December 2008 Monthly Round-Up for Single Serve Coffee - Happy New Year!
December was another amazing month of holidays, eating, and drinking mugs full of single serve coffee. We want to wish everyone an amazing and Happy New Year for 2009. Thanks again for being such loyal readers, and we'll see you in the New Year.
We also want to remind you we're giving away a month of coffee right here at Single Serve Coffee. Don't fret - it's not going to be ground coffee, but it will be whatever single serve coffee you desire. If you win we'll send you a gift certificate from Amazon.com valued at $50 to buy whatever single serve coffee you want, or you can put it towards that second one cup machine you've been wanting.
We also want to welcome all of the new owners of single serve coffee makers received over the holidays. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter to win, follow us on Twitter, and also sign up and participate in the Single Serve Coffee Forums.
Looking for a great way to showcase all of those K-Cup flavors you have for your Keurig singles serve coffee maker? We have been using the Keurig Tower K-Cup Holder for over a month, and we love it. Instead of reaching into the cupboard for a K-Cup we can load up the tower with as many varieties of K-Cup coffees, teas, and even white or hot chocolate. We've found this to be a much better design than the earlier K-Cup Carousel because the footprint of the tower is much less. The lazy susan design is also really fluid, and the tower can hold up to 30 K-Cups.
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December 29, 2008
Win a Month of Free Coffee from Single Serve Coffee
That's right - we're giving away a month of coffee right here at Single Serve Coffee. Don't fret - it's not going to be ground coffee, but it will be whatever single serve coffee you desire. If you win we'll send you a gift certificate from Amazon.com valued at $50 to buy whatever single serve coffee you want, or you can put it towards that second one cup machine you've been wanting.
How do you win? Simply sign up for the Single Serve Coffee newsletter by using the form below, or by following this link. We'll be drawing the winner randomly from the mailing list on January 15, 2009. If you're name is on the list - you just might win!
We also want to welcome all of the new owners of single serve coffee makers who received one (or two) over the holidays. Make sure you sign up for our newsletter to win, follow us on Twitter, and also sign up and participate in the Single Serve Coffee Forums.
We'll be back next week, but until then you'll just have to read our reviews and older news - and of course do it while enjoying a cup of amazing single serve coffee. When we return we'll have reviews of the new entry level Keurig Office Brewer, Keurig Frother, and a new exciting single serve coffee pod machine.
But right now we want to thank to all our dedicated readers for your support and your trust during an exciting 2008. And a special thanks to all of our advertisers over this past year - without them we wouldn't be able to bring you Single Serve Coffee each day.
Have a great holiday everyone and raise your coffee cups, and remember how fortunate you are to be drinking coffee. :-)
Last Minute Gift Idea: Aerobie Aeropress Single Serve Coffee and Espresso Maker
Looking for a last minute gift idea? Try the Aeropress from Aerobie (read our entire review here). The Aeropress is a perfect gift at $24 for just about any coffee drinker. Best of all it allows any coffee drinker to understand how perfect one cup of coffee can be. How does it work? The Aeropress really is an entirely new way to make coffee. Yes, you could compare it to a french press but you would be wrong. Because of an almost giant syringe like coffee gadget you build air pressure by pushing espresso ground coffee through the chamber with a filter paper on the bottom of the Aeropress. Though a french press has this plunger like action the amount of pressure you build up in the Aeropress and extraction is much much higher.
You can push as fast or as slow as you want and creating different strengths of coffee, but Aeropress recommends letting the coffee mix in the main chamber for about 20 seconds, and then a slow push of 30 seconds or so to make your coffee. We also recommend keeping the water temperature in the 174-182 degrees F range. The coffee will come out without any bitter aftertaste provided you keep the temperature in that range.
We love our Aeropress, and use it more than any other single serve coffee maker to sample our friend's micro batches of coffee. We think you might also just want to pick one up for yourself, and get into the science of the perfect shot or cup of single serve coffee.
Competition grade? Yep. Finally you will be able to challenge your Single Serve Coffee friends to a cappuccino competition. These espresso and cappuccino cups are dishwasher-safe ceramic coffee chalices made free of lead and cadmium glazes. They're also triple fired so that they’re extra durable. They are available in eight vibrant colors, accented in platinum, and hand signed. Additionally, these coffee mugs are the preferred choice of over 30 professional baristi for their regional, national, and international competitions.
Otto Chrome Espresso Maker - Shiny Single Serve Coffee
We love our single serve coffee and espresso, but we like it even more when it comes out of something very shiny. OTTO is a Stove Top Espresso Maker (and very shiny), combining classic Italian style with the standard stovetop functionality. OTTO is made almost completely of stainless steel promising a lifetime of satisfaction from this modern international design classic. OTTO comes with an OTTO tamper, the OTTO experience DVD providing a barista training session, two Italian designed latte glasses and a stainless milk jug, packaged in a robust premium travel case.
We recommend watching the video, because it contains some actually interesting facts about the OTTO. We really like how easy it is to stack up and add the water and espresso. Also - the milk frother seems to actually work well given it's a stovetop espresso maker. OTTO also reminds us of the Atomic Stovetop espresso and single serve coffee maker. We're not sure if OTTO is based on the Atomic design, but it sure does look like it.
Review: Mastro Lorenzo Espresso T-Discs for Tassimo
Mastro Lorenzo embraces the Italian culture where fine espressos and crema coffees were born and are part of daily life. Unfortunately, a quick search on their French website did not yield any further information regarding the company's history. We've tried a few of their different T-Disc varieties over the past several months and have found that their aroma and flavor always seem superior to their competitors. Such is the case once again with their espresso T-Disc.
From the moment you first start brewing your first cup, you'll notice the intense scent of fine Italian espresso will soon fill the room. Close your eyes and you might think you're sitting at café instead of your kitchen. Give the cup a light swirl and let the nose develop… you'll smell the initial burst of acidic bitterness but you'll also notice slight notes of chocolate hiding underneath. Not surprising, these hints of chocolate are also present in the taste and the acid lends an almost citrus-like quality. Kraft describes this coffee as being 100% pure Arabica, but we can't help but wonder if they mixed-in a few Robusta beans without telling anyone.
Social Media Twitter Single Serve Coffee Mug - Follow Us and We'll Follow You
This mug allows you to print the profile pictures of the Twitter friends you follow across it's surface. It also makes a great gift at only $14.
If you didn't know Single Serve Coffee has a twitter account, and we post our news and views there daily as well. We challenge you tofollow us, and we'll print out a mug for everyone here at the Single Serve Coffee after we follow you.
Green Mountain Coffee Virtual Factory Tour - Making K-Cups
Jim Evans over at CoffeeWhiz.com found this factory tour of Green Mountain Coffee over at YouTube. We have visited and seen these coffee machines in actions ourselves, and can say it's quite a single serve coffee show. Mid way through the video there's a really cool little showing coffee being put into K-Cups.
At first glance this quirky vessel looks like a regular glass jug, but take a closer look and you’ll notice it features an internal chamber shaped like a cow’s udder. Hand-crafted from double-walled glass, the Calf and Half jug holds up to 150ml of milk/cream making it ideal to use when having your cup of single serve coffee or tea. The Calf and Half Jug can be yours for £14.95.
Nespresso has just introduced the seasonal flavors for the Nespresso Variations 2008 - Mandarin, Caramel, and Crystallized Ginger. We should have a lightning review of these when we receive early next week, but don't wait for us to tell you to order because these will go fast.
How does it work? Just pour in milk, turn it on and the Keurig Milk Frother heats and stirs the milk in under 90 seconds. The addition of the Keurig Milk Frother to your single serve coffee arsenal will give you the ability to take the darker K-Cup roasts, and make some home brewed lattes and cappuccinos. Also you can now buy it online for just $69.95 making it a great gift this holiday season. We'll have a full review of the Keurig Milk Frother soon.
Keurig has introduced an at work brewer available now to directly purchase from their web site, instead of having to purchase the brewer from a Keurig sales person or authorized reseller. This gives small to medium sized companies an option to buy a Keurig system that isn't as large as the B3000 or other Keurig systems and direct from Keurig.
The Office PRO or OfficePro includes a drainable internal water reservoir for transport or storage (a feature not available on home brewers) and comes with an 18-pack of K-Cups. Keurig Commercial Grade brewers are engineered to stand up to the toughest demands of commercial/office use. Commercial Keurig brewers are UL Approved for Commercial Use, and include special construction/materials required for such approval.
Brew Sizes: 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz*
Drainable Internal Water Reservoir
Travel Mug Friendly with
Removable Drip Tray
Removable Reservoir
Auto Off Feature
We'll have one of these brewers to review soon here at the Single Serve Coffee offices, and we'll give you our first impressions as well.
Simply the coolest coffee table we've seen, and it was inspired by a previous reader-made iPod coffee table over at iLounge. iLounge readers Tuan Nguyen, Ken Thomas and their associates have created an iPhone coffee table. According to Nguyen, the table is "completely made of corrugate and glued together with white glue," and features removable, usable coasters built-in. Imagine the iPhone coffee table in your living room or den, and then imagine it actually working.
Top 10 Best Selling Single Serve Coffee Makers - December 2008
December and November make this list totally different as we see how much the list changes when new consumers buy single serve coffee makers for gifts this holiday season. The Aeropress from Aerobie is now #3 with 5 of the top ten list getting consumed with Keurig designed single serve coffee makers. This isn't surprising given the fact Keurig is running national TV ads, along with a very large presence online and offline. The Bosch Tassimo Suprema Hot Beverage System finally makes the top 10 list, and the older model continues to sell well. We'll have more updates in January with how this all plays out - but it's an impressive change over the last few months.
Do you think these coffee makers represent the best selling or the best? What single serve coffee makers do you think should make a best of list regardless of sales? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
We're not sure if this is interesting, painful to watch, or something that dreams are made of. Sure - we love our single serve coffee, but we're not sure we love drinking it in space. Okay - we'll be honest - total jealousy. Not only were we promised flying cars, but you'd think we'd all have a shot at traveling and drinking single serve coffee in space. For now, we'll just have to watch this guy have a go at it.
Review: Jacobs Latte Macchiato T-Discs for Tassimo
A quick Google translation of the official company website will reveal that Jacobs coffee first got its start in 1895 when it was introduced by Johann Jacobs in the town of Bremen, Germany. Johann later opened his first Coffee House in 1907 and created his own roasting facility in its backyard since he knew that each coffee variety, based on the nature & structure of the bean, could impart its own special flavor when roasted. He was also much ahead of his time by offering pre-roasted coffees since until then; it was customary for people to roast green coffee beans at home on a stove top. The Jacobs company suffered many setbacks while weathering both World Wars but managed to pull through. By 1982, they had acquired the Suchard Chocolate company in their portfolio and in 1993, they merged with Kraft General Foods to become the company we know today.
Jacobs uses a combination of their espresso T-Disc and the European shelf-stable latte milk creamer T-Disc (which is common among most latte varieties overseas) to create their latte macchiato. A "macchiato" made with a Tassimo machine is basically a "reverse-latte" where you insert the creamer disc before the espresso disc. This results in a layering of creamer on the bottom, coffee in the middle and creamer froth on the top. The only way you can truly appreciate this effect is by using a clear mug or double-wall glass. You can also stir the contents together to create a regular latte which has a slightly better taste, but for the purpose of this review, we wanted to prepare the drink "as intended" by the manufacturer.
Pomegranate Single Serve Coffee Smartphone - Makes Coffee and Takes Calls
Where to start? Did you ever think you'd see a Single Serve Coffee Smartphone, and one that makes single serve coffee? We didn't, and in these crazy technological times we thought Apple might beat everyone to the punch. The Pomegranate NS08 makes coffee, calls, and even has a GPS unit on board.
How does the coffee delivery system work? You simply insert a Pomegranate coffee capsule into the phone, and in less than 30 seconds you have a cup of hot piping coffee. Current flavors are: Hazelnut, Columbian, French Vanilla, and Sumatran blend. We're not sure on reservoir or other features, but it looks like you'll only need to travel to Nova Scotia to get one. :-)
We like the Keurig B30 Mini K-cup coffee brewer and apparently so does Wired Magazine, as they have slapped the mighty mini on their Holiday Wish List for 2008. They saw the fast brewing and ease of use as a big plus for time strapped caffeine junkies everywhere. The beauty of the K-Cup is that it's fast, easy, and makes a darn good cup. The 200 varieties of K-cups don't hurt either - there has to be a blend for everyone there.
The Keurig Mini B30 single serve K Cup coffee brewer is available now for $79.
November 2008 Monthly Round-Up for Single Serve Coffee - Holiday Gift Guide
November was another amazing month for Single Serve Coffee with new reviews and of course our 2008 Holiday Gift Guide for Single Serve Coffee. Today is Cyber Monday - so make sure and get out to a variety of the Single Serve Coffee sites we feature to get your deals on holiday gifts single serve coffee related.
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December 2008 Monthly Round-Up for Single Serve Coffee - Happy New Year!
December was another amazing month of holidays, eating, and drinking mugs full of single serve coffee. We want to wish everyone an amazing and Happy New Year for 2009. Thanks again for being such loyal readers, and we'll see you in the New Year.
We'll be back next week, but until then you'll just have to read our reviews and older news - and of course do it while enjoying a cup of amazing single serve coffee. When we return we'll have reviews of the new entry level Keurig Office Brewer, Keurig Frother, and a new exciting single serve coffee pod machine.
Looking for a last minute gift idea? Try the 
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Review: Community Coffee Dark Roast Coffee Pods
