Say what you will about the wastefulness of Keurig coffee-makers, you've gotta admit that the things are convenient – you just stick a K-Cup in the top, and a single serving of coffee comes out the bottom. Well, inventor Carlos Ruiz is now hoping to bring that same convenience to freshly-baked flatbreads, with his Flatev tortilla-maker.
Users start by inserting a K-Cup-like pod, that contains a ball of tortilla dough – Ruiz plans on offering choices of flour, corn and blue corn. After the user presses a button, the machine then breaks the pod open, presses the dough flat, cooks it, then deposits it in a tray at the bottom. The whole process reportedly takes less than one minute.
The pods have to be kept refrigerated, and should sell for less than a dollar each. Down the road, plans call for other types of flatbreads to be available, such as roti, chapati and naan.
The Flatev ("Flatbread Evolution") machine itself should cost under $300, although it isn't expected to be ready for retail until 2015. You can preorder one now, though, via the first link below.
Source: Flatev via CoolHunting
The downside to these devices (besides the backwards value proposition) is the space they consume for the limited function they provide. At least the breadmaker used raw materials you could buy cheaply, the Keurig uses bulky & pricey single serve cups.
A regular coffee maker takes up just as much space as a Keurig style maker and is just as limited in its functionality. If you are the type of person who drinks an entire pot of coffee at one sitting then the standard style of maker is the best value for you. For those of us who only drink one cup of coffee at a time or even only one cup of coffee per day the Keurig style maker is the better value for us.
Would it really be a better value for me to use a standard maker and wast 3/4 of a pot of cheaper (per serving) bulk coffee than to use a Keurig style maker and have no wasted coffee?
As far as the Flatev, it will have an audience however limited it might be. Which is the better value if a person only needs a couple of tortillas at a time? Go out and buy the smallest package available (generally a 10 pack) and waste those not needed or have something like what is offered by the Flatev?