KEURIG SINGLE CUP COFFEE MAKER

First things first. I know that you all are wondering where I have been since this is the most popular blog online you have all been waiting with bated breath for my return. I must apologize to my loyal readers for my unexplained absence. School started here in Washington on 2 September and we have been adjusting to our new schedule so please forgive me for not posting for a while. Also, I had to go out and make some new purchases to blog about.

Today I want to tell you about my newest toy. It is a coffee maker. What makes this coffee maker so special you may ask. Well that is what this blog is for, I tell you exactly why I think some things are great and why some are not. The Keurig coffee maker can go in the "just shy of fantastic category". Let me first tell you that I purchased this because I am not really a coffee drinker but wanted to be able to have a single cup every now and again and did not want the mess associated with regular coffee makers.

The Keurig is a really neat machine and it will make you a single serving of coffee in less than 3 minutes. You can choose from a large variety of coffee, tea and hot cocoa. Set up time from box to counter top is less than 3 minutes as well. There are 4 easy steps to follow in order to make your coffee and the machine guides you every step of the way. What do I mean by that, well I'll tell you. Once you plug the coffee maker in you press the button on top and insert your choice of beverage. Next the water compartment will open on its own. that's right you read correctly, it opens on its own. After you have added the water (8oz) and close the lid a yellow light will appear. This light is telling you to place your coffee cup in the staging area. Once you have put your cup in place then a blue light comes on that reads "BREW". Hit the brew button and you are ready to go. In less than 3 minutes you have a hot beverage with no mess.

I know that you are wondering why there is no mess. Well, this system is designed with single
canisters that allow you to pop them in a small contained compartment while the machine does the rest. When your beverage is done brewing you just remove the canister and discard it. There are no coffee grounds to dump out and no filter remove and replace. You so have to deal with residual coffee drippings or the old coffee smell that lingers if you for get to toss it out the same day. You came make as many beverages as you want all you have to do is follow the 4 steps each time and you can't get it wrong.

Now, some of you may be wondering why I rated it just shy of fantastic. Well being the perfectionist that I am I found 1 issue with this machine. When making hot cocoa all of the cocoa powder does not get used. The water does not pass through all of the cocoa mix and it clumps up inside the canister so your cocoa is very weak. This is not a big issue for me but it is for my kids. With that one exception the machine is worth every penny. Which brings me to my last point, the price. There are 3 different Keurig single cup coffee makers that I have seen and they are priced from $79.00 to $129.00 at Target. I purchased the $79.00 once for its size. It is very compact and you can travel with it. You can take it to your office or on vacation with you if you like. If you are sort on counter space, this is the one for you. The $99.00 model is a larger but it is said to make your coffee in less than 1 minute. The largest one they offer costs $129.00 but it allows you to use many different cup sizes in the staging area and also makes your coffee in less than 1 minute. I have not personally tested the larger machines so I cannot attest to these claims but I am happy with the model that I have.

This coffee maker is convenient and easy to clean. It does not leave an odor of old coffee in the air and can be used in any room or office space. One of my favorite things about this machine is that they use fair trade products and you have a very large variety to choose from. You can buy what you want at many different retailers (Target, bed bath and beyond, Lowes, JC Penny, Wal Mart etc.) or you can order them online from the company and set up auto shipping. I highly recommend this coffee maker for everyone from the occassional drinker to the everyday coffee addict.