Single Serve Coffee Makers – 2009 Holiday Guide

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1. Extreme John says:

   November 4, 2009 at 11:22 pm

   I love these things, the car dealership by my house has one every time I go there I use it. I might have to ask for one of these bad boys for Christmas

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2. Devon Hernandez says:

   November 5, 2009 at 11:07 am

   My aunt looooves her Keurig, and it works for her and my uncle because they only have one cup each usually when they make coffee, and they are not by any stretch of the imagination what you’d call “coffee purists” – they consume for the purpose of consuming. I think they’re nice for people who live alone, or no one else at the office drinks it, or if you’re just not a huge coffee drinker but like to have the occasional cup and not a lot to deal with clean-up-wise.

   I’ll preface this post by saying I hope I don’t come off as a coffee-snot, and I’ll be honest and say this isn’t my thing, for several reasons:

   1. Rarely, and I’m talking once in a great blue moon, do I EVER have just one cup of coffee. This would be a waste of money for me.
   2. Pre-ground coffee pods wig me out lol. Talk about stale.
   3. The purist side of me rebels. But seriously, more and more I’m getting away from machinery and taking it back old school with presses and stovetop stuff. Superior taste, plain and simple.

   I’ve done techy coffee for years, and I just find I love coffee more when it’s done “the slow way” (I’m a big Slow Food International advocate, and have been considering joining my local chapter). While I’ll agree with you on the point that this one-cup job would be convenient for first thing in the morning when you need that quick shot, when I do actually need it I can use my Krups that has 24 hour programming – I just set it up the night before and set it to start brewing at a specific time, and can use the quick brew 1-3 cup setting if I so wish. I haven’t done it in a few months. I am learning patience and learning to savor my morning coffee more now by using my enameled French drip stovetop pot (for others, a similar set-up would be a French press). The old adage comes to mind: All good things will come to those who wait. I agree heartily. I’m going off-topic kind of by philosophizing here, but we live in a fast-paced, technologically advanced, “I want it, and I want it NOW” society that as Americans we have come to expect and believe it is our right to behave as such, and we have forgotten that there is worth to waiting, anticipation in the slow, and we don’t savor – we just consume and move on. Obviously, I’m not just talking about coffee here, but coffee certainly provides an outlet for my point. I find that I stop and appreciate things more when I’ve expended more personal effort in getting it to a certain state (in this case, making my coffee); it tastes better, and I think about it more, become more focused. I’m not saying you can’t flavor-analyze your coffee from a Keurig pod-maker, but just that by taking the long way, my attention is rivetted for longer, whereas with a Quick Techy Coffee I wouldn’t think about it, I just grab and go, fulfilling a need for hot caffeine in my system, something that gets put in my mouth, and off we go to the next item. Slow forces you to stop. Whoa now I’m talking crazy! LOL. “Stopping” or “slow” are foreign ideas anymore. We don’t have time to stop, and I think that’s to our detriment.

   It comes down to priorities. I’m the type of person who wants to know where it came from, how it was grown, what effects its flavor profile, etc. (like we were talking about on Twitter last night). I’m intrigued by nuances. I think that when you care about those things, you’re going to care about how you get it to your mouth. I’m big on quality. I happen to think quality is sacrificed on the altar of convenience, every time.

   So I’ll skip the convenience and stick with the tried and true. In case you’re wondering, waiting patiently for my water to boil to pour over my coffee grounds forced me to stop and wait, and think about this post.

   Off to go brew…

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3. Mike says:

   November 5, 2009 at 11:16 pm

   Excellent comment! I agree with you one hundred percent, but I still want a single serve coffee maker for those times when I need convenience. Of course, nothing beats the slow, brewing coffee.

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   • Devon Hernandez says:

     November 6, 2009 at 12:09 am

     LOL of course I was intrigued by that one above that one you really like above, that has a setting for “My K-Cup” for your own roast….meaning you can put your own ground beans in, rather than a pod?? :O

     Hmmmm….

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     • Mike says:

       November 6, 2009 at 12:19 am

       I think it does. That’s one of the reasons that I have my eye on it.

       Reply