Keurig & Tassimo Coffee Makers
Page 3: Is A Single-Serve System Right For You?
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Is A Single-Serve System Right For You?
Consider a single-serve coffee brewing system if you:
- Need a very quick cup, e.g. in
the morning rush.
- Don’t like to make coffee and
would rather pay more for the
convenience.
- Hate to clean up grounds.
- Are in a dorm, small office, or
other situation where the 62¢*
a cup (black) costs less, and/or
is more convenient, than
buying coffee.
- Only need one or two cups at
a time.
- Are content with a regular cup and don’t need a large mug (the machine’s output is 6 ounces of liquid for an 8-ounce cup).
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- Don’t mind being “married” to a
pod system (you’re limited to
the coffees the manufacturer
offers).
- Don’t mind managing your pod
inventory (you can buy a pound
of coffee anywhere when you run out.
- Aren’t planning to use it for tea (tea needs to be steeped for 3 to 5 minutes to extract the flavor from the leaves). The teas produced by the systems were flavorless.
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*Slightly more for Starbucks coffees, twice as much for cappuccino and latte, which require an extra capsule for the milk.
The primary benefits of single-serve systems are that they’re super-fast—you’ll have your coffee in thirty seconds (Keurig) or a minute (Tassimo). There’s not much prep work. You can keep the water reservoir filled for three days.† Just pop a fresh pod in the holder, put a cup under the spout and push the button: your caffeine fix is there. The only clean-up is tossing out the plastic pod. It couldn’t be easier: a six-year-old could operate the system. There’s nothing complicated or dangerous; there’s no scalding water or hot plate (the boiling elements are tucked inside the machines).
†Purists might fill the reservoir with fresh water each time, but we found that with these pod systems, we couldn’t detect a difference.
The two biggest drawbacks for those who enjoy coffee on a regular basis are the cost-per-cup and the quality of the brew. A detailed analysis continues on the next page.
Continue To Page 4: Detailed Analysis Of The Brands
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