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Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

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Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#91

Post by freese »

komali2 wrote: post #34
toss1941 wrote: post #8

Does anyone know how this compares to Starbucks Via?

I used to send care packages to my highschool buddies deployed, and one time I chucked in a couple of those Starbucks packets I had given to me on campus. Hadn't even tried them, just thought "neat, instant coffee." A few weeks later I get a call in class. Ignore. Listen to the voicemail after. "It's Jeff. I'm paying 10$ to call you international. Send more of those Starbucks packets, we're going to have a fucking ri…

We're sending 300 tubes to a guy who's a big fan. He'll send those out to his buddies who are deployed around the world. Really excited about this! Also - we just had a subscriber in the Canadian army posting about their coffee break in the woods

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#92

Post by stjarnljuset »

I'm actually a daily instant coffee drinker so I'll definitely check this out. Currently I use the Korean instant coffee packets (includes powdered cream and sugar). Since I get these for about 12 cents a packet, it's unlikely I'll be a permanent convert, but I adore the packaging for Sudden Coffee.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#93

Post by mark-r »

giarc wrote: post #25
startupdiscuss wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes the market speaks REALLY clearly! (1) I, too, would love to try it out. This does mean that if it is not much better than my Keurig (wasteful) single use, I may not re-up. Would be interested to see. (2) Also, would be great if the trial packets were available someplace that already had my credit card (like Amazon). (3) Do you have half-cafs?

Regarding your Keurig comment. I really hated the amount of plastic waste going into landfills so I bought one of those plastic reusable cups. I wasn't impressed with the output or the work needed. I recently found Presidents Choice (large Canadian brand) has K cups for $0.50 a piece. They are compostable and made of spent coffee beans and other plant based material. If you are in Canada, go to your nearest superstor…

Costco carries San Francisco Bay coffee, which replaces the bottom 3/4 of the plastic K-cup with some kind of cloth filter. They claim it's less waste.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#94

Post by Poiesis »

zloof wrote: post #44
ryduh wrote: post #2

Hi Kalle, I love my daily pour over, so I might not be your target market, but I'd definitely be interested in purchasing a few coffees without a subscription. Have you thought about offering that?

Co-founder of Sudden here. This question comes up a lot. We have tried offering one-time purchases and it didn't work very well/ wasn't sustainable for us. 3 reasons we believe in a subscription model: 1) A big reason we started this company together was our shared belief in making customers feel good through hospitality. It's more than just the coffee itself. We want to build a better experience - if you are a Sudde…

I will likely never be a subscriber, since I don't like coffee. I'd love to have a good instant option to offer to guests without having to own a coffeemaker that I'll never use otherwise, have to store, etc.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#95

Post by freese »

dsco wrote: post #52
DiabloD3 wrote: post #37

I don't understand the point of this product. You're obviously targeting people who already like coffee, such as myself: I already buy beans, grind them myself, and manage the process using an Aeropress, and I'm hardly some coffee hipster because I use goddamned Eight O'Clock Columbian Peaks. Yet, you are trying to sell me instant coffee, which I automatically am wary of because instant coffee is the shittiest coffee…

The design is fine. Certain things can be tweaked but great web design isn't really going to drive the product. The taste, market-fit and brand probably have more impact. I'd suggest offering samples for a small price. Convincing customers about the taste with only a website can be an uphill battle unless they've been recommended the product, or actually tasted it. Perhaps free taste samples in stores can be a sales…

Thanks for the suggestion! We're exploring what we can do here. Ideally we'd love to make sampling really easy & inexpensive but with our current costs it's simply not feasible right now.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#96

Post by sargun »

So, I am curious -- A while ago I experimented with making a better instant coffee. I came up with a few different solutions. I'm curious as to whether you've looked into them:

1) Pouring a ristretto into liquid nitrogen. At reconstitution time, put into boiling water and stir. Issue: Cold coffee, potential colloid separation -- solutions might include some kind of stabilizer

2) Taking a ristretto and removing water content to concentrate it, and then pull a vacuum on it and package it. Said package can then be opened and dissolved in boiling water. Issue: Complexity. Removing the water can be complicated, pulling a vacuum on it, and then heating it while at vacuum is hard.

3) Coffee puck: Take traditional coffee, and put it into a permeable membrane that when exposed to water above a certain temperature is permeable. When that temperature drops, it stops being permeable. Problem: Said polymers were hard to find.

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#97

Post by freese »

mark-r wrote: post #84
zloof wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Co-founder of Sudden here. This question comes up a lot. We have tried offering one-time purchases and it didn't work very well/ wasn't sustainable for us. 3 reasons we believe in a subscription model: 1) A big reason we started this company together was our shared belief in making customers feel good through hospitality. It's more than just the coffee itself. We want to build a better experience - if you are a Sudde…

A subscription also doesn't allow for any fluctuation in demand. If you're having a bunch of people over and want to offer them great coffee, how do you do that without depriving yourself for the rest of the month?

Good point. It's a work in progress, and we're exploring what's the best model. You can always order me by emailing us. We just saw that having a one-off model completely cannibalized our new subscriptions.

Email me if you want to order a one-off and I can hook you up ;)

Re: Launch HN: Sudden Coffee (YC W17) – Instant coffee that doesn't suck

#99

Post by freese »

danielvinson wrote: post #79
zloof wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing prevents you from doing this and you are totally welcome to do it! You can email our support email as well and we'll cancel it for you. We'd obviously prefer that you stay on with a subscription, but are just happy to have more people give us a try.

This is enough of a hassle that I will never make the purchase, despite being interested.

Email me and I'll hook you up with a one time order!
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