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Getting hot coffee and tea out of a vending machine when it’s cold out is one of the best experiences of visiting Japan. Particularly since the machines are ev

by jmuguy 3y ago

Getting hot coffee and tea out of a vending machine when it’s cold out is one of the best experiences of visiting Japan. Particularly since the machines are everywhere.

quickthrower2 3y ago
In Australia they are making barista coffee machines that make reasonable good Lattes! (and definitely better than starbuccks). I think it was Coles “Urban Coffee”. Not as amazing as a light roast single O from a coffee obsessed cafe. But better than a lot of coffee shops!
- supportengineer 3y ago
  I saw a barista robot in SFO but didn’t have time to try it.
  - quickthrower2 3y ago
    Would love to see that. In theory a robot could make perfect coffee, latte art, etc.
- esfandia 3y ago
  In Thailand they have these Tao Bin barista coffee machines: https://www.tao-bin.com/en/en https://www.tao-bin.com/en/en Great UI: there's a countdown to when your order is going to be ready, and while you're waiting the next person can also enter their order.
- kleiba 3y ago
  I'm going against the grain here but I don't really subscribe to the starbucks bashing that seems to be a common sport. I don't go to Starbucks very often at all, mostly at airports, but in all honesty I find there's nothing wrong with it. As in: I've had hand-crafted coffees made by no-nonsense barristas with man buns in the most artisan brick-walled coffee shops that you can think of and I didn't think they were a lot better. Maybe I'm just not enough of a purist though. But then again, probably most people aren't. Let's not forget what you average cup of coffee was like in America before Starbucks came along.
  - astrange 3y ago
    Most people don't encounter enough Australians to know this, but the #1 way to identify an Australian is their absurd patriotic complex about how they're the only country with good coffee. This universally comes with insulting Starbucks, which is the only non-Australian coffee they seem to know about. It's true that Melbourne does have good coffee, but the city is basically an accidental reinvention of Seattle. But they don't know this since they haven't been to Seattle. Generally I feel like people in the coffee production chain give too much credit to James Hoffman types and/or baristas with man buns and not any credit to the actual farmers.
    - quickthrower2 3y ago
      Australia/NZ was the only place with good coffee a long time ago but that ship has sailed, you can get great coffee everywhere. Also I am not so much bashing starbucks as using it as a yardstick to say a machine can make good coffee from fresh beans, which I find amazing
      - kleiba 3y ago
        True. As a matter of fact, almost all coffee making involves machines, at least when we're talking about the espresso variety. For years, fully automatic coffee makers have been a big trend even in consumer electronics, i.e., lots of homes have machines sitting on their counter top that make all kinds of coffees at the push of a button. Why shouldn't a vending machine be able to do the same...
    - kleiba 3y ago
      I've met many Australians, and have not experienced what you describe. If anything, coffee culture is a Melbourne thing, with Brisbane being en par. I have not heard of, say, Perth being especially known for their association with coffee drinking. As far as I know, it is thanks to immigrants from Italy that an admittedly good and wide-spread coffee culture has established in Melbourne, but I never felt that it stood out in how Australians perceive themselves.
aliasxneo 3y ago
Yes! I was first introduced to this during a cold January while having to stand watch in the port (ex-U.S. Navy). The highlight of my morning was that warm can dropping down and warming up my hands for the next ~30 minutes.
spike021 3y ago
Went to Mt. Moiwa in Sapporo back in Feb 2019, at night. It was super cold (to me as a Californian). Maybe 20's or 30-ish F. Nothing like going inside the observatory at the top and grabbing a piping hot bottle of Royal Milk Tea from a vending machine.
manojlds 3y ago
How is it different from, say, a Costa Express machine?
- closedl00p 3y ago
  These are outdoor roadside vending machines, sometimes out in the middle of nowhere (or at least, not near any convenience stores). Driving down a quiet rural road on a cold morning and stopping for a hot coffee in a can is a nice break.

by jmuguy 3y ago

Getting hot coffee and tea out of a vending machine when it’s cold out is one of the best experiences of visiting Japan. Particularly since the machines are everywhere.

quickthrower2 3y ago

In Australia they are making barista coffee machines that make reasonable good Lattes! (and definitely better than starbuccks). I think it was Coles “Urban Coffee”. Not as amazing as a light roast single O from a coffee obsessed cafe. But better than a lot of coffee shops!

supportengineer 3y ago
I saw a barista robot in SFO but didn’t have time to try it.
- quickthrower2 3y ago
  Would love to see that. In theory a robot could make perfect coffee, latte art, etc.
esfandia 3y ago
In Thailand they have these Tao Bin barista coffee machines: https://www.tao-bin.com/en/en https://www.tao-bin.com/en/en Great UI: there's a countdown to when your order is going to be ready, and while you're waiting the next person can also enter their order.
kleiba 3y ago
I'm going against the grain here but I don't really subscribe to the starbucks bashing that seems to be a common sport. I don't go to Starbucks very often at all, mostly at airports, but in all honesty I find there's nothing wrong with it. As in: I've had hand-crafted coffees made by no-nonsense barristas with man buns in the most artisan brick-walled coffee shops that you can think of and I didn't think they were a lot better. Maybe I'm just not enough of a purist though. But then again, probably most people aren't. Let's not forget what you average cup of coffee was like in America before Starbucks came along.
- astrange 3y ago
  Most people don't encounter enough Australians to know this, but the #1 way to identify an Australian is their absurd patriotic complex about how they're the only country with good coffee. This universally comes with insulting Starbucks, which is the only non-Australian coffee they seem to know about. It's true that Melbourne does have good coffee, but the city is basically an accidental reinvention of Seattle. But they don't know this since they haven't been to Seattle. Generally I feel like people in the coffee production chain give too much credit to James Hoffman types and/or baristas with man buns and not any credit to the actual farmers.
  - quickthrower2 3y ago
    Australia/NZ was the only place with good coffee a long time ago but that ship has sailed, you can get great coffee everywhere. Also I am not so much bashing starbucks as using it as a yardstick to say a machine can make good coffee from fresh beans, which I find amazing
    - kleiba 3y ago
      True. As a matter of fact, almost all coffee making involves machines, at least when we're talking about the espresso variety. For years, fully automatic coffee makers have been a big trend even in consumer electronics, i.e., lots of homes have machines sitting on their counter top that make all kinds of coffees at the push of a button. Why shouldn't a vending machine be able to do the same...
  - kleiba 3y ago
    I've met many Australians, and have not experienced what you describe. If anything, coffee culture is a Melbourne thing, with Brisbane being en par. I have not heard of, say, Perth being especially known for their association with coffee drinking. As far as I know, it is thanks to immigrants from Italy that an admittedly good and wide-spread coffee culture has established in Melbourne, but I never felt that it stood out in how Australians perceive themselves.

aliasxneo 3y ago

Yes! I was first introduced to this during a cold January while having to stand watch in the port (ex-U.S. Navy). The highlight of my morning was that warm can dropping down and warming up my hands for the next ~30 minutes.

spike021 3y ago

Went to Mt. Moiwa in Sapporo back in Feb 2019, at night. It was super cold (to me as a Californian). Maybe 20's or 30-ish F. Nothing like going inside the observatory at the top and grabbing a piping hot bottle of Royal Milk Tea from a vending machine.

manojlds 3y ago

How is it different from, say, a Costa Express machine?

closedl00p 3y ago
These are outdoor roadside vending machines, sometimes out in the middle of nowhere (or at least, not near any convenience stores). Driving down a quiet rural road on a cold morning and stopping for a hot coffee in a can is a nice break.