Driving Me Batty: Why isn’t anybody re-inventing the coffee maker?

I was out shopping for a decent coffee maker a couple days ago and realized – they’re all the same crappy design that’s been around for 40 years! I’m not looking for an espresso-type which uses steam. I already have a french press – that works fine for 2 cups. A simple auto 12-cup is all I seek. The only “innovation” the automatic coffee maker sees is add-ons – timers, USB connectors, chrome (not the browser!) There’s probably one with an iPod connector! Despite the gadgets, little has changed with how the coffee is brewed – heat some water through a tube and gravity takes care of the rest. Lately, searching the US Patent Office – most patents for coffee makers are mere design registrations (how it looks, not how it works.)

I’m not the only person looking for a new coffee maker. Story goes… an Iowa woman had her morning coffee a few days ago. She had programmed it the night before. Later that day, while cleaning it, she found a dead bat in the filter. Yep – she drank bat brew for breakfast… then rabies shots for dinner!

I think the VCs have a golden opportunity here – fund some smart university students to invent some kind of “steam-drip-pressure-infused” automatic coffee making process. Make sure they make it bat-proof!

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