Coffee Pod vs Podless Single Serve Coffee Makers
Guide to the Best Single Cup Models from Keurig, Senseo, Melitta etc
Jan 20, 2009
Single cup coffee makers are quick and convenient, making only as much as necessary and dripping straight into a mug (no coffee pot to wash). They can be used to make tea, hot chocolate and instant soup.
They are small and fit comfortably into bedrooms and office cubicles. For the caffeine-addicted traveler, they can even be packed into a suitcase and used in hotels.
Coffee Pod Coffee Makers
Coffee pods are single serve portions of ground beans, prepackaged in a standard plastic cup (already wrapped with filter paper inside) and sealed for freshness. The coffee pods fit directly into the coffee maker. Hot water is dripped through the pod, to be collected in a mug below. Popular brands include Senseo, Juan Valdez, Melitta, Krups and Keurig.
Advantages
- Convenient. No need to measure out ground coffee for each brewing. Just pop in a pod.
- Easy to clean. Just remove used pod and throw away.
- Easy to try different varieties of coffee. Each serving is individually wrapped, no need to finish one large bag of coffee.
Disadvantages
- Cost per pod is relatively high.
- Environmentally wasteful, packaging is thrown away with each pod.
- No industry standard. Can be locked into a manufacturer's limited range of coffee. Major coffee brands do sell compatible pods but not all types are supported.
Some coffee pod coffee makers can be converted to become "podless" with a refillable pod filter.
Podless Single Cup Coffee Makers
These are similar to traditional drip coffee makers, only smaller. Ground beans are spooned in manually. This requires more effort but does allow better control of the amount of coffee powder used.
Adding too much coffee powder (or too fine a grind) can cause the hot water to spill over the filter, carrying ground beans into the coffee mug.
Some have permanent steel or nylon mesh filters. Paper filters are not required but might improve the taste and make cleaning up easier (less bean oil to wash off the permanent filter).
Coffee Cup Size
Some coffee makers are short and can only be used with small cups. Large coffee makers also have problems. If a small cup is used in a coffee maker designed for large cups, the dripped coffee could splash.
For convenience, some coffee makers come bundled with matched mugs. Some are travel mugs with a narrow base. These coffee makers might not fit fat mugs.
Premium Gourmet Coffee Maker Features
Premium models have more features and allow more customization and control. Cheaper models will have fewer features, but can still make good coffee.
Popular features include
- Selectable cup size (output water volume). Some cheap models can only make one cup size, or will simply use up all the water poured in.
- Selectable water temperature. The fixed temperature of budget models can be like Goldilocks and the Three Bears: too hot or cold for some, just right for others.
- Automatic power shut off after coffee is made.
- 24 hour timer to automatically start making coffee in the morning.
- High power (1500 watts) for quick brewing. Some models are as low as 500 watts.
Many coffee makers, whether cheap or expensive, are noisy. This can make them unsuitable for office use.
The Best Single Cup Coffee Maker
Good coffee is a matter of individual taste. Connoisseurs may need to fine tune their preparation methods to customize their brew, no matter what coffee maker is used:
- grind size
- amount of powder
- roast type
The good news is that with a single cup coffee maker, it is possible to customize to suit everyone in the family or office.
A French Press coffee maker is also a good alternative. And for commuters, a coffee travel mug is indispensable.
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