Comments by "EebstertheGreat" (@EebstertheGreat) on "Coffee Percolators: An Explanation and Roast" video.

It depends on the machine. Some use instant coffee, which tastes about how you would expect. Some drip-brew coffee on demand one mug at a time, which should taste just fine if it's coffee beans you like and the machine is well serviced. Some even apparently freshly grind the beans. So if you have a good machine selling good coffee, there's no reason it should taste bad. But in my experience, it always does taste bad, so maybe there is a lot lost in cost-saving measures.
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@Maplaplaplapla I wonder why powdered milk can't be used. There might be some chemical reason it won't mix properly or something, but I'm thinking it may just be because it has more universal appeal (vegans won't drink milk, and lactose intolerant people can't).
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@6yjjk That might be the cheapest and saddest design I have ever heard of. But I bet it's quick.
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@volundrfrey896 That only sounds suitable for an environment where you know a lot of people will be drinking coffee, either 24/7 (like in an airport or something) or as long as you leave it on (which requires someone to come back and turn it off). Because coffee unfortunately goes stale pretty quickly. [Unless there's a way to remove most of the oxygen (like replacing it with water vapor or nitrogen or something). That sounds maybe possible, and then the coffee could stay fresh for longer, even while relatively hot.]
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@cheaterman49 Do soda machines work differently outside North America?
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@Reynevan100 I don't think that's such a big problem for powdered milk. It has a shelf life on the order of months to years depending on conditions. If it's worth having a coffee vending machine at all, you'll probably go through milk faster than that.
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@cheaterman49 So for instance, if you want soda water in a cocktail at a bar, they will just open a bottle?
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@cheaterman49 I guess you just don't know how to put away a hogshead of cola like a freedom-loving American! :)
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