Keurig Wants to Sell You a $300 Machine That Makes Soda More Expensive

Meet the Keurig Kold.

Keurig has found yet another way to destroy the environment — this time by making cold drinks more complicated than they need to be. According to the Associated Press, the controversial maker of single-serve drink machines and pods has launched a new product. Called Keurig Kold, it appears to have drawn its name inspiration from the Kardashian klan and their penchant for spelling everything with a "k." A press release notes that the new device makes single servings of cold beverages like seltzer water, iced tea, and sodas such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Dr. Pepper.

The Keurig Kold is similar to the company's hot brewers in that it simply requires users to insert a pod into the machine and press a button. The device can make the drink in around 90 seconds and it chills the water it uses the process. But is it really easier than twisting the cap off of a soda bottle? The machine — which is "the size of a very large crockpot" — will retail for between $299 and $369.99. Plus, each drink pod, which only makes an eight ounce serving, costs between $1.12 and $1.25. At the end of the day, that's more expensive than buying cans or bottles of soda.

Costs aside, Keurig isn't the first company to come up a machine to make sodas and other carbonated beverages at home. SodaStream — which has a partnership with Pepsi — has been on the market for years and it allows customers to carbonate a bottle filled with water, something that requires CO2 canisters, and add as much flavoring as they like. (The Keurig Kold doesn't require CO2 canisters and instead the pods have two chambers: one with carbonation and one with flavoring syrup.) Also, Keurig's reputation for being bad for the environment is well-documented. The company has received serious backlash for the amount of waste each machine (and its accompanying pods) produces. Soda cans are recyclable, but it doesn't appear as if the Keurig Kold pods are. Still Coca-Cola is betting big on the machine: Coca-Cola owns a 16.8 percent stake in Keurig.

Keurig CEO Brian Kelley argues that the appeal of the machine — which goes on sale in October — is that it is a "way for people to have a variety of drinks at their disposal, without cans or bottles taking up space." He adds that the Keurig Kold can also make "craft" sodas and will eventually make cocktail mixers.

In addition to the new cold beverage machine, Keurig recently announced that it is now possible to use the original device to make soup. Yes, the era of single serving soup from a pod is upon us. The company has teamed up with Campbell Soup Co. to offer two varieties of pod soup: Homestyle chicken noodle and Southwest-style chicken noodle.

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