What if your drinking water didn't come from old, rusty apartment building pipes or from a plastic bottle that's going to end up in a landfill ... or in the ocean? What if your drinking water (and coffee?) literally just came out of thin air?
That's what Kara Pod promises. It's a sleek little countertop device that sucks air in and spits water out. Of course, it UV-sterilizes, carbon-filters and mineralizes the water first, but in the end, you get pure drinking water, free of chlorine and fluoride ... or a tasty cup of coffee.
Yep, it's basically like a Keurig (Nespresso-pod-compatible, sorry K-Cups) that you never have to add water to. Kara Pod reportedly makes about a gallon of water on its own every single day, keeping its internal 0.85-gallon (3.2-liter) tank topped up. It even has a glowing LED water gauge to show you how much liquid magic it whipped up today.
No plumbing, no "installs." Just plug it in and you're ready to rock and roll.
Kara Pod's designers reckon it'll save you about US$1,464 per year in drinking water while eliminating a lot of waste. Even the Kara coffee pods are made to be chucked into your compost pile.
The device has touchscreen controls for selecting cup size, coffee strength and more with just a tap. It has two nozzles: one for high-quality H2O and another that's dedicated to caffeine duty, so no cross-contaminated Colombian café.
It's Wi-Fi enabled for any over-the-air updates, which is not exactly a selling point in my opinion ... buy hey, maybe you like your water-generating firmware up-to-date at all times?
I mentioned "mineralizes" earlier ... Kara Pod is an atmospheric water generator (AWG), technically speaking. This means it pulls in fresh air and sucks out the moisture from that air – even in arid, desert climates or air-conditioned office spaces. It literally leaves you with pure water, like you get with distilled water. It lacks minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium, etc, that you would find in mineral or spring water. Great for making baby formula, but could affect your electrolyte balance if that's your only source of water.
Hotly debated topic, I know.
Can the Kara Pod be used without the mineralizer?
Here's what Cody Soodeen, CEO of Kara Water had to say:
"In short, no. This is due to the fact that research shows that distilled water, which is what our devices produce before mineralization, may be unsuitable for prolonged consumption. While we may or may not agree with these findings, we lean to the conservative side in our designs that requires mineralization for the water produced."
So there's that. Plus, distilled water just tastes "meh" anyway.
Having an atmospheric water generator at home sounds pretty awesome. It would be especially convenient for those who may live off-grid, in an RV or in the woods. Or for someone who lives in a place where drinking water means a trip to the grocery store, like Flint, Michigan.
And the fact that it can also make coffee in the same unit is a pretty solid double-down of awesomeness for us daily grinders.
The Kara Pod is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, where a pledge of US$499 will get you one of your own – assuming everything works out. Kara Water has had successful launches on Kickstarter before. Its planned retail price is $799.
Source: Kickstarter
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