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Do you know anyone who enjoys drinking coffee that has been sitting on the hob for an extended period? I get up at 6:30 am, brew a fresh decaf cup of coffee, walk out the door with the flask in my hand, and off to work! The arousing smells of sugary coffee aromas as you walk into a Dunkin’ Donuts, is available for consumers to have the same pleasure of enjoying delightful coffee at home. Dunkin’ Donuts introduced their fresh ‘Dunkin One Cup’ to various franchisees across the US; to be tested among the coffee lovers.

The individual coffee pack is designed for a single serving, universally brewed with the Senseo coffee manufactures. However, could work with other coffee apparatuses that have the capability for single servings. The five varieties available: Dunkin Dark, French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Dunkin Ordinal Blend and Dunkin Decaf. The boxes are sold at $3.99 with 8 filter portions¹.

Why buy a box of coffee, when individual packs are available? The popular trend among the coffee business is to provide single-cup brewers instantly to the consumers. The sales were up 101 percent² for the year, as single individual-serve coffee has hit the bench mark. The average consumers is constantly on the run, why not make life easier and pop a filter in hot water and you are ready to go!

Aside from there initiative, Dunkin’ has a number of competitors within the one portion venture. StarbucksCorp began single cup earlier in the year; Keurig is owned by Green Mountain Roasters Inc. and offers varying flavors through the same tactic.

Furthermore, the experiment will articulate whether Dunkin Donuts will continue to distribute the product to all the stores. Likewise, Dunkin’ Donuts has launched a site for the One Cup, containing additional information regarding the product.

It’s the height of summer, but that doesn’t mean that coffee franchises have to suffer.

Over the last decade, coffee franchises have stayed relevant and profitable during the warm months by selling ice coffee. Office workers and many other love a hot coffee to get them going in the day time, but a teeming cup of joe is about the last thing you’d want when it’s 99 degrees out. Ice coffee may not be not as tasty as its hotter companion, but it is a reliable caffinator.

Interestingly, though, we may be on the verge of an ice coffee revolution. Fast Casual magazine have reported that independent coffee house Bread Alone in upstate New York are pioneering a new cold brew method for coffee.

Here’s how it works:

To cold-brew coffee, Bread Alone puts ground coffee in a mesh bag, then submerges it in cold water and refrigerates it overnight. Before straining the liquid, staffers “massage” the bag to make sure all of the essential flavors and oils are extracted. The result is a syrup that’s diluted with water and kept in a carafe. The staff uses that dilution to make cold coffee drinks. Fountain said the syrup holds for about four days; after that, staff discards leftovers and makes a fresh batch.

Now Bread Alone is not alone when it comes to cold brewing. Seattle’s Best, one of America’s biggest franchises, have been doing it for some time. Steve Hayter, director of beverage, food, merchandise categories and R&D, told the online magazine that cold brewing “extracts the flavors of the coffee and leaves behind undesirable acids and oils, resulting in a smooth, slightly sweet coffee that is half as acidic as that made using other methods”.

The problem with cold brewing is the massive time investment it involves – up to 24 hours compared to just a few minutes for a pot of coffee. Coffee connoisseurs appreciate the difference in taste, though, between a cold brew and warm brew with ice added. Its great to see cold brew coffee making some breakthroughs and we hope that someone soon will invent a method for a cheaper, longer-lasting cold brew.