Keller @ Large: Inhale Your Coffee? I Don't Think So
BOSTON (CBS) - I'm all for innovation in the marketplace, and always like to see local companies do well, two reasons why I'm rooting for big success for Breathable Foods, a Cambridge company that the Globe reports is gearing up to offer its first new product next year – inhalable coffee.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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I know what you're thinking, you already inhale your morning coffee, so what's the big deal?
But no, we're talking about AeroShot Pure Energy, little caffeine particles that are mixed with Vitamin B, sweeteners, and, for some reason, lime flavoring and packaged in a Chapstick-size inhaler that you put in your mouth.
Each inhaler carries up to six shots of the stuff, the equivalent of a typical cup of coffee.
I don't doubt there will be a market for this product.
It's competitively priced at $2.99, cheaper than a cup of Starbucks, and it's certainly convenient.
As the current TV ad for another caffeine substitute says, no more waiting for the pot to brew or waiting in line at the local coffee joint.
But I'm just not sure the AeroShot is for me.
I like the anticipation of my first cup of the day, and like to sip it slowly as I read the morning papers, which I guess is yet another outdated habit.
I like interacting with the folks at Dunkin' Donuts where I get my second cup, iced coffee light with skim and sweetener, year round.
I like nursing that iced coffee for hours, seeing how long I can make it last, and I'm sorry, Mr. Dentist, I like eating the ice when the coffee is gone.
The empty cup often serves as a water cup for the rest of the afternoon, and later, on the drive home, as a receptacle for all my car trash.
So for me at least, coffee is more than just a stimulant, to be huffed, snorted, or rubbed on my forehead like suntan lotion.
It's the key to a set of social interactions, rituals, and other admittedly odd New Englander behaviors.
By the way, was that a redundancy?
So, good luck, Breathable Foods, I wish you all the best.
Maybe one day, I'll be a coffee huffer too.
But for now, I'm stuck in the dark ages.
Actually, make those the light ages, with skim and Sweet 'n' Low.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
