Insanely Awe-dical

Single-serving coffee can heats itself

Beginning Jan. 2, consumers can buy a 10-ounce container of Wolfgang Puck gourmet latte at the store and heat it by pressing a button. No electricity. No batteries. No appliances.

How does the can do it? A single step mixes calcium oxide (quicklime) and water. It heats the coffee to 145 degrees in six minutes — and stays hot for 30 minutes.


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Is there anyone with a chemistry background that can verify the validity of a chemical heating reaction like this that will not alter the taste (create side effects) of coffee? This sounds pretty interesting, but at $2.25 a cup, coffee shops clock in at a cheaper, and freshly brewed morning cup of java.

Further investigation on the subject found an old article, where the NesCafe brand of self-heating coffee is described (pictured above). They explain the reaction:

More recent designs have all relied on an exothermic chemical reaction to generate heat. In most cases the reaction is between calcium oxide, otherwise known as quick-lime, and a water-based solution. 'The fundamental chemistry is well known,' says Dr Richardson. 'The difficult part is optimising the reaction and the thermal design of the container to provide an efficient, safe and cost-effective package.'

Pictured below is the diagram from the webpage showing how it would be implemented:




Very interesting technology. It seems this exothermic reaction is seperated from the coffee drink itself, making a very hot center, not necessarily *mixing* with the drink, maintaining coffee taste. Very cool.

An interesting analogy of the chemical reaction would be glowsticks. Cracking them mixes the two pieces, and creates a chemical reaction that makes some practical purpose for a short period of time. Whether its neon light, or an exothermic reaction, the same idea can be used in different scenarios. I'd like to see it employed in other areas.