- Includes 18 Senseo coffee pods
- Fresh coffee made fast
- Brews up to a 12 oz. cup
- Choose regular, decaf, & a variety of coffee blends & flavors
- Brew basket is dishwasher safe
Hamilton Beach Personal Cup One Cup Pod Brewer. For fresh coffee made fast, look no further. The Personal Cup™ Brewer makes a single cup the easy way. Instead of messy coffee grounds, it uses affordable and delicious Senseo® Coffee Pods.
List Price: $ 19.99
Price: $ 19.72
- Measures 17-1/2 by 11-1/2 by 4-1/2-inch; wash only by hand.
- Slim, 2-quart pitcher fits in refrigerator door
- Indicator light and automatic shutoff
- Adjustable brew-strength selector
- Fresh-brewed iced tea from leaves or bags in under 10-minutes
Make perfect iced tea and chill instantly with this electric easy to use iced tea makerCoffee drinkers have their automatic brewers, why shouldn’t tea drinkers? Ideal for family gatherings or summer picnics, this ingenious Hamilton Beach machine brews up a pitcher full of iced tea in less than ten minutes. After the pitcher is filled with ice cubes, tea (either loose or bags) is placed in the special paperless filter, and an adjustment for mild, medium, or strong brewing is selected. The lid s
List Price: $ 29.99
Price: $ 21.54
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Great Performance for the Price,
Despairing of ever finding decent espresso in the Midwest, I finally broke down and decided to get a home espresso machine. I had worked as a barrista, and had sipped espresso in Italy, so I had some idea of how it should taste.
Being relatively poor, I wanted a machine that would deliver a decent espresso, at a decent price. Though I was willing to consider a system with proprietary coffee pods (K-cups, Tassimo, etc), it would have to be cheap enough that I wouldn’t mind shelling out the extra bucks for the coffee itself. And I also wanted to make sure that it was pump-driven, not steam-driven.
After checking reviews and looking around, I finally settled on the DeLonghi BAR32. It’s a pump-driven maker, not steam driven, so it’s not scorching the grounds as it brews. And it comes with a single and a double espresso filter.
The DeLonghi uses either ground espresso, or E.S.E. espresso pods. The E.S.E. pods are not proprietary – any company can make them. The DeLonghi comes with a package of 18 Illy pods (retail – $12). The pods are convenient, but still expensive.
I’ve had the espresso maker for several days, and I’m happy with it so far. With the pods, it pulls a good single espresso with a satisfactory crema. Sugar floats on top of the crema for about 2-3 seconds, and it has a nice golden color. The espresso tastes very smooth.
Pulling a good single espresso, either with the pods or loose coffee, is pretty easy. Use the pods as a good judge of how tightly to pack the grounds in the filter. Use a level, loosely packed scoop of coffee for a single shot.
Pulling a good double, on the other hand, still eludes me. The best I’ve come up with is to use 2 scoops, 3/4 full and loosely packed, and pressed looser than for a single. Even then, it still dribbles out slowly, with a less-than-satisfactory (though present) crema.
The steam wand works very well. I’ve made several excellent cappuccinos and lattes with it. It’s a little cramped to use, so I pull mine to the edge of the counter so that I can get a good mug under it. I steam straight into the mug of milk, and then add the espresso. Make sure to blow some steam through it to clear out condensation before putting it in your milk. Start with the steam wand nearly submerged in the milk, and then slowly pull it out (lower the mug) until you hear a gentle “sipping” sound. That means that it’s frothing. If you see noticeable bubbles on top of the milk, that means you’ve pulled it out too far – dip it back in slowly and you should be able to whip the bubbles into froth. Once the froth is just below the level you want it, submerge the wand back into the milk to finish heating it. Listen again – once the milk starts to sound “hollow,” it’s nearly hot enough. Let it go for a few more seconds, then shut off the steam, and remove the mug. The wand will drip a bit, so put it over the drip tray or an empty mug.
Making espresso is fairly easy. Turn the machine to “Heat” to start heating the water and priming the pump. Make sure the filter holder is screwed into the machine. Once the “Hot” light comes on, run an espresso cycle without coffee into the cup you’ll use – pulling espresso into a cold cup will ruin the flavor. Fill the cup half-way with hot water, and turn the machine back to “Heat.” Empty and quickly dry the espresso cup. Put the E.S.E. pod or ground espresso into the filter (tamp down the loose espresso) and twist it into the machine. Turn the machine on, and wait until you’ve got your cup of espresso. A single espresso should be 30-40ml, or 1-1.5oz. I used a measuring cup to see what that looked like in my demitasse cups.
Looking back over what I’ve written, I suppose I do make it look a little complicated. And it is a little bit more complicated that popping the K-cup into the machine, and hitting “Go.” But it really is pretty easy, and less than 5 minutes pass between “You know, I could go for a cappuccino,” and “Man, that’s a tasty cappuccino.”
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Good pressure
- Easy to make a good single shot of espresso
- Uses pods or loose grounds
- 2 dials + 0 buttons = easy to use
- Outstanding steam wand
- 32oz water reservoir lets you make 3 or 4 cappuccinos, or 6 to 8 espressos, without refilling
- Built-in tamper means one less part to lose
- Pre-heat cycle helps make good espresso
Cons:
- Hard to make a good double espresso (might just be me)
- Steam wand leaks slightly (usually at the start of a brewing cycle – I just keep mine over the drip tray)
In the end, the machine makes a good espresso, especially for the price, but remember that you’re not going to be running a coffee shop with it. I definitely recommend it for anybody who wants to make their own espresso, but wants to do it…
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|It works great after over a year,
I have purchased this machine from Amazon on June 2006, that’s 16 months ago and I have been using this coffee maker every day, usually 2 to 3 times a day. A few words about me, I grew up in Italy, lived there for over 20 years and I still go visit my country for at least a month every year so I should know about coffee, right? DeLonghi is considered a good brand in Italy, I’m not sure about customer service in the U.S. since I never had to contact them; my aunt in Italy has an identical machine with no complaints. I’m not sure about the complaints I read here. Some people say it takes too long to heat up the water… I usually turn it on 15 minutes before making the espresso and the water gets really hot, if you think that’s too long then you’ve never used an espresso machine before, it’s very average as a matter of fact. Sorry, but that’s not the machine’s fault, it’s the way it is with all machines. Coffee shops machines need one hour sometimes longer to heat up. Others have complained about the steamer leaking a bit… NO KIDDING! It’s called vapor condensation, if you think that’s a machine issue I recommend going back to school and taking Physics 101. Not usually a big deal for me, just keep the steamer over the tray and the problem is solved… it’s only a drop or two anyway.
Some have written about the coffee not being very strong, true it could be stronger but if you make the right dose it’s ok. I get my coffee in Italy and, you want to trust me on this, if you’re not using good ground coffee to start with you’re not going to get a good espresso. Forget that Starbucks junk, this machine makes a much better espresso if you use it right with the right coffee.
I’m not saying it’s perfect, but for this price it gets really good, hard to find better. Forgive me for my somewhat sarcastic remarks, but I have the feeling that most of the people who complained about this machine have issues related to “Operator’s Error” and not the machine itself.
One note though about the frother (I’ve seen better construction), remove the plastic part and it works much better.
I used both Illy pods and ground coffee and I like both. Illy is considered a high quality coffee.
For the past 16 months it has worked great for me and I’m sure it will again tomorrow morning. Remember not to let the water reservoir go dry or you will burn the pump, again “Operator’s Error” not machine’s.
To the guy who grinds his own beans not espresso fine… Operator’s Error! Espresso machines need espresso ground coffee not larger grains. I still have to find a grinder in the US that can make fine espresso ground without costing an arm and a leg. One more thing: make sure you use bottled water (I use spring water) because tap water contains more limestone and can ruin the pump in the long run.
By the way, all the customers images are mine (as of today October 8th 2007), glad to see so many people enjoyed them.
Update: October 24th
Over 2 years, and still working great!
I used it about twice a day.
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|Great little machine,
I’ve been a coffee snob for several years have several brewing machines scattered throughout my kitchen. Since I got this machine xmas morning, all the others brewing systems have become obsolete.
It produces plenty of steam in a jiff, and the removable water tank is very handy (especially for use with my water filter). While I scoffed at the thought of using the ESE pre-packed espresso pods, it came with a tin of them, so I tried them out since all local coffee houses were closed (and I had no beans!). The ESEs make a pass-able cup of espresso–not the darkest roast, but the convenience of a pod is handy. I have some Major Dikason’s blend from Peets which I made regular espresso and Americanos out of. Delicious, thick, creamy.
This machine is a steal at this price. I’ve had to get the hang of packing my grounds in the handle, however. If I pack too tightly, the cream only comes out as a trickle. I suppose that’s the case with most home machines, however. Also, it has a built in tamper on the frame of the machine, and I consider that to be a bit of a mess and kind of sketchy. Go buy a tamper sperately.
This is a great little machine. For any price under $200 it’s a steal.
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|A well-made mug that works, with caveats.,
A perfect travel mug would be almost a Holy Grail. This might be my tenth, going back to the original, introduced by Thermos in the 1970s. That one displayed all of the flaws that designers have worked on since, like a locking, “leak-proof” top that worked well unless you did something extreme like filling it with hot liquid.
But does this one work as a French press AND a mug? It really does, turning out an excellent cuppa tea or coffee (but not both: I now need to buy a separate one for tea only, which I’ll do, willingly).
But the design makes a compromise that you need to consider. The grounds or leaves remain in contact with the liquid, which is not a good thing in coffee, and eventually results in tea that us British cheerily describe as “stewed to buggery”. But that’s the only real drawback to the design, and I’d rather have an excellent cuppa that was better finished quickly than a mediocre one that lasted all day.
Technical details: the mug is noticeably heavy, weighing in at over a pound, dry. In comparison, my other “16 liquid ounce” mug (in quotes because they all hold approx. 12 oz) weighs half that and my long-time workhorse 20 liquid ounce mug weighs only 11oz.
I don’t mind the extra weight, and the Bodum is certainly better-built than my other two. For one thing, when I fill it with boiling fluid, then later pick it up, the outside is cool. My other mugs get almost too hot to hold, which wouldn’t bother me except that it means my tea is quickly getting cold.
The (truly non-slip) base and grip, and cap plug are silicone, and the rest of the top is matching Dayglo Orange plastic. I would wish for another colour, but I’m certainly not going to misplace it, and in a pinch it might double as a distress beacon.
Now, back to that “leak-proof” top design: the discovery that hot liquids exert steam-pressure when enclosed brought us the Industrial Revolution, but also brings us leaking travel mugs. This mug’s extra, “normal” top comes closer than any to solving the problem: the hinged lid securely locks into place on the rim. It failed my extreme test: I filled it with boiling water, closed it, and shook it while holding it upside down. But when I tried a more real-world test: making a normal cuppa tea with milk, then locking and shaking it right-side-up, it passed!
Other reviewers complain that the base of the press can unscrew and get stuck at the bottom of the mug. This is not very serious: if it happens to you, remove the shaft from the top, carefully screw just the shaft back onto the stuck base, then pull the base out. To stop it from happening again, reinsert the shaft through the lid, screw the sleeve onto the shaft until it freely slips up further, firmly screw the shaft onto the base, then FIRMLY screw the sleeve down onto the base, finishing the job with pliers. You’ll know it’s tight enough when you can insert the base into the mug and rotate it anti-clockwise without it starting to unscrew.
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|1-hour and 4-hour tests (and an upside-down test),
I tested the heat retaining capability of this aesthetically pleasing looking travel press/container as follows: while boiling water (in an electric kettle), I warmed the container with hot tap water. I then filled it with just-boiled water, put on the “free extra lid” that it comes with (i.e., a regular sipping lid rather than the sipping lid that also holds the plunger), and I then put it on a middle shelf of my home refrigerator. The first time I did this I set a timer for 4 hours. When the 4 hours was up the water was almost cold. I then decided it to just give the container a 1-hour test, and this time the water was hot – too hot to put my finger into for more than a second – and 145 degrees F on a meat thermometer (which can be used in water as it has a “boil test” mark for calibration purposes at about the 212 F mark).
I also did an upside-down test, and as I anticipated, the travel press did not pass because coffee dripped out from the area around the spout when using the standard lid (i.e., not the lid that holds the plunger, which I expect would leak when upside down simply because of the fact that there’s a movable plunger in the middle of it). I was not surprised, as travel mugs are not made for being carried upside down or on their sides.
This press makes a nice cup of pressed coffee, and it works the same as my 8 oz. glass Bodum French press, and my 32 oz. stainless Bodum press. But it only works for me as a press if I transfer the pressed coffee to another container or cup after brewing it, because I happen to like my coffee with honey and half & half and there is no practical way to mix honey into the coffee in the container after brewing a cup using the press method. The instructions that come with the Bodum travel coffee press say to “Open the spout to add milk and sugar” to freshly brewed pressed coffee, but offers no suggestion as to how one might go about mixing these into the brew. So I think that as a press pot type container, this container would be best for someone who prefers their coffee black.
If you visit Bodum’s website you will see these exact travel presses (double-wall stainless with “free extra lid”) with a list price of $29.95, so I am at a loss as to how Amazon came up with a list price of $40 (at least at the time I’m writing this review).
The attractive box the travel press comes in (would certainly make a handsome gift for commuting drinkers of French pressed black coffee) includes the phrase “VACUUM TRAVEL PRESS” below the words “TRAVEL PRESS.” The word “VACUUM” here obviously refers to the volume of space between the stainless steel double-walls of this travel press. The lids for this unit – the lid that has the plunger attached to it, and the standard lid – are adequate sipping lids and do not leak around the rims (each has a removable gasket), but they do not appear to be designed to maximize the heat retention of whatever hot liquid is in the travel press. They are not, for example, anything like the non-sipping lid of a 3 decades old trucker’s stainless steel Thermos I own that to this day keeps coffee hot for hours.
One problem I had more than once is that when unscrewing the plunger-lid, the plunger rod unscrewed itself from the filter, and the filter was left more or less stuck down near the bottom of the container. In order to get the filter out each time this happened, I had to hold the container over a sink and shake it downwards with considerable force, until the filter had budged enough for me to get it out with two fingers. What finally rectified this problem for me was tightening the filter onto the plunger rod.
To sum up, based on my tests, this unit should keep coffee satisfyingly hot for over an hour in refrigerator-cold temps; sipping coffee from it in a room heated to 70F, my coffee (with half & half added) stays hot – much, much hotter than it stays in a standard mug or cup – for a good hour, and that’s with the spout open the whole time; the stainless double-wall keeps the exterior stainless wall from getting too hot to be comfortable to hold, and the wide rubber grip enables users to pretty much avoid touching the steel at all; it makes a nice cup of pressed coffee, as good as any I’ve had at home and in cafes and restaurants; it is not really designed in a way that makes it convenient for users to mix creamer and powdered sweetener (or honey) into coffee that’s been freshly pressed in the travel press – you could pour milk and sugar into the coffee through the spout as it says to do in the instructions, but then how do you mix it? – by shaking the container?; if the plunger rod is not screwed pretty tightly to the filter, the filter may stay in the container when the plunger-lid has been removed; it’s a very handsome looking container (though I don’t like that on either side of the nice, wide, rubbery gripping area, it says in raised letters, “bodum THE FRESH WAY TO…
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|Mixed Review from a Loose Tea Drinker,
I have been excited to try this product because, as a drinker of loose tea, my “at the office” options are pretty limited to loose tea bags and an electric kettle. I was curious to see whether this product was a better way. Most every tea drinker agrees that the problem with tea bags is that it restricts the tea leaves from expanding in the water, leading to a thinner flavor than normal. A tea press to go? Nice.
Well, only sort of. Here’s the problem. Tea (and I think coffee as well) has a certain ideal steeping time, beyond which additional steeping leads to an overly strong and bitter flavor. And as this is a press and a mug in one, the tea continues steeping well after you’ve pressed the tea leaves to the bottom (because water still interacts with the leaves).
And that leads to a cup of tea that is great at first, but gets more and more bitter as you drink. While the idea of a press-and-mug-in-one is nice in theory, it falls flat in practice unless you want your final swig or two to be bitter as all get out.
That combined with the clean up (tea grounds on the bottom of the mug and in the press’s filter) make it so that my Adagio Teas Paper Filters are still the most convenient way to make good tea on the go.
So, why the two stars? Because, as others have mentioned, this is a really FABULOUS stand-alone mug. In addition to the press equipment, it also comes with a “regular” lid that allows it to function only as a mug. It keeps me tea very warm for an hour and a half! And the screw-on lid is really well designed for both sipping and not letting any dribbles out (in the car, say).
For that I give this travel mug two stars. For the press feature, I give it an additional zero stars.
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|