The WSJ reports on the growth of single-serve coffee “pods” and brewing machines. “The cartridge machines serve one cup of coffee each time from prepackaged pods,” Carolyn Cui writes. “In recent years they have grown in popularity at home and offices, due to the combination of the quality of the coffee and the convenience of the pods.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124148278143685431.html#mod=testMod
Last year, “portioned coffee consumption soared about 20%, much faster than the overall coffee market,” the WSJ reports, citing Richard Girardot, chief executive of Nestle Nespresso SA. This is Nestle Group’s “portioned coffee unit” and Nestle’s fastest-growing brand, according to the WSJ.
My first reaction to this article was amazement that people would bother to buy special machines to dispense special pods of coffee – instead of simply buying coffee in bulk and brewing up multiple cupts at a time. Then I remembered what we do at home in Singapore: We don’t have a special brewer. But we do buy single servings of what’s known as “three-in-one” coffee: these individually wrapped packets contain single portions of instant coffee, dried milk and sugar – all mixed together. Pour in hot water and, voila! Because it’s so hot here (Singapore’s on the equator), we add only a quarter cup of hot water, stir the concoction and add heaps of ice cubes, topping it all off with a glug of cold milk. The more I think about the single-serve coffee phenomenon, the more I’m wondering: Why on earth aren’t we spooning instant coffee into a mug, spooning in a teaspoon (or two) of sugar, and adding cold milk from the fridge? This would be more economical and better for the environment, especially since coffee jars and milk jugs can generally be recycled. Mea culpa.
