[Source: la.foodblogging] quoted: There are so many reasons to be a proud Left Coast fast food snob (think Skooby’s, In-N-Out Burger and Pinks!) but today local gourmets on-the-run have yet another reason to crow. Los Angeles’ very own hom…

Judging from the OnTech slide show, it looks like a one-time thermal dynamic reaction. Once the pop-top is opened and the foil seal is broken, the quicklime reacts to the water, heats up from room temperature to 145 degrees, then drops back off after 20 minutes, but stays warm up to an hour. After that I fear the heat-cone becomes useless.

I see nothing green nor sustainable about the packaging. How recycleable do these components sound?

“Sonoco supplies the retortable containers, which include a blow-molded, polypropylene cup and inner cone, injection-molded components, a full pull-off metal cover, a stay-on tab and a printed foam label. A thermal ink spot indicates when contents are ready to drink.”

(source: “Convenience Stores Support a Speed-to-Mouth Lifestyle,” March 2005, Brandpackaging.com)

Do you go to McDonald’s for coffee, or just salads? C’mon, fess up about your ’speed-to-mouth’ ways.

The technology makes me think of the ThermaCare patch, the oversized bandage that heats up when you tear open the $8 package. But isn’t the whole idea of grabbing a can of coffee getting something oversweet and metallic? If I want gourmet coffee in a hurry, I can now go to McDonalds.

In the name of a greener, more sustainable tomorrow, does the insta heat can come with free refills?

I know what you mean about cutting the barista out of the picture. Besides being able to have a pro prepare your coffee just the way you like it there’s always the chance you’ll get a little latte art too.