A pod coffee maker

For Xmas this year my Dad and Nancy got me a pod coffee maker, a Senseo. Basically this is a coffee maker that takes in "pods", preground coffee packed in a sealed filter. The main selling point is that is is super-easy to clean up. Actually I had no idea that making coffee could be this easy.

The other thing of note is that it puts the water through the pod at pressure. Not espresso pressure, more like Moka pressure, or even a bit less, but still pressure. It makes coffee that tastes different for this reason.

The downside is that you have to buy your coffee preground and sealed. This of course means the quality is a bit lower, as coffee starts to loose flavor after grinding. It also ups the cost as beans are widely distributed but the pods are only distributed by a few major brands -- and a very tiny number of specialty coffee companies.

Thats how it works, but how's it taste? On the whole different. Even when packing 2 pods in and pushing only one cup of water through it's not strong enough for my taste -- but I'm not using the dark roast which would help. And the flavor of my pods is not as complex as I would like. So I've been using my French press in the mornings.

But a week ago or so Rachel suggested that I have a senseo over vanilla ice cream for dessert. Espresso over ice cream is one of my favorites things ever -- and this worked out perfectly. The flavour of the coffee was strong enough -- but the ice cream masked whatever flaws the coffee had when drunk straight. And it was a 10 minute process from Idea to Eating including cleanup. Pretty amazing -- I've done it 2 more times in the last week. It's perfect.

This machine may not replace my French press but it has certainly found a place in the kitchen :)

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