beverage

Zoku chills out with slushy maker

Spring has sprung. We can now officially start to look forward to the coming warm weather months. The cool breeze on a warm summer day is still a ways away, but the effect can be recreated now. How? With 7-minute milkshakes and smoothies, of course.

The Zoku Slush and Shake Maker ($19.95) comes in an assortment of bright, cheerful colors. Whether one chooses red, green, orange, or purple to brighten their day, the result is the same: chilled drinks in as little as 7 minutes. The gadget consists of an inner core that is kept in the freezer (for … Read more

Instagram coming to soda cans at SXSWi

There's still well over a month to go before South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), the yearly convergence in Austin, Tex. of tech-industry minds, the start-ups who want to be noticed by them, and the marketers who want to reach them. But like Christmas decorations appearing in stores prior to Halloween, promotional campaigns centered on the party-heavy festival are already kicking off. Really.

With in the past year or two, an increasing number of those campaigns have featured brands that have absolutely nothing to do with digital media, but who see the SXSWi crowd--the sort that likes to boast it … Read more

With liberty and...beer robots for all?

Ah, the Fourth of July holiday weekend, when we celebrate our freedom by drinking beer. But really, how free are you if you have to get up and get your own beer?

Developer Steve Norris, who has an absolutely fabulous sense of humor, is hard at work on a Beverage Delivery System (BDS), a fully automated inter-home delivery system he hopes will solve the "problem that has plagued mankind since the invention of the canned beverage."

The system comprises two discrete elements working in tandem: Baxter, the transport component, and RoboFridge, a fixed location dispenser robot. You sit … Read more

Poll: Do you spend more on Starbucks than hi-fi?

It's no surprise we spend money on the things we value. So the question is, how much would you invest in a decent hi-fi or sound system? Bear in mind that a good quality system will last a long time, so amortizing the investment over a period of five or even 10 years should be factored into the expense. The coffee's gone in a matter of minutes.

Let's see, at $4 a day, a $20-a-week Starbucks expense works out to $1,000 a year. You're not going to stop anytime soon, so Starbucks, or any daily … Read more

Chill your drink with perfect spheres

The only thing that can make a frosty beverage in the summer better is a generous helping of ice, and the only thing that can make a generous helping of ice better is a fun-shaped container in which to freeze it.

Enter this Spherical Ice Tray Set available at the MoMA Design Store. The set molds two 2-inch spheres that serve as an attractive alternative to everyday ice cubes. One set is enough to fill glasses for you and a friend on the patio, or if you're up purchasing several sets, they could accommodate a larger group for a … Read more

Surprise your southern friends with sweet tea

I grew up in the middle of the country, and so it wasn't until I moved to New York that I got to partake in the flavors that are most often found in coastal cities. After moving to the city, I found a new appreciation for seafood, pizza, and cheesecake.

One part of the country whose local fare I rarely have a chance to enjoy is the south. As it turns out, people in the northeast don't eat sweet potato pie and host crawfish boils, and if they do, they're usually lacking in authenticity. Thankfully, there's … Read more

Every beverage is better with bubbles

One of my favorite things to drink to cool down in summer is a cold soda, but as a person who generally avoids the stuff for health reasons, I often miss out. With this Penguin Soda Siphon, I may not have to anymore.

The soda siphon pumps carbonation into any liquid of your choosing by adding pressure to it. Contrary to the more common one-glass models, it makes an entire carafe of fizzy refreshments for your family, kid's birthday party, or the next time you invite guests over for dinner. The carafe is placed inside the siphon and the … Read more

Legos get crazy iced out

This Lego Ice Brick tray is as cold as ice, and willing to sacrifice our love. But not our love of Legos.

The $7.99 tray, available through Lego's online store turns boring old ice into ridiculously awesome Lego ice bricks.

According to the Lego site, you can build little Lego sculptures out of the ice bricks...but a close inspection of the tray reveals that it only creates the "male," nubby side of the bricks, and not the "female," Lego-nub-receptor side of the bricks.

Thus, cool as these ice cubes look, your "sculptures&… Read more

If only our soda dispensers in college had served wine, too

This gadget made me do a total double take. It looks just like the machines we had in the dining hall in college that dispensed soda, Powerade, and iced tea. (A mix of Sprite and lemon-lime Powerade was my favorite.) But it's actually the "Vin au Verre," a European device designed for serving wine at parties. It has electronic temperature control to keep both reds and whites at the perfect temperature. The contraption can also control oxidation levels, serve up to eight varieties at a time, and keep the stuff fresh for three weeks.

Eh, I still … Read more