Thursday, December 15, 2011

A good idea but horrible execution.

How many times have you watched a cooking show or reality show and heard someone say that "it was a really good idea but the execution just wasn't there"?  There are bunches and bunches of new ideas and concepts in the food industry and while I think that they slowly become more and more hi-tech and futuristic and I applaud them, for their concepts, the real product doesn't make it too well.
I know, the picture is blurry, but that is because while this idea was solid, the execution was out of focus.

The idea was a can of coffee in which has its own self-heating element.  The can, has a thick foam around it, like those old beer can coolers which were just foam cups that the can goes in.  At the base of the can, under it, is what is best described as one of those portable hand warmers.  It has a button, that must be pressed and when it does, like the warming bags, probably has a metal disc inside that starts a chemical reaction which then heats the metal can and heats the coffee.  There were instructions that also suggested that after you pressed the button, to then shake the can, lightly for about 3 minutes or so, so that it could heat the contents.

There was a small problem: the can never became warm.  The can which was about $3-$5, was a great idea but when the can never heated, I had no idea how much longer it had to be shaken.  The instructions stated that you had to shake it until it started to steam.  Well, I shook it for a few minutes, my wife shook it for a few minutes and it never steamed.  It never got warm enough to steam.  When we finally opened it up, my wife took the first swig and was revolted by the taste of bad, luke warm coffee.  I hate coffee and even gave it a try as it tasted awful to me as well.

Now, could we have had the one bad can?  Sure.  But, if the coffee tasted that bad inside, that wouldn't have been just us, but everyone else who purchased this can.  Bottom line: don't buy it.  I think my wife and I agreed on a poor 1 out of 5 stars for me.  We ended up pouring the contents out as it was completely distasteful.  I know that the concept alone is brilliant and could be applied to cold drinks as well, so you could buy a soda and press the button on the bottom which instantly cools the can and thus cools the drink and you cannot go wrong there, even if it doesn't work and you are left with room temperature soda pop.  But having an item that is supposed to be hot and having it room temperature is a failure.

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