Coffee Pods

Back in 2016, an interesting article appeared on CNET completely bashing coffee pods. This was odd for the time, and would certainly be in odd in 2020 considering the massive success of coffee pods. But their criticisms were valid, even if you don’t agree. The first knock was freshness. According to the author, coffee has a shelf life. This isn’t crazy. It’s true, coffee, like any product does have a shelf life. And once roasted coffee beans are exposed to oxygen they will indeed become stale. If you’ve ever noticed the roast date many premium brands put on their bags, they do this to communicate that said roasts should be consumed within two weeks.

To address this issue, coffee pods will top off the pods with Nitrogen gas to stifle oxidation. They might also seal the container with a second layer of foil. The author didn’t feel this worked all that well, but many would disagree. Another issue, according to the CNET author, is the quantity of coffee you receive per pod. For many coffee drinkers, it’s an addiction, in the best sense of the word. The bottom line – hard-core coffee drinkers love coffee, and the amount that a single serving pod provides isn’t much. So what invariably occurs are multiple trips back to the machine to top off your cup. This is both annoying (to some), but also never leaves the drinker with the amount they truly desire.

With this said, coffee pods have taken the world by storm. Most feel the quality is just fine, and multiple trips to the coffee machine are not overly burdensome. Coffee pods are everywhere, but a pod is only as good as the machine that operates them. Here are some popular pod machines that are coffee-drinking hits.

Illy Y3.2 Espresso/Coffee Machine 60296

Illy Italian Coffee is world-renowned. You’ve likely seen and tasted Illy (knowing or unknowingly), as many restaurants serve Illy. Bottom line – if you love Illy coffee then their pods and this machine are a natural fit. The Y3.2 model features a brew-temperature adjustment, auto-shutoff, a removable water reservoir and a height-adjustable drip tray. This machine can brew both espresso and coffee, and ranks exceptionally high in temperature consistency.

Cuisinart Premium Single-Serve Brewer SS-10

Similar to the Y3.2, this single-serve brewer from Cuisinart also scores well in the above-mentioned Illy areas. The suggested coffee pod brand to combine with the SS-10 is Keurig K-Cups. Keurig coffee pods include classic favorites such as Caribou Coffee, Peet’s Coffee, Death Wish Coffee, Eight O’Clock Coffee and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. If you’re into any of these brands, Keurig pods are a great choice and the SS-10 to brew them.

Philips Senseo Original XL Single Serve HD7810

Senseo pads (not pods, they call them pads) are yet another popular pod brand. Be forewarned, depending on where you live Senseo might be tough to find. They’ve undergone some restructuring, and as such buying online is typically the best way to find Senseo. Once you find your Senseo pad supply, the HD7810 from Philips performs strong when it comes to repeat cup speed. What might sound like a minor value added, when you want a repeat cup (or 5), having to wait for the system to heat up each and every time is not ideal. If you’ve got multiple drinkers in the house, this is even worse.

Coffee pods are easy to use, can be inexpensive (depending on your taste), and are likely to replace (at some point) ground, coffee machines. This last point will anger those ground coffee proponents, but the coffee pod revolution continues to gain steam. Once they can really convince true coffee heads that freshness won’t be compromised, watch out!