Review: Cafe Invento Single Serve Coffee Pod Brewer

The Cafe Invento is now available in Canada, and the US. You can make one or two delicious cups of coffee with a crema like layer, and the machine does this by using a Multiple podholders, for one or two coffee- or teapods. It has a large removable watertank, for approx. 10 cups of coffee. We are really taken back by the striking design, and found this coffee pod brewer to be unlike any other we've tested.

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From the side - the reservoir is very COOL blue.

The Café Invento Single Serve Coffee Pod Maker also features the Tasteselector, allowing you to select your personal coffee taste - be it light, medium, or darker cups of coffee. Best of all - it has an auto-shut off that powers the machine down after approx. 2 hours. Very green.

The really interesting thing about this new unique coffee pod maker - it features a unique material to make cleaning it up a breeze called Protact. Protact has a synthetic layer which is easy to clean and leaves no fingerprints. Developed by Corus, the synthetic layers have a smooth and silky finish. Inventum is the first in the world to use this material in a product or single serve coffee maker.

What do we think of the Cafe Invento? Is it the best single serve coffee pod brewer we've ever used? How does it compare to the Senseo?

Our Earlier First Impressions

Unboxing was really easy - with very few parts to deal with. Priming of the machine went well, and filling of the reservoir and getting the machine going was straight forward. The machine is very slim, but very wide. Also the finish on the machine is pretty stunning - both silky smooth, and also easy to wipe up. The Cafe Invento comes with both a crema multi-pod holder, and a tea pod holder. This thing makes frothy topped crema coffee very much like the Senseo.

Easy to use controls - one cup or two?

A very easy to use coffee pod holder.

The Cafe Invento also comes with two boxes of coffee pods - Sumatra and Columbian blends. Both are solid examples of the coffee you can expect from the Cafe Invento. Overall our only disappointment so far is the height of the brew head (no travel mugs here), and the fact the machine doesn't come with two small glass cups or the like to brew two cups of coffee as shown in the box shots and in the literature included.

Key Features of the Cafe Invento

• Two pod holders for better options: coffee, espresso or tea.
• MY INVENTO makes up to two cups of coffee at one time.
• With our TasteSelector you select your personal coffee preference; be it light, medium or dark.
• The convenient, removable reservoir holds up to 10 cups - (40 oz) of water.
• MY INVENTO's ultra-modern slim-line design compliments any home or office environment.
• It has an easy clean finish and a dishwasher-safe holding tray.
• MY INVENTO features an auto-shut off function for safety.
• Constructed of a unique material called Protact, MY INVENTO has a fashionable metal look, cleans easily and resists scratches and fingerprints. MY INVENTO is the first single serve coffee maker in the world to use this material.
• All of the MY INVENTO components are recyclable and the biodegradable pods are better for the environment.
• MY INVENTO is a perfect match for our Café Invento premium coffee pods.
• Available in your choice of Metallic Silver or Pearl White.
• My Invento Machine Size: 35 cm height x 35 cm width x 20 cm depth.
• My Invento Machine Size: 13.78 in height x 13.78 in width x 7.87in depth.

We are ready to brew.

What we really like is how the machine feels very high end, and also is very shallow or slim on the side so your countertops have more room. It's almost as if the machine it's really there, but on a second glance the stunning design pops forward. It's surprising that Senseo and other coffee makers haven't been able to update their design to something like this given how successful a design like this is. We think some improvement in cup height, and just a little more depth where you put the cup as well could be improvments.

The controls are also drop dead simple - one cup or two cups. Using a larger mug will make both spouts fill the cup with the crema-like coffee. You can also use the TasteSelector to choose light, medium or dark. We just go with dark for everything even when making lighter coffees. We liked the brew time and flavor when choosing this setting.

A frothy cup of Sumatran single serve coffee from the
Cafe Invento.

Overall Impression of the Cafe Invento Coffee Pods

We only got two pod flavors for review from Cafe Invento - Sumatra and Columbian blends. Both are excellent example of coffee pod brewed single serve coffee. They match their roast types, and the Sumatra was much better than the Columbia (not surprising) overall. But it's good to note this is a coffee pod brewer - so we tried Fratello, Baronet, Senseo, Baronet Senseo Pods, Aloha Island Coffee, Cool Beans Pods, and they all worked great. You can expect to use any 62 MM coffee pod up to 12-14g or a more standard 7-10 gram coffee pod with success. Pre-wetting is also recommended - and with a pre-moistened coffee pod we had nothing but excellent coffee produced.

A double cup of Sumatra coffee from Cafe Invento.

We also like the coffee pod holder. It has no aluminum to interfere with the taste, and the coffee pod holder is easily washed, and very light. Nice work here - simplicity at it's best.

Is this the best single serve coffee pod brewer we've ever used? Yes and no. Design wise - we love it. But feature wise at $200, the GPOD and others have better brew control when making a cup of single serve coffee. It does compete with the Senseo on the frothy top coffee front, and we think it gives it a run for the money. We wish Senseo would update their design to have something more in line with the slimness of the Cafe Invento - who knows maybe they will.

Pros and Cons of the Cafe Invento Single Serve Coffee Maker

Pros

• Really frothy crema like coffee
• Depth of machine gets your countertops back
• Easy to use and clean
• Easy to use controls
• Makes a great cup of coffee using coffee pods
• Slim design that is striking
• Heats up quickly
• Auto-Off
• You can use any coffee pod and it works and fits 7-14 grams

Cons

• Can't use a travel mug
• Wish I could tell the water level from the front in the reservoir
• Price is a bit high at almost $200

We really like the Cafe Invento single serve coffee pod brewer. The design is striking, and we think the feature set is solid. We wish the machine would be priced more in the $125-150 range, but we can see paying a premium for the design and convenience. This is a welcome addition to the single serve coffee maker world, and we think a welcome addition to any kitchen looking to free themselves of the tyranny of drip coffee makers, and get into the one cup coffee world.

At Cafe Invento Ca and Cafe Invento US

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