A Great Alternative To A Coffee Maker In Your Kitchen
Usually this space is often reserved for sleek-looking metal products that plug in, are battery-powered, or have function-related buttons to push. This is a tech-related column, after all. But here's a product I'm super impressed by – not because of the technology it provides you (there is none) but rather because of the technology behind the scenes that makes it so clever.
coffee pods resemble Keurig's K cups when they arrive at your doorstep. Yep, you have to order them online. But they come packed in dry ice – frozen to -321 degrees Fahrenheit, so that the coffee tastes fresh-brewed for months without the use of any preservatives. The ingredients are simply coffee and water. Officials claim that the proprietary process of flash freezing the coffee immediately after extraction locks in exceptional freshness and flavor.
I know what you're thinking (because I originally was wondering, too): Isn't this just overpriced instant coffee? No. While instant coffee is regular coffee that's been dehydrated, removing most of the flavor and aroma compounds that make coffee taste so delicious and complex, this is coffee in its purest form from some of the top-rated coffee companies around the country. And it's precisely brewed at 10 times the regular strength before being frozen at the peak of flavor.
So when you're ready to drink it – you can make it hot or cold – you just run warm water over the frozen capsule for about 30 seconds. Shake it to see if you can hear it jiggling around inside. If it is, open the capsule, drop the frozen coffee in a cup, and pour 6 to 8 ounces of hot water over it and stir for about 10 seconds. The coffee melts in front of your eyes and is ready to drink immediately. My wife and I have been trying it daily for a couple of weeks now and the coffee truly tastes freshly brewed. There's no chemical aftertaste, flatness or anything bitter. Wondering how you can make it with cold water? You just put the pod in the fridge overnight, and then make it in the morning after it's mostly thawed and liquified. Capsules can be refrozen if not used immediately. The company says that liquid capsules maintain peak flavor for up to 24 hours at room temperature or three days in the refrigerator.
And don't feel guilty about using the pods: These are fully curbside-recyclable aluminum capsules. Likewise, all of Cometeer's packaging and shipping materials are 100 percent recyclable.
Interestingly, the tech for flash freezing the coffee initially started when founder and Boston native Matt Roberts used to freeze coffee in ice cube trays – and then melt them when he wanted to drink them. "I was studying abroad in Spain and couldn't get an iced coffee over there," he recalls. "So I brewed it at my apartment. It was a pain to brew it well and chill it down so it still had the flavor. Or I wouldn't brew it bold enough, pour it over ice, and it would dilute. So I came up with this idea to add water to iced coffee out of the freezer. I brewed it super bold, froze the pot of coffee into little ice chips, and then brewed a batch of coffee that was of a solid drinking consistency, that was less potent, and I would freeze that into larger ice cubes, and I'd package the ice cubes together. When I'd add water to the mixture, the small ones would melt and bring the drink up to a great consistency, and the large ones would keep the beverage cold without diluting it. And this was before everyone had their ready-to-drink cold brew can on the market. And I thought this is such an easy, convenient way to make iced coffee." Once he moved back to America, he took his concept to a scientist who together with Roberts figured out a much better way to brew better and freeze faster — thus preserving the taste. Mission accomplished.
As a tech writer, it's ironic that I would recommend something that eliminates the need of using a machine. But in this case, I think it's better for the environment. And it saves you on the electric bill. Honestly, if I was about to lay out several hundred dollars for a new coffee maker, I'd probably opt instead to just put that money towards a huge batch of Cometeer pods – or one of the company's memberships that delivers coffee at a discount every six weeks. It's all about having fresh-tasting coffee every morning. And I love this approach.
