Rant #1,523: Soda Pop

I see where Keurig, the company best known for making single-serve coffee makers popular, is now trying to do the same thing in other avenues, most recently with soda.

They already have developed, with Campbell's, pods for soup, the directions of which sound so confusing that I have to wonder why anybody would bother doing it--how can you beat a can of soup for ease of use to one made on a coffee machine?

Now, to move to the next step, we have something called "Kold."

They, in association with Green Mountain Coffee and Coca-Cola, have developed a soda maker, much like its coffee maker, which allows you to slip in a pod and make your own single serve soda in seconds.

The unit costs $300, the pods about $1 each, and this thing will be marketed for the holiday rush.

Let me preface this by saying that I love soda, I really do.

With all the health warnings and such, I still drink soda, and I drink it because I like it.

It gives me nothing but taste, sugar, and probably a bit of caffeine, but for someone who drinks no coffee or tea, it is my favorite refreshment.

And by the way, I am a huge milk drinker and I also have my share of water, too.

I can live without soda, as I proved a few years ago after my gall bladder surgery.

I did not drink soda for more than four years because it was too bubbly for my system back then.

But since going back to it a few years ago, I have suffered no ill effects from it.

But now, back to Keurig ...

Like with their coffee maker, they are trying to convince the public that they need such a thing, but also like the coffee maker, people really don't need this new device.

Like the coffee maker, you are going to pay more for your refreshment if you use this thing.

Even with the coffee, if you work it out by pound of coffee, you are paying a lot more for coffee by using their machine and pods, and this will even be more so if you make your soda this way.

At more than $1 a serving, you would be better off getting a can of ready-made Coke than one from a machine.

The company claims that people will buy this because it frees up the clutter that occurs when people buy pre-made soda, both in the refrigerator and in the pantry where these bottles and cans are often stored.

This is a load of fizz. Soda bottles and cans do take up space, but who hoards soda? I certainly don't.

And at $300 for the machine, who is going to buy this thing?

There are other soda makers on the market which allow you to pick and choose the flavor of your soda, and how much flavor you want in your drink.

With this device, these are simply pods, like the coffee pods, so you really can't pick and choose anything, at least not right now.

Quite honestly, as a soda drinker that these machines will certainly be directed to, this is, to me, the most useless new kitchen appliance of the year.

And talk about clutter? Where do you put this in your kitchen ... right next to your Keurig coffee maker?

No, I will continue to buy my soda in bottles and cans, and take my chances with those.

Making an individual soda for myself or others simply is not a draw for me, as all you need is one turn or click, and you have what you want with the standard packaging.

Like I said, this is all a lot of fizz to me.