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:
Can you use expired Tassimo T-Disks?
I have Tassimo T-Disks that expire soon, does anyone know what the shelf life of the disks are after they expire, both coffee and milk?-
ANSWER:
Don't know how long the official shelf life is, no company would ever tell you that, any anyone who says they know is guessing, but generally on products such as this the best before dates are there to signify how long the product is in optimum condition in their opinion. They would be perfectly OK to use for much much longer, however aroma and flavor may deteriorate over time. Given in this instance the product is subjected to boiling water to make it, would be perfectly safe!
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QUESTION:
Which brand(s) of Tassimo disc give a proper European coffee?
I've had this Tassimo machine since Christmas and I was wondering which T-Disc, if any, gives a nice Italian/French style coffee with nice foam on the top and rich taste.I've only been using these Nabob ones (not that great) since that's all I can find aside form ordering on the internet, but before I order any on the net, I'd like to know which ones are half decent and not watered down like American/Canadian coffee.
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ANSWER:
"Italian/French style coffee with nice foam on the top and rich taste" describes espresso. No little one cup, pre-ground, no pressure machine will give you that.If you don't want to spend the $$ on a quality espresso machine, buy a Bialetti Brikka stove-top moka pot. If you use fresh coffee, it will make something near espresso quality (including the crema). Fresh ground will enhance the crema as well as the flavor.
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QUESTION:
can leaving a t disc in my tassimo machine break it?
If i leave a tassimo beverage disc in the machine, can it damage the machine?-
ANSWER:
Leaving the disk in the machine cannot permanently damage it (unless you try to force another fresh disk on top of the old one), BUT... if you leave disks in, the coffee grounds can eventually clog up the water feed tube that punches into the disk.We had that problem with another brand of disk-type coffee maker. If it happens, you need to take a safety pin or toothpick to clean out the feeder tube.
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QUESTION:
Is there a way to refill a Tassimo coffee disc?
I love the Tassimo machine, but haven't found a coffee I like. Hmmm? must be a way to refill those buggers.-
ANSWER:
Unfortunately, there is no way to refill the discs. If you open them to refill them, you'll lose the barcode that tells the machine how to brew the coffee. Also, there is really no way to adequately re-seal the discs at home.I have a Tassimo and hope that they will come out with a refillable metal pod as one of their direct competitors are done. However, I'm guessing this is unlikely, because Tassimo, like computer printer manufacturers are making far more money licensing consumables (coffee pods) than they are on the machines.
Nonetheless, I love my Tassimo sufficiently that I have one in my office and one at home.
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QUESTION:
Anyone know the cheapest place to get Tassimo T-discs?
I've tried ebay but they seem just as expensive on there as in the shops!-
ANSWER:
Look out for 3 4 2 in supermarkets and Boots
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