The tale of the single-serving, self-heating coffee can
By Ryan Block 
posted Dec 20th 2004 10:01AM
posted Dec 20th 2004 10:01AM
Typical that only now post-Starbucks America would ever begin to embrace that which much of the world has adored for something like a decade: the self-heating single serving beverage (in this case, coffee). The process isn't too complicated (some calcium oxide mixes with water in a chamber and heats up the beverage) but leave it to everyone's favorite Austrian chef, Wolfgang Puck, to slap his name on it and get it out the door. Everyone's doubting how well the stuff'll fare in the face of a fresh brew, but c'mon, the sheer novelty factor is through the roof.
[Via TechDirt]
just think of the soup applications!! come on people come on... this is the stuff that we are supposed to see in the future!! get excited!!
hmm. they have been out here in the UK for some time.. not very sucessful, tho..
What about the opposite...a cold can...kinda like an ice pack built into a can...think soda and beer...anyone think this is a good idea?
I had one in the UK about 2 years ago from a service station (complete novelty factor seeing as it was more expensive than the coffee dispenser!). To be honest it wasn't that great and there was barely any coffee in the can! Plus, what happens if you like one with more milk or some sugar in, it's a bit tougher to get it through the small drinking hole and that's assuming you have some to hand!
Adam - Yes, the super-chilled beer can idea is a winner. I am amazed we haven't seen it.
Yeah, as stated these types of things have been around for a while overseas. There are both the heating and cooling types and have been applied to beverages and dinners that can heat on the dashboard of your car (hmm appealing.) As I remember from class (I'm a packaging engineer) the only practical use I saw from this was self cooling beer in Japan but it cost an outrageous amount.
There's work being done on the self-chilling beer can:
http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-002203.php
In 1996 I was in Ohio (Kreugers) and had a meal that was heat up and go, just by adding water - cooked right there (or heate up) in the hungry man sized package.
The cold coke can has ben an idea (and it was featured in a pop sci mag ten years ago) Pull the tab and Co2 brings the internal temp down to 42 degrees or something. Never made it out the door, why? Gee, lets put our thinking caps on, shall we...
This is nothing new in UK, as people have pointed out, it has been out in the UK for 2 + years! For your information, this technology is invented/developed in the University of Southampton, UK.
Apparently these guys have developed the self-chilling beer can (for 30 pence more than a normal can of beer). http://www.tempratech.com They were supposed to launch in the UK last July with Heineken. Has anyone seen one?
Do people really nurse a single cup of coffee so long they need this to keep it warm?
One use I've found for the self heating cans is to leave a few in my car in case of breaking down when it's cold out.
I know that you could buy/rent those 30 odd pint, self-chilling kegs this summer and maybe last too. Bottom's Up were doing them. Didn't work out as an amazing deal financially but useful for boozing on Brighton beach.
Old and busted: self-heating coffee cans
New hotness: self-heating sake cans.
The pictures areof our own can, the Thermotic Can, concieved, developed and manufactured in the UK by Thermotic Developments.( Southampton University are a share holder and assisted with development).
The article is about a plastic version developed in California by Ontech, formally Ontro.
We are now working on a refined technology for food, soups and beverages.
I became totally addicted to the self-heating Nescafe things in my second year of uni here in the UK. I personally think they're a great idea cos you don't have to wait for the kettle to boil. Instead you have to wait about 3 minutes for some luke-warm coffee that tastes of bizarre chemicals. I really don't understand why they weren't more successful.
Hot/Cold Vending machines have been in Japan for at least 7 years. The cans aren't self-heating but who cares, I'd rather have it hot when I got it anyway, then have to wait for it to warm...
Anyway, I've been waiting for coffee in cans in the states for a long time. Also, when are we going to get ice coffee in the summer. Last time I asked at starbucks, they poured hot coffee on ice.
How about hot corn soup in a can?
What ever happened to these ? I virtually lived off them for about 6 months then they disappeared off the shelves (in my bit of the UK anyway).
I worked for a vending machine company here in the UK a few years ago, and yes, these have been out for a while.
But regarding their disappearance... they were recalled after a spate to people started burning themselves pretty badly. We had to stop stocking them in all our machines.
I left that company soon after all that, and to my knowledge, they have not been reintroduced.
I've tasted sake in containers like these from Japan. It wasn't bad tasting concidering the asking price.
The Thermotic Can was market tested by Nestl?n the UK Midlands. They sold 6 million cans during the test. The test ended and the results revealed three things:
1 The can needed to heat by more than 40?C, as during cold weather this did not make the drink hot enough.
2 The can was fully branded whereas 1/3 was a heat engine. If this had been shown on the label it would have added value rather than leading to a disappointed punter.
3 The coffee could have tasted better.
A Mark 2 can was needed for a full market launch; commercial difficulties have prevented this happening so far.
To my knowledge no-one was burnt by the packs ( in our increasingly litigious country we would have heard ! ).
Funny how urban truths come about.
Was Ontro or Thermotic the 1st company to release the drinks onto the market? As far as I can see the two designs are almost identical: is there some major differences between the designs I can't see, is it the fact one company concentrates on the U.S market and the other the UK, or is there some licensing agreement? Does anyone know of any other technologies used for these containers apart from quicklime or charcoal burning? Currently doing a coursework study on the evolution of design of these drinks so any comments would be useful. Thanks. en1anh@bath.ac.uk
I drank one of the Nescafe versions back in either 2000 or early 2001 which was for sale in the local shops in South East Wales.
It was almost £2, had barely any coffee in it, and it wasn't all that hot!
I didn't buy any more and I haven't seen them since.
For novelty purposes they're pretty good, but otherwise pretty useless and environmentally unfriendly.