Single-beverage maker -- coffee, tea, etc.

[MrsPete]

I think I want to buy one of these machines, and I really don't know where to begin. Can anyone give me any advice?

We would make mostly tea -- sometimes iced, so it has to be tall enough to accomodate something travel-mug height.
Also hot chocolate.
Occasionally coffee.

I would like a small-ish machine that won't dominate the counterspace. I looked at the Cuisinart on Amazon.com, but it has a water-tank that always stands full (at least I think it does). I'm thinking that's a lot of wasted counter space, and the water'll become stagnant sitting there. I think I'd prefer a smaller machine, into which you'd pour water each time you use it.

Really, I don't know what I want. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[pintamino]

I've had two Keurigs -- one at home, one at school (my mom kept the home when when I moved away because she loved it so much! we got a great deal at kohls, like $79 or something ridiculous). I love it to death.

However, I think (somebody correct me here) only the "big" (i.e., more expensive) Keurigs can make the iced product? Those are also the ones with the water tank. The smaller ones you put the water in each time.

I'm unfamiliar with any other brands, but there's a vote for Keurig here. it's so easy! My mom likes it because they found they were no longer drinking an entire pot of coffee... so this eliminates waste.

 

[scrapquitler]

I think I want to buy one of these machines, and I really don't know where to begin. Can anyone give me any advice?

I have a full size Keurig, but it sounds like you don't want a full sized one because of the water tank and the space issue. My MOm has one of the single serving size Keurigs, and you need to pour water in it each time you want to make a cup. I do think that the little tray at the bottom pulls out so that a travel size mug will fit under it.

One example of what it looks like
http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/kit...8/Keurig+MINI+Plus+Personal+Coffee+Brewer.jsp

 

[Gigi22]

I've been debating purchasing a single-size coffeemaker too, as I am the only one at home who drinks coffee. I make tea in a teapot and hot chocolate in the microwave.

Just seems to me that there is a lot of plastic packaging involved for each cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate made in the single-serving machines. Could anyone tell me if the individual packages are recyclable?

 

[mickeymaker2003]

Just seems to me that there is a lot of plastic packaging involved for each cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate made in the single-serving machines. Could anyone tell me if the individual packages are recyclable?

If you are worried about waste, check out the my K cup and the My K Kap. Both are products that let you add your own grounds to make coffee and re-use the plastic part. The My K Cup is produced by Keurig, the My K Kap is a third party thing that reuses the actual K Cup. I would recommend the My K Cup over the K Kap because repeatedly re-using the filter seems yucky to me.

We make little filters for our My K Cup to slow the water down (it was going through the grounds too fast and coming out too weak). We fold a regular basket filter in half, trace a large mug and cut it out to make two my K Cup filters. It works really well--stronger coffee, less waste and expense.

 

[MrsPete]

I looked at these at Target today. Most of the machines were Keuig brand.

It appears to me that some machines use K-cups, while others use disks? This seems to be a pretty important distinction. Is one better /more available /less expensive than the other?

I'd like to verify whether the smaller machines (without the tanks) will /won't make iced drinks. I personally would use this for iced tea more often than hot drinks . . . the rest of the family would drink more hot things.

I hadn't thought of this from a plastic-waste point of view, but that is something to consider.

It occured to me that I usually make hot chocolate with milk. Is the hot chocolate that you make in these machines good?

 

[tikilyn]

I just bought a Tassimo for my birthday! I love it but thats because I'm a latte kind of girl. I'm also trying to kick my 5.00 a day starbucks habit. If you want just plain coffee I would say the Keuig is a better fit but if your a latte girl then the Tassimo will work.

 

[RooRach0906]

I just bought a Tassimo for my birthday! I love it but thats because I'm a latte kind of girl. I'm also trying to kick my 5.00 a day starbucks habit. If you want just plain coffee I would say the Keuig is a better fit but if your a latte girl then the Tassimo will work.

I agree it is great for lattes, hot chocolate, capiccous, and chai lattes. It can make hot tea (Twinnigs). I made a cup once for my mom and she liked it. I got my Tassimo two years ago for Christmas and I LOVE it!!! I am hoping to get the newer one soon. We have well water so the sediment is in the bottom of the water container. The water container is not big so the whole machine is small and fit on the counter nicely.

 

[camlace]

However, I think (somebody correct me here) only the "big" (i.e., more expensive) Keurigs can make the iced product? Those are also the ones with the water tank. The smaller ones you put the water in each time.

Agreed....if you want the one with the cold/iced drink feature, you are looking at the "bigger"/fancier Keurigs.

 

[sharbear]

I have a keurig and I love it. I have a bigger one with an iced tea setting. It's really not that big on my counter and I have made iced tea in it. It's very good but you need to have a setting that is a small size for the iced tea.

I make tea all the time in my keurig in the kcup adapter. It turns out pretty good, won't beat steeping the tea yourself but it works in a pinch.

 

[WishIwerethere]

I heartily recommend against a Senseo. I don't know whether it makes tea, but I have had two for coffee and had the same experience with both. It didn't work right more than half the time and broke early. The coffee was horrible.

 

[Kae]

go to www.singleservecoffee.com. I have the Plantium or B70 and did made Ice tea in it this summer a few times I am a sun tea girl. It was ok. I did not use the iced setting the 2nd time because for me the tea was too strong. I would much rather use my Mr Coffee Ice tea maker than my Keurig-which is what I do in the winter. But for the every once in a while coffee you could go with the new mini one. & you could use it for Hot Chocolate.

Kae

 

[CherylA]

If you are worried about waste, check out the my K cup and the My K Kap. Both are products that let you add your own grounds to make coffee and re-use the plastic part. The My K Cup is produced by Keurig, the My K Kap is a third party thing that reuses the actual K Cup. I would recommend the My K Cup over the K Kap because repeatedly re-using the filter seems yucky to me.

We make little filters for our My K Cup to slow the water down (it was going through the grounds too fast and coming out too weak). We fold a regular basket filter in half, trace a large mug and cut it out to make two my K Cup filters. It works really well--stronger coffee, less waste and expense.

Sorry had to chime in here for a solution to the My K Cup and the coffee being too weak. This is a solution for the problem and you only have to do it once. When I was buying a my k cup on Amazon I saw this solution written up in the reviews part. It totally works, I have been using this solution for a year now!

Here it is:

After reading many reviews about the problems with the My K-Cup and experimenting on my own, I have found an easy solution to the problem of weak coffee using this filter. As others have noted, the water goes through the My K-Cup way too fast as compared to the K-Cups. My solution was to take apart a K-Cup and use the outer plastic shell with the My K-Cup filter. Here's all you need to do:

Take a used K-Cup and cut the top foil off of a K-Cup. Cut the paper filter out of the K-Cup. It's okay not to cut it all the way off of the rim of the K-Cup because you will need to cut the top of the K-Cup (where it gets wider at the top). You need to cut the top of the K-Cup off because you need to fit the K-Cup shell into the My K-Cup holder. Once you slide the bottom shell of the K-Cup into the holder, you can add your coffee into the My K-Cup (tapping or gently pressing the coffee so that it is not loose inside the filter). Then place the My K-Cup filter into the holder and cover as normal. When brewing, the K-Cup shell surrounds the My K-Cup filter and slows down the water by making it pass through the punctured hole that the prepackaged K-Cup normally uses.

The great thing about this is that you can re-use the K-Cup shell that you cut apart over and over so once you have cut one apart you don't have to worry about it again- use the My K-Cup as you normally would.

I'm hoping Keurig will have figured this out in the near future and add a premade piece that is included the My K-Cup, but until then, I have found that this solves the problem of weak coffee.


So there it is Hope that helps someone!

 

[fallcolors]

Appliances at Williams Sonoma are pricey, but they do demonstrate and let you sample. The salespeople are knowledgable and you can get your questions answered. After you select the best model for your needs - you can then shop around for the best price.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

Take a used K-Cup and cut the top foil off of a K-Cup. Cut the paper filter out of the K-Cup. It's okay not to cut it all the way off of the rim of the K-Cup because you will need to cut the top of the K-Cup (where it gets wider at the top). You need to cut the top of the K-Cup off because you need to fit the K-Cup shell into the My K-Cup holder. Once you slide the bottom shell of the K-Cup into the holder, you can add your coffee into the My K-Cup (tapping or gently pressing the coffee so that it is not loose inside the filter). Then place the My K-Cup filter into the holder and cover as normal. When brewing, the K-Cup shell surrounds the My K-Cup filter and slows down the water by making it pass through the punctured hole that the prepackaged K-Cup normally uses.
QUOTE]

I tried this, but there was always a little coffee left in the bottom of the added k-cup part that wouldn't drain out the holes. The little filters make it easier to get most of the grounds out of the little basket, so I think I'll stick with making filters for the my K-cup. Thanks for the idea though.

 

[CherylA]

Take a used K-Cup and cut the top foil off of a K-Cup. Cut the paper filter out of the K-Cup. It's okay not to cut it all the way off of the rim of the K-Cup because you will need to cut the top of the K-Cup (where it gets wider at the top). You need to cut the top of the K-Cup off because you need to fit the K-Cup shell into the My K-Cup holder. Once you slide the bottom shell of the K-Cup into the holder, you can add your coffee into the My K-Cup (tapping or gently pressing the coffee so that it is not loose inside the filter). Then place the My K-Cup filter into the holder and cover as normal. When brewing, the K-Cup shell surrounds the My K-Cup filter and slows down the water by making it pass through the punctured hole that the prepackaged K-Cup normally uses.
QUOTE]

I tried this, but there was always a little coffee left in the bottom of the added k-cup part that wouldn't drain out the holes. The little filters make it easier to get most of the grounds out of the little basket, so I think I'll stick with making filters for the my K-cup. Thanks for the idea though.

Hmm I've never had that issue. I do have trouble getting the grounds out of the filter though without rinsing it with water and I hate all the grounds in the sink. So your little paper filter would solve that problem for me.