Right now it is currently only available in Europe, but in time I’m sure it will soon grace our shores in the US and replace the old design (shown below).

Current Krups Dolce Gusto Available in US

Now that I look at the new design more closely, I feel like it has a long lost brother.  I feel like it must be related to the JBL iPod Radial Speaker Dock…what do you think?

Dolce Gusto's long lost brother...

Anyway, functionally it’s a single serving size coffee maker (ie it only makes coffee for one) which allows you to only brew what you drink and not have to waste tossing out a whole pot of coffee when you only want a cup.

There’s no doubt that it’s a nice looking coffee maker that you would want to show off to your friends, but I’m not a big fan of single serving size coffee makers.  I think it’s kind of waste of packaging since you have to individual packs of coffee are all wrapped separately which means more garbage and waste.  The other fact is that you don’t really have much coffee selection since the machine uses Nescafe’s single serving coffee design which means you only have Nescafe coffee selection choices.

Hope you like Nescafe...

Like I said, I’m not a coffee drinker myself, but all of the above would bother me…even though this is a sexy looking coffee maker.   At $220 it’s a little steep for me and personally I find the function and utility of the Aeropress coffee maker much more appealing.  With the Aeropress you don’t need to plug it in, you can choose whatever coffee grounds you’d like, and you can make coffee in under 30 seconds.  Oh, and it’s also less less than $30.

But to each their own, right?

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Related posts:

1. Aeropress: Quality Coffee in Under 30 Seconds
2. Save The Party: The Greatest Portable Ice Maker

After each wash you are supposed to get a dose of approximately 200mg of caffeine which is twice the amount in a normal cup of coffee.  Of note the soap also contains calories so if you were starving you could also eat it.

The real question is, does it work?

The science says technically the body should be able to absorb caffeine through the skin (though i find it weird that anything cab absorb through the skin). However some have their doubts to how effective this absorption process. There’s a review of Shower Shock over at Ars Technica where they tried out this soap. The author found that it did add a little boost to his morning though he didn’t think it could replace his morning boost with his normal cup of coffee. He put up this nifty graph to describe the effects of Shower Shock.

For the more visual of you guys there was a news report on Shower Shock soap that had a guinea pig try it out.

The test subject “Bobby Bones” found that Shower Shock soap smelled like peppermint and when applied to his body gave him a tingling sensation much like Ben Gay.  Apparently this caused some discomfort to his more intimate areas.  In the end he gave it a “thumbs down” stating that he didn’t think it could replace his morning coffee and Red Bull ritual.

Shower Shock Soap comes in two main forms…

Shower Shock Bar Soap

Shower Shock Gel

Either way, I still think Shower Shock is a pretty cool product.  I just wish they could find some additional things to deliver to your body via the Shower Shock absorption process.  It’d be perfect if I could shower and at the same time get my morning nutrients so I don’t need to eat breakfast.  For people who do other drugs like heroin…imagine… no more needles!

FuncFash-ness: 7/10

• Functional:  4/5  (shower and get a does of drugs at the same time)
• Fashionable: 3/5 (still looks just like normal soap)

Where to Buy:

• Thinkgeek:  Shower Shock Bar Soap $6.99, Shower Shock Gel Soap $12.99

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Related posts:

1. FuncFash Recap (Week of 9-14-09)
2. Aeropress: Quality Coffee in Under 30 Seconds

The Aeropress shortens the coffee making process by literally letting you inject your coffee into your cup.  6 quick steps and you are on your way to 30 second coffee.

1. Put micro filter paper on Aeropress filter cap
2. Twist the cap onto the chamber
3. Place chamber on top of a cup and add coffee
4. Add hot water
5. Stir for 10 seconds
6. Plunge for 20 seconds

So maybe it will take a little longer than 30 seconds, but from the reviews people say it’s worth it and definitely one of the best tasting cups of coffee you can brew in under a minute.  Plus it’s portable so you can even bring it to the office and be that guy/girl who’s too good for the office coffee (or just bring it since your office is to cheap to buy a coffee maker).

You can watch the Aeropress coffee maker in action below:

It definitely gives whole new meaning to a “shot” of coffee in the morning.  Oh yeah, if you are worried about running out of filters it comes with a year supply of them when you first buy it so you should be covered.

FuncFash-ness:  8/10

• Functional:  4/5 (regular coffee takes hours to make, now you have it under a minute)
• Fashionable:  4/5 (Watch the coffee magic as it happens, people will beg you to make them coffee)

Where to Buy:

• Firebox.com:  Aeropress Coffee Maker $29.95

If you like this kind of stuff subscribe to the RSS feed or get it delivered through email Or follow us on Twitter.  For the really cool…Fan Us on Facebooker

Related posts:

1. Krups Dolce Gusto Coffee Maker Belongs in Muesuem
2. Save The Party: The Greatest Portable Ice Maker