Douwe Egberts Coffee Machines Exit Burger King.

Darn. Double Darn. As I use an espresso machine and a mocha (mokka) pot at home, I am used to thick smooth coffee. I do not like thin acidic coffee.

I also do not like old stale coffee that has been on a warmer for more than an hour. It reminds me swill guzzled at three o’clock in the morning from an enormous never-cleaned percolator while working the night shift at the Army communications “shop” at the Pentagon. I had to stir in fake creamer to neutralize it, and it still had an oily surface slick plainly visible.  (Today I still recoil at the sight of those "milk glass" mugs that were used back then.)

For a long time the Dutch firm Douwe Egberts supplied Burger King fast food restaurants with single-serve machines that mix a coffee extract or syrup with hot water as the beverage is dispensed into each cup.

This cold water extraction process has been around for years and makes a very full-flavored cup with low acidity. It is possible to make this at home with a “Toddy” maker that used 60 ounces of cold water and a pound of coffee to make syrup similar to the Douwe Egberts commercial version.

Now that BK has been acquired, prices have shot up on some of the formers bargains (Whopper Jrs up to $1.29 from $1.00). But the biggest change is the removal of the Douwe Egberts machines, replaced by “Seattle’s Best” brewed coffee.

What a mistake! Now I have to wonder how long the pot has been on the burner, did the employee pour some out while it was still dripping, leaving the weaker coffee remaining for me? Will some places use only half the pre-measured coffee pack to suit the locals taste for weak coffee? My last refuge from overpriced boutique coffee is gone!

Frankly, if I have to drink standard brewed coffee, its back to Mc Donalds I go, as their quality control is quite strict. They also have cheaper green salads and better deserts. It was the Douwe Egberts coffee that lured me over to the competition. I wonder if I am the only one who appreciated the coffee system that Burger King was used?

There is now a facebook page protesting the change, but it has (including me) six fans.  Oh, well.

Maybe some smart gasoline store chain will pick up all the old Douwe Egberts units and start offering that wonderful smooth brew again. Please.