Super Fresh Coffee Kiosks Come to Nearby Grocery Stores

Rubi, which comes from Outerwall (the same company as Redbox and Coinstar), is a self-serve micro-cafe that has just been added to 120 grocery stores in the Bay Area. The location was picked based on a Bundle.com report showing that San Jose and San Francisco are among the "most caffeinated" cities in the country.

Numerous Rubi kiosks have been installed on the Peninsula. Those in or near Pacifica include:

• Lucky, 250 Fairmount Shopping Center, Pacifica
• Safeway, 2250 Gellert Blvd., South San Francisco
• Safeway, 30 Chestnut Ave., South San Francisco
• Lucky, 1322 El Camino Real, San Bruno
• Lucky, 6843 Mission St., Daly City

The brand new coffee stands serve Seattle's Best Coffee, made to order, starting at just $1. The touch-screen kiosks offer brewed coffee and specialty drinks like café mocha, café vanilla and hot chocolate.

But it's not your standard, watery, barely warm instant coffee. You can customize your entire order, down to the sugar and cream amount, and actually hear the machine grinding your beans, and watch an animation that shows the French press process going on inside.

“We developed Rubi as an innovative new way to offer premium coffee in convenient locations and at a great value,” said Maria Stipp, chief new ventures officer for Outerwall. “Northern California was one of the first places we introduced Coinstar kiosks more than 20 years ago.” 

Between now and Aug. 30, if you text BEAN2CUP to 727272, you'll receive a code to get a free coffee at a Rubi kiosk. If the locations listed above aren't convenient for you, you can find the full list by visiting www.hellorubi.com. 

Click the play button above to check out a quick video on how the Rubi kiosks work. 
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Would you buy coffee from a touchscreen machine? Do you prefer the ambiance of a coffee shop? Tell us in the comments!