Today's "Adventure in Laziness" is brought to you by Whirlpool, which has just -- rather cleverly, we must admit -- announced an upcoming refrigerator with built-in espresso maker, saving you several precious steps during your rushed morning routine. No longer will you flutter between fridge and coffee machine like a caffeine-addicted idiot; instead, your milk, creamers, and sweeteners are just inches away from a freshly-brewed cup. Coming in January of next year for what will likely be significantly more than your standard icebox, the "20RI D4 Espresso" bodes well for future fridge-tech, and makes us yearn for the day when our Whirlpool sends us off to work with a warm cup of joe and welcomes us home at night with a frosty, self-brewed lager.
[Via
The Appliancist]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Angry @ Oct 1st 2007 3:21AM
Waste of time, money and the earth's natural resources
importjap @ Oct 1st 2007 3:30AM
Not a bad idea! Any information on the built in espresso maker though?
JTM @ Oct 1st 2007 3:33AM
Why put something hot in the door of your fridge? Just sounds like a bad idea.
zomg0t @ Oct 1st 2007 3:40AM
Considering the refridgerator is removing heat from the inside, it may take that heat and apply it to heating the coffee (although it most likely requires more than just the heat removed from the fridge) instead of wasting it by simply releasing it into the kitchen
nih @ Oct 1st 2007 3:46AM
We were in the market for a new fridge a few months ago, and Whirlpool was one of the brands we wrote off as being shoddy, older technology. Nice to see they're starting to play catchup. (We ended up getting an LG fridge to go with the washing machine, vacuum cleaner and cd drive).
CPTKevin @ Oct 27th 2007 3:05PM
What makes you think LG has better technology? Are you assuming that because they make cell phones and flat screen TVs or did you really see something in their appliances that told you "better technology"?
nih @ Oct 27th 2007 5:17PM
LG is fucking quality. Whirlwind is absolute garbage. Even the demo whirlwind units were showing wear and damage.
I don't spend two grand lightly, so don't bother shilling for whirlwind. They can keep their ten-year-old styling and poor workmanship.
So, tell me again why you think trusting a brand is bad enough to try and compare fridge shopping to cell phones? Are you astro-turfing?
nih @ Oct 27th 2007 5:18PM
Wait, you ARE, aren't you. Responding to comments nearly a month old? Is whirlwind worried they're looking bad on google?
nih @ Oct 27th 2007 5:19PM
Wait, you ARE, aren't you. Responding to comments nearly a month old? Is whirlwind worried they're looking bad on google?
Glenn @ Oct 1st 2007 4:29AM
This thing DOES NOT make espresso so get that straight right from the get-go. Espresso is made by very high pressure, 192-205 degree f, water being pumped through a puck of freshly ground (and hopefully freshly roasted) coffee. You need a manual or a semi-automatic machine to do this. A superautomatic, like this thing might have won't cut it. Even the coffee is specially blended and each bean type is selected to give the blend a definitive flavor. This machine is marketed to the hordes of dolts that imagine crap like Senseo and those "real expensive" $150 espresso machines at Dillards make good espresso. They make poor instant hot chocolate at best. I suppose as long as there are idiots that'll buy these ridiculous mass market dumbed down products they'll keep making them.
Chris @ Oct 1st 2007 4:51AM
Whoa! Lay off the caffeine a lil bit! Calm down...relax it'll be ok.
You do realize that just because someone isn't as much of a connoisseur of espresso as you are, does not mean they are dolts. Just means they haven't developed such an accute taste as you.
Again...Lay off the espresso for awhile...drink some decaf.
Bad Beaver @ Oct 1st 2007 5:51AM
Hmm, no, I think Glenn is right. I would not call those people dolt's, but it is obvious that those coffee-abominations are the trophy of the "culture" of cheap, uniform & prefabricated. They lack passion.
There are two ways to good Espresso. The first is a dead simple but elegant and efficient design such as your basic on stove/electric Mokka-machine, the other is a big and complicated but powerful machina that you want to treat like a delicate sports car. None of the ways includes anything that would be given a way for subscribing to a magazine or could be fitted in a refrigerator door. That thing must be a bitch to clean too...
Scooter @ Oct 1st 2007 8:20AM
funny how folk can leap to such tetchy opinions without much in the way of detail to hold them back. Do you know the pressure this machine can deliver? Do you know if grinds as well? Do you know squid about anything you say?
Here's an idea: head down to starbucks and let another pimple face make you a semi-automated confection. While you're away we can all enjoy the future of gadgets.
Bad Beaver @ Oct 1st 2007 8:37AM
"Things got ugly when someone suggested Starbucks to the folks serious about coffee" *g*
Rocketboy @ Oct 1st 2007 1:43PM
Umm, Pod Coffee is not espresso.
Bweetza @ Oct 1st 2007 11:29AM
In the immortal words fo Sgt. Hulka, "Settle down Francis."
JBo @ Oct 1st 2007 11:56AM
Some of us do not have 30 minutes a day to make a shot of Espresso. While it cannot be argued that full manual Espresso machines are superior, most people are happy with what a coffee connoisseur would consider "mediocre" or even "crappy" espresso.
We all have our obsessions, yours is quite obviously espresso. Others have stereo equipment, cars, wine, etc. There will always be the ultra premium versions of all of these things for the true lover. But for the rest of us who just casual participants, something like this in-fridge "espresso" maker would suffice.
The difference between a connoisseur and a snob is that the connoisseur recognizes that it is OK for others to not enjoy their obsession like they do.
So jump down off the snobbox.
Simo @ Nov 24th 2007 5:01PM
"This machine is marketed to the hordes of dolts that imagine crap like Senseo and those "real expensive" $150 espresso machines at Dillards make good espresso."
I suppose Glenn also is referring to all those coffee-loving Italians for whom this fridge was originally conceived. My wife is a Director at Whirlpool, and she sent me the specs for this baby when it first rolled out of the company's European headquarters in Comerio, Italy. Italians know very well what good coffee is, and this fridge was tried and tested for them. Therefore, I would not venture ridiculous assumptions such as the above.
Mark @ Oct 1st 2007 6:16AM
Very scary product. Take a mediocre method of making espresso (a super auto), then take one of the cheapest super auto "innards" out there (the low end Saeco "engine" for super automatics), and put it in a fridge that otherwise would cost $2,500, and price it out at $3,500-$5,000 because of the addition of $150 in parts and buttons.
Totally, utterly not recommended. Buy this and I'll guarantee it will have a dead "cappuccino maker" in the door inside of 3-4 years.
El in AZ @ Oct 1st 2007 9:44AM
Somebody said it'd be a bitch to clean. That's the biggest offense here. I have a stainless Whirlpool model and without a lot of care, it looks awful. The childless among you can probably just keep your hands off the doors, but try that with a 3 year old in the house.
Then again, people with 3 year olds probably aren't the target demo for this yuppie gadget.
In any case, neat idea. Just doesn't seem very practical.
Convergence in my pocket = Dreamed of the day.
Convergence in my kitchen = Not entirely necessary.
LordJohnWhorfin @ Oct 1st 2007 5:49PM
Why all the hate against the superautomatics? They make excellent espresso, better than what most people can consistently get out of a high end manual machine. I certainly have not met anybody in the US who could make significantly better coffee than what my 10 year old Saeco does. Coffee snobism is getting out of hand -- and it's usually coming from people who wouldn't know good espresso if it bit them in the a$$.
Henri @ Oct 1st 2007 9:49AM
this could be dangerous: like opening the door when coffee is being made :(
miko34 @ Oct 1st 2007 1:30PM
While I applaud Whirlpool for trying to bring us closer to the future and also to free up some counter space. And I love coffee. I don't think that this (much like the TV in the fridge) is the right product for us now.
We want future-tech ... but this is more like a "put a clock in anything and sell it as a new product" marketing.
Mark @ Oct 1st 2007 6:06PM
Sorry Lord John, you'd be wrong.
Super automatics can't approach what someone with even a medium level of home-barista skills can do with a traditional machine and grinder.
There's four basic problems with most super automatics: grind selection, grind path, brew piston group size, and brewed espresso path. I'd love to go into more detail about this, something I actually do paid consulting on with a couple of super automatic manufacturers), but I worry it'd be lost on the audience here, it's frightfully coffee geekie.
LordJohnWhorfin @ Oct 1st 2007 7:03PM
Like I said, coffee snobism is getting out of hand. The proof is in the coffee: it tastes good enough to me, and frankly I never, EVER had better coffee anywhere in the US. And frankly, if you were born and raised in the US, there's just no way you could know anything worthwhile about coffee :)
Sergio @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:42PM
I'm all for any integrated products that make my life easier, but I'm personally waiting for a fridge with an espresso maker, TV, kegerator, bottle/wine opener, and an ice cream dispenser.
Simo @ Nov 24th 2007 4:59PM
NiH, Whirlpool is not worried one bit about your useless commentary. If you had any business acumen whatsoever, you would see that LG is a speck of dust compared to WHR, which also owns Kitchen Aid, Maytag, and Kenmore. Obviously, the world doesn't think the way you do, as WHR's stock this year reached a high of $100 per share.