to be the same color as the outside, of course!
Please reread what you just posted and ask yourself honestly if it bears any relation to the comments I've made. I mean, really.
My son's mother-in-law is a 4E! Repeat 4E. I kid you not.
Unbelieve!
And seriously consider trying other coffees!
I can't imagine life without variety in my coffee consumption...
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