Hot Cup of Irony

Remember how single-serve coffee makers were supposed to put Starbucks out of business? Or at least drive a few of those Starbucks bucks back to retail?

Well, Tassimo will now offer a variety of Starbucks coffee through its single-serve coffee system. In fact, Tassimo has added four Starbucks coffee varieties to its single serve T Disk line—Tassimo calls its pods T Disks—including Breakfast Blend, House Blend, Caffe Verona and Africa Kitamu. Starbucks joins names including Gevalia, Seattle’s Best, Maxwell House and Tazo in providing pods for the Braun-produced systems.

So, even if retailers eventually do wean at least some consumers from their spending-at-Starbucks habits, they might be splitting the take with the coffee giant, anyway.