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The Keurig of cocktails is expanding sales to California
What if whipping up a Moscow Mule or an Old Fashioned was as easy as popping a coffee pod into a Keurig machine? Cocktail bartenders and other libations experts would likely turn up their nose at such an idea. Still, Keurig Dr. Pepper and Anheuser-Busch have seen enough success with sales of their Drinkworks Home Bar in Florida and Missouri to begin expanding. Beginning on September 30th, the automated cocktail machine will be available in California.
LG's SnowWhite is like a Keurig for ice cream
SXSW 2019 isn't just about films, politicians, designers and social media founders. There are also gadgets here to check out. Enter LG's SnowWhite, a concept machine designed to let you easily make ice cream at home. The SnowWhite is basically like a Keurig, featuring a pod-based system that allows you to choose the base and flavor for a variety of frozen desserts. That means it isn't just limited to ice cream: You might also be able to make gelato, granita, sorbet, yogurt and more. I say "might" because LG is adamant that the SnowWhite is only a prototype right now -- this is more about showing off what the company thinks it can create for your home. That said, LG did just introduce its automated HomeBrew machine at CES 2019, so the SnowWhite could eventually become a reality. If it does, LG says you'll be able to make ice cream, gelato or any of the other desserts listed above in two to five minutes. In addition to that, the system can clean itself and may offer both a touchscreen and physical dial for controlling its settings. Unfortunately, the SnowWhite at SXSW wasn't a working model, which is disappointing because it would've been great to have a scoop in this Texas heat. But, considering the popularity of Keurigs, the SnowWhite isn't a bad idea. Now I just hope LG adds some sort of smartphone integration in the future, because that would make my life even easier. I could just pull out my phone, use an app to tell the SnowWhite what to make me and in a few minutes, boom, I'd have ice cream waiting for me in the kitchen. Ultra lazy status achieved.
Drinkworks Home Bar is a literal Keurig for cocktails
I have seen countless companies claim to deliver the Keurig of (fill in the blank). The "Keurig of cocktails" market in particular is crowded with wannabes that don't seem to be gaining much traction -- Barsy, Bartesian, Somabar, Bibo... am I missing any? But now there is a company building a literal Keurig for cocktails. Drinkworks is a joint venture between the single-serving coffee pod giant and Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), and it's building a familiar-looking machine that mixes up cocktails using disposable pods. If anyone can build the Keurig of anything, well, it's got to be Keurig itself, right? The insanely deep pockets of AB InBev certainly don't hurt either.
Keurig and Anheuser-Busch work on an in-home beer maker
Just because Keurig didn't succeed with its Kold soda machine doesn't mean it's giving up on the prospect of making cold beverages at home. It's partnering with Anheuser-Busch InBev on developing an "in-home alcohol drink system" -- in other words, a Keurig for booze. It'll build on the technological foundations of the Kold, and the plan is to eventually cover many types of drinks. Beer is the obvious fit given AB InBev's roots, but the companies would like to offer "spirits, cocktails and mixers," among other options.
The Pax Era aims to be the Keurig of vaporizers
Out of all the ways to ingest THC, oil concentrates are far and away the messiest, stickiest and most irritating method. Unlike shatter, crumble or even wax, all of which maintain their shape and texture to some degree, oils have a knack for getting everywhere. It's especially tricky when you're trying to dribble minuscule amounts of oil into teensy Smurf-size cartridges used by mixed-media vapes (I'm looking at you, DaVinci Ascent). The new Era pen vape from Pax, however, solves that issue by taking a page out of the Keurig playbook and operating on a pod-based system.
SodaStream will replace some obsolete Keurig Kolds for free
Now that your Keurig Kold machine is suddenly obsolete, SodaStream is stepping up to replace that fizzy, carbonated hole in your life. The company is offering a free Fountain Jet sparkling water maker -- either out of the goodness of their hearts or because they've got a bunch of old stock to unload -- to anyone affected by the tragic and sudden closure of Keurig's pod-based soda efforts.
Keurig pulls the plug on its pod-based soda maker
Keurig may have locked up the rights to let you make your own Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Snapple and more, but it wasn't enough to get the company's Kold machine into homes. Keurig Green Mountain announced today that the counter-top device was being discontinued after being on sale for less than a year. What's more, current customers can ask for a refund of the purchase price. For those willing to ride it out, the single-serving Kold pods are now available at a discount.
ICYMI: Self-building bot, fresh tortillas from pods and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-484230{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-484230, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-484230{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-484230").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: MIT's Tangible Media Lab built a shifting interface that can be used to test basic physics and even help seismologists understand the ripple fallout from an earthquake. A Kickstarter device for a tortilla-maker costing $240 irritated us enough to call on the latest environment chart made by a climate scientist. And German researchers built a robot that can build itself and our robot eek factor continues to grow. A drone performed a neat liquid trick over on YouTube and has us excited for the delivery UAVs to come! As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
The Keurig Kold: You could just buy a mini-fridge instead
As I took Keurig's Kold machine out of its box, the first thought that ran through my head was, "Man, Alton Brown would hate this." You see, the Good Eats and Cutthroat Kitchen host has a vendetta against single-use kitchen gadgets: that is, products designed to do one thing and one thing alone. And it's usually a purpose that could easily be replicated by another doodad already living in your kitchen. In the case of the Kold, a device that dispenses single servings of cold drinks at the touch of a button, that doodad would be your fridge.
Keurig goes beyond beverages to make you a cup of soup
We all know what happens when you try to make ramen in the coffee pot (hint: it breaks everything) but making soup in a Keurig is now possible. Thanks to a partnership with Campbell's, the popular coffee-machine company has developed "Fresh-Brewed Soup" kits, which can be made in any Keurig Hot brewer that accepts K-Cup pods.
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.
Daily Roundup: Inventor of the PC, Left Shark impostors and more!
Dr. Mark Dean helped design the first PC during his career at IBM and shares his thoughts on the future of the desktop computer. Meanwhile, Katy Perry's lawyers go after Left Shark impostors and students in Singapore make a 3D-printed solar powered car. Get all of today's top stories in the Daily Roundup.
Surprise! People don't like Keurig's DRM-protected coffeemakers
Keurig's coffee machines have done great business for its owner Green Mountain Coffee. Making coffee in combination with pretty expensive capsules has made a lot of money for the company, but its latest 2.0 machines have left (excuse me) a bitter taste in the mouths of customers, as Keurig has seen, missing sales and earnings targets in its latest financial report. It cited poor machine sales during the typically lucrative holiday season -- the first quarter that the new Keurigs went on sale. The main issue with the new machines, which can now make coffee both by the cup and in larger quantities, is the DRM-style lockdown on the pods it takes. The popularity of the Keurig machines led to no shortage of cheaper third-party pods, but in an effort to reclaim the lucrative cash cow that was its own coffee pods, the company's second-generation machines packed cameras that detected special ink found only on official Keurig pods. Every other kind of pod simply didn't work.
Freedom Clip rids you of Keurig's coffee pod tyranny
Keurig's K-Cup 2.0 DRM protection didn't keep rogue pods out of its coffee machines for long, and another company created an add-on to bypass the system. The Rogers Family Company, a purveyor of some of those unapproved coffee products, made the appropriately-named Freedom Clip: a small insert that'll allow you to use those "non-approved" coffee and tea servings. Keurig's newer machines recognize special ink on the tops of its officially licensed pods, and those lacking the identifier won't work. The clip tricks machines into thinking the security measure is present, and the folks at Rogers are giving it away for free. Of course, it's probably hoping you'll nab a box of pods as a display of gratitude.
Keurig's soda machine will let you make Dr. Pepper drinks
Keurig just got a big edge over SodaStream in the make-it-yourself beverage wars. The normally coffee-focused company has reached an exclusive deal that will let you make some of the Dr. Pepper Snapple group's drinks in its upcoming Keurig Cold machine, which arrives this fall. There's no mention of the exact brands, but it wouldn't be surprising if you get pod-based versions of big names besides Dr. Pepper or Snapple, like Canada Dry and Crush. Between this and a pact last year with Coca-Cola, about the only recognizable soft drinks you won't make with Keurig's machine are from Pepsi, which has been testing versions of its beverages with SodaStream. It's too soon to know if these on-demand versions of major drinks will taste like the real thing, but you at least won't have to settle for generic recipes when making fizzy liquids at home. [Image credit: Frankieleon, 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.
