Huckleberry Roasters Blue Orchid Blend- A Great Light Roast

Huckleberry Roasters Reivew

A small package arrived at my house a few days before Father's Day.  My wife scooped it up and it disappeared.  I suspected that this could be a Father's Day present, but I couldn't be certain.  The package was the size and shape of a small book, and my wife gets a book once or twice per month.

Huckleberry Roasters
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

It turned out that this package was my Father's Day gift.  I should have guessed it was coffee since this is an obvious gift choice for me.  I usually get 16 oz packages of coffee, and since the box was smaller than this, I just assumed it was something else.

What I got was 10 oz of Huckleberry Roasters Blue Orchid Blend.  This is a light roast, and I have been drinking mostly medium or dark roast lately.  I peeked at the invoice- the cost was $15 for 10 oz of coffee, which works out to $24 per pound.  So this would be the most expensive coffee I have ever tried.

At $15 for 10oz, Huckleberry Roasters Coffee Costs About $24 Per Pound
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According to the description of the blend, they change the formula based on a rotating blend of Latin American beans that are available.  This makes sense to me, so they can keep the quality up as different types and qualities of coffee beans are available on the market.  The visible appearance of the beans made it clear that this was a light roast, and they were not oily.  I was ready to give the Blue Orchid Blend a try.

Huckleberry Roasters Blue Orchid Blend
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

This light roast packs a lot of flavor.  Some light roasts have a bit of a sour flavor, and this one has some citrus notes, but overall has a great coffee flavor.  This roast has some complexity, you can tell that it is not a single origin blend.  It has some of the chocolate and nutty flavors of a darker roast.  I would certainly try Huckleberry Roasters Blue Orchid Blend again, or perhaps a medium or dark roast from Huckleberry Roasters.

Huckleberry Roasters Blue Orchid Blend (Light Roast), with flash
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Huckleberry Roasters Blue Orchid Blend (Light Roast), no flash
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

This coffee costs more than twice as much as Starbucks whole beans or other whole bean coffee that you can buy for about $10 to $12 per pound.  Is it twice as good?  I'll leave this as an exercise for the reader...

Copyright © 2014 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved. Coffee Maker Journal

Coffee Maker Cleaner: Should You Clean your Coffee Maker with Vinegar?

Why You Need to Clean Your Coffee Maker

Should you clean your coffee maker with vinegar?
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

When I talk about cleaning your coffee maker, I am talking about cleaning the INSIDE of your coffee maker. Water carries dissolved minerals that are deposited inside your coffee maker. When the water evaporates from liquid into steam, it leaves mineral deposits inside your coffee maker. These deposits of lime, calcium, and other minerals result in slower water flow through your coffee maker. Some effects of mineral deposits inside your coffee maker:

• It takes longer to make coffee. A coffee maker with severe mineral deposits can take more than twice as long to make a pot of coffee.
• It can affect the taste of your coffee. One side effect of slower brewing can be that the coffee starts to become stale before you drink it, especially if it is sitting on a burner
• Your coffee maker can stop working due to excessive mineral deposits. The flow of water through your coffee maker can slow to a trickle and even stop completely. You will not longer be able to make coffee!

How Often Should You Clean Your Coffee Maker?

How often you need to clean your coffee maker depends on the hardness of the water that you use to make coffee. In my area, the water is hard- meaning it carries a lot of dissolved minerals. Even though my house has a water softener to remove some of the minerals, it still affects my coffee maker after about 1 month of brewing 1 pot of coffee per day.

If the water is not hard in your area, and you only brew one pot of coffee per day, you may be able to go 2 or 3 months between cleanings. If your water is hard and you brew more than one pot of coffee per day, you may need to clean your coffee maker more than once per month.

Should You Clean a Coffee Maker with Vinegar?

Vinegar contains an acid- acetic acid. The acid in vinegar allows it to dissolve minerals readily. Vinegar is also edible, although it has a sour taste and strong acidic smell. These characteristic- being acidic and edible- make vinegar a good coffee maker cleaner. Many coffee maker manuals suggest using vinegar to clean coffee makers.

Vinegar for cleaning coffee makers
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

However, the strong odor and taste of vinegar are factors that make it undesirable to use as a coffee maker cleaner. My wife can tell from anywhere in the house when I start cleaning the coffee maker with vinegar! It also leaves the taste of vinegar behind- you should run 2 pots of water through your coffee maker after cleaning it with vinegar to remove the vinegar taste so it won't taint you coffee.

What is the Best Coffee Maker Cleaner?

If you don't like the odor and taste of vinegar, there are other options. You can buy coffee maker cleaners that contain acid other than acetic acid. A common type is coffee maker cleaner that uses sulfamic acid. This is available in liquid form or in power form that you mix with water.

Dip-it liquid coffee maker cleaner- no bad smell!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

I tried a brand of sulfamic acid coffee maker cleaner called "dip-it". I found that it worked as well as vinegar, but without the bad smell and taste. dip-it costs about $3.50 for a 7 oz bottle of liquid that can clean your coffee maker twice.

After running 5 cups of water with 1/2 a bottle (3.5 oz) of dip-it through your coffee maker, rinse by brewing 2 pots of cold water only and you are ready to make coffee again.

You can also get the powder form of sulfamic acid in a brand called Mr. Coffee Coffeemaker Cleaner. You mix the power with water and run the mixture though your coffee maker in the same way as when brewing coffee. A box of Mr. Coffee Coffeemaker Cleaner contains 2 packets of powder- enough to clean your coffee maker twice.

Mr. Coffee coffee maker cleaner powder
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

As with vinegar and the dip-it liquid coffee maker cleaner, you'll need to rinse your coffee maker by brewing cold water only twice before making coffee.

Coffee Maker Cleaner can Fix a Broken Coffee Maker!

After 8 months of making great coffee with my Melitta coffee maker, the coffee maker suddenly stopped working. It produced only steam. Almost no hot water reached the brew basket, so I got no coffee. Believe me, it was a rough start to the day! Here's a description of how I survived making coffee with a broken coffee maker for a few days. This method of making coffee also works in a power outage with no electricity.

I assumed the failure was caused by a clogged or stuck check valve in the tube from the reservoir to the heating element. I contacted Melitta customer service with a description of the problem. I expected them to have me send the unit in for repair, or even replace the unit since it was still under a 1 year warranty.

The response from Melitta came back on the next business day. They recommended cleaning the coffee maker with vinegar. I had been cleaning my coffee maker with vinegar every month or two. I think it had been even more than two months since I cleaned it when it stopped working. Our water is hard and has lots of mineral content. But I was skeptical that deposits would cause the coffee maker to suddenly stop working.

I decided a vinegar treatment was worth a try. I filled the reservoir with white vinegar, 4% concentration, and turned the coffee maker on. At first just steam came out the top, but eventually there was a slow drip of vinegar into the pot. It took about 90 minutes to run the first tank of vinegar through. I picked up some stronger vinegar- 5% concentration. This went through in about 10 minutes! I ran one more tank of vinegar to get it really clean. I was back in business.

I didn't realize how important it is to clean your coffee maker regularly. I'm going to clean my coffee maker once a month to prevent this from happening again. I'll clean it on the first of every month so I don't forget.

Coffee Maker Cleaner Recommendations

• Clean your coffee maker with coffee maker cleaner once a month
• Use either vinegar or a sulfamic acid product
• Vinegar is cheap and effective, but smells horrible when you heat it in your coffee maker
• Use a coffee maker cleaner with sulfamic acid such as dip-it or Mr. Coffee Coffeemaker Cleaner if the smell of vinegar bothers you
• Coffee maker cleaner such as dip-it or Mr. Coffee Coffeemaker Cleaner takes up a lot less room in your pantry than a large bottle of vinegar

Recommended Reading:

How to Make Great Coffee at Home

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Penny Pincher. All Rights Reserved. Coffee Maker Journal

Travel Coffee Maker Buyer's Guide

Travel Coffee Maker- How to Make Coffee when Traveling

When you are away from home and want coffee, you basically have 2 options: you can buy coffee, or you can bring a coffee maker with you. If you are going to be away from home for more than a few days, buying coffee every day can get expensive- especially if you are at a tourist location or visiting an expensive city. If you need a couple cups of coffee per day, you could be spending $6 per day buying coffee at a coffee shop. It doesn't take many days of this before buying a travel coffee maker starts to make financial sense.

What are the Most Important Features in a Travel Coffee Maker?

Size, cost, and durability are the most important features to look for in selecting a travel coffee maker.

Travel Coffee Maker Size

Size is probably the most important feature in a travel coffee maker. If you are like me, you don’t have a lot of extra space in your luggage. In addition to the coffee maker, you will also need to pack some coffee grounds and coffee filters so you can use your travel coffee maker. Look for the smallest and lightest coffee maker that will make enough coffee. Most travel coffee makers weigh about 3 pounds and stand about 12 inches high.

Travel Coffee Maker Cost

There is good news on travel coffee maker cost- you can get some very inexpensive small coffee makers that make ideal travel coffee makers. Some models that include a thermal travel cup start under $20. Many 4 and 5 cup coffee makers that would make good travel coffee makers cost less than $35. If you want the convenience of a single serve coffee maker, you can get a Keurig Mini for $99. If you can use a coffee dripper (see description below), these can be purchased for about $10.

Travel Coffee Maker Durability

Your coffee maker will get some abuse if you travel with it. It will need to survive in your luggage. You don't want to bring something fragile that will require careful packing, so a good travel coffee maker should be durable. You may want to avoid a glass carafe for a travel coffee maker. You can choose small coffee makers with steel carafes. There are also small coffee makers that use a thermal cup instead of a carafe. There are also models that do not have a carafe- you provide a cup that is not included with the coffee maker.

Types of Travel Coffee Makers

There are three primary types of travel coffee makers:

Auto drip. This is the easiest to use and probably most similar to your coffee machine at home.

Espresso maker. You could pack a small espresso maker. If you want coffee rather than espresso, simply mix a shot of espresso with hot water to make café Americano.

Pour-over coffee dripper. There are several ways to make coffee without a coffee maker, one of the simplest is to make pour over coffee. One is to use a coffee dripper. This is a plastic or ceramic cone that uses cone filters. Place a cone filter and coffee grounds in the dripper, place the dripper over a coffee cup, and pour hot water into the coffee dripper to brew coffee. You will need to get hot water to use a coffee dripper to make coffee. You can microwave water in a coffee cup at the hotel to get hot water.

Auto Drip Travel Coffee Makers with Carafe

Small 4 and 5 cup coffee makers work well as travel coffee makers. Some have a steel carafe rather than a glass carafe, which should be more durable for travel. These coffee makers can make enough coffee for 2 people at once.

Black and Decker 4 cup travel coffee maker with glass carafe
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Cuisinart 4 cup travel coffee maker with steel carafe
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Mr. Coffee 5 cup travel coffee maker with steel carafe
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Auto Drip Travel Coffee Makers without Carafe

There are also small coffee makers that do not have a carafe. I like the ones that brew directly into an insulated travel mug. This would be ideal if you are traveling alone and only need coffee for one person. You can also get small coffee brewers without a carafe the brew into any cup that you provide. This reduces the size and weight of the travel coffee maker since you do not need to carry the carafe.

Black and Decker travel coffee maker with thermal cup
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Kitchen Select travel coffee maker brews coffee into a cup that you provide
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Single Serve Travel Coffee Maker

The Keurig Mini is a small Keurig coffee machine that could be packed and used as a travel coffee maker. Using K-cups while traveling would be more convenient than dealing with coffee grounds and filters. At $99, the price of the Keurig Mini is a bit higher than the other travel coffee maker options.

Keurig mini travel coffee maker- take your k-cups with you!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Espresso Maker Travel Coffee Maker

A small espresso maker could be used as a travel coffee maker. This would be a fun way to get your daily dose of caffeine while traveling!

Use a small espresso maker as a travel coffee maker
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Travel Coffee Maker Filters

I always use a paper filer to make coffee- the paper filter removes oils from coffee that can contribute to cholesterol. Some travel coffee makers have a permanent nylon filter. This is handy, but doesn’t filter the cholesterol out of your coffee. I recommend using a paper filter to avoid issues with cholesterol. Using an espresso maker or French press to make coffee has the same issue. If you are not using a paper filter, you are getting some cholesterol from your coffee.

Hotel Coffee Makers- Use at Your Own Risk!

Don’t most hotel rooms provide a small coffee maker and some coffee pods so you can brew coffee in your hotel room? Yes, but there are a couple issues with using hotel coffee makers. First, the coffee is not very good- I have yet to brew a great cup of coffee using the pods and the hotel coffee maker. Second, the coffee maker may not be cleaned regularly, or may be wiped down with the same dirty rag used to clean the counters and other surfaces of your hotel room. I once saw a TV news story showing video from a hidden camera to reveal how maids cleaned coffee makers in hotel rooms- and it wasn't pretty. I would recommend either buying coffee at the hotel coffee shop or bringing your own travel coffee maker rather than using a hotel coffee maker.

Hotel coffee makers are often not cleaned properly- use at your own risk!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Travel Coffee Maker Recommendations

• There are some interesting travel coffee makers that include a thermal travel mug instead of a carafe- this would be really handy for one person while traveling
• If you are traveling with others who drink coffee, pack a small 4 or 5 cup coffee maker, can of coffee grounds and box of filters on a longer trip if you don't want to buy coffee
• If you have a bit more room, pack a Keurig Mini and some K-cups
• Hotel rooms often provide a coffee maker, but consider it dirty and rinse it out if you decide to use it
• Use a paper filter when brewing coffee to avoid cholesterol from your coffee

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Penny Pincher. All Rights Reserved. Coffee Maker Journal

Best Coffee Travel Mug

Finding the Best Coffee Travel Mug

My old coffee mug was leaking so much I had to throw it away.  I was driving to a business meeting, and the mug was leaking as usual and dripped on my pants as usual.  I decided that a new travel mug was worth buying.  But which one to buy?  Here are my most important features for the best travel coffee mug:

List of Travel Mug Features

1. Must keep coffee hot.  This means good insulation.  Foam or vacuum insulated are fine as long as they keep coffee hot for my 30 minute drive plus a few minutes drinking from it after I arrive at my office.
2. Must not leak.  This is not only a convenience, but a safety issue while driving.  I would sometimes try to wipe up drips while driving.  I would prefer to concentrate on my driving and listening to NPR.
3. Must fit in car cup holder.  A travel mug is not very useful to me if it doesn't fit securely in my car cup holder.  I drive a Honda Civic, so this may be a challenge for wider mugs.
4. Must hold at least 16 oz of coffee.  I need at least this much coffee to get going.
5. Must last a long time.  I am willing to spend a bit of money to get a high quality coffee mug that will last a long time.
6. Appearance.  I spend a lot of time drinking from my travel mug each day, and often carry it into the office with me.  If I'm willing to pay a bit of money, I want a travel mug that looks expensive.
7. Handle.  I have used travel mugs with a handle and without a handle.  The handle makes a coffee mug easier to deal with while driving, so I would prefer a travel mug with a handle.

The Best Travel Coffee Mug

After searching on amazon.com and checking out travel mugs at department stores, coffee shops, and gourmet cooking stores, I found the best travel coffee mug and ordered it.  My selection:
Contigo Autoseal Randolph Stainless Steel Travel Mug Vacuum Insulated, 16-Ounce, Silver




This travel mug has excellent reviews for keeping coffee hot and for not leaking.  Check off #1 and #2 on the list.  Looking at it, you can also check off #6- appearance and #7- handle from the list of of desired features.  The Contigo holds 16 ounces, so we'll check off #4 since it holds enough coffee to be useful.  I tried it out in my car cup holder and  it fits securely.  The handle does not block its fit into the cup holder, so check off #3.  I don't know yet if the Contigo mug will last a long time, but it certainly appears to be solidly constructed with high quality steel body and durable plastic lid.  Hopefully I can check off #5 after a few years of testing.

Contigo stainless steel travel coffee mug with vacuum insulation
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Underside of Contigo travel mug lid- spring mechanism stops coffee flow unless the trigger on the handle is pressed
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

The Contigo uses a trigger to control the flow of coffee.  You press the trigger on the handle- it works either left-handed or right-handed, and this allows coffee to flow when you tip the cup.  If you don't push the trigger, no coffee will flow.  You can even hold the travel mug upside down and it doesn't leak at all!

Coffee mug turned upside down- and it doesn't leak at all!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

The thermal insulation is accomplished using a vacuum- this is a layer inside the stainless steel body that contains no air and therefore resists the flow of heat since there is nothing in the empty space to transfer heat from the inside of the cup to the outside.  This is the same method used in a thermos to keep liquids hot for a long time.  It seems to work well in the Contigo and will keep my coffee hot and me happy.  There are other color schemes available, but the stainless steel body with black and blue lid work for me.

Contigo Travel Mug Stainless Steel Body and Plastic Lid
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

I am looking forward to the drive to work with me and my Contigo for many years!  It was nice to find such a well-designed thermal coffee mug, especially after suffering with a coffee mug that leaked and did not keep coffee very warm.

Copyright © 2013 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved. Coffee Maker Journal

Coffee Alternatives: These Coffee Substitutes have Less Caffeine

Coffee Alternatives

Coffee is great, but since it has lots of caffeine, drinking it in the evening can interfere with your ability to get a good night's sleep.  Even drinking too much coffee during the day can result in headaches due to the caffeine content of coffee.

What coffee alternatives are available that have less caffeine or are caffeine free?

Half Caff Coffee

Half Caff coffee is a mix of regular coffee and decaffeinated coffee that has half the caffeine of regular coffee.  You can make this by mixing equal parts of ground regular coffee and ground decaf coffee.  You can also buy bags of pre-mixed half caff coffee.  Since half caff coffee still has caffeine, you'll still need to limit your consumption somewhat to avoid getting too much caffeine.

Half Caff coffee has one half the caffeine of regular coffee
Image source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Decaf Coffee

Coffee can be decaffeinated through chemical processes.  The processing removes caffeine from coffee beans by creating an environment with low levels of caffeine surrounding the beans.  The caffeine from the coffee will naturally move to the surrounding area with less caffeine.  This process is repeated until the coffee contains almost zero caffeine.  Since decaf contains almost no caffeine, you can drink lots of it and drink it at night without interfering with your sleep.

Decaffeinated coffee
Image source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate is an alternate to coffee that has much less caffeine.  You can buy packets of hot chocolate power that you mix with hot water to make hot chocolate.  Some hot chocolate brands even have marshmallow packets that you can add if you wish.  For a treat you can make hot chocolate from chocolate bars and milk instead of powdered mix.

Chickory Brewed Beverages

A coffee substitute can be made by brewing roasted chickory root.  Chickory is a perennial plant that has edible leaves and roots that can be roasted and ground to make a coffee substitute.  Chickory has been used as a coffee substitute in situations where coffee was not available, such as in prisons and during the Union blockage of New Orleans during the Civil War era.  Coffee with chickory is still a traditional drink served in New Orleans.  Since chickory is caffeine free, you can drink it any time without the side effects of caffeine.

Dandelion roots can also be roasted and ground to make a caffeine free substitute coffee brew similar to chickory brew.

Roasted chickory can be found in organic food stores or on the internet. You can find your own dandelion roots and roast them yourself, or purchase roasted dandelion roots on the internet.

Roasted Chickory from Amazon.com- ready to brew

Carob Brewed Beverages

Carob is used as a substitute for cocoa and is naturally caffeine free.  After noticing that carob was a main ingredient in some coffee substitute beverages, I tried using carob baking powder in my coffee maker.  I just place it in the coffee filter instead of coffee grounds and brew like coffee.  It tastes sort of like hot chocolate only a bit more bitter.  Brewed carob is an inexpensive coffee substitute.

Carob Powder- brew your own coffee substitute
Image source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Coffee Substitute Blends

Teeccino coffee alternative
Image source: Dr. Penny Pincher

You can buy coffee substitutes that you brew in your coffee maker to replace ground coffee.  Several coffee substitute blends can be found at organic food shops or on the internet.  These products are blends of ingredients such as chickory, carob, roasted grain, roasted nuts, and other natural ingredients.  Not only do coffee substitutes have no caffeine, but they are much less acidic than coffee as well.  Teeccino, Pero, and Postum are examples.  Teccino has a chocolaty, nutty flavor.

Pero coffee substitute
Image source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Deals on Coffee Substitutes from Amazon

Hot Tea

Hot tea varieties include both regular and decaf tea.  Either type of tea contains much less caffeine than coffee.  You can switch to decaf tea in the evening to avoid interfering with your sleep quality.  Another benefit of tea is that it is less expensive than coffee.

Hot tea is an alternative to coffee with much less caffeine
Image source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Copyright © 2013 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved. Coffee Maker Journal

Keurig vs. Starbucks Verismo vs. Senseo Coffee Brewing Systems

Single Serve Coffee Brewing Systems

There are three major competitors in the single serve coffee brewing market:

• Keurig
• Starbucks Verismo
• Senseo

These coffee machines promise a hot fresh cup of coffee fast.  Which is better: Keurig, Verismo, or Senseo?

Keurig Review

The Keurig brewer uses small plastic cups filled with ground coffee called K-cups.  The K-cups have a tiny built-in coffee filter and are sealed with a foil lid to maintain freshness.  The Keurig brewer has a needle that punctures the foil lid injects hot water into the K-cup.  A cup of coffee is brewed in about 15 seconds.

Keurig Coffee Brewers start at about $65

The Keurig coffee brewing systems are currently very popular, and the machines and K-cups are readily available:

• Keurig machines and K-cups are common on store shelves at discount stores (Wal-mart, Target, K-mart)
• There are several Keurig machines at the office
• K-cups are sold in grocery stores

Keurig machines vary in cost depending on the size and control screen options.  The price range is about
$65 to $500.

The K-cups cost about 65 cents per cup, which is about twice the cost of the same amount of gourmet ground coffee.  A new Keurig brewer format has been released that uses Keurig Vue Packs instead of K-cups.

K-cup for Keurig Brewer contains ground coffee and built-in coffee filter
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Starbucks Verismo Review

The Starbucks Verismo brews coffee in a manner similar to the Keurig brewer.  The Verismo uses plastic cups called Verismo Pods that contain ground coffee and a built-in filter.  Like Keurig's K-cups, the Verismo Pods are also sealed with foil lids to maintain freshness.  The Verismo Pods appear to be about half the size of K-cups.  Like Keurig, the Verismo produces a fast, hot cup of coffee.

Verismo System 580 sells for about $180
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Unlike Keurig, the Verismo also has milk pods.  These are used to brew latte drinks.  The milk pods are filled with milk rather than ground coffee.  The Verismo machine comes in 5 color choices.

Verismo Pods cost about 65 cents each for brewed coffee pods, $1.25 for espresso pods and milk pods.

Verismo with Verismo Pod
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Senseo Review

Senseo coffee pods are sort of like round tea bags that contain ground coffee.  This is an older style of single serve brewer.  The machine opens up to allow you to insert a Senseo Pod.  Senseo machines start at about $65.

The Senseo pods are much less expensive than Keurig or Verismo pods at about 35 cents each.  This is about the same cost as ground gourmet coffee.  Sometimes you can find cheap Senseo coffee brewers on eBay.

Keurig vs Verismo vs Senseo Review

Machine Cost:

• Keurig and Senseo entry level machines are much less expensive
• You can find basic Senseo machines very cheap- around $25
• A Verismo machine costs about twice as much for a similar system
• Look for better Verrismo prices on eBay or Amazon instead of buying in a Starbucks store

Availability of Coffee Pods:

• Keurig K-cups are easily found in grocery, discount stores, and on-line
• Verismo Pods can be found at Starbucks stores and on-line
• Senseo Pods can be found at some discount stores and on-line, but are not as easy to find as Keurig K-cups

Cost of Coffee Pods:

• Senseo is the cheapest at about 35 cents per cup
• Keurig and Verismo are the same for brewed coffee at about 65 cents per cup
• Verismo has some more expensive pods for espresso and latte drinks

Coffee Quality:

• Keurig and Verismo produce high quality coffee
• Senseo tastes a bit watered down- too much "tea bag" flavor
• Senseo pods also go stale much more quickly than K-cups or Verismo Pods

Recommendation:

• Keurig is the best value for brewed coffee: inexpensive entry-level machine, readily available coffee pods, and makes great tasting coffee.  Check out Keurig coffee brewer deals on eBay.
• Keurig has refillable K-cups available so that you can use your own ground coffee to make your own K-cups to save money.
• Verismo may be worth considering if you want espresso or latte drinks as well as brewed coffee.  Check out Starbucks Verismo coffee brewer deals on eBay
• If cost is a major factor, Senseo is the least expensive single server brewing system.  Both the Senseo brewer and the Senseo coffee pods are the least expensive option.

Copyright © 2013 by Dr. Penny Pincher.  All Rights Reserved. Coffee Maker Journal