Would A Frozen Coffee Puck Make Your Morning Any Easier?
Yet another beverage startup is launching a new coffee product, but this one starts in your freezer.
New coffee products come out all the time, each seemingly with its own twist on the caffeinated roasted bean water so many of us rely upon in the morning. Some of the new stuff is designed for sustainability, but just as much of it is based off of convenience. One startup called Cometeer has recently raised $35 million to launch its particular spin on coffee products, and it's a little different than most I've seen on the market.
Why? It's frozen. Cometeer, located in Gloucester, Massachusetts, is based out of a former frozen seafood facility, and it uses its proprietary technology to create flash-frozen, ready-to-use pucks of coffee. TechCrunch reports on yet another way to prepare your morning brew.
The concentrated coffee discs are 10 times the strength of coffee, and you simply prepare it by putting one in a cup of hot or cold water. Done. Is that hugely novel? I'm a little skeptical of it myself, because I don't often find myself reaching into the freezer for a hot drink, plus, I keep a stash of instant coffee on hand anyway, which is about as convenient.
Still, I'm going to hazard a guess that Cometeer's frozen product tastes a little bolder than the freeze-dried granules I love (I like Waka Coffee and a Korean brand called Maxim, not that you were wondering). I'm also eagerly awaiting a sample from a coffee concentrate company called Jot, which makes its brew into a concentrate that you just stir into water.
The thing is, investors are really interested in Cometeer. Its previous round of investment was a whopping $50 million. Maybe there's something they know that I don't. They're committed to fair business practices as well. Co-founder and CEO Matt Roberts says:
Our roasting partners are the backbone of Cometeer. Equally as important as superior tasting roasts, considerations amongst our roasters is their support of coffee farmers, and commitment to direct trade purchasing at equitable prices multiple times the fair trade minimum. We are focused on building out a diverse group of roasting partners with unique backgrounds, sourcing techniques and roasting styles. Alongside these partners, we look to support the de-commoditization of the coffee industry.
If you want to try it yourself, Cometeer has taken the training wheels off and is now selling a 32-pack for $64. That's $2 per cup, so if it's any good, maybe you can wean yourself off your daily Starbucks habit and trade it in for a little coffee puck.