Coffee-maker had rich market until customers gave it a roasting

THEY were wrong from the start, but that didn’t stop them taking off like a bullet, those tiny little plastic coffee pods you insert in a machine to make an alleged perfect cup of java. 

Consumer publications did taste tests to find out how delicious was the end result. Pretty delicious, it was. Even the most moronic or time-poor person could brew up a spectacular cup of coffee every time.

So the bottom-line market appeal was not dissimilar to the old push-point by which toothpaste manufacturers used to flog their product: Shame.