Starbucks launches pod-coffee machine

Starbucks announced Thursday a push into the market for branded single-cup coffee machines to meet the booming market for java brewed from pods. But its new "Verismo" high-pressure, premium single-cup coffee dispenser will not be ready for the market until late this year, the company said in a statement. The Verismo machine will make use of Starbucks pods for both regular coffee and espresso, along with "a variety of milk pods," it said. The system has been developed together with German coffee specialist Krueger GMBH. The Verismo system "combines Starbucks signature Espresso Roast and drink recipes with precise Swiss engineering and a patent-pending high pressure extraction capability, giving customers the ability to create Starbucks-quality beverages," the company said. "The premium single-cup segment is the fastest-growing business within the global coffee industry," said chief executive Howard Schultz. "We have long believed that the biggest prize within the segment is a high-pressure system that would give us the opportunity to deliver Starbucks-quality espresso beverages at home and at work for customers who desire the Starbucks espresso experience outside of our stores." Since last November Starbucks has produced coffee pods together with Green Martin Coffee Roasters in the K-Cup design for use on Keurig dispensers. The new system will hit the market in the United States, Canada and some international markets in the fall, "just in time for the upcoming holiday season," Starbucks said.