After Katrina, I was part of a crew who went down for industrial repairs. I brought with me 2 cases of self heating coffee. It was more of a latte really. You peeled foil from the bottom and pressed a rubber button to break the seal between two liquids which reacted and heated the coffee. You had about a minute to open the top before they would burst. Modern MREs have much the same feature.
In an area with no running water and difficult conditions, they became the most valuable items I’ve ever carried. I traded them for everything from gas to ribey steak.
Sadly, idiots would forget to open the top and in came the lawyers… and I know why we can’t have nice things.
