Keurig, or other single cup coffee makers
 

(Ping: Coffee Warlord?)

I've been thinking of getting a single cup coffee maker, but I really don't know anything about them, so any help would be appreciated.

I was looking at the Keurig coffee makers. Anyone have one, or have used one? Do companies other than Keurig sell the "K-cups" that they use? I don't really mind having to get them all from Keurig, they seem reasonably priced (but I wouldn't really know). From their website, they sell coffee and tea K-Cups, which I am interested in. Lots of different teas I've been wanting to try.

Are there other companies that make good single cup coffee makers?

Can't speak to the other single cup coffee makers, but I have a Keurig at home and one in my office at work, and I love them both.

What I really like about them is that I can have the convenience of using the K-cup (which I usually do at work), or I can use my own ground coffee using the gold filter they sell to use in the brewer (which I do at home, allowing me to grind whatever beans I have and not have the added expense of the K-cups).

Lots of places sell the K-cups, though I've found the best places to get them (at least, in my area) seem to be Costco, Bed Bath & Beyond (with the 20% coupon they always seem to send out, it's cheaper than most places), and Keurig.com. Keurig.com has a "rewards" program and every now and then have special offers and offer free shipping on orders over a certain dollar amount. Costco has limited varieties, but the one near me has the Green Mountain Coffee Colombian coffee that I like.

I'm partial to the Newman's Own and Green Mountain K-cups. I also prefer the darker and bolder K-cups, I tend to mix one of those with a flavored one. I also REALLY like the Green Mountain hot cocoa.

Good luck with your purchase..if you have specific questions about the Keurig, or which cups I like best, feel free to ask.

/tk

I did some brief research into for Christmas. I know Keurig and Tassimo. There may be others as well but those seem to be the most prevalent.

K-cups are seemingly more ubiquitous and with a wider selection. I've tried them and find them satisfactory. My experience is that you have to use the right cup size, even though you can choose different sizes with each use. For example, my experience is that you have to choose the small cup to get the proper flavor -- otherwise the drink is much too watered down. A large cup will taste horrible but the small cups taste pretty good. The drawback is that you're pretty much paying a $1 a cup.

Other companies do make coffee for the K-cups. Target has a suprising selection, as does Bed, Bath and Beyond. You can also order cups online. I have a friend in KC who owns a coffee company and you can order from them as well if you buy in some quantities.

The upside to the Tassimo is that you could make coffee drinks with milk. The Tassimo uses discs and they have a frothy milk disc for making cappuchinos, lattes, hot chocolate and whatnot. If I got one, this is the one I would get for the flexibility.

What held me back is that Tassimo discs are not nearly as ubiquitous as the K-cups. Tassimo is a proprietary invention of Kraft Foods, and to my knowledge Kraft is the only one making discs for the machine. I'm figuring Tassimo is the HD-DVD and Betamax of one-cup brewing systems -- probably a superior product but will lose out in the marketplace.

I don't drink coffee, but my wife and her parents all love their Keurigs and they are coffee snobs.

We bought a simple Keurig because we don't drink coffee but have parents who do, so it's much easier than brewing full pots and throwing most of it away. Works great, and we get the K-cups at the grocery, at BJ's, at Caribou Coffee, and not sure where else.

My wife is starting to try their hot tea K-cups, and loves some of the hot chocolate, so that's been a bonus discovery.

French Press has been working great for me. I've never used the K-cups, but the French Press is giving me the best coffee I've ever made, and it's not electric and doesn't use throw-away filters. Might be a little more labor intensive than you're looking for, though (not that it's difficult by any means, but I imagine an automatic one-cup maker is a breeze).

I like the French Press, but it requires more babysitting and clean-up than I'm usually interested in putting in. When I have a crowd, though, and am making coffee, my French Press comes out.

/tk

You can order the K-cups from a variety of companies and makes of coffee/tea. We ordered some recently through Amazon.

French press is the way to go. The coffee you get from your effort is completely worth it. Rinsing out a press takes about 20 seconds. If you grind your own fresh roasted coffee, then the cup you get from your french press is light years ahead of anything a Keurig can vomit out. Plus the grounds can be poured on your azaleas and hydrangeas for a mack daddy fertilizer! :)

So, if you hate coffee and the environment, go for the K cup. If you love coffee and mother earth, do the french press. ;)

There is a lot of coffee maker you can choose such as espresso maker, single cup, drip coffee maker, etc. Don’t just depend on their look instead look inside the quality and specification of every unit. There are reviews for different types of coffee maker; you can view them all here.