Senseo, anyone else use it? Just got mine, what I think of it.

[verwon]

I love it, mainly because I love fresh coffee and I usually only like a cup or two a day, so making a full sized regular pot means a lot of waste for me around here, even Andy usually only drinks one cup in the mornings. So this is great for us, and the coffee is awesome.

I do have to say though, that if you don't like it strong, you might want to add a little extra water to your cup, each cup cycle makes 4ounces, so a little smaller than regular cup sized, which is eight ounces, for a larger cup you have to use the larger cycle, and that one is eight ounces; I put in one coffee pod, they tell you to use two for a larger mug, I didn't, I just used the one to make an eight ounce cup and it was still a little strong, so I am almost afraid to think how strong it would be if I had used two pods.

Anyway, you can see the issue here, if you like a large mug of coffee, a lot of the standard size you see in the stores are actually 12 to 16ounces. So that would be 2 of the two cup or mug cycles.

It only takes about a minute to prime the boiler pump when you first open the box and want to use it, then the water heats and is ready to use in right around 90seconds, and once it is hot and the light steady burning each 4ounce cycle takes less than a minute.

So if you are like us, and you love really fresh, good quality coffee, and you're not going to drink a whole pot it is an awesome choice. But if you have a lot of people over, or you want to be able to get huge mug fulls more easily, you probably won't like this.

So it has both benefits and drawbacks, I love it and will keep using it. It also makes a very smooth, rich cup of coffee.

[flash3992]

Thanks M'Lady! I am the same way. I usually stop and get a 20oz cup of coffee on my way to work. Usually it's McD's. On weekends, sometimes I get a 24oz Dunkin. Beffie has questioned me about this. She says:"Why not get a coffee pot and brew your own?". There are a few reasons:

1. I can't brew coffee that tastes as good as McDs/Dunkin. I always screw it up somehow.

2. Why brew a whole pot, when I'm only gonna drink 20/24 oz?

3. Combination of 1 & 2.


I have heard of Senseo, but that's all. Don't know anything about it. Any more information you can provide will be appreciated.

Thank you M'Lady.



P.S. Give my best to Lord Andy.

[katlnhats]

Hi,

I can see the good/bad about it, but on the whole, since the coffee comes out good, it's mostly good, yes? I actually want, if I can find one at the same time I've got the $$ to get it, lol, one of the ones that we used to use. The percolater type. Those are the ones to me, that came out the best and since I'm not really looking for one, it'll show up when it shows up! And Mark loves the smell of coffee but cannot stand the taste of it, now does that make "any" sense?

Kat

[verwon]

Yes, mostly good Kats. The biggest drawback I see is the expense of the coffee posts, eighteen of them in a pouch run about $4 or $5, and since you are supposed to use one per 4ounce cup, or 2 per eight ounce cup or mug, that can add up very fast. But I was browsing amazon last night, and found refillable ones, that have very good customer reviews, so instead of buying the pods all the time, you can use those ones, that are reusable and dishwasher safe, to just use your favorite coffee in your Senseo. It just has to be a very fine grind, like the espresso grind, and make sure to precisely place the filter in your machine, just like you would the pod, so the water is forced through it from the pressure, just like it does with the pods.

The coffee pods are the biggest drawback I see to it, like I said ,that can get expensive if you buy them all the time. The coffee that came with it in the Senseo pods also has a taste similar to instant coffee, which I hate.

Amazon also has a larger water reservoir that you can purchase for your machine for around $20, it is double the capacity, so instead of just 5 of the 4ounce cups like the small one that comes with it makes, the larger one holds enough water to make 10 of them. Last night as I was playing around with it to make Andy a cup, I noticed when doing one of his large coffee mugs full, I emptied the small reservoir right away, since his mug is 16ounce. With the larger reservoir, I can make a few regular cups for me, and his normal 1 per morning 16ounce mug, without having to refill it.


Okay Knight of the Moderator Table, the Senseo is a coffee machine that uses little prefilled coffee pods, essentially a premeasured amount of coffee sealed in a little round filter, to brew individual cups, instead of a whole pot that you let sit there and ferment on the warming plate all day. The pump is a little noisy, because it draws in a measure amount of water from the reservoir and heats it to coffee temp within 90 seconds. But instead of having a pot of Joe that sits and gets old, it just keeps the water at a certain temp and the coffee isn't brewed until you put your mug under the spout and hit the button, there are two buttons and two dispensing spouts, the first button dispenses 4ounces of coffee for a small cup, if you use the second button to dispense eight ounces, you can either put a small cup under each spot to fill two at once, or a larger mug, depends how much you want to drink.

As it dispenses into your cup, you will hear the pump working to draw in the water to get ready for your next cup, it takes less than a minute to brew that eight ounces of coffee. The light on the power button blinks when you first turn the machine on, to let you know the water is heating, and when it glows steady, that means that water is at temp and you are ready to brew a cup. When the water reservoir is empty, the light blinks faster, so you know to refill it, so you don't run your pump dry.

When I made Andy's 16ounce cup last night, it still took less than two minutes, even though I had to use the eight ounce cycle twice.

I love fresh coffee, and I hate the taste of coffee that has sat there and boiled down for hours, and since I only drink about 2 cups a day and Andy usually drinks one mug on weekday mornings when he has to be up early for classes, it is a very easy way to get fresh, flavorful coffee, without any waste.

I have one of those BrewStation pots that I picked up about a year ago, at that time I couldn't afford the money for a Senseo, since they sell for about $60 to $70, and the BrewStation was around $30. It is supposed to prevent the coffee from sitting on the warmer plate and boiling all day. It has a tank that the coffee goes into as it brews, it can hold up to 12 cups just like a traditional pot, but you can just make less if you aren't going to drink a whole pot. Then instead of having a carafe, the coffee stays in the tank and just like you would when getting a cup of coffee at the convenience store from a dispensing machine, you put your cup under it, press the cup against the little lever and let it fill it up, it shuts off when you ease up on the lever.

The problem with this, is it is very hard to brew a precise amount of coffee, so even though I have a pretty good idea of how much water to put in, there is still some waste every day and in spite of their claims, the coffee still sits fermenting on a boiler plate all day, all they did was move the hot plate so it sits under the tank, rather than down on the bottom under a carafe, so if it has been sitting for awhile, the coffee still cooks down and tastes nasty. Another thing is that it still takes just as long to brew as a regular coffee pot, if you try to get a cup mid-cycle, you get a really, really strong cup of coffee! After an hour, the machine shuts off, and since it has no way of sensing when you last got a cup, you and company could still be enjoying your coffee and when you go in to get another cup, find it off and the coffee cooling and sense we all know what happens when you reheat coffee (ICK!) this really causes waste. You also can't get it to stay on just by pushing the button to turn it off and on again, either. If there is no water in the brewing tank, the machine senses the steam heat and will not turn back on until it has cooled off significantly.

So after reading about it, and seeing the ads, I was very disappointed when I brought it home and used it.

Since the Senseo only brews when you push the button for a cup, no more scalded coffee and much less waste. It also stays on, keeping the water hot, for an hour after you last pushed a button to either turn it on, or make a cup, and since it only takes around 90seconds to heat eight ounces of water, even if it does shut off, it doesn't matter, you can still have a hot, fresh cup in minutes. So I am very happy with this one.

I can see how it could be a pain if you had a large crowd of people over who all want coffee, but if you just have a few friends, or want your morning cup or two, it is great.

So yes, both of you would like this one and if you do decide to pick up a machine, those of us who could spread the word and qualified for the free one got little pamphlets in the box that have a rebate link to share with friends and family. I didn't look yet, though, to see how much the rebate offer is for, but if you want to know, I can check it out for you.

Oh and for my flashybaby, here's a link to the Senseo at Amazon and info on it:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

This is the same model that they sent out for the free word of mouth promotion, but the one I received is a very pretty blue color.

Now, I am off, I want to order the refillable pods and the larger water tank, before I get busy with something else and forget. LOL!

Did I cover everything or do you have any other questions?

[katlnhats]

Hi,
One other question? Can you use the heat seal bags? They're cheap! I get them for herbal tea baths, lol but it looks like you could use them for anything....

Kat

[verwon]

Oh, almost forgot kats, I have one of those small aluminum stove top percolator ones, never mastered how to get good coffee out of it, though. For the longest time, I had one of those big urns types, like you would use for a party or something, it held around 30 cups, and it was a percolator type. However, when I cut down on my coffee drinking, it got to be very impractical to use anymore and I gave it away.

Oh and another thing I wanted to point out about my Brew Station, you have to be very careful that no grounds get down in the coffee tank, since you use the dispensing lever, it has a little rubber seal that lifts to let the coffee out when you press with your cup, and if grounds get under that seal, then the coffee keeps running out. I can't count the number of messes I have had from that happening, and of course, wasted whole pots of coffee. Even if you hurridly turn it off, the water that is at temp it still dripping in and the mess continues.

With the Senseo, it has an interrupt feature, on the off chance that the hole that dispenses the coffee gets clogged so the water can't come out or your seal on the lid was bumped and lifted so the water is leaking, you can hit the power button and it shuts it off and stops the brew cycle in just a second or two, so no major messes.

[mama2calli]

Mine just came yesterday - thanks to the OP who posted it here on the freebies board!! Not quite sure how it works but I have already told my family that it is MINE and I am going to buy all my beloved flavored coffees for it (they won't let me make ANY flavored coffee for our regular brewer as they claim it "stinks it up"!)!

[Kygal2003]

I don't have the Senseo, but I do have the Home Cafe. I LOVE it! It sounds just like the Senseo one though..it uses the pods and makes a cup in about a minute. It works well for me as I am the only one here who drinks coffee. I got mine FREE through a buzz kit. Gotta love those freebies!!!

[bestmidwest]

We received the Senseo and DH is taking it to the office. We also have the BrewStation, ver, and I think it was just as disappointing to us. DH is the only coffee drinker in the house and he wastes about half a pot per day.

My mom has one of those old-fashioned percolator type coffee makers and she thinks it makes the best coffee. I see that used more at her house than any other kind.

Kat, I like the smell of coffee but not the taste...so it does make sense. I will keep an eye out for one of those small percolator type pots. My mom and I both go to a lot of estate sales. If I see one, I will pick it up for you...I think that's how my mom got hers. It very surprising that I don't like coffee seeing as both my mom and DH are HUGE coffee drinkers.

[verwon]

I am a complete coffee addict, I have to have at least a cup a day, usually I have at least two. I can't function and do anything, until I have a cup. I am a zombie before that.

[freesurfer]

I had gotten the home cafe machine free last year and love it!! I just got the senseo machine and find that if I want to fill a taller travel cup that it only fits coffee cup sizes under the spout! : - ( Bummer!!

[Debbie42]

I don't like the coffee to me it tastes like Burger King coffee which I don't like either and I love most coffee. But dh loves Burger King coffee so he loves the machine.

[katlnhats]

Hi,
I got a free Senseo too, and haven't opened it. Then, Mark put it away somewhere.... and doesn't remember where! ROFL And... a friend found me a percolator type. Soooo, since then I haven't felt like drinking coffee-go figure!

Kat

[mama2calli]

My husband has been using it non-stop, he loves it... time for me to high-tail it over to Walmart to get the refillable pod thing & put my beloved "stinky coffee" in it (cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut etc etc)

[KittyMom]

I love mine i use it everyday.I'm so grateful to have received it. Makes me feel lucky hehe. Does anyone know what other brand pods we can use in the Senseo? My grocery store dosent carry that large of a selection of the Senseo brand. Honestly they dont carry much of a selection of anything...but they are cheap. Ha. I've fallen in love with the Irish Cream flavor. And I have to go to a different store to find it. I went to Walmart to find the refill thing and it was too big. I know theres one on Amazon but i dont have a credit card so i cant order it. So if anyone knows where else to find one let me know please