Posts Tagged ‘coffee pod machines’

Coffee People: Donut Shop Coffee (K-Cup)

Posted in Review


February 18th, 2010

A Traditional Cup of Coffee With Surprising Depth

One of my favorite things about the Keurig brand, besides its amazing coffee pod makers, is the K-Cup format for coffee pods.  So many third party companies have embraced this system that you can find just about anything the imagination can conjure in the coffee world.  One shining example of these third party companies is the “Coffee People” brand.  With their “Donut Shop” offering, they’ve creating a fantastic example of slick marketing (seriously, check out the box and tell me it’s not eye-catching) and more importantly, delicious coffee pod products that contain a surprising amount of depth.  Before analyzing the taste, my first impression was that the Donut Shop coffee is most like a traditional cup of “diner” coffee.  It’s the sort of roast that brings back memories of the 89 cent, no-nonsense cup of joe that would get you up and running at any time of day.  The great thing about Donut Shop, though, is that it really runs much deeper than the traditional cup of coffee if you continue to drink it.  I know:  A multi-layered coffee experience like this sounds a bit like a joke when I describe it, but this stuff shouldn’t be underestimated.

The Taste Test

In a more detailed taste-test, the Donut Shop K-Cups deliver on their promise.  During my test, I was greeted with a very bold flavor but without the characterstic bitterness that plagues so many other bold coffees currently on the market.  Added to the initial boldness, the after taste is a really wonderful, subtle, syrup flavor that mixes with a smooth finish.  Overall, you’re definitely in for a stronger, richer experience than you might have gotten with other K-Cups, and coffee pods in general.  I think the Coffee People are one of the few companies that is going to up the ante for the coffee pod craze, raising the bar to a level of quality that may even establish single serving coffee as a more-than-viable alternative to traditional brewing.

Conclusion

I was honestly taken aback at how well the Coffee People pulled this off.  Keurig should be grinning ear to ear with such a solid product that is using their K-Cup system, and I’m hoping they have others lined up for release in the near future.  For now, though, I’ll be making the Coffee People’s products a regular part of my coffee subscription from Amazon, and it should go well alongside my other K-Cup flavors.

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The Best Single Cup Coffee Makers

Posted in Comparisons, Review


February 18th, 2010

I’ve been reading tons of reviews lately, trying to collect the various opinions on pod coffee makers and testing out the products on my own. Through this research and generating my own opinions, here are the results on the top 3 units in the search for the perfect small coffee maker:

Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System

Out of all the coffee pod brewers that I could find that were getting great reviews right out of the gate, the Keurig units were the absolute best performers.  Out of Keurig’s offerings, the B60 seems to be the real winner in terms of build quality, features, and most importantly the quality of the brewing process.  The favorite features among reviewers included one-touch configuration for fast brewing, multiple cup sizes for different amounts of coffee output, the excellent K-Cup coffee pods, and removable drip tray.

AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker

Based on the well-established tradition of french press coffee makers, the AeroPress units are at a real advantage in terms of aesthetics as well as quality brewed coffees.  People really seem to like the fact that this unit uses a gentle air pressure process combined with properly heated water to do its magic.  This is not the same process that is used in the more common single cup coffee makers that you’ll see on the market.  Additionally, while we tend to get caught up in the fancy features on the the Keurig units like the touch screens and digital readouts, there’s a lot to be said for a coffee maker that has fewer mechanical elements.  Since we’re dealing with a french press style brewer here, you’re relying more on the natural pressure that you expend when pressing the handle down than on a mechanical element that has a better chance of breaking down.  This results in a brewer that needs to be serviced far less (if at all), while still giving you a great cup of coffee.  For these reasons, the AeroPress units really deserve a special mention in this list.

Breville BKC600XL Gourmet Single-Cup Coffee Brewer

Last, but definitely not least, we have the Breville series.  Although less known than the Keurigs and Senseos on the market, the Breville’s really deliver.  I actually already had experience with the BKC600XL because a fellow coffee enthusiast owns the unit.  I was quite impressed with the quality of the coffee that this brewer was able to deliver.  One of my favorite things about this unit is the compatibility with the “K-Cup” system that is manufactured by Keurig.  Combined with the programmable LCD screen and rock-solid construction, the Breville name is definitely a great contender.

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Coffee Pod Maker Features

Posted in Features


February 18th, 2010

The market for coffee pod machines is becoming more and more varied by the day, adding new features and fancy bells and whistles at a rate that the major review sites can barely keep up with. Some of the more advanced units are truly impressive in what they include for the price of admission, let’s take a look at what you can expect from one of these pod coffee makers:

Advanced User Interfaces

Gone are the days where your only option for a coffee maker was “on” or “off.”  Some of the nicer coffee pod brewers like the Keurig B150/B155 brewer feature touch screen interfaces, allowing the user to directly tap on the display surface to adjust all the parameters.  When you look to Keurig’s marketing, it becomes obvious why these advanced features are being added:  These coffee pod machines are aimed mostly at medium sized businesses and bigger offices.  These are industrial-strength features designed for efficient, constant use.

Perfectly Sized Portions

All the competitors in the coffee pod market, whether they be Senseo, Keurig, or one of the many other companies making a name for themselves in the field, have their own patented single-serving packets.  For instance, Keurig uses a system called the “K-cup” portion packs.  Most of these names are just fun marketing terms that generally refer to a general concept:  Single portions that are already prepared and ready for hot water, cutting down on waste and bringing a maximum of delicious coffee, cocoa, hot chocolate, etc.

Miscellaneous but Useful Features

Not everything needs to be as fancy as a touch-screen or a trademarked single-serving packet, though.  Some of the lesser-noticed features of the advanced coffee pod maker units deserve to be mentioned.  For instance, the ability to brew multiple cup sizes so that the serving size is tailor-made to whatever cup you decide to use.  Another cool one is the ability to feed a direct line from your plumbing right into the coffee pod unit in order to bypass the need to refill the water reservoir.  Water dispenser units have made similar advances over the years, so it’s nice to see the coffee brewing world catching up to this particular convenience.  Last, buy not least, the best coffee pod machines will feature energy-efficient auto-shutff features so that the brewer is not constantly drawing power when it doesn’t need to.  I’ve been blow away in the past by just how many coffee machines, whether they are single-serve or otherwise, don’t have this ability!

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