Keurig single cup beverage machines?

[PaulR]

I usually just make a cup of coffee to take with me out the door in the mornings, but the wife likes teas and I'm sure the kids would love hot cocoa. These are intriguing but are also pretty pricey.

Anyone have any experience with these?

[johnniegold]

I actually just received one as a gift. They are ok. I'm used to Aeropressing my coffee but this is very convenient. I have been using Dark Magic coffee from Green Mountain which is a dark roast and utilize the mug setting. The coffee is not bad. The Green Mountain hot cocoa leaves a little to be desired. I have not tried any of the teas. I know the machine runs about $150. When I am in a hurry, it is great. When I have the time, I still like to boil some water and use the Aeropress.

[garfinkel]

My wife and I use a Senseo with a pod system, and love it. It's very convenient, and much cheaper than Keuring cup systems. Pods are a more universal format, so you will have more options. The K-cups are proprietary. I admit that I have never tried a K-cup. When looking into these single serve systems, I decided to go with the Senseo because of how much cheaper, yet well reviewed it was.

I buy a lot of pods from coffeewhiz.com. Also, Amazon has a great deal on Fratello 6-packs (18 pods each) for around $28. This is cheap for 108 servings! And the Fratello pods are quite good. The pods that come with the Senseo should be thrown into the trash, or used with lots of milk and sugar to mask the inferiority.

There are even a few Tea pod makers. But, I think regular old tea bags are probably cheaper. And loose tea is better anyway. I do think hot chocolate pods have been launched in Europe, so it is a matter of time until they hit the U.S.

For more reviews on all single serve coffee machines, coffee, gadgets and so on, go to singleservecoffee.com.

[PaulR]

Thanks for the input.

The one thing I don't quite get is that I see that the models are able to brew different sized cups:

Four brew-size options include a 5-1/4-ounce robust cup, a 7-1/4-ounce regular cup, a 9-1/4-ounce large mug, and an 11-1/4-ounce extra-large mug. Set the brew size and brew temperature with easy-to-use controls.

But the K-Cups (or pods) all seem to be the same size. So if you brew a 5.25 oz cup, I would assume it would be pretty strong. But a 11.25 oz cup would have to be relatively weak. Or is this thing smart enough to adjust the output as well as the flow of liquid?

I have a larger travel mug (12 oz) and would want to brew a good cup of coffee for that volume of water.

[singlemalt65]

I have one and love it. I am the only coffee drinker in the house so it is really convenient. When friends come over it is nice to offer a full variety of coffee or tea choices since it takes about 20 seconds to brew a cup.

I think the Tully's Italian Roast is the best. French Roast is good.

We have the teas and they do a good job, but I am no tea expert.

Bruce

[alabamalawyer]

My office has one and the coffee drinkers there love it. I also like it in that I can get a cup of hot tea quick from it. The K-cups are easy to dispose of and make less mess than coffee grounds or wet tea bags.

[yomuppet]

My office has one and the coffee drinkers there love it. I also like it in that I can get a cup of hot tea quick from it. The K-cups are easy to dispose of and make less mess than coffee grounds or wet tea bags.

Mine has one too, and if you like strong coffee (which the Aeropress reference would tend to indicate) I suggest staying away from K-cups.

I regularly use a french press, and IMO the K-cup coffee is extremely weak. I find this to be the case on all 3 settings (small, medium, large). We have the Green Mountain cups, as well as a few other brands, and I find the strength of all to be in the same range.

If you do not mind weaker coffee, it sure is convenient though. Best of luck.

J