The PR machinery is running full tilt! It’s single-cup coffee machines — or, pod machines — everywhere you look… Phillips’ Senseo, Melitta One, Black & Decker Home Cafe, and the Keurig Brewer, to name those most buzzed about at the moment.
The Senseo reigns at the top of the buzzheap by a large margin, and you can easily find reviews of all stripes, from the usual tech “news” flaks, to geeks with laser-guided temperature probes… even fellow coffee blogger Randy Glass gets in on the game with his own hands-on review.
Given the mass-marketed hype, and being a skeptic, I was fully prepared to dislike the Senseo. A lot.
Turns out, I don’t dislike it all that much. But keep reading.
The Senseo is a smartly-designed and smart-looking home coffee machine. It’s fabulously simple to use, and it appears to be built to stand up to frequent use [the same can not be said of some of its competitors].
I have lingering concerns about its brew temperature. While Randy notes a brew temp of a respectable 190 degrees F. the folks at GadgetMadness record brew temps of a mere 138 to 140 degrees F. which is nowhere near acceptable. I have no particular reason to doubt either report, so I’m left to wonder if there might be a really high temperature variance from machine to machine… that would be a serious problem.
Temperature issues aside, it’s not the machine I have a problem with at all. It’s the quality of the coffee — and the source of that coffee — that leaves a bitter taste.
Currently, the only coffee pods for the Senseo available in the U.S. are those made by Douwe Egberts [whom you may know better as Sarah Lee] which developed the machine with Phillips. Sarah Lee is one of the Big Four, and together with Kraft, Nestle and Proctor & Gamble, they buy and sell half the coffee in the world.
These organizations are not known for the caliber of their coffee, but instead for their volume, and, more unfortunately, for their collective efforts to reap the benefits of historically low coffee prices, further contributing to the continuing coffee crisis.
So far as I can tell, there are no Fair Trade coffee pods for the Senseo. No organics. No shade-grown coffees, either. If you’re considering the Senseo, and you also want to consider sustainability, you’re in a bit of a bind. You might try to make your own coffee pods, or buy a reusable coffee pod adapter.
If these devices take hold, there will certainly be a number of independent roasters who will produce pods for them… and it’s just as certain that some of those roasters will offer coffee that’s more palatable all ’round.
Meanwhile, if you want to brew a single cup at a time, try some fresh beans, a grinder, and a Melitta filter cone.
Author’s Update: You may also be interested in reading The Senseo Crema Mystery which explores some of the more finicky issues of pod coffee makers… and the Senseo in particular.
I’ve been looking into buying either the Melitta or Black & Decker models as these are the least expensive of the one cup makers. Are you aware of a reuseable filter/adapter being made for either of these two models? I know that one is being made for the Senseo machine, but I haven’t come across any information about the other two models having filters available for them.
I really like my new Senseo maker, but I found that with one pod the flavor was too weak and with two it was too strong. So I found a way that anyone can make their own pods at home on this website:
http://www.qmoon.com/pods/wolfpods.html
Now I make my very own coffee pods with my favorite brand of coffee. It costs a LOT less and the flavor is EXACTLY right.
I’m considering the purchase of a Pod Coffee Maker and noted your lament of the unavailibility of aftermarket coffee pods. I still don’t know if I’ll by the current fad, but courtesy of Google you might want to take a look at http://www.poddepot.com/products.html. I have no relationship with these folks and have never ordered from them. Still…
I love my senseo but I can’t find vanilla flavored coffee pods. Is there another brand that will fit? I tried mellita and home cafe and they are both too big. Any ideas (other than making my own – which I have no interest in).
We bought the Melitta One:One and THEN we learned that all pods are not created equal. Melitta isn’t compatible with the Home Cafe crowd. So…we went searching for good Melitta-size coffee pods and found podhead.com. Many varieties of really good coffee supplied with a little ring which fits under the pod – a simple solution and it works great. Many varieties – Colombian, Costa Rican, Italian, Dark Roast, and 50/50 for the amateurs.
I am really interested in this “pod coffee” thing. The Melitta machine looks the best, but I am looking for more information on it. I have read about the brewing temperature problems, and am wondering if anyone has any comments on this, or is there consensus that one machine is better than the others. Someone, please advise….
I too was anxious to find a single cup coffee machine that made fabulous coffee. I purchased the Melita One/One Pod system. The machine works well. The coffee is delicious, but good luck in finding the pods that fit this machine. The Melita pods can be purchased online at Target and RiteAid but the BEST coffee for any pod machine is from PODHEAD.COM, a great selection of fine blends including decaf and 50/50.
Do I recommend this coffee maker? Yes.
MSF from Long Island
There appear to be a great number of folks who’ve purchased a pod machine, presumably for the convenience and mess-eliminating factor… and, before you know it they’re looking to make their own coffee pods.
I wonder… are these pod people looking for something different? Something better? What’s the rest of the story?
ECOPODS work very well in the B&D Home Cafe. They’re available at http://www.shopforpods.com or I’ve seen them on ebay.
If you want to use a better blend of coffee or a more “consciencious” coffee in your Senseo, there is a way. Here’s a link to an article on how to make your own coffee pods
Article URL: http://ineedcoffee.com/04/coffeepods/
Enjoy!!!
I’ve tried 6 pod coffee makers, and they all broke or made crummy coffee. I give up. It’s a great idea and some of the coffee tastes good, but the danged things are just not reliable. Which ones did I try?
Juan Valdez (2)
Black and Decker (2)
Philips Senseo (1) (poor design)
Mr. Coffee (1)
If anyone knows of a reasonably price pod pot that works and makes good coffee, PLEASE let me know.
OK, I answered my own question, at least it looks that way. The Bunn My Cafe seems to work exactly as it claims, makes good coffee, and appears sturdily made. Time will tell if it self-destructs like the other pod coffee makers I’ve tried. There’s even some foam on the coffee it makes, but in spite of that, it tastes good.
For a follow-up to this article, see The Senseo Crema Mystery also on Bloggle: The Coffee Odyssey!
-deCadmus
I tried three different pod brewer
brands and ended up taking two back
and giving one as a gift. Finally
I have a wonderful brewer. It is
the “Bunn My Cafe”. It uses almost
any size and brand of pod. Makes
great coffee and is fast brewing.
It runs about $200, is hard to find
but well worth the money. It can
be bought on line at “CoffeeUSA.com.
Almost forgot–The “Bunn My Cafe”
is the only pod brewer, that I have
seen, where you do not have to pull
the whole machine out from under
the kitchen cabinet to fill the
water container. Sure is much easier. My reg brewer is also a
Bunn & its also great.
I’ve long been fond of Bunn products, and so far as pod brewers go, theirs sits well above much of the competition.
It’s a more durable “commercial grade” machine, which has the added benefit of being more open to a number of different pod sizes and manufacturers. Don’t like the coffee in your coffee pods? Try somebody else’s pod.
Ya can’t really do that with a Senseo today.
-deCadmus
WE have now gone through THREE Home Cafe systems by Black and Decker in 10 months. REturned the first within a day due to a short and blue sparks, got a second which we used from then until three days ago when the stress cracks inthe plastic were so bad that the water jsut ran through. Also noted a decrease in the heat of the coffee.
NOw we have another and it really doesn’t deliver as hot a cup of coffee as I would like. WE like JAva pods and enjoy the Costa Rican Estate and Sumartran most. BUT we are seriously worried about the durability of the machines. THe Bunn seems best but I hate to sink $199.00 to have it go south in 6 months.
No question: pod brewers, K-Cups, T-Cups… most all of them have a fairly high “sunk” cost, and then you’re at the mercy of generally a small number of manufacturers for refills.
In the hands-on time that I’ve had, I’d pick the Bunn over the rest of the pod brewers, and I’d pick the Keurig over the Bunn. ‘Course I have something of a vested interest in Keurig, so you have to decide if I’m biased or not.
😉
-deCadmus
Any one know where I can find the
“reusable pod coffee adapter ??
Mary
I see I left out part of the name
where you can buy the Bunn My Cafe – it is “CoffeeWholesaleUSA.Com”
I have a senseo pod machine and I like it very much. But I’m not crazy about the Douwe Egbert coffee. I got some pods from cafepods.com, which is a company in the UK. But now they now longer ship to the US… something about the FDA making it too expensive for them (why is the FDA screwing up my coffee drinking, anyway… don’t thay have something better to do?). I tried coolpods but am not crazy about their coffee either. Also tried Maxwell House which is OK and available in the grocery store. I would really like to find better coffee. Making my own pods sounds like a lot of trouble, sort of defeating the purpose of the easy pod approach, but maybe I’ll have to try it.
I was also crushed by the cafepods.com exit from the market. I have been using coffee from podhead.com. Quality is almost as good as cafepods and much better than any alternative. The problem I have had is with the pods breaking and causing vapor lock. So far every pod has broken. My solution has been to use a self-fill pod cup as a base for the pod. This keeps the pod from breaking.
Try the Nespresso machines. They produce a real cup of espresso (complete with honest-to-goodness crema) and the steam generated creates a nice foamed milk for cappuccino or latte.
I appreciate the engineering of the Nespresso machines… they’re pretty smartly designed, and I think they perform pretty well.
That said, I *don’t* recommend them because I think the coffee that goes in the Nespresso capsules is awful, and it’s a completely closed system; you cannot buy coffee from anybody *but* Nespresso.
Does the Bunn MyCafe produce coffee with the “crema” (I know, “foam”!)??
The Bunn MyCafe does produce some foam. If that’s your primary interest, the Philips Senseo produces even more, just not much coffee.
we recently bought the Mellita pod brewer coffee machine, it makes good coffee but I dont like the fact that it only brews 8 oz servings, it doesnt even brew and average mug size of coffee ful only around half full, when I make a coffee I like a full cup….I was wondering if the black and decker makes bigger cups…the only reason I bought the mallita one was that they had a bonus of 12 boxes of coffee pods free with the macine which was like getting the machine for free…it was a great deal…
we recently bought the Mellita pod brewer coffee machine, it makes good coffee but I dont like the fact that it only brews 8 oz servings, it doesnt even brew and average mug size of coffee ful only around half full, when I make a coffee I like a full cup….I was wondering if the black and decker makes bigger cups…the only reason I bought the mallita one was that they had a bonus of 12 boxes of coffee pods free with the macine which was like getting the machine for free…it was a great deal…
I purchased the machine from Home Cafe, it gave up during brewing the first cup, I took it back and bought the Black & Decker, which works great for me.
Shopping around for the right coffee, I started with Senseo, Folgers, Millstone, then Java and Melitta and today I found pods made by Maxwell, the weight varies from 7-9 grams, but I’m using two pods anyways, because I like my coffee strong.
The brand that tasted worst was Senseo, Folgers ist pretty good.
June 3: Bought a Senseo machine from Costco. machine was on sale for about $ 58. came with 5 bags of 18 pods each, and one bag of 16 pods in four varieties.
June 4 to June 6: Valiantly tried to like the product, but it was frustrationg to stand there watching it chug and huff and puff, then produce a measly 8 ounce cup, using two pods.
To make a serious mug, I had to brew another two pods, meanwhile the first batch, which was not too hot to start, was getting lukewarm.
June 12: Returned machine and received a full refund
June 12: Ordered a machine and four boxes of coffee from Gevalia — Cost: About $29. They have a promotion going on.
They will be delivered in 2-4 weeks.
We’ll see!!
Did a hands-on review of Gevalia’s new machine today. The short-hand review:
1) Typical build-quality for in-home pod machines… does offer “single” and “double” pod carriers
2) Gevalia pods stink, literally. Slightly rancid, a little fermenty. Brewed, there’s a distinct chemical smell (bleach maybe?) that appears to be from the paper filter material. Wasn’t absolutely certain of this, so tried brewing again with *no* pod. Chemical smell went away. Definitely the filter, or the Gevalia coffee.
3) The machine drips a lot… and when you’ve just brewed a cup, it’s quite possible it will drip on *you* with hot water. Ouch.
4) The drip-tray lid is tippy… careful you don’t leave a full cup on it where it can get out of balance and fall over.
5) Green Mountain coffee pods *can* work with the single pod carrier, but they may suffer a “blowout” (it’s a tight fit, and the blowout rate was about 30%). GMCR pods work fine in the “double” filter carrier, with only a little loss in coffee extraction over the “single”. Gratifying how much better GMCR pods taste than Gevalia’s own, in *their* brewer. 😉
In sum: so far as pod machines go, Grindmaster still is the champ on all counts, but it’s pricey. The Bunn Home Cafe remains in second place. The Gevalia brewer is well-back in the also ran category…
I don’t know whether the Senseo Pod Coffeemaker makes good coffee or not. That’s not my problem. My problem is trying to find someone in the company that will help me get a secret $10.00 Rebate which is due me for my purchase. The ONLY way to get a rebate is to go online and have a printer to print out the rebate slip from their website. Otherwise NO REBATE. This is not only unfair, it should be unlawful. Apparently no one in the company will help me (I don’t have a working printer) so the machine is going back to Wal-Mart tomorrow. I’ll give it a try in the morning though before I bring it back. Gee… I hope I can shake all the residual water out of it.
Annoyed in Naples, FL
(See the above comment from Annoyed in Naples, FL)
I tried the Senseo Pod Coffeemaker this morning and found the cup of coffee it made to be just “fair”. The foamy top was interesting but didn’t contribute anything to the flavor. Possibly it might be due to stale coffee. The Senseo unit I purchased from Wal-Mart probably was packed several years ago and the coffee pods I used were inside the carton(all the discount coupons inside the carton had expired last year!). My general feeling about the unit is that it’s a big step backward in coffee brewing technology, plus the coffeemaker price ($65.00) is exorbitant. The fact that the coffee pods are expensive (about $15.00 a pound for very ordinary coffee) and the unit requires two pods for a standard 8 oz. cup is ridiculous. We live in America, not Europe (where a thimbleful of brewed coffee (4oz.) is standard). I suppose the coffee snobs will like it since it’s expensive to buy and expensive to run. I returned my Senseo to Wal-Mart and got my full refund, no questions asked.
I plan to go back to my little Black and Decker One Cup (8 oz.) unit. I use fresh ground 8 O’Clock Coffee (from beans). I use two tablespoons of medium coarse grind and filtered water (PUR Filter). The brewed coffee is delicious. By the way, my Black and Decker One Cup cost me $12.00 several years ago. It makes a perfect, american size cup of coffee every morning!
Don’t waste your money on a pod coffeemaker
Recently purchased a Senseo, surprisingly without much research. Looking at it now, I would have compared it against the Bunn and the Grindmaster. However, as it turns out I am very happy with my purchase. Along with the “crema,” I zap a little milk, froth it with a Restoration Hardware frother, then let the machine fill my cup with coffee. My very own latte. I love it. Now I’m on the hunt for coffee that’s better than Sara Lee’s brand and is fair trade/organic. Will be ordering some Green Mountain soon.
“Are You Pod People”
I-Don’t-Think-So….
The biggest problem with pod coffeemakers are NOT the coffeemakers. They are the coffee pods themselves. And the problems are basic ones that cannot be easily solved.
The coffee for the pods must be ground at the factory and then assembled into the pods. This is all done on high speed packaging machinery. While all this is happening the ground coffee is beginning to oxidize and lose freshness and flavour (ground coffee is subject to rapid oxidation due to its large exposed surface area).
The pods are then packed and sealed in flexible pouches where the pods continue to lose their original freshness as they sit in warehouses and finally on the retail store shelves.
At home, when the pod package is opened, the ground coffee in the pods continues the fast, downward slide to “staleness”. In fact, the label on coffee pod packages tell you to use the coffee pods “quickly” to maintain “original quality”. It makes no difference what coffee brand you buy…they are all going to make you a poor, offtaste cup of coffee in a very short time. Just blame the oxygen in the air.
What’s the solution? There isn’t any with coffee pods, but by buying fresh roasted whole bean coffee of medium high quality and grinding a portion (of it) just before brewing will usually give you a nice flavourful cup of Java. Keep the beans in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator (coolness will slow down oxidation) The unground beans have a much smaller surface area, consequently the beans will remain “fresh” much, much longer.
Another really bad feature about pods is that you can’t “play around” with the amount of coffee you need to make a satisfying brew. The “experts” have already made that decision for you. Well when it comes to MY cup of coffee, I’m the expert. I’ll decide how much coffee to use.
So there you have it. You can spend any amount of money on the pod coffeemaker, a fancy one or a junky one… but it makes no difference…It’s all in the pods!
Thank you for listening
I just bought my first pod coffeemaker at my local Winn-Dixie Supermarket. It was a Melitta One-One on sale (probably a closeout) for $19.95 (normally $59.95 List). The first one I bought didn’t work right so I returned it and got another one. This one seems to work ok . When the first one didn’t work I called customer service and the girl on the other end said that the instructions are confusing. (printed in China). But after telling her of my problems she agreed that the machine was faulty and to return it.
The coffee it makes is pretty good but I wouldn’t go nuts over it. For 20 Bucks the price was about right. I wouldn’t pay any more than this. Now I’m gonna learn how to make my own pods.
I have been using a Black & Decker pod coffeemaker for about 7 months now and I have been generally pleased with the coffee. After tiring of the choices of Folger and Millstone coffee pods for this unit, I started making my own pods. At first it seemed like extra effort, but now I can grind my coffee from beans, and make the pod in less than 60 seconds. The taste of the coffee is as good as the beans that I can find. I can tell that my Black & Decker unit won’t last forever, as it already has stress cracks in the plastic of the pod holder. The coffee maker will occasionally cycle on in the middle of the night, if it is plugged in. So now, I unplug the unit when it is not in use. There seems to be some problem with start buttons, and the reservior is starting to leak –
Has anyone out there got a Black & Decker unit that has lasted for more than 7-8 months? That is where I am now, and I think my days are numbered.
See my June 22nd post just above
We’ve had our Melitta 0ne-0ne Pod Coffeemaker for a few weeks now. It costs $20.00 at a local supermarket. After looking at some of the competitive brands, the Melitta is comparatively well made. My wife uses it every morning and seems to like it. I used it for a few mornings and didn’t think much of the coffee that it made. So I went back to brewing my coffee “cowboy style” (Just dump some ground coffee into hot water, mix it, let it sit for a few minutes and pour the brew through a strainer into a cup. That’s it)
Back to the Melitta. My wife found she can use quite a few different brand pods..Just make sure the pod paper is forced into the center part of the pod holder and the metal rim is clear before clamping.
I am looking for input on creating an excellent POD with gourmet coffee. I started my coffee website and sales are great. However we are missing an important product, PODS!
After reading all of these postings I am not sure if we want to risk our great coffee in not so great machines.
Any thoughts?
Check out our offerings at
http://www.cohvecacoffee.com
I have a Senseo coffee maker that I’m pretty happy with. We actually use it at a very small private school and have had no trouble with it after a year of use (even with 12-18 year olds using it daily for coffee and hot water for tea and hot chocolate). To sweeten the deal for us, we found a closeout on the $0.99 for a bag of 16 or 18 pods. We bought numerous bags and can offer a decent cup of coffee for a reasonable price to the kids. The coffee is a little bitter but I’m looking into the reusable pod filter for my husband and myself. The link above to the pormanant pod adapter is no longer working so here’s the updated one for those of you interested:
http://www.cafe-filter.nl/Home_NL.asp?Lang=EN
I’ve used both Senseo pods as well as the Black and Decker Home Brewer pods with no problem in the Senseo. I think there are several flavored coffees available for the Home Brewer. BTW, I would never buy the Home Brewer – we owned it a short time and the build quality and design were terrible! It went back before a catastrophe could happen.
Lastly, there were several “gourmet” coffee pod varieties at our local TJ Maxx, of all places. Check it out.
More reusable pod filter adapter/filters:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00080FM9G/ref=pd_sxp_f/102-9825840-3215342?v=glance&s=kitchen
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/kitchen/B0007INM5A/qid%3D1121862694/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-9825840-3215342
Also, eBay has some listings as well. The prices seem quite good.
I haven’t used any of these so I can’t vouch for their quality or usability but will be trying one soon.
“The [NCA 2005 coffee drinking] survey found that six out of 10 Americans were aware of single-cup brewing technologies, although only 2 percent of the respondents said they had owned a single-cup brewer.”
it’s a dead technology, people. it’s an ex-coffeemaker. it’s pushing up paper filters.
americans have seen these marketing campaigns but haven’t been fooled.
i suggest you buy yourself a nice french press while there’s still time. . .(grin)
I know I’m an oddity here with you coffee drinkers but I have a question regarding these pod makers and tea. I’m an avid tea drinker (born in the UK now live in the US) and wanted to know two things:
1) What is the quality of tea like brewed through the pods ?
2) Can I use regular round tea bags (tetley round etc) with these pod systems ?
I have been considering the Melitta for work and just wondered what you all thought
Thnx
WC
Fortune – It’s worth noting that the Reuters article is less than clear in its purview. It refers to “single-cup brewing technologies” as though they were speaking of the entire category.
In fact, the NCA survey relates exclusively to POD coffee brewers… and *not* sealed capsule brewing systems a la Nespresso or Tassimo or Keurig.
Anonymous – Tea brewed through a coffee pod is generally not a Good Thing. Tea is best steeped. Pods don’t allow steeping.
I have heard rather interesting claims from some who *do* tea in pods and K-Cups, that it’s better the second time ’round. That is, they’ll brew a cup — throw it away — and brew another through the same pod or K-Cup. Evidently performance is better when the tea has been “wetted” and there’s ample flavor still to extract from the tea after the first cycle.
YMMV. 😉
Does anyone else have one of those “free” Gelalia coffee makers? I got one and every time I make coffee it smells and tastes of burning plastic.
Target is now making pods in their store brand. One pod makes a double cup with the Senseo and it’s really good!
Try podhead.com…great pods and they fit.
We have now been through four Gevalia pod brewers. None of them have worked. We are returning them and asking for a refund. Enough is enough.
I am deciding between the Bunn My Cafe and the Flavia Fusion. and I’ve never had a pod machine before
I really like that I can use regular tea bags and multiple coffee pods with the My Cafe but the drink selection with the Flavia is pretty cool (Chai Lattes anyone).
Can anyone directly compare these two for me?
The Bunn My Cafe is, as pod brewers go, one of the more capable and flexible on the market.
The Flavia, however, is of another ilk. It’s a proprietary system that, much like the Tassimo, limits you to coffees from a single roaster. If you *like* that roaster that may not be an issue for you. In my own tests, however — tests which have included to my knowlege every single-cup brewer on the market today — only the Flavia produced brews that, after sampling the aroma, I steadfastly refused to drink.
My advice: don’t choose any brewer that limits you to a single source for coffee.
Hi Doug,
Hey, have you bought a bag of senseo pods lately ? Has the clear adhesive strip that normally is on top of the pouch missing ?
In the Chicagoland area, they have been missing for about 3 weeks now…. Is this an attempt by Senseo/Sara Lee to save money ??
Chuck.
Have used the Melita One for a couple of years. Now having a problem with it leaking all over the counter. In the market for another machine that can use Home Cafe and Senseo pods.
PLEASE HELP!!! I received a Senseo machine for my birthday and I love it. The only problem is I live in Windsor, Ontario and cannot find pods of any brand anywhere. I really don’t want to have to order them online or travel across the border, just for a measly bag of coffee. I simply want to buy my pods in a grocery store with the rest of my essentials on a weekly basis. Funnily enough, Wal-mart, Costco, Canadian Tire and numerous other local stores carry several pod brewers. You’d think they would also stock the product the machine uses.
I fully enjoy teh senseo coffee to the max! However, recently I upgraded my coffeemaker to a Kenwood ES547 expresso maker. It comes with an adapter for pods, but this adapter only accepts ESE compatible podsA >S it happens, senseo pods are a different size, so I cannot use these pods.
There are now three options I can chose from as a solution:
1) Get a new senseo machine (easy, but defeats the purpose of having this kenwood expresso maker, plus it’s probably the most expensive solution)
2) Start using ESE compatible pods: My question here is, is the coffee just as good as senseo coffee? Will I get that cream”y foam layer on top? Are there enough different types of ESE pods available? (haven’t found many yet…)
3) Get an adapter that allows me to either use the standard expresso maker filter holder from the kenwood, or get an adpater that replaces the filter holder for the kenwood model. From this point of view I wonder if expresso makers all have a stadard size filter holder, or if they vary per make and model ofthe machine. If they are a standard size, I would have though it is possible to create filter holders for senseo pods for any expresso maker. Is anyone aware of such an adapter/filterholder?
Hi, Kryn —
Your message caused me a double-take… on this side of the pond the Kenwood name is known as a maker of car stereos and the like, not coffee appliances. 😉
I think you’re in a spot. Espresso machines and their ESE pods simply don’t match up in shape or size — or even purpose, really — with Senseo (or other single-cup machines) and their pods. Only you know if what you really want is espresso, or brewed coffee. Only you’ll know if you like what you get if you make an espresso with an ESE pod and add water (a la Americano) for a 6 or 8-oz cup.
Espresso blends are very often altogether different from blends intended for a brewed cup. Sometimes they *do* make a nice cuppa, sometimes they’re miserably awful — bitter or bland — most often with little to no acidity.
‘Course you could always ditch the pod adapter altogther, get some fresh beans from a local coffee roaster and make a lovely single shot. 😉
Does anyone know who actually makes the Gevalia pod brewer? They have canceled their coffee pods and I am having a hard time finding compatible pods. None of the online sites lists the Gevalia brewer in their compatibility information.
Tassimo has a partnership with Gevalia and they make the pod brewer. As a matter of fact Gevalia refers you to tassimo.com to purchase the brewer.
Sue, I have been quite happy with my Gevalia pod machine. I had the Black & Decker but it fell apart after a year. The Gevalia has been going on strong for two years now. I make my own pods with non-bleached filters that I cut myself. I use the coffee I WANT and I’m quite content with it. I want to get a backup machine just in case this one ever dies but knock on wood. we’re still going strong.
Im an english guy with a dutch gf, and the dutch swear by the senseo, in most homes apparently. We bought my folks a machine this christmas, and although we had probs with a chemically smell the first few times, that has pretty much gone now (or maybe not, maybe our noses have become more tolerant…) but anyway the main problem is the pods. You can buy supermarket own brands of most of the coffee makers available, however in england senseo seems to have been missed out. In holland albert heijn do their own range rather large and i see as being better than douwe egberts, and most importantly are HALF THE PRICE!!! however this had lead to me bringing back 7 or 8 bags or coffee pods every time i go over to see her (just got my brother in law a senseo for his birthday, it can oinly get worse….). phillips seem to have a racket over here, and tescos or asda oughta just buy the copyright for the pods so they can manufacture their own kind. give us all a hand….
I am in the US and reciently bought a Delonghi for $100 that I am quite happy with. It does both pods and fresh ground esspresso. SO it’s ready for whatever I am in the mood for. IT’s brews fast and has great flavor. I have only had this machine for a few moths and no technical problems yet. My last machine lasted almost 10 year so it has very big shoe’s to fill. I wish you luck on your coffee journey.
Kienna Coffee & the Sun Cafe Pod Brewer. This brewer has been developed by a Coffee Roaster. There are 3 key factors to producing the best possible cup of coffee in a single cup system. 1- temperature- we are getting 195 degrees F at the Brew Head. 2- pressure- 2.5 bar-this along with the temp creates the extraction of the oils from the coffee. 3- the Coffee- the right roasts, blends & the grind have to be in balance in order to get the best results in the 35-45 seconds of water contact in any single cup system. We are coffee people first and wanted to design a brewer that showed our coffees in the best way. The reason we choose pods over the Plastic Capsule forms of others is because we believe PODS are the environmentally friendly solution when it comes to single cup coffee. The pods are compostable and the packaging is recylable. The Sun Cafe and 20 Varieties of Kienna Pods are available at Bed Bath and Beyond stores in Canada. We hope to be in the USA very soon so you too can experience all our amazing coffee choices one cup at a time.
I’ve tried every coffee maker out there including the Melitta, Keurig, Tassimo, and a few commercial machines.
Hands down absolute best coffee is with the Bunn mycafe. I’ve used a few senseo and melitta pods and they have tasted many levels better than if you were to brew them in their respective machines.
Pod making machines are being discontinued. My advice is to buy one while you can. Mine was a present from a friend they paid $14.99 The paper pods are less than .05 each and while a bit high, grinding your own fresh coffee the way you want it or picking up a can of new orleans styled coffee with chicory (add a dash of cocoa, yum) blows away most commercial pods. I generally make a couple dozen at a time, takes about 15 minutes.
I use loose tea and make my own teabags too.
The brewing temperature is hotter than any other machine I’ve used. That and what seems to me to be a bit of pressure in the brewing bring out a much more intense brew.
Not much crema, but some, but the coffee:) Like everyone else here I did the best I could to research, but machine after machine I was disappointed until picking up a Bunn Mycafe, and no I don’t work for them, but given how much I’ve told everyone how much I love mine they should think about comping me one:)
I’ve owned 2 Bunn Mycafe coffee pod machines. The first one worked great, brewed THE BEST tasting coffee. After about 8 months it stopped pulling water so I had to send it back. The company sent me a new coffee maker and it has worked wonderfully ever since and I’ve had it for about 3 years. It really is the best machine, brews the best for both coffee and tea.