Posted by TheShot on 29 May 2007 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends
In case liquid coffee extracts didn’t whet your coffee appetite, maybe instant self-heating coffee in a can will: Self-heating coffee launched in Australia > FOODweek Online > Main Features Page.
Per the product description:
To heat the coffee, the canister is tipped upside down and the tamper-proof seal is removed. An activation button is found underneath the [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 04 May 2007 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends, Machine
Not all public relations professionals are brain-dead. Really. Unfortunately, there are armies of brain-dead PR zombies that routinely clog the media firehose with inane chatter.
One of their favorite zombie techniques? Take a rather inane topic that seems trendy in the media — say, oh, blogging. Then take whatever tired idea you have in front of [...]
Posted by TheShot on 02 May 2007 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends, Home Brew
Last week, JL Hufford Coffee and Tea of Indiana announced a patent for a super-automated home espresso machine that would use artificial intelligence (i.e., pattern-learning technology) to anticipate the espresso beverage needs of its owner: Presenting the Coffee Machine That Reads Minds. Artificial intelligence technologies have long suffered a reputation for being “a solution in [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 25 Apr 2007 | Tagged as: Consumer Trends
In today’s news, Australian inventors secured an international licensing agreement that stands to revolutionize one of my least favorite subjects: to-go coffee (Aussie Invention Ready to ‘Wow’ U.S. Coffee Drinkers - QSR Magazine). With the introduction of new, temperature-sensitive coffee lids, apparently McDonald’s customers can now be entertained by a show of colors before they [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 26 Mar 2007 | Tagged as: Machine, Quality Issues, Roasting
It’s no secret that I generally disdain superautomated espresso machines (myself and Howard Schultz apparently included) and the convenience-step-forward/quality-step-backwards home pod machines. So you may get the (false) impression that, when it comes to coffee, I am an anti-technology Luddite. While I have never placed PID temperature controllers on the group of my home machine [...]
[view full post]Posted by TheShot on 01 Jan 2006 | Tagged as: Beans, Quality Issues, Robusta
You have likely heard about genetically modified foods, such as the (now non-existent) FlavrSavr tomato. You’ve probably also heard of the Human Genome Project, which mapped out the human genetic blueprint for disease research and a variety of other scientific purposes. Regardless of where you stand, both have raised ethical questions and opposition.
What you may [...]