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DRM in your coffee maker, to stop you from brewing unlicensed coffees
app103:
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Because the whole point of the Keurig was to not waste money making a whole pot when you only wanted one cup.
-Stoic Joker (October 12, 2014, 01:38 PM)
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You see, what we have here is a failure to drink enough coffee...
-Edvard (October 13, 2014, 08:36 PM)
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There is no failure to drink enough regular coffee in my home. When a full pot is made by me, the full pot is consumed by me.
Where this becomes an issue is with flavored coffees. I don't really like to drink more than a cup of it at a time and usually only brew it when I have someone else willing to drink the rest of the pot.
I had recently considered buying one of these coffee makers for the purpose of brewing single cups of flavored coffees, using one of those refillable cups...and for my hubby to brew an occasional cup of decaf for himself.
But now? Forget it! I'll just have to use one of these.
Vurbal:
While Gillette's innovation really did some good (compared to straight razors -- and I still want a razor sharpener if I can find one...), I can't see any value at all in this. Sounds like a 'bait & switch'. -Renegade (October 12, 2014, 09:16 AM)
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The Gillette comparison seems apropos, and for the same reason the bait and switch suggestion seems unlikely. Like Gillette, Keurig most likely just failed to plan for (or at least to successfully execute) a follow up to keep bringing in profits on the scale to which they had become accustomed.
In Gillette's case, it was purely a matter of the original safety razor patent expiring. For Keurig it was probably a question of market saturation. Considering the pricetag, I'd be willing to bet the profit margin on their coffee makers is insanely high. It isn't even a particularly bad price, at least so long as the quality is high enough for them to last a long time. In my experience, that seems to be the case.
Unfortunately, that quality has likely become part of the problem. Most people aren't going to consider buying a product that expensive (relative to the norm for the category) and then replace it a year or 2 later. While there are probably still a lot of people who would like one, I'm betting they're mostly folks who either can't or won't buy until the price drops substantially.
As is typically true of people who see sudden success, the executives at Keurig almost certainly believe their good fortune is purely (or at least mostly) because of their personal genius, which must surely be unique in the history of man. Yes, that's an exaggeration, but not by much. If, in fact, they are such special little snowflakes, it makes no sense to take the obvious step and simply lower hardware prices, and therefore profit margins. Instead, they've chosen to find some other scheme to replace that profit by artificially inflating the price of consumables.
On a side note, while it's not an achievement on the level of the safety razor, which remains the last significant advancement in razor technology IMNSHO, I find Keurig's coffee makers much more impressive in reality than they seemed in theory. I still wouldn't buy one, but for a lot of people they make perfect sense. And, as I already mentioned, I've found the quality to be top notch.
If I weren't such a coffee snob, I'd at least covet one, although I don't think I could justify the price. So long as the technology to retain the flavor of freshly ground beans for months, or at least weeks, isn't available, I won't even be tempted. I guess you could say I was raised a coffee snob, even before I started drinking coffee.
Back in the 70s, when finding whole beans in a regular store was unheard of (around here at least), my parents used to get beans from a local restaurant. We even had an ancient food service (Hobart) grinder which ended up lasting about 30 years or so. The only thing I've ever added to my coffee is cream. I don't mean creamer or half and half. I mean heavy cream. Otherwise I only drink it black.
Edvard:
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But now? Forget it! I'll just have to use one of these.
-app103 (October 13, 2014, 10:21 PM)
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Yes!
The Melittas are very cool. The only annoying thing is having to buy the special filters, but you can origami a regular filter and it works just fine.
MilesAhead:
But now? Forget it! I'll just have to use one of these.
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Hmm, I wonder if there's such a thing as a consumer model cafe con leche machine? That's the only coffee I like to drink now. The machines the restaurants use have an espresso coffee maker with a siphon that heats the milk. They make each cup individually.
You could just use a flavored bean. But I guess for home use you just make an espresso then heat milk in the microwave or on the stove and add it to taste. Many Spanish people like it very sweet. So if you try it make sure to tell the person making it "no sugar" or they're likely to dump a heaping teaspoon into the little metal carafe that catches the coffee. Then add your own sugar to taste. I find it great with no sugar at all. The only factor being the proportion of milk and coffee. There's no need to use cream since using a lot of milk doesn't chill the coffee. Buy good beans instead of cream. :)
tomos:
I wonder if there's such a thing as a consumer model cafe con leche machine? That's the only coffee I like to drink now. The machines the restaurants use have an espresso coffee maker with a siphon that heats the milk. They make each cup individually.
-MilesAhead (October 14, 2014, 05:39 AM)
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* is that steamed milk then?
* what, roughly, are the proportions milk to coffee?(trying to figure the difference from a cappuccino)
There are consumer versions of those machines (most are expensive, some *very*); I make something like that at home with a traditional espresso pot and heat/whisk the milk (not too hot though, or you get that boiled milk flavour) - does take a bit of work...
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