Self-Heating Coffee: Does it Work? - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Self-Heating Coffee: Does it Work?

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Self-Heating Coffee: Does it Work?
By: Lauren Keith

Deer hunters may know Rocky Francis of Cape Girardeau.  The avid hunter hosts his own show on Direct TV, channel 611.

"I hunt year-round for about everything from white tails to elephants," he says.

But Rocky admits when the alarm goes off in the wee hours before his early morning hunts, even he yearns for a few more minutes of sleep.  That's where this week's test and possible time-saver comes in.  Hillside Beverages promises its self-heating coffee drinks warm up on their own in five to eight minutes.  No need for a coffeemaker, water, filters--you name it!

"Most hunters around here, if that's one less thing you have to do on the morning of your hunt and you make less noise, can spend more time in bed, then that is definitely a plus on that side," says Rocky.

So, let's get to it.  Rocky presses on the special button which releases the green water into the outer cup.  I'm assuming that's the heating element.  Next, a gentle shake and we wait.  Hillside Beverages says it should take five to eight minutes for this pink circle to turn white, signalling our drink is hot and ready.  Meantime, Rocky says he normally drinks regular coffee. He's a little unsure about this "fru-fru" drink.

"I can do a cappucinio, but not usually a latte. We'll see," he says.

Five or so minutes later, the pink color is fading.

"It's starting to warm up," says Rocky.

Now it's time to pop the top.  Rocky tastes and....

"It's nice and warm, but not overly warm. When it's 30 degrees any warmth is good.  So it's a hit there.  I know I'm not much of a latte drinker, but the latte is ok," he says.

Rocky agrees this would be nice to keep in his truck, but he's not too pleased with the weight of the drink, especially if you have a long hike to your deer stand.

"Given the weight, the heat time of 5-8 minutes, I'd grade this product somewhere in the B-range," he says.

I agree---I also think this would be great to have on hand during a power outage or ice storm.

The $2 Hillside Beverage truly does self-heat and tempts our taste buds with a B plus on this Does it Work test.