One Cup Coffee Maker: A Holiday Shopper's Guide
The one cup coffee maker is the latest, most exciting innovation in the coffee world.
With the holiday season upon us, you may be thinking about purchasing a single serve machine for yourself, or as a gift. Here are five key points you should consider when buying a one cup coffee maker.
1) Price
You'll find a wide range of prices among single cup brewers.
You can get a simple machine such as Mr. Coffee Home Cafe for less than . Other, more elaborate machines, such as the Braun Tassimo Hot Beverage System, run around 0.
I suggest setting your budget from -0. This will get you a quality machine, with lots of features.
2) Appearance
Single serve coffee machines are some of the most attractive kitchen appliances out there. Why not get a model that will look fabulous standing on the kitchen counter top?
Senseo one cup coffee makers are known for being stylishly designed. They're available in white, black, blue, red, and chrome.
Most other one cup coffee makers are available in a black finish.
While you're looking at appearance, pay attention to the dimensions of the machine, too. Most single cup machines tend to be compact, but you'll want to make sure that it will fit under the kitchen cabinet, or wherever you or the gift recipient will likely store it.
3) Features
Pod coffee makers often include a bewildering array of features, but there are a few fundamental areas to consider.
Check out the capacity of the water reservoir. In general, look for a coffee maker that holds enough water to brew at least 5 cups of coffee. If it holds less than that, you'll have to refill the tank often, slowing down the brew cycle.
Examine the brew size options. If it brews only a 6oz cup, will this be sufficient? For versatility, look for machines that brew larger sizes.
Is there a brew temperature control? How about a programmable clock?
Can the single serve machine brew other hot beverages, such as tea, hot chocolate, espresso, and lattes? This is a very nice feature to have, so don't overlook it.
4) Ease of use
Get a coffee machine that offers little initial set up, and easy daily operation. To get your daily cup of coffee, the system should not be any more complicated than filling the water reservoir, adding a coffee pod, T-disc or K cup, positioning your mug on the drip tray, and pressing the start button.
5) Variety and availability of coffee pods
Look for a one cup coffee maker that offers a good selection of coffee pods that will be readily available.
For example, the Keurig kitchen brewer uses only their K Cups, but there are over 70 varieties of coffee, tea, and hot cocoa K Cups available.
Other single cup machines, like the Senseo and Melitta, can use any 62mm coffee pod, which is the industry standard. You can often find Senseo coffee pods in your local supermarket.
A one cup coffee maker is a wonderful holiday gift. With these shopping tips, you'll hopefully be prepared to make the best choice.
Frequently Asked Questions
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QUESTION:
Will Tassimo T-Pods fit in a Keurig Coffee Maker?
I have a Keurig Coffee maker but I love Gevalia coffee and they only make Gevalia coffee in T-Pods for a Tassimo coffee maker my question is will the t-pods still fit in my keurig?-
ANSWER:
No, the K-Cups are completely different than the T-Pods and are not interchangeable. I'm not a big fan of these machines in general, but I think you're better off with what you have.K-Cups are sealed away from air that ruins the preground coffee, so they taste as fresh as such a machine can be. T-Pods aren't sealed, so once you open the package the clock is ticking. If you want true Gevalia coffee flavor, get a french press, add boiling water, wait 3-4 minutes, and you'll have fresh, rich coffee no machine can duplicate. Otherwise, just stay with the Keurig.
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QUESTION:
Keurig Coffee Brewer and Pods?
My mom wants a single cup coffee maker for christmas, and I was searching around and it seems like the best kind is a keurig. True?Since my mom isn't into any fancy coffees or teas or anything, I was wondering if this system allows other brands of pods to be used in it? I'll use the k-cups as well, but I think she would mainly use the Folger's coffee pods.
Any help would be great and let me know if you like this machine! Or, if you'd like to suggest a different brand of brewer, thats good too:) Thanks!
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ANSWER:
The Keurig system is exclusive, that is to say that it can only use their own pods. Most other manufacturers do this as they don't want you buying someone else's product. The system can get quite pricey because of the cost of individually packaging each cup of coffee.
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QUESTION:
Question about Keurig coffee maker?
Hi! I'd like to buy some coffee for my aunt but she doesn't have a conventional coffee machine. (she has a Keurig machine - dont know which kind though) I was wondering if it would be possible to buy coffee beans for her? I've never really heard of the machine she has but it has it's own filter supposedly. -> here's a picture: http://www.lowellvending.com/images/Keurig-b50_detail_intro.jpgIs it like the S enseo pods where you can buy an empty pod filter and fill it with the coffee of your choice or is it exclusive to the coffee filled filter that's made for the specific kind of coffee maker she has?
Please let me know!
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ANSWER:
We've got the Keurig Platinum B70 Special Edition and it's great. Keurig does have what they call a K-cup which is a reusable filter that you can fill with your choice of grinds. Works in Keurig home brewers B40 Elite, B50 Ultra, and B60 Special Edition but does not not fit B100, B100P, or B2000/3 Keurig brewers. It works for us but you will have to check about hers. There is also a K-Cap that is sold on Ebay which you can adapt to empty K-cups so you can refill them.Hope this helps.
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QUESTION:
I need help with my Keurig coffee machine?
I have been using my Keurig machine making coffee with the K cups for about 7 months. This afternoon, I was in the kitchen, no where near the coffee maker when all of a sudden it started pouring water out of the spout, steaming and making brewing noise. When I opened up the pod holder, the pod that was in there from this morning had burst and there were coffee grounds all over the inside of the pod holder. I unplugged it right away, cleaned it up and now when I plug it in it's dead. No lights, nothing. Did anyone else ever have this happen to them? Any ideas or suggestions?-
ANSWER:
I've had my Keurig for about almost two years now and love it. Double check to see if your machine is plugged into a socket that has a GFI. It sounds like a power surge or something of that nature. If that's the case you need to hit the little red button on the socket. I forget this from time to time!! I've been hoping mine would kick the bucket so I could get the model that brews 3 sizes instead of the one I have that only brews 2. You can also call 1-888-try-gmcr. They are super helpful...it's where I get my coffee. Good luck and I hope it works by morning!!!!
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QUESTION:
One-cup coffee machines at the office? what's the best?
I have a Keurig machine at home and absolutley love it (they use k-cups). We are looking to get a one-cup maker that uses either k-cups or the coffee pods, I just called Kaurig customer service and they were terrible and not helpful at all. are there any other services that rent you the coffee machine and you buy coffee for it every month? I know there are the coffee pods, but what machines do you use it with?-
ANSWER:
I tried a number of 4-cup makers but what I've recently discovered is the french press. Starbucks sells a few types, but the quality of the coffee is amazing. All you need to do is heat water in the microwave and pour it into the top of the press. It doesn't have the bitter taste of a dirty coffee maker and the flavor is robust.
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