Also prevents their use as after-market laser printer cartridge refills.
Small appliances were very expensive in the 1950s. Simple things like toasters, waffle irons and mixers cost today’s dollar equivalent of $50-100. There were percolating machines then, but they were costly. The coffee makers then consisted of an upper and lower level drip configuration, and it was much cheaper to make them non-electrified, and just pour stove-heated boiling water into the top. The Mr. Coffee was economically feasible only after it was possible to make electrical appliances much cheaper, largely by importing them from low-wage countries or using robotics for assembly.
Big Instant suppressed the technology as long as it could.
Thou jesteth - methinks - but there might be a grain of truth in there. This was a big era for Tasters Choice, et al. slugging it out.