Single serving coffee machines

[He Man]

whats a good way to make a single serving of coffee at home? I pretty much cook breakfast every morning so i want to have it with me at breakfast instead of having it at school. I have no idea how coffee is made to be honest. Ive seen these coffee press things, they seem simple enough but im not sure if its the best choice. Advice?

[lethe]

I like my Keurig a lot. Also, the hot cocoa K cups are awesome. 

[He Man]

is that a brand? lol i dont have a clue about making coffee. i just know i hand the guy 2 bucks and he hands me a cup of it. :p

[Grappa]

Just get a french press.  Very cheap.

[Ddan]

With the Kuerig, you hand the guy $125 for the machine and then about $.50 for each container of ground coffee, good for one cup.  They are extremely idiot resistant and it's a decent cup of coffee.  

[Buckethead]

Coffee 101

Coffee cherries grow on a tree.



Juan Valdez and his trusty ass harvest them.



Huge multi-national companies buy the coffee beans from Juan and his trusty ass. The cherries are then dried.



Once they're dried, they're husked.



The pit at the center is the coffee bean.

To give it the characteristic dark color and toasty flavor, the beans are roasted.



When that's done, the beans are ground and water is strained through the grounds, resulting in coffee.



Philistines like myself then pollute the shit out of this coffee with refined sugar and dairy products.

[lethe]

With the Kuerig, you hand the guy $125 for the machine and then about $.50 for each container of ground coffee, good for one cup.  They are extremely idiot resistant and it's a decent cup of coffee.  

and idiot proof is the best way to do it at 4am 

[pennyrobber]

I would offer yet another option. The moka pot. Quick and easy and cost starts around $20.

[Speeddog]

You guys are overcomplicating this.

[zooom]

we have a Bosch Tassimo.....works well, not a huge amount of waste...and the coffee is good and consistant!

[Narflar]

The question is, what kind of coffee do you want to drink?  If it's just a plain old cup o' joe, get a cup filter. 

http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-Ready-Single-Coffee-Brewer/dp/B0014CVEH6

put that on top of a cup, put in a filter, put grounds in filter, pour in boiling water. 

[rgramjet]

I've got a Keurig, I've got a MokaPot, I've got a cuisineart 12 cup coffee maker......my advice:  get a braun hot water maker and Starbucks VIA microground instant coffee packets.  $19 for the plug in hot water pot+ $.50/packet=money ahead!

[LMT]

Those single cup machines are really expensive if you figure it out by the pound. You are paying for convenience.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html

SOMETIMES it’s hard to tell how much coffee costs, even if you know what you spent. At least that’s the case with many of the single-serve brewing machines that are soaring in popularity.

The Cost of Coffee From Single-Serve System

For example, the Nespresso Arpeggio costs $5.70 for 10 espresso capsules, while the Folgers Black Silk blend for a K-Cup brewed-coffee machine is $10.69 for 12 pods. But that Nespresso capsule contains 5 grams of coffee, so it costs about $51 a pound. And the Folgers, with 8 grams per capsule, works out to more than $50 a pound.

That’s even more expensive than all but the priciest coffees sold by artisanal roasters, the stuff of coffee snobs.

[ducatiz]

We have

1.  a french press
2.  a Krups carafe brewer
3.  a Breville K-cup brewer
4.  a Miele espresso maker

It's sort of musical chairs for us.  Mrs Ducatizzy is into the french press right now and I'm enjoying americanos lately.  eventually i get back to the regular brewers.

the k-cups are great for parties if you have a lot of picky asshole friends who like flavored coffees or want tea.  the coffee in them isn't bad and they nitrogen flush them for freshness so they keep fresh for a long time.

the small one-cup press is pretty neat though.  not a lot of upkeep you just put 2 scoops into it and pour boiling water on top. 

we also make cold brew coffee with mason jars. 

we like coffee.

[CayoHueso]

As what was already said, those single cup machines that make coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc are expensive. The initial investment isn't terribly bad, but the refills are quite expensive as Monkey Toes said above.

The french press is a good option. Definitely one of the best ways to enjoy coffee. If you buy whole bean, you will need a good grinder so you can get a rather corse grind so it works better. A fine grind will yield a gritty cup of joe with all the coffee grounds.

Another good option is what as known as the "poor over" technique. It is a single cup serving. Boil your water, add coffee to the device (in a filter of course) and pour the water over.

Here is a link on how it works:
http://coffeegeek.com/guides/howtouseapourover

Link to purchase one:
http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Pour-Overs-s/679.htm

Enjoy.


Brian R.