Coffee Pods

Coffee Pods was Originally Posted on September 30, 2008 by lavarock

A while ago I participated in a trial of a coffee brewing system called Senseo from Phillips. I got it at a very discounted price which is why I decided to try it. As you know, I’m a sucker for a deal. I am also a coffee farmer and this is research.

With that said, I think coffee drinkers should consider a system like this. If I was in a somewhat different situation, I would purchase one at regular price.

The system is a curved unit with a water supply in the back. I found the water holder a bit difficult to fill from my gallon plastic water holder (I use spring water in a refrigerator type dispenser). The unit holds enough for a few cups of coffee. Still, it was pretty easy to fill and set up and use.

The coffee comes in pods which look a bit like tea bags or round ravioli. I tried the medium regular coffee, and when it was brewed, it tasted good and had a nice cream head on it that lasted. To do that it appears they grind the coffee quite fine.

You can make 1 or 2 cups of coffee at a time (2 cups will actually fill a good size mug). You activate the power switch, wait for the light to come on (water at brew temperature) and press the brew button. In seconds the cup is filled with hot coffee.

The company offers many types of coffees and gourmet brews, but lacking is a Kona (which I had hoped for). I also got the unit to experiment with making my own pods with my own coffee. I had less than stellar results because my coffee is not ground fine enough and the water went through it too fast. I got the filter material on Ebay and used my regular drip grind). I am sure that Phillips shudders at the thought of people making their own pods. When I worked at HP, we sold the printers cheaply but made our profits off the ink refills.

Since pod systems have been around awhile, there appear to be companies making their own pods. Unlike printer and replacement inks from other companies. the replacement pods may work alright, I don’t know. There is not much to clog in this system, so one could experiment.

As I say, the coffee I tried was good enough and in a different situation, I would stock up on pods. It is very easy to use and very quick to have a hot cup of coffee.

I would love to see a 100% Kona Coffee offered and will talk with my fellow farmers to gtaher interest.

If you have an opportunity, try a system, I think you will like it.