Adjusting to a pod coffee maker

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:44 am

We got one of these the other day, it's a Breville from Williams Sonoma, I believe it's made by Kourig. I'm not giving up my ground coffee from Community Coffee in Baton Rouge, so I use the little pod that allows you to add your own coffee, instead of using one of the pods. I tentatively gave up my little Norelco Express coffeemaker for this new one. I drink two cups of coffee in the morning, which was easy with the Norelco, just make a half pot and drink the whole thing in one big cup.

The new one will make different sized cups, but all of the coffee gets used at the beginning of the brew, and all you get after the first few moments is clear water. So pushing the button to get a much larger quantity of water only results in a very weak cup of coffee with the do it yourself pod option.

If I want full strength coffee, The Breville seems to require that I make two separate cups, which requires emptying the used grounds from the first cup, adding new coffee and making a second cup. No biggie, but it uses double the amount of coffee. Bottom line, I get one cup of pod coffee per scoop, where I used to get twice as much brewed coffee from one scoop with the Norelco. I've experimented with using the same grounds and just brewing the second pod, but it's just colored water, much too weak for me. Ah, well, isn't that the way it always works.

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:56 am

We love our Keurig. Coffee drinkers seem to be in two different camps, those that just want a decent cup of coffee and those aren't happy unless their coffee is a concentrated syrup. For the former camp the Keurig is great, the latter you'll never be happy with the Keurig, though there are some good strong blends. I feel guilty about using ours however, there is no doubt that it is more expensive per cup and creates unnecessary waste, but it is just so bloody convenient.

We would only makes pots of coffee on the weekend and so our ground coffee would go stale and never tasted very good. Now we can have a dozen different types and flavours of coffee on the go in these K-Cups and they have decent shelf life. You can make a cup of coffee anytime with no effort and mess. After dinner flavoured coffee? No problem. Single cup in the morning? No problem. Our machine goes from cold to shooting fire in about a minute (we have the high end Breville machine).

Don't buy the cups from the grocery store though, we wait until there are sales online and stock up. In Canada I buy mine from futureshop.ca when they have a buy 3 get one box free sale (free shipping too).

Sando · Post by **Sando** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 6:57 am

I've used a Nespresso for a couple years now. I like it for the convenience and as long as I use it as it's intended. I like my coffee strong and black. The Nespresso pods make a fine cup but it's limited to a small espresso cup. Anything larger gets diluted, as you say. Plus, it get rather pricey for the pods. So, the real adjustment has to come from me - I don't expect it to do more than a small cup and it'll be fine.

...Ray

Kyle76 · Post by **Kyle76** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:06 am

The Keurig is more expensive per cup, but it's ideal for me. I normally only make coffee at home on the weekends. During the week, I drink it at work or if I go out for breakfast. Thus, it takes me a couple of months to go through a pound of coffee. Not ideal for freshness. With the pod, the coffee is sealed until I use it, so it's always fresh.

SmallTank · Post by **SmallTank** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:46 pm

I would say Nespresso machine hands down best espresso capsule coffee..sad they haven't had much seasonal variety though

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:25 pm

SmallTank wrote:I would say Nespresso machine hands down best espresso capsule coffee..sad they haven't had much seasonal variety though

This was our main decision to choose a Keurig over the Tassimo. Keurig has hundreds of coffees from Timothy's, Van Houtte, Green Mountain, and the list goes on. Tassimo has Nabob, Maxwell House, and I think Starbucks left them. Not paying that kind of money for Nabob and Maxwell House, thanks.

Post by **drmoss_ca** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 3:20 pm

I'm using a Keurig in the office, which is easy and clean, but it isn't a tenth as good as the Saeco at home. The first twenty six years I knew my wife, I saw her drink ONE cup of coffee, and that out of politeness. Since we have had the Saeco in the last ten years, she matches me, cup for cup. That good.

Chris

cvc · Post by **cvc** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:11 pm

I own Green Mountain stock and it's being been going higher and higher.. K-Cups will be sold at all Dunkin' Donut shops in the Fall.. Maybe this will be convenient for you coffee drinkers..

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 4:08 am

I own Green Mountain

our very own smf w. buffet!!!!

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 1:55 pm

For making only two cups of coffee, I am very happy with the $20 GE unit I got at Walmart. Its reusable basket has a V bottom which collects the small amount of coffee.

Twenty years ago I met John Martinez, who has been written about in the New York Times and USA Today (I don't know why, but I'm sure that the publicity was priceless). He felt that the money should go into the coffee, not into the machine.

Nitrox · Post by **Nitrox** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:56 pm

I don't own a high end coffee maker but plan on getting a Saeco eventually.
For now, I use a Bialetti espresso maker which can make espresso in a few minutes. We have different size ones ranging from 3 cups to 12 cups.

Squire · Post by **Squire** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:34 pm

I like good coffee but don't care which machine is used to brew it.

I have a friend who only drinks decaf. I asked him if he also boiled his Scotch to get the alcohol out.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:55 am

ckc* so i went to look at the saeco machines that you gents have mentioned.....looks very nice, but for someone like myself who does 10 cups before they even wake up, brewers like saeco are a non option.....plus they seemed to be geared toward the addition of milk?

one of these days im going to get a green bean and roast it myself to see if it's true that it is the coffee that matters and not the machine. in the meantime i remain a longtime devotee to the bunn

clive

*curiosity killed (the) cat

nteeman · Post by **nteeman** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 3:46 am

I too like my coffee strong and black. At home I use a manual pour over Melitta (I control the slow pour over) I like this the best.

At work I use an Aeropress (even though they have Flavia one cup machines that are pretty good), and this makes an excellent cup and is easy to clean up.

With both the Melitta and Aeropress I can use any coffee I choose and I do get some great fresh roasted coffee from a local coffee roaster. (and grind the beans myself).

Cheers,

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:04 am

I'm getting it dialed in, I think. This morning's big cup was just about right.

Here's the story: SWMBO declared she wanted this machine for her b'day, so that's why it's here. I was/am perfectly happy and content with my little Norelco Express. I've got 3 -- (w/backups, you know. Found two of them at the Goodwill for next to nothing.) Oh well, if mama's happy then everybody's happy, isn't that what they say? Oh, we've got a Bunn for the family gatherings, too. I'm just trying to keep it peaceful here.

rustyblade · Post by **rustyblade** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:12 am

fallingwickets wrote:ckc* so i went to look at the saeco machines that you gents have mentioned.....looks very nice, but for someone like myself who does 10 cups before they even wake up, brewers like saeco are a non option.....plus they seemed to be geared toward the addition of milk?

In my opinion espresso is a different animal. Espresso is nice, but it is not a 'cup of coffee', cappuccino and the like are more dessert drinks to me and require too much effort and mess. Another thing about espresso is it seems you have to spend around $1000 to get a 'decent cup' which is ridiculous. I have one of those stovetop boilers which make something that tastes okay but I find the cleanup annoying and I have often burnt the coffee forgetting it on the stove.

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:01 am

and grind the beans myself

i bought a grinder after another coffee thread here (damn smf enablers) but i dont know what i did wrong i just couldnt get the grind right and after blowing through a pound of coffee i called it a day and put it on *the* shelf

clive

Quarterstick · Post by **Quarterstick** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 9:34 am

My wife got me a Keurig last year on sale and I polietly asked her to return it before I used it. She does not really drink coffee, but she had been hearing from friends how great these were. I have used them at work and at friends houses and discovered that the perceived convenience would be a problem for the way I drink coffee.

I like to drink all different types of coffee and my favorite is not likely to be offered as a k cup ever. As I am typically a 2 cup drinker I did not want to mess with putting my own coffee in the little dispenser each time (perhaps this is just a bit lazy, but I know me). So I went with a Cuisinart 10 cup with a thermal carafe and a setting to brew 2-4 cups. This gives me flexibilty to brew more if I want or if we have company, while enjoying my daily 2 without risk of burnt coffee. Most importantly, I like the coffee it makes.

Squire wrote:I have a friend who only drinks decaf. I asked him if he also boiled his Scotch to get the alcohol out.

That is too funny! May I use that?

GA Russell · Post by **GA Russell** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:07 pm

brothers wrote:Oh well, if mama's happy then everybody's happy, isn't that what they say?

Around here they say it differently - If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy! It's not that Mama's happiness guarantees everyone's happiness, but rather that her unhappiness guarantees everyone else's misery!

fallingwickets · Post by **fallingwickets** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 12:34 pm

^^^^^^^^^^^ HAHAHAHA