Self-Heating Coffee Cans

[Jason Perlow]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/f...at_x.htm?csp=15

Beginning Jan. 2, consumers can buy a 10-ounce container of Wolfgang Puck gourmet latte at the store and heat it by pressing a button. No electricity. No batteries. No appliances.

"It will expand the way people drink coffee," says Puck, the celebrity chef with a growing empire.

How does the can do it? A single step mixes calcium oxide (quicklime) and water. It heats the coffee to 145 degrees in six minutes — and stays hot for 30 minutes.

[MarketStEl]

That's nice.

But how will the coffee taste?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Great "find", Jason! To learn just a bit more on how this works .. and a nice graphic as well ... check out :

this article ...

as for the taste?

Amazingly, Nestlé executives say that the canned coffee tastes better than most cups made at home. Why? Because it is prepared under controlled conditions rather than the more haphazard circumstances found in domestic kitchens. The worst thing you can do with coffee is prepare it with scalding water . . .

[jgm]

It's definitely something to try. If it's even drinkable, it beats the coffee at my father-in-law's house, hands down, not to mention what is to be found during the 8-hour trip to get there. This isn't something I anticipate drinking every day, but out here in the American Outback (Kansas) it could be a very good thing when navigating I-70 and there's not even a McDonald's in sight.

[hillbill]

That's nice.

But how will the coffee taste?

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Here's a hint, maybe.

"People won't believe that something from the grocery store will be in the same ballpark with Starbucks," says Steven Addis, a brand expert.

[elfin]

I would think that the coffee would be good for Puck to lend his name (?). I never thought that coffee in a can would be good but the stuff in Japan and the can Charbucks double shot are good in a pinch.

[cakewalk]

But 145 degrees? I mean, isn't that like, lukewarm coffee?

[Tess]

Puck already has some bottled latte-type drinks in the supermarkets. They come in several flavors and advertise themselves as being low carb, low fat and low calorie. I've had the "Rich Espresso Latte" flavor and it is a very sweet drink with weak coffee flavor. The Starbucks comparison is apt, although for a canned coffee drink I find Starbucks' Double Shot much tastier. The Puck drink is not offensive but I wouldn't be in a rush to buy that new product.

[phaelon56]

The worst thing you can do with coffee is prepare it with scalding water . . .

Precious few of the consumer auto drip coffee makers on the market actually brew coffee at a high enough (and therefore correct) brewing temp. It's true that coffee prepared with scalding water is a bad thing but the few peopel who have the possibility of doing that are typically using Mellita or Chemex manual drip systems and they know enough to wait until the water is off the boil.

But 145 degrees? I mean, isn't that like, lukewarm coffee? 

Coffee, yes, but we're talking latte here. In a properly run espresso bar the milk is typically frothed/steamed to about 145 - 155 degrees. Anything less is not warm enough and anything beyond 160 is likely to scald the milk.

I see the biggest problem as the stabilizers/preservatives they'll add to keep the milk from getting funky in the can and the inevitably flat and stale taste of the espresso (or more likely just extra strong concentrated coffee) that's used as the primary flavor component.

Then again... if it's as sweet as the bottled Starbucks Frappuccino drinks, it will serve simply as a delivery system for caffiene and sugar

On those occasional road trips to places where gas station coffee is the only option I'll probably resort to my old standby - either half hot chocolate and half coffee or 1/4 gas station "cappuccino" with 3/4 coffee.

[jsolomon]

But 145 degrees? I mean, isn't that like, lukewarm coffee? 

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Yes, but they use CaO and water... if my chemistry education serves me right, that's what welders used to use to produce acetylene. So, if you want the coffee just a tish warmer, light a cigarette and place it nearby

[WHT]

But 145 degrees? I mean, isn't that like, lukewarm coffee? 

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Most coffee makers feat the water to 185.

[WHT]

But 145 degrees? I mean, isn't that like, lukewarm coffee? 

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Yes, but they use CaO and water... if my chemistry education serves me right, that's what welders used to use to produce acetylene. So, if you want the coffee just a tish warmer, light a cigarette and place it nearby

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Nope, Calcium Carbide (CaC2) like what miners use in lamps.

[phifly04]

I can see a real market for this for say truckers,salesman,generally just people on the road . As long as the taste is decent and truth be told hell manys the morning when i,ve woke up with a hangover and would,nt mind having a can of this around,I can honestly say i think this will take -off,time will tell

Dave s

[jsolomon]

But 145 degrees? I mean, isn't that like, lukewarm coffee? 

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Yes, but they use CaO and water... if my chemistry education serves me right, that's what welders used to use to produce acetylene. So, if you want the coffee just a tish warmer, light a cigarette and place it nearby

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Nope, Calcium Carbide (CaC2) like what miners use in lamps.

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Yeah, I suppose we're not adjusting the nuclear structure of anything. D'oh. You should still be able to light the hydrogen evolved, though