Cometeer

What's in the box: A box typically holds 40 frozen coffee concentrate capsules, made up of eight capsules each of five coffees from partner roasters, chosen by roast level.

Cometeer offers a different kind of convenient coffee. Instead of grounds or pods, it brews specialty coffee at about 10x strength and flash-freezes it in small aluminum capsules. To make a drink you melt the capsule or pop out the frozen puck, then add hot water, cold water, ice or milk, so you don't need a coffee machine. The site suggests hot coffee, iced coffee, hot and iced lattes, affogato and espresso martinis. The coffees come from partner specialty roasters. The featured Curated Bundle lets you pick a roast level (mixed, light, medium, dark, decaf or half caff), and the team picks five coffees with eight capsules each, for 40 capsules per box. That bundle is listed at $80, or about $2.00 per cup. Single coffees on the site cost roughly $2.18 to $2.49 per cup. That is much more than brewing beans at home but less than most café drinks. The biggest practical drawback is freezer space. The capsules are frozen and have to stay frozen, which can be hard with a 40 capsule box. Each cup also comes in its own aluminum capsule, so there is more packaging than with a bag of beans. For people who want good specialty coffee without equipment or barista skills, it is one of the stronger options available.