BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Coffee Senseo coffee maker...

OK, I won this thing by filling out an online questionaire that someone sent to me...They said they would send me one and(amazingly enough!) they sent it! BUT if I had bought it they would be getting it back OR maybe I am a senseo insensitive because the coffee is weak as bathwater and looks like tea... they sent me some Irish creme tasting "pods" I even doubled it up and the 4 ozs of coffee that it gave me(yes, I can make 8 ozs-but why? <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />) still looked like tea and was cold in about 2 minutes...anyone??

i agree i got one free,try the dark roast pods, its a little bit stronger not much thought, i can't complain it was free,

I just got a Senseo coffee maker this week, so I thought I would revive this thread. I have the basic model and I received it as part of a promotion Senseo is doing to get people to talk about the coffeemaker at book clubs and such. All I had to pay was the $15 shipping. I'm not talking about it here because of the promotion, though; I'm just really curious about what people think of them.

I've wanted to try a pod coffeemaker since they first hit the market here in the US. I think the hype and the price (currently about $70) built up my expectations too much because I was underwhelmed when I finally made my first cup. Perhaps if I was a person who drank my coffee straight then I would be impressed by the little foam on top. Since I add lots of cream and sugar, the coffee didn't taste much different than a good brand of coffee brewed in my cheap $12 automatic drip machine. I noticed more of a taste change when I tried French press coffee.

I guess the type of coffee you use is a little more important to the taste than the type of coffeemaker. The upside is that I now have a single cup machine. Maybe I will find a brand of pods that I like better than the Senseo brand.

Dani,

www.singleservecoffee.com is the best for reviews on anything single serve. Whether for pod makers, Keurig or Tassimo and other more expensive coffee shop machines they have info on everything.

I have a Krups two cup maker that my husband got me for Christmas and then I got a Tassimo from a survey company and I really love that as well. There were so many benefits to both that I kept both of them (better latte and cappacino in the Tassimo).

While the press and other makers are probably better tasting I will admit if you do buy a good coffee to run through your machine you will be happier than with most of the Senseo brand coffees. The brands they sell in the store are all kind of weak. Does Senseo have a special attachment to hold your own ground coffee?

I will tell you that the best I've run through my Krups is Senseo Sumatra (I had to get it on auto delivery from Amazaon with their Hazelnut). It is rich and holds the sugar and cream well if you like that. They sell a variety pack with four different Senseo brands to try if you want to go that route.

Gevalia sells tea pods that are excellent, they should have coffee pods, but I can't remember. I also get their disks for the Tassimo. I liked a company called Cool Beans (or cool beanz, I can't remember it has been so long) but Amazon didn't have them the last I looked.

All I can say is congrats. I love have single serve as I don't waste a pot of coffee and it is fresh every time, it is a little trade off to the perfect cup from other methods but through trial and error you will find something you like.

Have FUN!

I gave my Senseo away the coffee just wasn't strong enough.

I have Melitta that I love (or did) until it became difficult to find pods for the machine. I can still get them on the Internet but I like the option of being able to pick them up in the store.

I do have to agree that some of the machines and pods make a real weak cup of coffee. I like my coffee very strong so it was a challenge to find good pods.

I was at William Sonoma the other day and they had a single serve coffee machine (can't remember brand) which can be used either with pods or ground coffee. This will probably be my next machine.

I'm a middling coffee drinker. I am pickier than my husband who will drink any [censored] instant coffee he finds. However, I am not exactly a coffee connoisseur, either.

I have the Senseo Dark Roast pods. They are strong enough but the flavor isn't anything special, if that makes any sense. However, I tried putting a tea bag in the Senseo and it brewed perfectly! I always steep my green tea too long and it ends up tasting bitter. The Senseo is worth having if I can avoid ruining my tea.

This machine doesn't come with an attachment for using your own coffee, but I saw one online for about $15. I think it is worth the investment so that I won't be limited to expensive pods.

The trick to using your own coffee is to grind it finer for these machines too.

I saw a single serve coffee machine on QVC---it looked really cool, and it came with an insert to put your own coffee in. I don't know what it was called but I wanted it!

We have a Keurig. It comes with one of those pods you can fill with your own coffee; and of course you can buy the pre-filled pods. I love it. We no longer fight over which blend/flavor to brew or how strong/weak to make it. We also don't end up with half a pot left over that we have to throw out. Works great with tea bags too.

I got the same Senseo back in November. I don't remember what type of coffee I got with it (the dark roast, I think) but it wasn't anything special. I drink a lot of coffee so I was using two pods at a time. It's also really loud. I don't care for that.

Now I just use it for brewing my tea. I love Chai and instead of waiting for the kettle I just heat up the water with the Senseo.

I decided to go back to a single serve machine but did not want to deal with pods. I purchased a Hamilton Beach single serve machine that can use grounds or pods - it can also be used to brew tea and make instant hot water.

So far I like it. It brews the coffee fast and it comes out very hot - something I found was lacking in other single serve machines. I am still working out the water/coffee ratio - I have two very strong cups and one very weak one.

Hi Guys!

At the Coffee and Tea Festival earlier this month, I got to see Soltazza in action. They claim to be one of the few that can make a 'proper' espresso and are featured in the suites of the Crown Plaza and the Mandarin Oriental hotels.

I would like to personally try some of the pod style machines to see how they work for me.

The Soltazza is a slick looking machine - would be interested to know how the coffee tastes.