Senseo® Single Serve Coffeemaker

Posted by Monica in Food / Drinks / Cooking, Product Reviews on 10 4th, 2006 | 11 responses

senseo.jpgMy new, red Senseo single-serve coffeemaker is the sexiest small appliance I now own. I’m sorry, little Shop-Vac; I thought you were sexy before. I still love you, but now you’re just… cute. (Handy, and cute.)

But the Senseo is seriously hot! It makes something I love - coffee - almost faster than you can say it, and much more efficiently (and fun) than the old drip-drip-dripper.

Are my coffee choices limited?

I’ve admired these in Target for quite a while, but something silly bothered me about them, and I never did any research to disprove what I assumed: that you can only use Senseo coffee with Senseo coffeemakers. Now I know better; it’s not true!

I’m not a coffee elitist -probably not even a true connoisseur. But the idea of being restricted to one brand or one type of coffee really put me off. Furthermore, I had a coffeemaker, so I couldn’t see a reason to buy another one, especially when money is tight (stay-at-home mom and all.)

A few weeks ago, I found myself with a broken coffeemaker and, thus, the need to replace it. Remembering my admiration of the Senseo, I finally did a little digging and was 1) pleasantly surprised to learn that the Senseo coffeemakers are not brand-proprietary when it comes to coffee, and 2) overjoyed to find a huge selection of compatible coffee pods. In fact, I quickly learned that there is a whole online world devoted to single-serve coffee (SSC) in general. It was easy to find retailers, reviews and lovers of single-serve coffee and everything that it entails.

Home and ready to brew!

Freshly informed and with my product selection made, I trotted off to Target with fingers crossed that I’d find a Senseo of the red persuasion, and there was one (and only one.) It came with a package of Senseo coffee pods, and I grabbed a package of their cappuccino as well.

podholder.jpgSetup was easy - as per the instructions, I ran the machine through a cycle with water only… then it was time for the first cup. I filled the water reservoir to the appropriate line and placed a coffee pod in the podholder. (The Senseo comes with two podholders. More on that later.) I turned on the machine to heat the water, which took all of about oh… 45 seconds or so. Then I hit the brew button, and probably 20 or 30 seconds later, my hot, fresh, coffee with lovely frothy top was ready for consumption. And how did it taste?

Tell me about the COFFEE!

Well, let’s just say I was happy to know that there was more coffee available out there. I tried the cappuccino too and was not impressed with it, either. I really wanted to like it, especially since the Senseo brand of coffee is so readily available at places I visit regularly - like Target, Wal-Mart, and my local grocery stores. I’m sorry, Senseo, but I just do not like your coffee. :(

So I returned to several of the sites within the virtual SSC world and promptly placed an order for various other types and brands of coffee pods. Having now tried about 10 other coffees, I am happy to say that I have a few favorites and am more than happy with my Senseo coffeemaker. Knowing what to put in it makes all the difference! See below for some tasty links.

About the Senseo

The Senseo coffeemaker comes with two podholders, one for 1-cup, and one for 2-cup cups. It seems weird to say “cup cups”, and I suppose that doesn’t make much sense. You see, there are two brew settings on the machine, for 4oz. and for 8oz. You may be thinking to yourself, who drinks a 4oz. cup of coffee? I wondered that too. But I soon found out that many of my coffee mugs hold only 4-5 oz., so I guess it’s not such an odd thing.

I’m such a geek that I’ve kept a little journal to record thoughts on all the different coffee pods I’m trying. Some are better at the 4oz. setting, while others I can’t imagine drinking brewed at 4oz., as they’d be ridiculously strong. I’m still a newb at this, so I guess it’s either an issue of me not knowing which brew setting I’m “supposed” to use, or it’s a simply a matter of personal taste. I choose to accept the latter.

Besides the podholders, instructions and free coffee pods, that’s all that comes with the coffeemaker, and it’s all you need. I’ve seen some bundled gift sets online, and there may be more around the holidays.

The Bottom Line

Would I buy it again? You bet. Would I recommend you buying one? You bet! Here are my thoughts on the Senseo coffeemaker, in a nutshell (what, you didn’t want to read all the babble above?!):

Pros

  • Brew a single cup of coffee, not a whole pot
  • Get your coffee FAST
  • Did I mention it’s sexy?
  • Parts are easy to remove and dishwasher-safe
  • Auto shutoff after 1 hour
  • Makes a GREAT cup of coffee with a frothy top
  • Buy one and get a free, $20 AMEX gift card from Senseo!
  • Sooooo easy to use
  • Clean! Easily-removed drip tray catches any excess (so far no excess for me)
  • Comes in 4 colors: red, blue, white, or black
  • Brews TEA pods too!
  • Never buy filters again
  • No messy coffee grounds to clean up

Cons

  • The water reservoir doesn’t hold much - it’s not an issue for me, but if you drink coffee continuously all day, it may be annoying. You can buy a larger, replacement tank to solve this problem. (Also of note: the new Senseo detailed below comes with a large, 32oz. tank!)
  • If you are set on using a biggo tall coffee mug or travel mug, it may not fit under the spout on the Senseo.
  • Some of the coffee pods may seem expensive if you’re used to buying big cans of the cheap stuff.
  • Starbucks does not make coffee pods (they do have an espresso pod)

Possible upgrade?

supreme.jpgNow that I have and love my Senseo, I see that there is a new model coming out that’s available for preorder at Amazon (review coming soon from SingleServeCoffee.com.!) The Supreme model has a metallic chrome finish (squee!), 32oz. water tank (!), multiple volume selection via digital thingy on top (3, 4, 5, 6, 8, or 10oz.), and an adjustable spout for taller cups. It’s a bit pricier than the original (mine was $59 at Target), but with the new features, it just may be worth it. If you order it at Amazon in October, you can take advantage of a $25 discount, PLUS, you get the free $20 AMEX gift card from Senseo… so 45 bucks saved is not too shabby!
Check it out at Amazon:
Senseo HD7832 Supreme Single Serve Coffee Machine, Metallic Chrome

Related links & single-serve coffee resources

Single-serve coffeemakers by Senseo

Other single-serve coffeemakers

Where to buy coffee pods

International

And last but not least, available from your grocer

SSC Websites

senseocup.jpgAccessories and other stuff

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11 Responses to “Senseo® Single Serve Coffeemaker”

  1. Eric says:
    December 20, 2006 at 4:49 pm

    We bought a Senseo when they first came out. It worked great unless we were brewing two cups, hence using two pods. The all plastic (at least then) locking mechanism would come loose under heat and pressure, spraying scalding water everywhere. Returned it for a refund after my wife was scalded a couple times. Can’t say I would ever buy one again, mainly because coffee pods really are just a step above canned coffee, but much more expensive.

  2. Annabel says:
    November 2, 2007 at 10:35 am

    Keurig sells their entry-level coffeemaker, the B40, for about a hundred bux, but Amazon has been known to put it in the Gold Box or even in the Friday deals for as low as 70. It kicks Senseo’s butt. K-cups are a little harder to find in stores than pods, but not much (BB&B, LNT, and Target carry them)… and Amazon carries dozens of varieties. “No muss no fuss” taken to a fine art. If you like a bold cuppa, try the Emeril’s Big Easy K-cups.

  3. David says:
    May 20, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    Hey… thanks for the shout out to Bettercoffee.com (and the recommendation!)

    We now have about 180 pod varieties to choose from, so that’s a new cup about every other day :-)

    Also, it’s possible to get a free Senseo machine by simply answering a survey and paying shipping… you can find out the details here: http://www.bettercoffee.com/FREESENSEO.html

    Thanks again!

    –David
    http://www.bettercoffee.com/

  4. Shirley says:
    December 24, 2008 at 2:26 am

    Hi,

    A very informative post on cofee makers. i’d buy one for my home for sure.

    Shirely
    Essential Tools and Services for the Travelling Entrepreneur

  5. May Peles says:
    February 14, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    Great post. I just stumbled upon your post and I wanted to let you know that I have really learned alot from reading your blog posts. I’ll subscribe to check if you write any updates.

  6. 6 cup coffee maker says:
    February 16, 2010 at 1:22 pm

    Awesome insights. I loved to read your blog. You must be putting a lot of time into your blog!

  7. Emely Schmader says:
    March 3, 2010 at 11:02 am

    Great Blog! We’ve a similar site, and have a lot of spam. Do you face such problems? Can you please recommend some steps I decide to use combat spam. Thanks.

  8. Dave says:
    March 18, 2010 at 12:35 pm

    That is an incredible machine. First of all I love the ease of use of single serve coffee makers, and this one has a sense of style that is very appealing. Hope it keeps treating you right!

  11. Scentsy Bricks says:
    July 2, 2010 at 10:01 am

    I’m a fan. What a great look and function

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