The one cup coffee brewing systems have greatly increased in popularity. Users appreciate the convenience of a fresh cup of coffee - with no scorched or burned taste. The brewing speed is another positive as coffee is usually ready in a minute or less. There's a great variety of brewing systems available and this is a report on two of the most popular.
Senseo HD Deluxe 7810
This single cup brewer has been popular in Europe for some time and over 5 million were sold there. Its brewing system produces a cup of coffee with a smooth, frothy layer on top called crema. Now sold in the US, it uses pre-measured coffee that is packaged in paper discs, called a pod. The machine comes with 2 different sized pod holders: a shallow one that holds one pod for one cup of coffee and a deeper one for two pods for two cups. Some coffee drinkers who like a strong cup of coffee use the larger pod holder and two pods to make one cup.
The removable 20 ounce water reservoir will make 5 small cups of coffee. Brewing time is one minute. The main complaints about the Senseo machine concern the quality of the coffee itself. Some say it tastes "weak", "stale", or "bitter". Coffee in Senseo pods is made by Douwe Egberts but some coffee drinkers have tried Melitta or Aloha Island pods and are happier with the results.
Keurig Elite B40
There are several different models of single cup brewing machines made by Keurig and they are all rated tops in durability and reliability. The brewing systems are identical so the only differences are in the size of the water reservoir and how many cups can be brewed before it must be refilled. The B40 is in the middle of the range and it brews an eight ounce or ten ounce cup from a 48 ounce water reservoir. It brews in 30 to 50 seconds and uses vacuum packed coffee in K-Cups.
These little containers look like a coffee creamer and have been developed and patented just for use with the Keurig brewing systems. In all of the ratings, Keurig is Number One for making consistently good coffee. This has to be partially due to the high quality coffee from respected roasters like Green Mountain, Tulleys, Newman's Own Organic coffee, Timothy's, Diedrich and Gloria Jean. There are over 200 varieties of coffee and tea in K-Cups as well as Timothy's White Hot Chocolate and other cocoa brands. So if you like these brands or have a favorite roast from Emeril, the Coffee People, or Caribou Coffee, you'll find it as well as a great number of flavored blends.
