Senseo coffee system = cool!

beanfiend

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May 21, 2004
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I just got ahold of a new Philips Senseo (I'll be honest, it was free as part of a marketing promotion), and I really like it. In fact, my Braun has been out of duty since the Senseo came along.

It uses pods to make hot, single serving coffee with a nice crema on top. Coffee ranges in strength from mild to dark roast, I prefer the medium myself. The system is nice because it's easy to keep clean and quick, and very tasty. I thought I would miss the extra coffee in the pot, but it's simple to just make more!

http://senseo.com
 

Mizuno

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beanfiend said:
I just got ahold of a new Philips Senseo (I'll be honest, it was free as part of a marketing promotion), and I really like it. In fact, my Braun has been out of duty since the Senseo came along.

It uses pods to make hot, single serving coffee with a nice crema on top. Coffee ranges in strength from mild to dark roast, I prefer the medium myself. The system is nice because it's easy to keep clean and quick, and very tasty. I thought I would miss the extra coffee in the pot, but it's simple to just make more!

http://senseo.com

did you do the questionairre? if so how long did it take for you to receive?
 

BeanGrinder

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I did the survey and my machine arrived yesterday. I'm going to reserve judgement until I've had a chance to try it for a few days. I can tell you quickly that I'm headed to Wal-Mart to buy the "MyPod" adapter - I want to use MY coffee in this thing. I have never liked Egbert's coffee (the machine came with 15 Douie Egbert pods). That coffee is bitter and stale tasting. :-D

If I can find any immediate fault with the machine it would be that you have to use their coffee and their pre-determined strength; in a traditional auto-drip you can control how much water and coffee you want in order to achieve the strength of coffee you desire. With the Senseo, the best you can do is double the pods. Egbert x 2 is nasty stuff!

Anyway, I'm thinking it only took about three weeks maybe. I can't remember exactly when I did the survey. The only other thing I would mention is that it looks like this machine might have been a "refurbished" model. Like the company might have hundreds of referbs and rather than find a way to re-sell them, they are giving them away as a promotional. It is clear they want coffee professionals to buy into the system - they included a stack of pamphlets to give to customers.

I'll play along - I'll hand out the pamphlets, but I'll encourage people to buy MyPod adapters and experiment with their favorite coffee. To that end, I'll probably re-work our house blend into a "Senseo blend" that is optimized for use in this machine. But so far I don't know of a single customer we've lost to pods! There is a difference between having a passion for premium coffee and just needing a cup of something in the morning.

-BG
 

topher

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Aug 14, 2003
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We tried the pod adaptor...and it really didn't work to well...coffee was not to the level of a press, vacuum or even a drip machine...will try to play a bit more but so far I am not very impressed :(
 

demetri

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BeanGrinder said:
The only other thing I would mention is that it looks like this machine might have been a "refurbished" model. Like the company might have hundreds of referbs and rather than find a way to re-sell them, they are giving them away as a promotional.

I hope that is not the case.

I haven't been able to try mine as it arrived with a broken reservoir. I thought that perhaps it was because of shipping to Canada as a one off case that didn't go through their normal distribution channels. The rest of the unit looks fine and didn't appear to be a refurb.
 

Mizuno

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I got mine yesterday!! Some photos:

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I think the coffee tastes great for what it is..perfect for the office. Wow..didn't know there was an adaptor though..
 

equus007

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Apr 4, 2006
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neat

well its certainly neat looking. I cheated and did the survey twice so I coulde get more "pods". Wonder if there is a "pod"packer so I can put whatever coffee in it I want?
 

Jackson

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Aug 22, 2006
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My friend Sean from Berardi's Fresh Roast in Cleveland roasts his coffee and ships it to a company to make into pods. I will call him to get the pod company's info. Sean told me it was not cheap, but it is worth it for his office coffee customers.
Are pod brewers the way of the future? The end product is not as good as my french press by any means. But then again, you can buy frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without crusts for a premium price. I think the idea of thawing out an overpriced PB&J sandwich before eating it is absurd, but my 10 year old son loves them.
It is more common today to buy processed lettuce in a bag than to buy a fresh head of Romaine lettuce. The processed stuff tastes like plastic, and is very limp, but still is very popular at the supermarket. Don't get me started on Easy Mac vs. regular macaroni and cheese.
Is America ready to give up a higher quality beverage for easier preperation? Chances are, if I owned a specialty coffee roastery, I would be looking at ways to pod my coffee. America is always on the hunt for a quicker way to do something, if you help America acheive that goal with a high quality product, you will acheive financial goals as well.
 

npkeith

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Sep 13, 2004
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Yeah, I got the freebie too. The Douwe Egberts coffee that was included free is bitter and thin at the finish. I'll have to stick a thermometer in the water though - if you follow the directions, the machine preheats the water. It came out pretty hot. I am a little worried about extraction time though. I was always told 4 minutes, but then an espresso shot only takes seconds, and the Senseo *is* a pressure brew system... I'm sure its not as high a pressure as dads old pavoni though...

I was hot, it was caffienated, and it stopped the headache... but I will *not* be buying pods for it.

I am interested in those reusable pods that I could fill with my home-roast yirgacheffe though... But $20 for one, maybe 2 of the things - thats obscene! I'd want to make up a stack of a dozen or so to take to work for the day. That aint't gonna happen at $20 each...

I did see something about using 1 cup basket filters to make your own paper pods though... That might be doable.
 

bamaster

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Jun 3, 2005
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I received my freebie today. Brought it to the office and brewed up a couple cups for me and a buddy. My machine is blue.

I really liked how easy it is. Super simple and super fast. But that's about all I like about it. The coffee that came with the system, Medium Roast, is lackluster at best. I don't recall and real bitterness but I don't have the mature palate that some of you do.

Of course I am spoiled, as we brew Starbucks drip here at the office and I actually enjoy that.

Overalll, no I won't be buying any pods. I will, however, buy a set of those refillable pods and put my own coffee in there.

:D
 

coffeepoet

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Dec 9, 2005
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Got mine!

Hey, you got a blue one? No fair. Mine's black.

I tried the MyPod ($10 at my local WalMart), and the first time it didn't stop at all, overflowed my cup, made a big mess. I haven't tried again. The strength of the coffee seems decent, comes out hot, definately better than my drip machine, but my wife doesn't like it. I think I'll just have to take it to the office for that quick fix. . . it's still no espresso maker, but it doesn't really claim to be. Wish there was an easier way of getting better coffee though. . . all there seems to be to choose from is the Senseo pods, Folgers or Maxwell House around here. . . none of these are appealing to me. Guess it's something to use before I'm awake and care how my coffee tastes. Oh well, glad it was free.
 
I brought a blue senseo machine into work. We have Keurig machines in the office so we have a lot of people who think they know a lot about coffee, or at least they know what they like.

Compared to the Keurig, the Senseo looks very cool. It is smaller, the shape and color definitely deliver cool. Everyone liked the design or at least remarked how it looked distinctive. There were some questions on whether it was a Danish or Swedish design. It was not just another appliance.

The coffee that came with it was the medium roast. When we opened the bag of pods, it smelled sour. Definitely not a great first impression. We brewed all of them but I did wonder how well the coffee would stay fresh before staling with that much exposure to oxygen.

The coffee brewed nicely. It did take a while to brew a cup for everyone, but it was about the same brew cycle as a keurig, so we were used to it. The crema on top was a nice touch.

I had been concerned about handling a hot, wet coffee pod, but the insert made it easy to dispose of the spent pod. It was not as convenient as a k-cup - especially the commercial machines that eject used k-cups, but it was fine. Not a nuisance at all.

Given the initial aroma of the coffee, the coffee itself was remarkable in that it had no bitter aftertaste. It was not unpleasant. It was not a great coffee experience. In fact, it did not have much taste at all. That was very surprising. I would have at least expected bitter, but the finish was smooth. I think that was as much the roast and the weakness of the brew as anything else.

As the coffee cooled, it became less and less pleasant until reaching an end state of just plain nasty. The bitter and sour really came into the foreground. That's common in commercial grade coffees. Specialty coffee usually is great even after it cools.

We have friends in Europe who have Senseos and the coffee tasted different and better. Maybe it was the experience of being abroad that made it better, but I'm fairly sure it was the coffee.

The final assessment of the Senseo was that the brewer was a cool, stylish, convenient way to deliver a mediocre cup of coffee. I'd be curious to find out what other coffees could work in it.

If I ever mount the Senseo on a plaque and put antlers on it and glue some googly eyes on it, I'll post the picture. I'm sure it will look like a moose.
 
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