We've all heard the joke about how hard it can be to order coffee nowadays. Among many other gourmet coffee shops, perhaps Starbucks is most (in)famous for giving us terms like "venti," "cappuccino," and "macchiato." For those who enjoy coffee culture, its diverse and specialized jargon is part of its charm. For those who simply want a hot cup of joe to wake up in the morning, sometimes the last thing they need is to learn a new language.
Whether you're a self-proclaimed coffee connoisseur or an old-fashioned, just-give-me-a-cup-of-coffee kind of person, one of the quickest and easiest ways to get great coffee at home is the single serve coffee maker. But, like any other coffee accoutrement, you have to learn the lingo in order to make an informed decision about which system is best for you. As it so happens, this article is about precisely that. The first thing you have to decide is if you want to go manual or electric. This article concerns electric single serve coffee makers; an article soon to follow will explain manual coffee makers.
Coffee Makers Single Cup
Electric single serve coffee makers come mainly in three types, according to the brewing and filtering systems they use. Keurig and Tassimo make up two types because they each have their own unique brewing system, while a wide variety of brands, such as Senseo, Cuisinart, and Black & Decker, use standard-sized coffee "pods."
Pods - Single Serve Pod Machines
Pod machines use small disks of coffee prepackaged in their own filter-paper. To brew, you slip a pod into the machine and press a button. The main advantage of the pod machine is the variety of coffee available. Because the pod is standard, many different companies can offer their coffee in pod form, from well-known names such as Lavazza or Millstone to newer entries such as Senseo's Douwe Egberts pods. In addition, you can buy your own pod-maker, such as the Perfect Pod, which lets you choose any brand of coffee and make your own ready-to-use pod.
K-Cups - Keurig Single Serve Coffee Makers
Keurig, from the Dutch for "excellence," uses a special filtration product called a K-cup. A K-cup is a self-contained unit that you place directly in your Keurig coffee maker. The machine punctures the K-cup and sprays hot water over the grounds, which drips through a miniature filter and into your cup in about a minute. Many companies, such as Caribou Coffee, Timothy's, Coffee People, Tully's, and Gloria Jean's, offer their own K-cups, so you actually have a good selection of high-quality coffees that are readily available on-line. But the really cool thing about K-cups is that, since they are self-contained, you can switch beverages without having to clean the machine. That means you can buy Twinings or Bigelow tea K-cups, as well as Ghirardelli hot cocoa K-cups.
T Discs - Tassimo Single Serve Coffee Makers
Tassimo machines, like Keurig, use their own, self-contained filtration called a T Disc. T Discs are similar to K-cups but they add a hi-tech component: a bar code on each T disc tells the machine precisely how to make your beverage, be it coffee, espresso, hot cocoa, or tea - that's water temp, brewing time, and volume, all with the push of a single button, one right after the other. Brands making T Discs include Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Maxwell House, Gevalia, Carte Noire, Tazo, and Twinings.
A Note on Espresso Machines
One last note: technically, an espresso machine could qualify as a single serve coffee maker, since it generally produces one or two shots of espresso per brew cycle. The main difference between most espresso machines and what tend to be classed as single serve coffee makers is that espresso machines use loose grounds which you measure and tamp yourself, while the single serve machines all rely on pre-packaged grounds. In addition, single serve coffee makers such as the Keurig or Tassimo machines have the added advantage of making more than just coffee or espresso, so with them you can please all your guests, whatever their pleasure.
So, there you go - armed with these basic terms you're ready to sound smart when you talk single serve coffee makers.
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Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System Feature
- Single-cup home brewing system for use with patented K-Cups
- One-touch control panel; blue backlit LCD display; digital clock; programmable on/off
- 5 brew-size options; adjustable brew temperature; removable drip tray
- Blue-lit removable 60-ounce water reservoir; descale indicator; dishwasher-safe parts
- Measures 13-4/5 by 10-2/7 by 13 inches; 1-year limited warranty
Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System Overview
The Platinum Brewing System is Keurig's best single-cup brewing system for your home. This premium model offers discerning coffee drinkers the widest range of five cup size options for brewing. The Platinum offers the full spectrum of features including Auto On/Off, Digital Clock, Adjustable Temperature Control and the "Set Your Favorite Cup Size" option. The largest available 60 oz. removable water reservoir holds up to ten cups before refilling and the removable drip tray allows for easy cleaning and the use of travel mugs. The sleek, award-winning design is a unique footprint among Keurig's line of home brewing systems and includes both a blue lit water reservoir and blue lit LCD display. At initial set up, once the machine is filled with water, it will take approximately 4-minutes for the water will be heated. During the heating period the red light next to ‘HEATING’ on the LED Control Center will become illuminated. Once the water is heated, the red light will turn off and the Small Mug Button will flash. Press the Small Mug Button to start a cleansing brew. Pour the hot water into the sink. The Brewer may take 15 seconds to reheat water between brews during which time the red light next to ‘HEATING’ on the LED Control Center may be illuminated. When the water has heated, the red light will turn off. The one-time set-up process is now complete and you are ready to brew!SAVE NOW on the special offers below!
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