Single pod coffee Machine, which do you prefer?

[someguy 67067]

Hi this is a thread dedicated to the Single Pod Coffee Machines.

 

The old way where we used a coffee machine with a pot and paper filters served us well for many years. Was the most cost effective way of making coffee. It involved a bit of work. Some wasted coffee and a bit of a mess to get rid of the coffee grounds and wet filters. this cost an average of 10 to 20 dollars a month.

 

We got our first Tassimo Coffee machine, It made great coffee and hot chocolate and latte's and cappuccino's. We had this for about a year. Coffee pods for this machine ranged from 7 to 12 a pack of 12 to 14 pods. Now the cost has gone up to 60 or 70 dollars a month for the two of us.

 

Then we switched to a Keurig Coffee machine. There was more choice in Coffee flavours, up to 200 different pods available now. But the cost was even more. No 9 to 14 for a box of 12 to 14. We joined the Keurig Club and bought coffee online at a discount. But now the monthly cost is 100+.

Between the Tassimo and Keurig, I thought that the coffee tasted better on the Tassimo. to me the Keurig coffee was not always strong enough.

 

Then for Christmas I bought my wife a Nespresso vertuoline coffee machine including the frothier, which retails for 350, but I got for 150 + 75 credit towards Pods. Now this machine is well built and the coffee is way better and stronger. Makes great expresso based drinks and nice strong coffee, All the coffees come out with a great crema. but pods are now 85cents for expresso, and 1.10 for coffee. And you can only by the coffee from one the Nespresso boutiques or online.

I have a feeling this is going to be costly over the year. But the coffee is decadent with all coffee based drinks with hot milk and froth. I think that this machine will be used for speciality coffee.

 

What are your opinions on these machines and other single pod coffee makers that I have not discussed. What are your favourite coffee flavours and creations? Where do find the best prices for coffee pod prices in store or online. ?

Hopefully some interesting discussions and opinions can be heard?

[The General 11309]

So I really think we have become a victim of the retailer and bought into the whole it is better and we should spoil ourselves and get a better coffee (I could probably replace that word with a million other ones).

 

At the margin it is better, and perhaps spoil ourselves every now and then, but it has become an everyday staple. As to the coffee, give me the old fashion coffee maker, I will gladly buy the coffee in bulk and will dispose of the grounds as per normal.

 

Let me see, what do I save. Perhaps $50 dollars a month, $600 a year, and $3,000 every 5 years. And for this, I would take a lovely vacation in the South. So, which is it, snotty coffee or a nice vacation, you chose.... I know which one I would take.

[NotchJohnson 214123]

I only drink one coffee(french vanilla) a day, we bought a Keurig machine and it served well for guests, we tried making our drink(french vanilla) but nothing comes close to what Tim Horton serves. If I could find a coffee make that makes it as good as Tim's I would buy it.

[Honey Man 12759]

I drink instant coffee lol I have for 40 years and buy it on special lol

[xxxAxxx 21016]

I'm happy with my Keurig and hope it's technology remains current for a while...

[Boomer 33202]

I gave Keurig a try but eventually decided for the price of the pods it wasn't worth it both for the price per and the quality. So now I keep a grinder on the counter and buy the whole coffee beans, and use a french press to brew my fix.

[Luckyme 41401]

Like The General and others, I still enjoy my daily cup of coffee using the old coffee machine. I just love the smell of the can of Tim Horton ground coffee every morning when I open the jar. I also figure that this method is more environmetally friendly since the paper filters are compostable and biodegradable ( not sure about the millions of used empty pods from newer machines). As for the coffee grounds, I use them in the flower plots or vegetable gardens.

 

http://www.nwedible.com/2013/02/5-ways-to-use-coffee-grounds-in-the-garden.html

 

And the machine is a lot less hazardous! :icon_wink:

[Warped88 5815]

Tim Horton's had a promo going on a couple of years ago where they gave a free tassimo machine. So, I took advantage.

 

It works great, and the coffee is generally good. However, the cost was ridiculous when compared to "normal" coffee. I drink a lot of coffee in the run of a month, so I gave up on the Tassimo. The quality of the coffee, while good, is no better than other methods and isn't worth the added expense.

 

If I have the time, nothing beats a coffee from and old fashioned coffee perk. Usually though, it's from a good quality drip machine.

[tongue twister 842]

I love my Keurig. I drink plenty of coffee and yes the pods are expensive but if you have a certain pod you buy on a regular basis the cheapest way is to buy them from amazon if they have it.

T.T.

[waterrat 1261]

There was quite a bit of litigation around the Nespresso pods (old style not the vertuoline). In the end Nespresso lost. In Europe it is possible to buy other pods for the machine at better prices. There is even a system that lets you fill your own with any extra fine grind coffee (remind you of roll your own cigarettes?).

[jafo105 39057]

I have a Keurig and I love it. I find the k-cups a little expensive at times. Fortunately I have an accessory that allows me to use what ever ground coffee I want. I always try to keep a few k-cups in the house for guests.

[Metalsmith 2983]

I run a Keurig. Love it. Works fine. Every time. Mine is on a timer, and even punches out 12Oz travel mug sized shots of coffee. Try buying coffee at Wheatons....they often have sales, and let you pick ones or twos to a total of 24 to try before you buy a case.

 

Also, shop Costco for bulk k-cups....around $.60 ea.

 

MS

[Nicolette Vaughn 294340]

I wasn't a coffee drinker until recently and tired of going out to Tim Horton's or worse, spending a fortune on Starbucks all the time. I was looking at the Keurigs. Any others that are also good as well? I like to compare advantages/disadvantages before I buy. Price is not an issue since it will be worth it and have it for when company comes over.

 

I don't care for Tim Horton's anymore and aside from their regular coffee those french vanilla coffees I used to have from there once in a while are full of sugar, unwanted calories and make me feel sick afterwards. JMO.

[someguy 67067]

I think that the Nespresso makes the best tasting coffee and expresso based drinks, but it is the most expensive and has the least variety of flavours.

 

the Keruig offers the most choices of flavours and is expensive also, but not as much as Nespresso pods.

 

The Tassimo makes the most variety of drinks, latte's, cappuccinos, teas, hot chocolates, coffees. It is bar coded and makes the perfect cup each time. I think that the Tassimo coffee taste better then the Keurig. Before there was a limited selection of coffee, but now there are more. the price of pods are about the same as Keurig.

 

The other machines. I have not experience with. was hoping that others would chime in on their opinions on other pod machines.

[Metalsmith 2983]

I also have a few of the `make your own` k-cups. They work pretty well, and you can make any mix you want.

[fr33yay0 1172]

K CUPS FOR LIFE! I mean... D CUPS... I mean.. K Cups.. I am lost.

[Dunstan Ramsay 1882]

I've tried some of those instant coffee makers, whether it was at work or a friends place. And personally I don't like the taste.

I prefer to use a good old fashioned coffee press. You can make as much or as little coffee as you need. I like to buy the coffee beans and grind them myself. Obviously you can buy the coffee already ground. But you get the full flavor and best of all, it's fresh.

It will stay fresh if you keep it in a sealed container in the freezer.

Apart from the taste, there are two problems with those type of coffee makers: 1) the waste and; 2) the technology.

Think about all those little cups with there little foil lids being thrown out everyday. Are they recyclable? Does anyone even take the time to recycle them?

Then there is the actual machines. Like most technology these days, it only last for a few years. Lets not forget that these coffee maker companies want to maximize their profits. So the best way is the change the style of cups and use the excuse of "it's better". Then everyone has to go out and buy a new coffee machine so they can use the new cups. Think about all the printers that have changed at work or you used for personal use.

[jg24 3708]

Costco has the best price on K-cups. Kirkland brand 100 k-cups for $38.99 they VanHotte 80 for $39 and Timothy the same. Yes not much selection but all 3 coffees are good they are starting to expand selection

[TINCUP 6043]

Or you can buy them at Canadian Tire for a box of 40 for less than $20.00 so it comes out at 50 cent each or less. Some times they have special at winners or Walmart,either under $20.00 for a box of 40 or under $15.00 for a box of 30 that again each pods cost about 50 cents each. I do not buy pods for my keurig machine if the coffee I want is more than 50 cents per pod. Then I use my old drip coffee machine

[Happyjack 1090]

I bought a nespresso machine over Christmas. So far so good. I think it makes the best coffee of all of the different pod type machines. It is a little pricey but hey so is this hobby and I don't want to give this up either. ;)

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[Kathryn Bardot 99339]

I had a Tassimo that I used for about a year, on and off, but never really liked it, especially if I need to make more than one cup (and let's face it, student life means LOTS of coffee). So, I after it sat on top of my fridge for almost a year without being used, I gave it away.

 

I'm much happier with my Bodum (french press) and coffee grinder.

[roamingguy 300292]

Well quite a few people I knew (know) had Keurigs or other single pod coffee machines. They kept telling me to buy one. But I had my cheap $20.00 coffee machine which made good coffee and the coffee they made wasn't too good (imho)

Then when I went to Florida to see dad in 2013, the coffee machine they had was a Keurig. So handy, no tins of coffee to scoop coffee from, filters to put in the filter basket, measuring the right amount of water etc etc etc

Just put in a K-Cup, put your cup on the machine hit brew and a few seconds later a hot cup of coffee...VERY IMPORTANT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING!!!

So I bought myself a Keurig and have no regrets. Coffee as good if not better than what I brewed. No mess, no fuss easy to make. And no waste. I can't count the coffee dumped down the drain from my old filter coffee maker. No coffee wasted on my Keurig...I just make exactly what I need

And the flavour choices...so many. Couldn't try that many flavours of coffee with a conventional coffee maker, unless you want to be inundated with tins upon tins of coffee. Not to mention they make nice presents ;-)

Posted as I'm sipping a French Roast decaf, one of a few flavours I get to sample and enjoy because Santa, well she ;-)was very nice to me this year

 

RG :-)

[Phaedrus 209521]

I've never really seen the point of these machines, other than convenience... but the cost and the waste (especially the waste) really mean they aren't worth it for me. Between my ancient machine with papers and a pot and stuff, and an Aeropress for smaller batches (I love my Aeropress :) ) I don't need anything else.

 

Bear in mind that all these 1-cup machines are sold at a loss, and the manufacturers make their profit when you buy the pods (kinda like printers, razors and electric toothbrushes). It's worth having a look for the refillable pods you can get, which eliminate all the plastic waste and save you a lot of money as you just use your own coffee in them... but they may be hard to find as the manufacturers hate them, for obvious reasons. Keurig in particular have tried to prevent their use in the their newer machines, although you can defeat this if you want to.

[The General 11309]

I still am the brew and pot guy, but have a thermal pot, so it stay hot and doesn't need heat under it, which typically makes the coffee taste awful, pretty fast. In fact, I just microwave the next day, and don't waste much coffee. So, I figure about $10 for coffee, which equates to about 10c per cup.

 

Then I have more money for fun things in life. :-)

[LeeRichards 177238]

I .......... have a state of the art, General Electric unit with a timer. Approximately 15 years old. It has a pod thingie. Which uses a paper filter and four scoops coffee in it .... a dash of water and voila 8 cups of coffee. Repeat as necessary depending upon stress level.

 

I also have a Tassimo in the cupboard virtually unused. It was a gift and looks nice up there for now....until I move it to a different nice cupboard.