http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2006/09/the-pod-blues/ Rants and Raves on Espresso Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:59:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2006/09/the-pod-blues/#comment-1359 Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Upscale Coffee Makers Drive Segment But Overall It’s Flat Mon, 19 Mar 2007 18:37:17 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=268#comment-1359 [...] But the U.S. isn’t Portugal. According to a recent NPD report, the machines are primarily gift purchases — which should be a warning alarm for the technology right there (remind anyone of Krups circa 1990?). Given that these single serving coffee pod machines use stale, pre-ground beans, these days the home espresso drinker generally has increasingly better quality options among nearby cafés and coffeehouses. Which is why I generally believe the survival of the coffee pod format depends more on the bargain end of the coffee consumer market: it can’t sustain itself in a high-end market, because the quality will always be inferior despite the machine conveniences. [...] [...] But the U.S. isn’t Portugal. According to a recent NPD report, the machines are primarily gift purchases — which should be a warning alarm for the technology right there (remind anyone of Krups circa 1990?). Given that these single serving coffee pod machines use stale, pre-ground beans, these days the home espresso drinker generally has increasingly better quality options among nearby cafés and coffeehouses. Which is why I generally believe the survival of the coffee pod format depends more on the bargain end of the coffee consumer market: it can’t sustain itself in a high-end market, because the quality will always be inferior despite the machine conveniences. [...]

]]> http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2006/09/the-pod-blues/#comment-376 TheShot.coffeeratings.com » What is your coffee lifestyle? Thu, 07 Dec 2006 08:12:32 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=268#comment-376 [...] Now I can actually understand those countless coffee products out there with the Lexus brand image and the Chevy Impala taste. Afterall, we’ve long had that analog in the wine world — for example, when Orson Welles told us Paul Masson sells no wine before its time, even if the stuff took only four months to make (“Thursday was a most excellent vintage …”). Stale, pre-ground coffee in a sealed capsule — coffee’s answer to instant Tang — is one thing. Marketing to your personal coffee lifestyle is quite another. [...] [...] Now I can actually understand those countless coffee products out there with the Lexus brand image and the Chevy Impala taste. Afterall, we’ve long had that analog in the wine world — for example, when Orson Welles told us Paul Masson sells no wine before its time, even if the stuff took only four months to make (“Thursday was a most excellent vintage …”). Stale, pre-ground coffee in a sealed capsule — coffee’s answer to instant Tang — is one thing. Marketing to your personal coffee lifestyle is quite another. [...]

]]> http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/2006/09/the-pod-blues/#comment-340 TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Nespresso coffee shops around the world: Why? Tue, 07 Nov 2006 05:32:54 +0000 http://theshot.coffeeratings.com/?p=268#comment-340 [...] This posed a great mystery to me. How could a culture so dependent on good espresso seem so smitten, at least from what I could tell, with the mediocre quality of an at-home pod machine and it’s pre-ground, pre-packaged coffee? Personally, I would buy a simple Bialetti long before I’d buy one of these systems. [...] [...] This posed a great mystery to me. How could a culture so dependent on good espresso seem so smitten, at least from what I could tell, with the mediocre quality of an at-home pod machine and it’s pre-ground, pre-packaged coffee? Personally, I would buy a simple Bialetti long before I’d buy one of these systems. [...]

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