Pod Coffee Makers

Pod coffee makers are easy, but require special coffee

Pod coffee makers use pressurized water to brew one or two servings of coffee at a time. Unlike drip machines, pod coffee makers use premeasured capsules or pouches of coffee. When a pod is inserted into the coffee maker, needles puncture the top and bottom so water heated by the machine can be forced through at high pressure. The filter is built into the coffee pod, which is discarded after use.

Like regular coffee makers, pod machines need to be cleaned periodically to ensure functionality and eliminate boiler mineral build-up. Manufacturers recommend cleaning (also called descaling) pod coffee makers with white vinegar every three months, or when users notice the brewing process is taking longer.

The variety and availability of coffees should also be considered. For example, Keurig's K-Cups are available in 245 varieties of coffee, tea and hot cocoa that cross 24 brands, including Tully's, Diedrich, Folger's, Green Mountain Coffee and most recently Dunkin Donuts. Senseo sells 12 varieties of coffee pods, including one decaf and two flavored brews. But third-party vendors such as CoffeeCow.com offer coffee pods that are compatible with Senseo machines, expanding the options. A few companies, Keurig included, also sell reusable filter baskets that allow consumers to use the coffee of their choice, rather than prepackaged pods.

Best pod coffee makers

Critics generally praise the Keurig Special Edition B60 (*Est. $150) , a single-cup coffee maker that can brew 6, 8 or 10 ounces of coffee from a single K-Cup. Features include an adjustable temperature setting of 187 to 192 degrees Fahrenheit, automatic programming, a removable 48-ounce water reservoir and digital clock. In a comparative review of 11 pod coffee makers by CoffeeReview.com, writers name the Keurig Special Edition B60 as their favorite, primarily due to the wide selection of coffee from well-known companies. Tony Martinez, who runs the enthusiast blog Attention Deficit, compares models from Keurig, Senseo and Tassimo. He's not an expert, but it's nice to see a comparison of three models. Martinez prefers the Keurig Special Edition B60 because it's solidly built with a chrome handle, he says, and it fits his tallest travel mug.

Editors at Popular Mechanics praise the Keurig Special Edition B60 for being easy to clean and minimizing drips, although they say its initial brewing speed lags behind two other popular one-cup coffee makers, the Tassimo T65 (Est. $170) and Senseo SL7810 (Est. $70). Most of the 1,000-plus owners posting to Amazon.com say they love the Keurig Special Edition B60 coffee maker, which has a blue backlit water reservoir and chrome accents.

About 480 reviewers offer opinions on the Keurig Special Edition B60 on Viewpoints.com, where it earns an average of 4.57 stars out of 5. We found hundreds of additional reviews between Macys.com, Epinions.com, Target.com and Walmart.com, where the Keurig Special Edition B60 consistently earns higher-than-average ratings. Most owners say they love the coffee variety, especially when they have guests. A few owners report malfunctioning units.

Two other models by Keurig differ in appearance and available features, but are mechanically the same. The Keurig Elite B40 (*Est. $120) has the Keurig Special Edition B60's two larger brew sizes and removable 48-ounce water reservoir, but the brewing temperature isn't adjustable, and it's not programmable. All Keurig coffee makers come with a one-year warranty. The Keurig Platinum B70 (*Est. $175) has a larger (60-ounce) water reservoir and five cup sizes (4, 6, 8, 10 or 12 ounces); all sizes use a single K-Cup. Reviewers also say it's slightly quieter than older Keurig models. One reviewer at SingleServeCoffee.com notes that a 12-ounce cup of coffee brewed in a Keurig coffee maker comes out weaker than an 8-ounce cup, even when you use the extra-bold roasts that the manufacturer recommends. This Keurig model is also slow to heat up unless you leave it on all the time, reviewers note, taking about three minutes to heat and brew a cup of coffee. There are also a few owners who say the heating units in their Keurig B70 coffee makers quit working after several months, but all say Keurig promptly sent a replacement unit and report Keurig customer service is excellent.

Senseo is another company that produces one-cup coffee machines. The Senseo SL7810 (*Est. $70) is one of two single-serve coffee makers recommended in a 2010 review by Popular Mechanics (alongside the Keurig B60). More than 200 owners posting at Amazon.com contribute to a good average rating of 4 stars (out of a possible 5); the Senseo has a similar average rating at Viewpoints.com in nearly 200 additional reviews. Many say that if speed and convenience are among your key concerns, the Senseo SL7810 is worthy of consideration.

While the Senseo SL7810 coffee maker receives favorable marks from a leading consumer magazine for its one-touch convenience and temperature consistency, it earns low scores for its slow brew times. Another drawback of this compact system is that it doesn't hold enough water, according to reviewers posting to Viewpoints.com, where the Senseo earns an average rating of 4.1 stars out of 5 in nearly 200 reviews. They say that although the Senseo is quick and easy to clean, its small 20-ounce reservoir needs to be refilled "after only a few cups." Owners like its push-button simplicity and frothy taste. Others, however, were less thrilled with the "plastic" aftertaste and "weak" brew strength, noting that it requires two pods for a robust cup.

The Senseo SL7832 (*Est. $130) garners its highest rating from one professional review source that lauds its brewing range, speed and size consistency. Unlike the Senseo SL7810, this one-cup coffee maker has a large, 32-ounce reservoir which allows up to 5-ounces per cup or 10-ounces per mug from a full tank. It also has an adjustable spout that can be raised or lowered to accommodate a variety of mug sizes, though it's not equipped to handle a travel mug or tall cups.

Unlike the standard SL7810 model, the Senseo SL7832 is capable of brewing tea and cappuccino, though many of the five dozen users at Amazon.com say with only 12 Senseo-branded flavors to choose from, they wish the pods came in greater variety. However, Kenneth Davids at CoffeeReview.com says many third-party roasters market pods (such as those available from CafeJo) are compatible with the Senseo machines. However, both he and some Amazon.com users do caution that not all third-party coffee pods fit well and those ordered online may arrive stale.

To avoid calcium buildup in your Senseo, the manufacturer suggests a tri-monthly rinse with citric acid or a liquid decalcifier. But if you live in an area with high mineral content in the water, you will need to descale your machine every 60 days instead of the recommended three months. Both Senseo models come with a one-year warranty.

The Tassimo Home Brewing System, manufactured by Bosch, is another pod-style coffee maker that earns multiple reviews. It comes in three different styles, which differ slightly in finish and features but are mechanically the same: the Tassimo T65 (*Est. $200) , the Tassimo Suprema (*Est. $170) and the regular Tassimo (*Est. $100) . Unlike some one-cup coffee makers, the Tassimo can brew not just coffee and tea, but also milk-based beverages like lattes and cappuccinos. Instead of pods, the Tassimo machines use proprietary foil T Discs; the discs have a bar code that tells the machine to automatically adjust water amount, brew time and temperature for each beverage.

However, editors at Popular Mechanics say there's a trade-off for the convenience: the T Discs aren't cheap, totaling almost $250 more per year than premium K-Cups. Wired also pans some of the T Discs, noting that while regular and decaf coffees do well, the teas taste either "watery" or like "concentrated instant." Editors say the "characteristically muddy" espresso doesn't fare any better. Finally, the pods continue to drip for a few minutes after the machine is finished brewing, making this a messier model than Keurig or Senseo machines.

Still, reviewer Jay Brewer at SingleServeCoffee.com likes the surfeit of features that come with the more expensive Tassimo T65, including an illuminated cup stand and multilingual LCD panel that guides users in five languages. Further, Brewer calls the Tassimo T65 "whisper quiet," a feature not common to single-serve coffee makers. A different model, the Tassimo Suprema, earns kudos from editors at TheNibble.com, who love its "fetching" red finish, bar-code technology and premium coffee varieties, though they concede that the Tassimo-branded milk discs have the "aftertaste of a non-dairy creamer."

The Tassimo Suprema also does well with about 235 users at Amazon.com, who give it an average score of 4 out of 5 and laud its Mavea water filtration system, which also comes with the Tassimo T65, but not the regular Tassimo. Both the Suprema and T65 coffee makers have a 61-ounce water reservoir, while the T20 has a 48-ounce reservoir. Finally, the Suprema offers an added bonus the other Tassimo models do not: a manual function, which allows users to adjust the amount of water, and thus the coffee strength, per cup.

The Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo (*Est. $150) ties in first place (based on overall score) with the Senseo Supreme in one professional roundup. The Krups coffee maker earns excellent scores for first-cup and repeat-cup speed, and very good ratings for convenience. The Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo takes proprietary Nescafe pods, which come in 15 varieties, including peach-flavored ice tea, iced coffee, flavored and decaffeinated blends.

The Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo, as its name suggests, is a round unit available in black, white or metallic finish. While there aren't many user reviews for the Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo, more than 15 owners contribute to an average of 4 stars out of 5 on Amazon.com, where it earns points for its sleek look. However, a number of owners say the Nescafe capsules are hard to find, and many wish there were a larger variety. The other drawback is that the water flow is operated manually, so walking away during brewing is not an option. While this opens many possibilities in terms of strength and cup size, stopping the water flow at the right time takes practice. The Krups Nescafe Dolce Gusto Circolo has a 32-ounce water reservoir and an easy-adjust lever to switch from hot to cold beverages.