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Tag: hot coffee

  • Coffeemakers: The Best Products For Under $100

    If you rely on coffee to transform you from a grouchy zombie into a functional human being, it’s safe to say that you’ll want to buy a coffeemaker that can get the job done.

    Is it possible to find a good coffeemaker for under $100?

    If these highly recommended products are any indication, the answer is a resounding yes.

    Check out these well reviewed coffeemakers and see which one fits your caffeine demands:

    The Cuisinart Brew Central DCC-1200 – This coffee machine is actually deemed to be the best standard coffee machine on the market by Consumer Research.

    It’s a programmable coffeemaker that can deliver small batches if needed. This is great if you happen to be in a hurry.

    At $79 the DCC-1200 is also a bargain. The only real con is that it’s a bit too tall to fit into certain cabinets.

    If functionality outweighs storage issues, perhaps the DCC-1200 is right for you after all.

    Mr. Coffee VBX23 – The VBX23 allows you to “pause” brewing and fix your cup of coffee right when you want it. Definitely much more convenient than having to wait for a coffeemaker to finish brewing. The VBX23 also keeps coffee warm for up to 2 hours before automatically shutting off.

    Not only does it come packed with cool features, it costs on average a mere $30! If there was ever an answer to the prayer of broke college students forced to stay up all night studying, it has to be the VBX23.

    Keurig K10 Mini Plus Brewing System – Sometimes you only have time for one perfectly brewed cup of coffee. By all accounts, the coffeemaker best equipped to deliver is the Keurig K10. In addition to coffee, this machine can give you tea, hot cocoa, or even an ice beverage in under two minutes!

    There are a variety of “K cups” one can choose from, which makes the flavor possibilities practically endless. All of this for $99.99? Sounds like a good deal to me.

    Have any other affordable coffeemakers to recommend? Comment below!

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Hot Coffee Once Again Lands McDonald’s in Hot Water

    Hot Coffee Once Again Lands McDonald’s in Hot Water

    Nearly 20 years after Stella Liebeck won compensatory and punitive damages from McDonald’s after spilling hot coffee in her lap and sustaining serious injury, another woman is suing the fast food giant over a similar injury.

    Los Angeles resident Paulette Carr has filed a suit against McDonald’s after she spilled hot coffee on herself at a drive-thru on January 12th, 2012. According to the LA Times, Carr claims that the lid was improperly affixed to the cup, and that’s what caused her to be injured by the spilled coffee.

    “The lid for the hot coffee was negligently, carelessly and improperly placed on the coffee cup…resulting in the lid coming off the top of the coffee at the window, causing the hot coffee to spill onto the plaintiff,” reads the lawsuit.

    As you probably know, there is precedent for winning damages for spilling hot coffee on yourself. In 1994, an Albuquerque, New Mexico woman named Stella Liebeck was awarded $160,000 in compensatory damages and $2.7 million in punitive damages (later reduced to $640,000) when she successfully sued McDonald’s for serving her super-heated coffee in 1992.

    The case, one of the most famous civil cases in recent history, sparked debates about tort reform and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. Many at the time held the case up as the epitome of the country’s “sue anyone for anything” culture – but as time passed and the full story came into focus people began to change their minds about Liebeck and the validity of her suit.

    Liebeck suffered third-degree burns on her inner thighs from the spill and was forced to spend 8 days in the hospital where she underwent skin grafts. Her rehabilitation lasted for years after that. Liebeck and her representation claimed that the coffee must have been super-heated to an unsafe temperature (likely 180+ degrees F) to cause such injuries.

    A 2011 HBO documentary on Liebeck’s case helped make believers out of a lot of skeptics:

    Obviously, the two cases share a similar thread but appear, at least on first glance, to accuse McDonald’s of a different style of negligence. While Liebeck argued that the coffee was simply too hot, Carr seems to suggest that the vessel wasn’t properly sealed – and that’s what resulted in her injuries.

    Injuries – the severity of which have yet to be revealed.

    This isn’t the first time since 1994 that McDonald’s has faced lawsuits over spilled coffee.

    Image via Thiago Martins, Flickr