Abstract: A beverage vending system includes a vending machine with a housing having a plurality of racks therein, each rack storing vending items. One of the vending items is a kit cup. Each kit cup includes a cup, a lid and a beverage pod. The racks are directly inaccessible by a user of the vending machine, and the housing includes an access area, accessible to a user for retrieving a dispensed kit cup. A control panel includes a user interface for selecting a vending item and a currency exchange system for receiving currency from a user. A dispensing mechanism is operatively connected between the control panel and the plurality of racks. In response to the user selecting a vending item and paying of the associated purchase value, the dispensing mechanism actuates a rack storing the selected vending item, to, in turn, dispense one such selected item to the access area.