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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

#281

Post by jamiek88 »

freese wrote: post #129
bigtunacan wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Keurig is several orders of magnitude better than instant and can be bought for as low as 50 cents a cup. At Sudden's 8 cups for $19 it is CHEAPER for me to buy a quality pour over at the local cafe where they charge $2.25 a cup. Also this appears to be targeting "coffee snobs"; most of that crowd isn't interested in instant coffee.

We started by targeting "coffee snobs" but we're now realizing that they indeed are not the best segment for us. We're shifting our focus toward more everyday coffee drinkers who are still interested in great coffee. Edit: Definitely makes sense for you to go to your corner coffee shop. However, Sudden offers you an option to drink kick-ass coffee when you don't have access to any other option

Yeah, for me this would be 'travel coffee'. We hate to fly internally in the US so we drive long distances, ofter over night. Right now I have a french press etc. for that but if I could find an instant coffee that was like 90% as good as pour over that would make me happy.

Is there a non-subscription / trial offer?

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

#282

Post by MaulingMonkey »

chrismartin wrote: post #202
uptownfunk wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Downvote me to hell, but I think people drink too much coffee (and caffeinated drinks), it's just not necessary and is an addictive substance. I think it's a toxic substance honestly, tires the adrenals and heart out. Anyone else on here who abstains from caffeine?

Uptownfunk, I also severely limit my caffeine intake (right now zero). It's a tool that mitigates fatigue at the expense of anxiety, irritability, and sleep disruption. Through an anthropologist's lens, caffeine helps adapt unreliable human mental concentration to an industrial/capitalist society. (Just like ritalin and adderall!) See ern's comment regarding "forced to take coffee to keep up with my fellow developers…

I've actually had caffeine help regulate my sleep at times - I figure it helps me use my energy up earlier in the day, leaving me with less difficulty getting to sleep at night.

That said, I do get a day or three of withdrawl headaches if I go cold turkey these days. I recently went through a 4-5 week abstinence - not my first - but was extremely surprised when, this time, I temporarily became a morning person for the first 3 weeks of it. That's new. Then my schedule reverted to it's normal night owl behavior - presumably after deacclimatizing from my previous caffeine intake levels.

I'm not abstaining currently, but I am trying to keep it in moderation. My main source of caffeine comes with too much sugar (in the form of energy drinks), which I'm a bit more worried about. Fewer drinks, smaller drinks (e.g. consuming half portions), healthier & decoupled substitutes (real fruit for the sugar, tea for the caffeine.)

I never acquired a taste for coffee, for better or worse.

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

#283

Post by zloof »

finnh wrote: post #271
zloof wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It definitely does work well for backpacking and based on your amount of usage - sounds like something that could work well. Definitely have run some campaigns with a travel focus. However, the bursty demand you mentioned is what we hear from travelers and backpackers - that makes it a lot harder to serve (it's hard to get in front of you right around when you'll need it). A big part of our mission is serving coffee…

With the 4-6 (+) shelf life you mention elsewhere on-thread, could you setup a seasonal subscription? "Camping time! Send me x ounces every: May [x] June [] July []"

Yeah that could definitely work. We're limited technically at the moment (e.g. can't really extend our platform to do things like that), but hiring a team to enable things like that.

What would be really neat is if we learned exactly how much you need and sent you the right amount at the right time.

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

#284

Post by freese »

_eht wrote: post #206
RussianCow wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have any evidence to support this other than anecdotes, but I would bet there is a much larger group in the middle than you imply. Plenty of people (myself included) appreciate good coffee without being fanatical about it. If you can offer the same taste as pourover without the work, I think you can capture quite a significant portion of the market. But then again, I could be overestimating that based on my o…

I'm in this portion of the market, and as such, I've subscribed to try it out.

Thanks for giving us a try!

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

#285

Post by freese »

Johnnybe wrote: post #236
RussianCow wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have any evidence to support this other than anecdotes, but I would bet there is a much larger group in the middle than you imply. Plenty of people (myself included) appreciate good coffee without being fanatical about it. If you can offer the same taste as pourover without the work, I think you can capture quite a significant portion of the market. But then again, I could be overestimating that based on my o…

I'm also in this segment of the market. However, only when pressed for time, which is during the week. On the weekends I take my time and brew pour overs.

This it the whole idea - we don't try to replace all your coffee rituals but rather help you drink great coffee when you otherwise wouldn't be able to.

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

#286

Post by freese »

odonnellryan wrote: post #230
truthexposer wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is your target? If people want good tasting coffee, like a connoisseur, one would like the option of selecting the type of bean, where it is sourced from, how it's roasted, how it's ground, how it's brewed etc. People even vehemently oppose and stand by brewing methods, which to an ordinary person who doesn't care about coffee, wouldn't care about. And if someone is buying instant coffee anyways, I doubt they car…

I like good coffee: I don't care where it comes from. I like how I'm making coffee right now and where I get my coffee from, but this seems interesting for stuff like camping, hiking, and so on. You can like good coffee and be interested in good instant coffee.

+1

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

#287

Post by stagbeetle »

tps5 wrote: post #214
uptownfunk wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Downvote me to hell, but I think people drink too much coffee (and caffeinated drinks), it's just not necessary and is an addictive substance. I think it's a toxic substance honestly, tires the adrenals and heart out. Anyone else on here who abstains from caffeine?

> I think it's a toxic substance honestly, tires the adrenals and heart out Do you have any evidence for this or is it a hmm-I-better-not-vaccinate-my-children-because-I-think-it-will-give-them-autism type statement?

I tried looking for anything that would concur with his point, but all the sources Google Scholar gave me were very untrustworthy.

I did, however, find this neat little article on the "myth" of adrenal fatigue, from Crossfit.[0]

There's a part that says caffeine overuse can trigger general fatigue (or adrenal fatigue as refereed to the alternative medicine crowd).

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_2015_07_Adrenal_Exa...

((Of-topic, are there any other good research aggregators besides Google Scholar?))

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

#288

Post by zloof »

bluetonium wrote: post #273
zloof wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Co-founder here - I actually want to challenge that...for science. I've gone pretty deep on this. There are definitely sets of products for which people want to 'set it and forget it'. At a basic level - electricity. I'd love to never think about my electricity bill ever. I do not want to explicitly pay for my electricity bill. Automated payment on electricity is amazing! There are also many products in my life that…

I'm just a lowly project manager, but my understanding from the tech wizards around here and those I work with is this: It is possible, using the advanced technology available today, to make on your website a button which allows a subscribed user to independently cancel a subscription that was made online. Through this technology, one no longer has to compose a pleading e-mail to customer service. No need to take on…

There definitely is a cancel button too! I just tell people they can email us as well because some people find that easier.

We're just now building an in-house engineering team to make the process easier. If I had my way, you could cancel, pause, adjust timing, etc with a couple clicks. I am stating our plans to do these things :-)

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

#289

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

RussianCow wrote: post #183
truthexposer wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who is your target? If people want good tasting coffee, like a connoisseur, one would like the option of selecting the type of bean, where it is sourced from, how it's roasted, how it's ground, how it's brewed etc. People even vehemently oppose and stand by brewing methods, which to an ordinary person who doesn't care about coffee, wouldn't care about. And if someone is buying instant coffee anyways, I doubt they car…

I don't have any evidence to support this other than anecdotes, but I would bet there is a much larger group in the middle than you imply. Plenty of people (myself included) appreciate good coffee without being fanatical about it. If you can offer the same taste as pourover without the work, I think you can capture quite a significant portion of the market. But then again, I could be overestimating that based on my o…

I really love my coffee. I roast at home.

But if I need to travel or whatever I will pick up the best instant I can find.

If this is as good as they claim, I'd buy it.

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