The Keurig is a simple idea – what if it was really easy to make pretty good coffee, one cup at a time? — with a wildly complicated history. David Pierce is joined by Eater editor Melissa McCart and champion barista and author Morgan Eckroth to discuss the whole history of Keurig, from its creation in a Boston apartment to its invasion of seemingly every house, doctor’s office and conference room in the US. Keurig was certainly a success, but was it a good thing? For coffee, for the world? That’s more complicated.
0:00 – Intro
0:41 – Guests intro
2:53 – Keurig’s origin story
4:25 – John’s epiphany, starts experimenting
7:46 – Jell-O shot containers become makeshift K-Cups
12:18 – Boston Globe story: leaking prototypes, exploding luggage
15:40 – 1997: founders leave Keurig
17:28 – First machine, the B2000
21:27 – Back, taste-testing with the K-Mini Go
24:41 – The B100: first in-home Keurig
27:36 – Green Mountain acquires Keurig ($160M)
29:57 – DRM and the K-Cup wars
32:15 – 2012 patent expires, competitors flood in
32:40 – Environmental costs come under scrutiny
34:45 – “Kill the K-Cup” viral video
36:27 – John Sylvan’s apparent YouTube comment
37:52 – John Sylvan’s Atlantic interview
39:50 – Cometeer and alternatives
46:15 – Corporate mergers
47:50 – K-Rounds unveiled
51:04 – The new Alta system
56:24 – Version History Questions
1:13:23 – Final verdict
1:14:09 – Outro
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