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Here come the K-Cup drunks
My desire for a mechanized mixologist is as strong as an overproof rum. Much to my chagrin, and despite a long history of inventors toiling to perfect the drink-mixing machine, the practice is still largely the domain of human beings. That said, two Kickstarter projects are offering a new, more consumer-focused take on the "robot bartender." Ladies and gentlemen, 2015 is the year of the "Keurig for cocktails."
Keurig revives refillable K-Cups following disappointing sales
Following its first disappointing holiday sales numbers since its coffee machines hit shelves, Keurig will bring back refillable K-Cups. So far, the Keurig 2.0 machines haven't taken off like the company thought they would, partially because new brewers don't allow users to add their own beans with a so-called My K-Cup filter. The machine -- capable of brewing more than one cup at a time -- also costs $200 while other Keurig options have price tags around $100. In an attempt to revive interest, a version of the My K-Cup for the pricier new brewers is in the works. CEO Brian Kelley said on an investor call this week that Keurig "underestimated the passion" customers had for the DIY option. What about the unpopular DRM requirement that nixed some third-party pre-filled pods? It's staying. The company wants to convert all unlicensed cup to official products, adding to the 500 varieties of coffee, tea and hot chocolate from 70 brands.
It didn't take long for a company to crack Keurig's K-Cup lockdown
When Keuring Green Mountain announced that it would cut out third-party pods for the next-generation of its popular single-serve machines, other coffee outfits were up in arms. One particular company, TreeHouse Foods, claimed that it would take a short time for the code to be cracked (and filed a lawsuit, too). Well, Mother Parker's Tea & Coffee has done just that with its RealCup capsules. The company's coffee and tea pods will work inside the recently released Keurig 2.0 brewers capable of brewing both single cups and carafe-sized batches. Keurig has licensing deals in place with big name coffee outfits like Starbucks, Peet's, Caribou, Krispy Kreme, Twinings of London and others, but it's the other not so well-known suppliers and the private label clientele that are set to suffer under the exclusivity. [Photo credit: m01229/Flickr]
Keurig's coffee copy protection should take just months to crack
Much like printer makers barring cheap ink, Keurig is using elaborate methods to block third-party coffee pods; its upcoming Keurig 2.0 machine will have cameras that read tags and limit you to official brews. Think of it as K-cup copy protection. Unfortunately for the company, those added measures may be for naught. TreeHouse Foods, which sued Keurig for allegedly abusing a monopoly with its 2.0 system, now estimates that it should take just a "matter of months" to replicate the K-cup technology. The discovery should keep TreeHouse selling unofficial pods that cost significantly less than Keurig's, and it could also thwart similar protection schemes in other companies' coffee makers.
