In the next step toward total caffeine domination, Starbucks has unveiled its own single-shot coffee maker, with the java giant's CEO claiming a technological advance that's "cracked the code" on... milk. Of course, single-serve coffee technology already exists, in the form of a a machine called Keurig, developed by Green Mountain Coffee, which has a grip 90 percent of the U.S. single-cup market, per the Wall Street Journal. Starbucks says the new machine, which they're calling the Verismo, can make lattes and cappuccinos using something called a "milk pod," while Keurig still makes boring old coffee. As CEO Howard Schultz told The New York Times' Stephanie Strom:

“Our research and development team cracked the code on being able to create a latte using real milk with a proprietary piece of technology,” said Howard Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks. “There’s no other single-cup machine that makes a latte with fresh milk just like we make it in our stores.”

The machine is already for sale online, in two different models going for $199 and $399. Next step: time-release caffeine microchips.

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Adam Martin