Single Serve Coffee

President's Choice Tassimo T-Discs Debut in Canada

2012-05-16T11:28:07Z

Seems like Tassimo is making a big push into Canada and adding more and more brands at the national grocery level. President's Choice is a brand of grocery products available at Loblaws and other national grocery chains in Canada and will now be marketing President's Choice Tassimo T-Discs.

Flavors so far are a mix of coffees and cafe style beverages. We're surprised the names aren't more interesting but then again this is a grocery store retail brand - not Starbucks making T-Discs with Tassimo.

President's Choice T-Disc varieties include:

Tassimo - President's Choice Great Canadian
Tassimo - President's Choice Cappuccino
Tassimo - President's Choice West Coast Dark Roast
Tassimo - President's Choice Medium Roast

President's Choice T-Discs work in all Tassimo brewers. These T-Discs are not currently sold in USA and only available in Canada. You can use their store finder to see where you can get Tassimo T-Discs from President's Choice here.

Ecotop Reusable Coffee Cup Lid

2012-05-15T10:58:59Z

On our travels this past weekend in Providence, RI we came across a pretty amazing little product called the Ecotop. Made in Rhode Island, the Ecotop is enables you to turn your favorite coffee mug into a travel mug. Also by using the Ecotop on an existing mug you can reduce spills and keep your coffee warmer.

Once closed and in place the Ecotop allows the mug to be carried at virtually any angle as well. The Ecotop fits most 3" diameter containers. How does it work? Simply place your new Ecotop on your existing container and take it "to go"!

At Ecotop, llc

Review: Nespresso Naora Limited Edition Coffee Capsules

2012-05-14T11:43:27Z

It’s been a while since we’ve done a Nespresso capsule review here at Single Serve Coffee, but with this latest Limited Edition dubbed Naora (a combination of the English word "now" with the Spanish equivalent of the same word "ahora"), we just couldn’t pass it up. This Grand Cru is truly unique in that it marks the first time Nespresso have deviated from the norm and applied techniques from an entirely different industry during the harvesting process. Instead of using usual methods, they worked in close collaboration with Colombian coffee growers and employed harvesting techniques usually found in vineyards during wine production.

Instead of harvesting the coffee cherries the usual way, the growers used special equipment/meters to measure & closely monitor the sugar content of the coffee cherries until they reached a certain "sweet spot" or “butter zone” during the ripening process. This meant leaving the cherries ripen for a longer period or "late harvest" & once the desired moment was achieved, the cherries were harvested and processed. This has yielded a truly exceptional coffee which Nespresso describes as bringing forth blackcurrant & blueberry notes when taken black or walnut & hazelnut notes with the addition of milk or cream.

The entire process is detailed on their corporate website while the creative team has once again created a mind-blowing Flash-animated masterpiece with the official Naora promotional website. This new time-intensive process has resulted in slightly higher cost with average capsule prices being 3 cents more than the single-origin capsules.

With an intensity level of 5 (out of 10) and a recommended brewing size of a 40ml Espresso, brewing these capsules resulted in strong almost cereal-like notes but closer inspection of the final cup yielded an interesting mash-up of many various aromas… very difficult to describe, but it seemed almost spice-like in nature like a sharp floral mash-up (think "potpourri") with hints of licorice. Flavor was as described by Nespresso, very sharp berry notes with dominant notes of blackcurrant and faint tinges of blueberry in the background and cereal notes on the finish. Adding milk did indeed reveal some nutty notes similar to walnuts. Outstanding versatility & complexity all-around.

Body was black/very dark brown in color with an amazing marbled brown/beige crema on top which seemed thicker than usual. Acidity was on the stronger side (as can be expected with an espresso), but the bitter notes quickly balanced out and kept things popping by quickly bringing the blackcurrant flavors to the front of the cup. Nespresso has a tradition of making exceptionally smooth espressos & ristrettos and Naora is no exception as mouth feel was silky smooth with only a slight oily feel on the finish. We also detected more faint licorice notes in the aftertaste.

Aroma – 8 – Cereal notes appear during brewing but closer inspection of final cup reveals sharp spicy notes reminiscent of floral potpourri with hints of licorice in the background. Rather odd since Nespresso kept pushing the berry notes of this coffee every chance they got.
Acidity – 9 – Nicely balanced with an expectedly sharp bite at first which quickly balances out to bring the blackcurrant flavors to the foreground.
Body – 10 – Very dark brown, almost black at times. Exceptional marbled brown/beige crema on top which seemed thicker than normal.
Flavor – 10 – Spot-on with Nespresso’s description. Taken black, predominant notes of blackcurrant fill the cup with hints of blueberry in the background with faint cereal notes on the finish. Taken with milk, nutty notes of walnuts are revealed. An outstandingly complex coffee all-around an unlike anything we’ve tried before.
Mouth Feel – 9 – Smooth throughout with only faint oily notes on the finish. We also detected some faint licorice notes in the aftertaste.
Coffee Drinker – This one is best suited for espresso fans (duh!) and those who prefer sharp/bitter & intensely strong coffees.

Overall Rating: 96 – Excellent

Nespresso’s Limited Edition Grand Crus are usually the best coffees in their lineup and Naora certain fits that billing. Who can forget their "dial goes up to 12" Kazaar which was so in-demand by fans for over a year that Nespresso was forced to re-release it again only 2 seasons later (something which was unheard of with Limited Editions).

We absolutely LOVE how they’re always finding innovative new ways to produce their coffees and taking a wine-maker’s approach to this Limited Edition has to be an industry first. The results are nothing short of amazing with a Grand Cru that is astoundingly complex in flavor depending on how you prepare the final cup. It is indeed a truly unique experience and unlike anything we’ve seen before. We highly recommend trying a sleeve if you've go’ a Nespresso Boutique near you or at least ordering a few sleeves with your next online order. This flavor is sure to disappear fast, so we’d recommend acting sooner rather than later.

Nespresso Naora Limited Edition capsules are available for a limited time in individual 10-count sleeves in-store at Nespresso Boutiques across USA & Canada or can be ordered online (minimum 5 sleeve order requirement) at Nespresso.com (USA) or Nespresso.ca (Canada).

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note that we purchased sleeves of this Limited Edition on our own for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

The Science of Coffee Rings

2012-05-11T11:58:09Z

Picture:Marina Dominguez/NPR

NPR has an interesting article on the science of coffee rings. Simple things like coffee rings can seem like they're easy to understand but in fact they're complicated. It's taken physicists more than a decade to figure out why this effect, known technically as "the coffee ring effect," happens.

Coffee, like many liquids, contains tiny, spherical particles. When a drop of the liquid dries, forces push the particles toward the edge, where they are deposited in a thick line. We love this thick line of coffee, and when it happens it's because spherical particles evaporated instead of long particles which just produce spread stains with no ring.

"When spheres reach the surface of the drop, their shape does not induce the same deformation." Without the deformation, the particles travel to the edge of the drop and form a ring.

Check out this video to see the particles in action:

Second Cup Coffee in Canada Launches Tassimo T Discs

2012-05-10T11:28:46Z

Second Cup - a Canadian specialty coffee retailer has partnered with Kraft Canada to make its coffees and lattes across Canada in T Discs for use in Kraft's Tassimo hot beverage system. Apparently this is Second Cup's second entry into the single serve coffee market but we can't find much about their first go at it.

Drinks/Blends will include:

Tassimo T Discs for Second Cup's Paradiso Coffee
Paradiso Dark blend T-Discs
Espresso Forte latte T-Discs

Expect these T-Discs to start appearing this Fall in both Second Cup stores and retailers. Also this news comes on the heals of Tassimo Canada launching the Tassimo T55 later this month. Seems like there's a ton of Tassimo in Canada and not much here stateside for the consumer market as of late.

A special thanks to Alan for sending this in.

Via Vending Times Inc.

Coffee Shop Offers Coffee, Paternity Tests, and Muffins

2012-05-09T11:24:31Z

It all just makes sense you should be able to get any service and product in a coffee shop so you can sit back - sip and get your day's chores done while getting caffeinated. The people of Camden, NJ, have just such a coffee shop where you can get coffee and a muffin, a drug test, and their taxes and financial planning done, and even a paternity test.

You see the coffee shop is right near City Hall, and all of the various professionals that need to go to City Hall also hang out here and have meetings. The Wall Street Journal has a pretty amazing profile of this coffee shop right after the jump.

Via The Consumerist

Review: Kienna Kup Coffee Pod Adapter for Keurig K-Cup brewers

2012-05-08T11:23:21Z

Our Canadian correspondent SH recently reported that more and more pods are starting to make an appearance in specialty shops across Canada after the introduction of the original SunCafe pod brewer a year or 2 ago and one of the brands which quickly started popping up was Kienna.

They're a Canadian coffee roasting company based out of Calgary and since it's known that pod brewers aren't as common throughout Canada as they are in USA, the company decided to create their own pod adapter for machines which WERE widely available across Canada... Keurig K-Cup brewers. Dubbed the Kienna Kup, this adapter allows you to use any 8 gram pod (and MAYBE some 10 gram pods) with any Keurig K-Cup brewer. It should be noted that 12 gram pods & ESE espresso pods are NOT compatible with this adapter.

If ordered online via Tweed & Hickory, early adopters only received the adapter itself & nothing else, but since then, retail packaging has shown up which includes the adapter along with 3 pods of Kienna Colombian coffee, so at least you now feel like you're getting your money's worth. The first thing you'll notice about the adapter is that it's got a unique slat design arranged in an almost starburst-like pattern. There's a central support section underneath which allows the pod to be lifted-up close to the lid while the large surface area exposed by the open slats allows for maximum coffee extraction during brewing. Included instructions advise to first "pinch" the pod in one direction, then "pinch" it in the other direction in order to create a dome-like shape. You then insert the pod into the adapter and close the lid making sure that the top of the dome sits flush against the hole where the piercing needle will make contact with the pod. You can also view various promotional demo videos via YouTube in order to see more details.

Unlike when using most pod brewers, we highly recommend NOT to pre-wet the pod before inserting it in the adapter. If you do so, the paper filter becomes too soft and sinks away from the underside of the adapter's lid. This results in the piercing needle not piercing the pod properly and will yield a disappointingly weak cup of coffee which can best be described as "light brown tap water". Use dry pods and you'll achieve better results. Now, keep in mind that you likely won't get the same results as you would via an actual pod brewer, but that's not the goal of this adapter. The goal is to allow users (who don't have easy access to pod brewers) a chance at tasting a reasonably comparable version of coffee produced by the same pod via a Keurig K-Cup brewer.

We recommend using the default 8oz cup size setting on your Keurig K-Cup brewer in order to get the best results from most pods. If we had to complain about anything on this adapter, it would be the lack of a silicone gasket/seal around the edge of the inner lid. The company's opinion is that "no gasket is required" although we're wondering if perhaps Solofill has a patent on this type of gasket which would make it an exclusive for their ground coffee K-Cup adapter. After having coffee leak out of the lid edges during brewing on a few occasions (despite properly using the adapter), we think Kienna should strongly reconsider adding a gasket to version 2.0 of the Kienna Kup should they decide to release a revised edition in the future.

So, let's get to the main questions most of you are probably wondering...

Does this adapter actually work compared to some of its competitors? YES
Can I use 12 gram or ESE espresso pods with it? NO, not recommended.
Does it produce as strong a cup of coffee as you'd get via a pod brewer? PROBABLY NOT
Will I get any crema in the final cup? NO, there's just not enough bar pressure in a Keurig K-Cup brewer to achieve this.
Do you recommend buying one of these adapters? YES, but only if you don't have access to a good pod brewer.

Since the only pod brewer which seems to be available across Canada is the SunCafe (the recently revised SunCana model has yet to appear anywhere at the time of this review), we can appreciate Kienna's decision to fill the void and to give Keurig K-Cup brewer users a chance at tasting the growing number of pods which are starting to appear across various retail & online stores that side of the border. As noted above, you won't get the same results as a pod brewer, but at least you'll get to taste the pods & get an idea of what they're like. This is something which most Canadians were previously unable to do, so our hats off to Kienna for making pod coffees more accessible to a wider range of single serve coffee users.

The Kienna Kup pod adapter will work in all Keurig K-Cup brewers and is available for $8.99 CAD & $8.99 USD at TweedandHickory.com.

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note that we purchased this adapter on our own for the purpose of this review, and we were also sent KiennaKup adaptors to try out at the Single Serve Coffee headquarters from Kienna.

Review: Keurig Vue V700 Brewing System vs. Keurig B70 Platinum Single-Cup Brewer

2012-05-07T11:43:38Z

We recently started reviewing Keurig Vue-Cups and decided to take a step back and compare the new Keurig Vue V700 to one of our favorite K-Cup brewers which we've been using for years, the Keurig B70 Platinum. We thought it would be fun to do an informative comparison between the Keurig Brewers so that new users could get an idea of the major differences between both machines as well as some of our likes/dislikes between the two. We'll start things off with the Keurig B70 Platinum and follow-up with the Keurig Vue V700. Our apologies for the length of this article... you may want to grab a few cups of single serve coffee before reading this monster-sized "Mega Review" :-)

Keurig B70 Platinum K-Cup Brewer

Likes:

Durability is outstanding. We've had ours for many years and it's still working perfectly. Never had any problems with it.
Programmable features (i.e. Auto-on/off, etc)
Blue LED lighting under water tank lights-up the ENTIRE water tank, plus we love the color itself.
Quick coffee extraction times.
Quiet-Brew technology greatly improves noise reduction during brewing vs. older brewer models.
Brew-Over-Ice 3oz Setting *
Depending on which store you go to & which time of year, you can sometimes get this brewer as cheap as $120 instead of the usual $180 price tag. Some stores even have discount coupons that allow you to save even more.

Dislikes:

Power switch on back of unit, rocker-style switch = if you didn't press hard enough, brewer wouldn't power-on.
Sometimes sluggish boiler warm-up times, seems to vary on occasion.
Water tank shape wasn't always easy to fit under water-cooler/in-fridge water dispenser during refills.
Largest setting for travel mugs was 12oz while most larger travel mugs can reach up to 18oz or more.
Could not make milk-based drinks like lattes or cappuccinos.
Did not support smaller-sized cups since there was no way to raise drip tray any higher.
No easy way to separate coffee grinds from plastic K-Cup for recycling.

* Back when Green Mountain & Celestial Seasonings first introduced their Brew-Over Ice K-Cups, they recommended only using 3oz of water, so this setting on the B70 was ideal. In later years, the Brew-Over-Ice K-Cups were reformulated to accept 6oz & 8oz settings, so that effectively made the 3oz setting on the B70 completely useless. We rarely, if ever, use that setting anymore.

Keurig Vue V700 Vue-Cup Brewer

Likes:

Durability? This brewer was just released, so this remains to be seen in coming months/years ahead.
Larger water reservoir (74oz vs. 60oz)
Flip-up hinge on water reservoir allows easier refill options (can refill without removing water tank on machine, etc.)
Slightly quicker boiler warm-up time (10 seconds quicker on average than B70)
Full-color touchscreen allows for easier, more intuitive method of programming settings (plus let's face it... touchscreens are just cool to have on anything)
Nicer design for Vue-Cup packaging boxes*
Choice between analog & digital clock display (we like the retro-style look of the analog clock)
Adjustable drip-tray now includes a stand which can be raised higher to support smaller-sized cups.
Now supports milk-based Café style drinks (however, see dislikes for details on this)
Vue-Cups now have removable coffee filters that allow the grinds & plastic cup to be recycled/composted separately.
Piano black finish on top of brewer.
Power button is now a push-style button and located on top of brewer, no need to fumble around back of brewer looking for power switches anymore.
Water temperature is now programmable all the way to 197 degrees.
"Strong" brew strength setting actually works! We brewed several light-roast Vue-Cups using this setting and were pleasantly surprised by the results. Yay for pulse brewing!
Power cord storage allows for cleaner look.
Brewer is not as deep as B70 (11.8" vs 13.8"), this allows for slightly better placement on countertops which have limited space.
Despite pulse brewing, brewer isn't as loud as we thought it would be. Keurig has managed to keep noise levels at an acceptable level.

Dislikes:

$250 price tag... yeah, ouch... once you get over the initial price shock, you soon realize that touchscreens don't exactly come cheap, so it kind of all makes sense.
You get less Vue-Cups in most boxes, largest size boxes available are 16-packs. Yes, this is somewhat annoying, but when you realize Vue-Cups are larger than K-Cups and contain almost twice as much coffee/tea/powder, then it starts making sense. The redesign of the packaging probably also cost them more to manufacture.
White LED lighting under water tank does not light-up entire tank & is a visual torment (you don't know how very tempted we are to take a blue Sharpie to those LEDs if we thought we wouldn't screw things up)
Café style drinks don't froth-up enough, no way to adjust level of air infusion to create better results & overall froth is very weak compared to competitors.
Milk is powdered instead of liquid, this results in improper extraction as we've noticed large globs of powder which remained stuck in the Vue-Cup after brewing. It's also somewhat disconcerting to see a puff of powder fly out into your mug when the machine first starts brewing.
The way you must now open up the brew chamber to insert a Vue-Cup has resulted in the handle being raised higher vs. a K-Cup brewer's handle. This has resulted in clearance issues on counters that have low overhanging cabinets & could severely limit countertop placement for some people.
"Strong" setting enables pulse brewing, but this also results in longer wait times during brewing. Very minor gripe and one we're more than willing to live with after seeing the great results.

* A quick look under the Vue-Cup packaging boxes shows "Printed in Canada". Wait... WHAT?!? They can print the packaging in Canada but aren't selling the Vue-Cups or Vue Brewer in Canada yet? Hey Keurig... what the heck?!?

Conclusion

Well, as you can see above, we have a lot more likes for the Keurig Vue V700 than we do for the Keurig B70 Platinum but we've got just as many dislikes between the two. So which one comes out on top? We'd have to say that despite some of its disappointments, we actually prefer the Keurig Vue V700.

Our biggest gripe being the weak froth, we think that Keurig could eventually remedy this by creating different sized openings/tips on the brew head assembly. Since it's removable, it could easily be replaced by users and be made available for purchase (at a hopefully reasonable price) on Keurig's website. It would have been a lot easier/nicer if Keurig would have allowed for a programmable froth feature during brewing, but as Jagger famously sang, you can't always get what you want. We just hope Keurig tries real hard to get the fans what they need... better frothing.

You can find out more information about the Keurig Vue V700 Vue-Cup Brewer as well as the Keurig B70 Platinum K-Cup Brewer at the Keurig Brewers info page. The Keurig B70 Platinum is currently available in both USA & Canada but the Keurig Vue V700 is currently only available in USA at the time of this review.

For our Canadian Readers on Trying to Get a Vue Brewer:

Many Canadians were left scratching their heads when the initial press release noted that the Keurig Vue V700 & Vue-Cups would be sold in USA and Canada, yet retail release date came & went with only those in USA seeing the brewer & Vue-Cups hitting retail shelves. Where was the love for our friends up North? What really floored us was when we noticed that the packaging boxes for Vue-Cups was PRINTED IN CANADA. Seriously?!? In our humble opinion, if you can take the time & effort to have the boxes printed in Canada, by all rights, you should be SELLING the same items as well as the brewer in Canada.

We simply can't understand Keurig's reasoning for delaying the Canadian release (Poor Spock would lose his Vulcan mind trying to comprehend the logic behind this). E-mails to Keurig asking about a Canadian release date have resulted only in boilerplate "coming soon" responses so far.

As it stands, there IS a way for Canadians to get in on the Keurig Vue fun, but it's an admittedly inconvenient & costly one which requires that you have some VERY gracious & generous American friends or relatives. At this point in time, the only way Canadians can get a Vue Brewer & Vue-Cups is to either have said American friends or relatives ship them everything as a gift OR they can travel to their nearest Bed Bath & Beyond store in USA and buy everything there in-person.

Ah, but here's where things start getting expensive. Just to ship the brewer itself to Canada = $67 USD on average from the East Coast. Once Canada Customs get their hands on it? You pay about $41 CAD in duties & fees just to have them release the brewer to you. If Canadians wait until after June 1, 2012 they'll be allowed $800 in exemptions if they remain in USA for 48 hours or longer, but we have a feeling the cost of gas will offset any savings vs. having things shipped by mail. It all boils down to personal preference and how anxious you are to get your hands on things. We figured we'd at least point out the options which are presently available to Canadians so they can make their own decisions.

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We purchased both brewers and coffees for the purposes of this review. Stay tuned as we'll have more reviews touching on topics such as "Brewing coffees with the Vue Brewer", "Brewing Café style drinks with the Vue Brewer" and "Brewing Teas/Hot Chocolate/Other Drinks with the Vue Brewer" where we describe all the new settings and how they impact the final cup for each of these drink categories.

Drinklip Portable Cupholder for Coffee and Beverages

2012-05-04T11:43:51Z

This portable cupholder can attach to any desk, table, or shelf. You can use it to store your drink or small objects. We personally prefer the drink option, and could see this being a pretty amazing accessory at several locations around our house and office. It's also nice that the Drinklip actually holds the cup. How many times have you spilled coffee at work because you've knocked over your coffee cup? We can count at least a dozen times.

Other ideas for using your Drinklip:

Home repair: Nails, screws, or drill bits
Crafting: Beads, needles, pincushion, safety pins, stitch holders
Organization: Keys, loose change, hair ties
Gaming: Dice!
Play: Clip to LEGO fortress to use as a guard tower

At ThinkGeek

Eight O'Clock Coffee, Tetley Tea, and Good Earth Tea Coming to Keurig Single Cup Brewing Systems

2012-05-03T11:43:30Z

The Eight O'Clock Coffee Company (a member of the Tata Global Beverages family of brands), have announced a multiyear agreement to make Eight O'Clock coffee, Tetley tea, and Good Earth tea available in K-Cup and Vue packs for Keurig Single Cup Brewing systems. This new relationship will provide Keurig brewer owners with additional choices by having Eight O'Clock coffee, Tetley tea, and Good Earth tea readily available for their brewers and we think more choices is a good thing.

Eight O'Clock Coffee Company and GMCR plan to make a select offering of Eight O'Clock coffee K-Cup packs available throughout the U.S. and Canada beginning in fall 2012. In the U.S, Tetley teas, and in the U.S. and Canada, Good Earth teas intend to join the K-Cup pack collection in 2013. There's no word on the exact dates for Vue Packs to be available for the Keurig Vue system for any of these brands.

Eight O'Clock Coffee Company Goes One Cup At A Time with Keurig Single Cup Brewing System

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. and Eight O'Clock Coffee Company partner to bring a new selection of beverages to the Keurig portfolio

WATERBURY, Vt. & MONTVALE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and single serve brewing systems, and Eight O'Clock Coffee Company (a member of the Tata Global Beverages family of brands), America's #1 Whole Bean Coffee brand in grocery (Nielsen, 52 Wks Ended March 31, 2012), announce the companies have reached a multiyear agreement to make Eight O'Clock® coffee, Tetley® tea, and Good Earth® tea available in K-Cup® and Vue™ packs for Keurig® Single Cup Brewing systems. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Eight O'Clock Coffee Company and GMCR plan to make a select offering of Eight O'Clock® coffee K-Cup® packs available through in-home and away-from-home channels, as well as on GMCR's consumer direct websites, www.Keurig.com and www.GreenMountainCoffee.com, throughout the U.S. and Canada beginning in fall 2012. In the U.S, Tetley® teas, and in the U.S. and Canada, Good Earth® teas intend to join the K-Cup® pack collection in 2013.

"For generations, millions of coffee lovers have enjoyed brewing the fresh taste of high-quality Eight O'Clock® coffee. Now they will have a whole new, convenient way to make America's original gourmet coffee with Keurig®, America's favorite single cup brewing system," says David Allen, Sr. VP, Sales & Marketing at Tata Beverage Group's US Region. "We look forward to working with GMCR to make the top-selling whole bean coffee brand into a successful single cup coffee."

The choice of coffee-loving Americans since 1859, Eight O'Clock® coffee is best known for its #1-selling whole bean coffees in grocery (Nielsen, 52 Wks Ended March 31, 2012), offering a full line of gourmet coffee varieties in retailers throughout the country. Over 150 years later, Eight O'Clock® is as fresh as ever, entering the fast-growing, high-quality, and ultra-convenient world of single serve coffee with Eight O'Clock® coffee K-Cup® packs.

"This new relationship will provide Keurig® brewer owners with additional choice by having Eight O'Clock® coffee, Tetley® tea, and Good Earth® tea readily available for their brewers," says Lawrence J. Blanford, GMCR President and CEO. "With this agreement, we are excited to once again deliver upon our promise of supplying unsurpassed quality, variety, and convenience in the Keurig® system."

GMCR's Keurig® Single Cup Brewers for in-home and office use utilize patented, innovative brewing and single-cup technology to deliver a fresh-brewed, perfect cup of coffee, tea, or cocoa every time at just the touch of a button. According to the NPD Group®, Keurig® Single Cup Brewers were the top four bestselling coffee makers during GMCR's fiscal second quarter 2012 by dollar sales.

About Eight O'Clock Coffee

Eight O'Clock Coffee has been delighting coffee lovers for over 150 years and was named one of ‘America's Greatest Brands' in 2010. Best known for their #1-selling whole bean coffee in grocery and top-rated 100% Colombian coffee, Eight O'Clock offers a full line of gourmet coffee varieties in ground and whole bean forms. Eight O'Clock Coffee is headquartered in Montvale, NJ,is roasted and packaged in Landover, Maryland and available at most U.S. retailers where groceries are sold. Eight O'Clock is part of the Tata Global Beverages family of brands. For more information about Eight O'Clock Coffee, visit www.EightOClock.com.

About Tetley Tea

Tetley has been known as an industry leader in creating a variety of delicious teas since it began producing tea over 170 years ago. Tetley is part of the Tata Global Beverages family of brands and has a long-standing relationship with the Ethical Tea Partnership, an organization that monitors living and working conditions on tea estates. All Tetley branded tea, including flavored and decaffeinated varieties, will also be part of the Rainforest Alliance certification program, which is scheduled for completion by 2016. To learn more about Tetley Tea, visit www.TetleyUSA.com.

About Good Earth Tea

One of the first American herbal companies and a leader in specialty tea, Good Earth Tea brings authentic, full flavored teas from around the world to the U.S. via a wide variety of unique blends. Good Earth Tea offers a tea adventure like no other, combining rich flavors from around the world into aromatic blends such as Sweet & Spicy, Green Tea Lemongrass, and Superfruit White Tea with Mangosteen and Mango. Good Earth Tea is part of the Tata Global Beverages family of brands. For more information, visit www.GoodEarthTea.com.

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.

As a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative Keurig® Single Cup brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in sustainably-grown coffee, and donating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects.

GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Relations section of its website, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its website regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to the Company's automatic email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly from GMCR as it is released.

Saya Ninja Stirrer Secretly Puts Sugar in Your Coffee

2012-05-02T11:43:19Z

A new coffee stirring weapon filled with sugar called Saya is about to hit Japan. Saya is the word for scabbard in Japanese, and the blade is bound with edible rice paper glue that dissolves into the coffee instantly in your coffee cup. The edible rice paper can also be filled with brown sugar or white sugar. Edible rice paper is a staple in Japan for lots of things that need to dissolve into your soup - etc.

So with the instant dissolving of whatever sweetness payload the Saya has on it - you get sweetness and functionality all in one secret blow.

Via Gizmodiva full details at Behance

Clothing is Optional with Nespresso

2012-05-01T11:43:46Z

Over in Coffee Talk at the Single Serve Coffee Forums there's word that Nespresso is airing a commercial where they tout clothing is optional. One often wonders why people get all dressed to go to a cafe, when they can simply have amazing single serve coffee and espresso in the comfort of their home. We routinely have our single serve coffee right out of the shower, and wander around in a robe, but wandering around in a towel is an interesting idea especially if you look this good drinking coffee.

Check out the video from Nespresso on why clothing is optional for them:

Review: The Original Donut Shop Coffee Vue Pack from Coffee People

2012-04-30T11:43:21Z

We often wonder how much coffee can be improved when you brew it with a new system or different method. Back in 2007 we had our first cup of The Original Donut Shop Coffee in K-Cup form from Coffee People and thought it was good - but not great. Oh how things have changed with this medium roast coffee using the new Vue system from Keurig and Vue pack.

The Vue pack or V-Cup version of the Original Donut Shop Coffee is much more on the medium to medium bold side of coffee. It's more than just your standard donut shop coffee because it has sweet chocolate notes with a very nice bite on the tongue. Acid continues to be low, and we really just love the entire roast profile - it's not a french roast but it's close enough to make us happy but we think we'll still be pleasing to medium-light coffee drinkers looking for a bit of a change.

We brewed using the 8oz setting on the normal mode. If you use the STRONG setting you can make this Original Donut Shop Coffee approach an almost french roast like flavor.

Aroma – 8 – It's got that coffee shop nose and smells very smoky yet sweet.
Acidity – 10 – Sharp on the back of the throat but gentle overall.
Body – 9 – Medium as expect but warm and inviting. This is more than a breakfast blend/mid-day coffee - it's a 3am with eggs coffee.
Flavor – 10 – So good - it's sweet chocolate notes with a french roast upper profile gives it legs.
Mouth Feel – 8 – Adequate. We think the mouth feel here could be a bit bigger but then again it may be the french notes tricking us.
Coffee Drinker – We think medium-light coffee drinkers will like the bolder notes, and medium-dark coffee drinkers will find this right in their sweet spot.

Overall Rating: 95 – Excellent

Donut Shop Coffee from Coffee People is one of the many Keurig Vue Packs available for the Keurig Vue V700 Single Cup Brewing System. The Keurig Vue Packs are not compatible with older Keurig K-Cup systems.

We purchased these Vue Packs on our own for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

Review: San Francisco Bay Decaf French Roast OneCup Keurig Compatible Coffee Packs

2012-04-27T11:43:36Z

We continue our series of San Francisco Bay K-Cup Pods (a.k.a. "OneCups") today with their San Francisco Bay Decaf French Roast K-Cup Pods.

Ok, first things first… this is a decaf coffee. It says so right on the box, yet we were hit by a blast of smoky aromas the moment we tore open the bag that these things came packaged in. Um… what the heck… this is a decaf? We checked the box again… yep, decaf. Wow… if they smell this good right out of the box, then this could be epic.

Sure enough, brewing these K-Cup Pods resulted in loads of smoky aromas with notes of dark chocolate as well as light oily notes. We’re used to most decafs having weak aromas & taste, but this one was sure bucking the trend right from the start. Billed as a dark roast, flavor was super smoky with predominant dark chocolate notes up front with faint notes of molasses in the background. We even detected some faint nutty notes near the finish. This was by far the most full-flavored decaf we’ve had for a while and was nothing near the watered-down taste we were expecting. We just couldn’t believe you could get such a strong taste/flavor out of a decaf coffee.

Body was dark brown in color with shades of orange when held in front of a light source. Considering how smoky this coffee was turning out to be, it reminded us of the fiery orange color of flames which couldn’t have gone better with the final results. Acidity really blew our socks off… we got a sharp bite at first and expected it to fade away but it remained present throughout the cup. It wasn’t overbearingly strong at all and kept things nice & lively. Most decafs fall weak in this category but that certainly wasn’t the case here. The same could be said with mouth feel as we were expecting a watered-down decaf and instead ended-up with super-smooth feel with only a slight bit of an oily feel on the finish despite the loads of smoky notes going on elsewhere in the cup. A nice smoky aftertaste kept lingering around afterwards.

Aroma – 9 – Loads of smoke & notes of dark chocolate. Light oily notes also present. Overall, a lot stronger than we were expecting for a decaf.
Acidity – 10 – Sharp bite at first, strength remains present and keeps things lively throughout. Amazing & had us wondering if this really was a decaf.
Body – 9 – Dark brown with orange notes when held in front of a light source. Remind us of the fiery smoky notes in the aroma & flavor. Nice.
Flavor – 10 – Wow… super smoky with dark chocolate in the foreground. Faint notes of molasses in the background and even some very faint nutty notes near the finish. Are we SURE this is a decaf?!?
Mouth Feel – 10 – Despite the smoky chaos storming around in the cup, this was super smooth with only small bit of an oily feel on the finish. Nice lingering smoky aftertaste.
Coffee Drinker – Medium Roast Extra Bold fans will enjoy this one and casual dark roast fans will get a kick of out this. A must-try for French Roast aficionados which will have them scratching their heads at how the heck this can possibly be a decaf.

Overall Rating: 98 – Excellent

It’s been a while since we’ve been totally floored by a decaf and we can certainly confirm that this offering left us gob-smacked & pretty near speechless to the point where we’re considering using this as one of our go-to MORNING coffees. We could tell good things were in store when we first opening the bag & could smell the smoky notes coming straight off the unbrewed K-Cup Pods, but we would NEVER have guessed this would follow-through into the final cup. All we can say is hats-off to Rogers Family Company… they’ve succeeded in creating quite possibly one of the BEST decaf French Roast coffees we’ve had in quite a while. Once you take into consideration that this is a “knock-off” product, it’s only $6.99 for a 12-pack and that it’s a frickin DECAF coffee, our minds were damn near blown out our ears. Simply amazing. We can’t even begin to recommend this coffee enough and would dare say it’s a decaf that in no way, shape or form feels, smells or tastes like a decaf.

San Francisco Bay Decaf French Roast K-Cup Pods will work in all Keurig brewers and are available in 12-packs for $6.99 USD via Gourmet-Coffee.com. Canadians can also order these K-Cup Pods for $6.99 CAD via TweedandHickory.com

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note we purchased a box of these K-Cup Pods on our own for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

Who Wants a Labrador Dog Coffee Table?

2012-04-26T11:13:19Z

We do. The dog is man's best friend, and we think it could be man's best coffee table too. This shot of a labrador is accurate, because the artist studied two labradors in a therapy pool in order to capture the movement in this coffee table. It's also a perfect size with the at 49 inches high X 36 inches wide.

At Labrador Dog Coffee Table

What's in a Cafe Latte, Americano, or Cafe Mocha?

2012-04-25T10:07:43Z

Full size at tumblr

Starbucks to Market Verismo Brewers in China

2012-04-24T11:43:59Z

Starbucks will introduce instant dairy products worldwide, and bring its Verismo single-serve brewer to China next year as it triples stores there. Starbucks in March said it will start selling the Verismo, a machine to make brewed coffee and espresso-based beverages, in the U.S. this year, and it was only a matter of time before it announced it's worldwide intentions.

Starbucks, based in Seattle, plans to triple outlets to more than 1,500 by 2015 in China to help it grow outside the U.S. Single-serve beverages are the coffee industry’s fastest-growing segment, and global coffee consumption will grow about 1.5 percent this year. The increase in demand will be driven by countries including Russia, China, Indonesia, India and coffee-producing countries.

Oh and the kicker - Via is now a $300 million business globally. Wild. We do like Via but had no idea it would grow to be that big in a few years. Starbucks also plans to introduce Refreshers, energy drinks made with fruit juice and green-coffee extract, in China this summer.

Full read at Bloomberg

Review: San Francisco Bay Breakfast OneCup Keurig Compatible Coffee Packs

2012-04-23T11:55:24Z

Now that Keurig’s K-Cup patents are nearing ever so closer to their expiry date, we’ve been seeing more and more “knock-off” K-Cups hit the market. While we were a bit apprehensive at first due to the horrible quality of the first few products to hit the market (Freeze-dried instant coffee in a K-Cup? Blech!), we’ve been seeing an uptick in decent quality knock-offs over the past several months. One of the most popular knock-off products comes from Rogers Family Company Coffee Roasters.

As the name would imply, this is a 100% family-owned & family-run business that got its start in 1979 in San Francisco and are currently based out of Lincoln, CA (about 2 hours outside of San Francisco). All operations of the company are overseen by various family members & they even operate their own organic coffee farms in Panama & Mexico. Their goal is to produce premium coffee at great prices while ensuring fair direct trade practices & maintaining sustainability.

While the company prefers to call these products “OneCups” (since they’re not affiliated with Keurig in any way), we prefer to call them "K-Cup Pods" since they appear to take the best qualities of a pod (paper fiber filter, maximum saturation, etc) with the size factor & certain features of a K-Cup (no mess process, quick coffee extraction, etc.)

Brewing these K-Cup Pods resulted in primarily chocolate notes with some faint nutty undertones. We also detected mild oily notes on the finish. Billed as a light roast blend of Central & South American coffees, flavor revealed more notes of mild chocolate with some faint notes of molasses & some very faint smoky notes hiding underneath.

Body was medium brown/burnt sienna in color with shades of red when held in front of a light source. Acidity started off with a slightly sharp bite at first but quickly dissipated away into nothing. Mouth feel seemed smooth overall but was bordering on being watery, however, it had a clean finish with no overly discernible aftertaste.

Aroma – 7 – Chocolate & faint nutty undertones with some mild oily notes on the finish. Nothing too strong here.
Acidity – 6 – Noticeable at first with a bit of a bite at first sip, but quickly dissipates away into nothing.
Body – 7 – Medium brown/burnt sienna color with notes of red when held to a light source.
Flavor – 7 – We detected mild chocolate as in the aroma along with some faint notes of molasses. We also noticed very faint smoky notes hiding underneath.
Mouth Feel – 7 – Smooth overall yet bordering on being watery. Clean finish with no discernible aftertaste.
Coffee Drinker – Suited best for casual coffee drinkers or very light roast fans. Medium, Extra Bold & Dark Roast fans should stay away from this one as it’s far too light. Those who don’t like overly strong coffees or are looking for the lightest possible coffee experience they can get will probably enjoy this.

Overall Rating: 84 – Average

While we like the idea of combining “the best of both worlds” in this hybridized K-Cup Pod format, there are some pros & cons to be had. The first & most noticeable problem would be the fact that the coffee is immediately exposed to air the moment you open the bag. This poses a potential for the coffee to start deteriorating in aroma, taste, etc. and can lead to an inferior experience overall. We opted to only open the bag once we were ready for this review, that way we get the freshest experience for the review & remove all chances of degradation in coffee quality. Also, unlike K-Cups which are sealed & shelf stable beyond their expiry dates, you need to pay closer attention to the expiry dates on these K-Cup Pods since the coffee is exposed to the surrounding environment.

On the plus side... you can’t smell a K-Cup before brewing, but with these K-Cup Pods, you actually get a hint of what the coffee aroma will be like as soon as you open the bag. We only wish the final brewed aroma would have been as strong as what it was out of the bag. The aroma was so strong in fact, that we had trouble containing it. We tried everything from Ziploc bags to Ziploc plastic containers without much luck as the aroma kept seeping out. We eventually settled on air-tight coffee canisters in an effort to keep degradation to a minimum.

All those things aside, we still think these are so far the best quality "knock-off" K-Cups on the market that provide the best possible quality, taste & affordability. You’re getting real ground coffee beans, professionally sourced & roasted just the same as GMCR does but for a fraction of the price. We’re frankly surprised at how cheap the pricing is on this product line-up and are amazed that the company was able to maintain the same pricing across North America (same price in America & Canada). Taking the sourcing, processing & manufacturing of the coffee into consideration, we would have expected much higher final pricing. We can’t wait to see what the darker roasts in this line-up will be like & if this is a sign of what the unlicensed K-Cup market has in store, then we’re looking forward to some truly amazing & affordably priced Keurig-compatible products in the future.

San Francisco Bay Breakfast Blend K-Cup Pods will work in all Keurig brewers and are available in 12-packs for $6.99 USD via Gourmet-Coffee.com. Canadians can also order these K-Cup Pods for $6.99 CAD via TweedandHickory.com.

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note we purchased a box of these K-Cup Pods on our own for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

Just Ask Hank About Coffee

2012-04-20T13:55:55Z

Cartoon creator Ross Bollinger has sent in a video in his Ask Hank series about coffee. We love the blend of cartoon and real world coffee clips and think you should definitely check it out after the jump. We're also curious to get Hank's opinion about Single Serve Coffee...hmmm....

About this video:

A caller asks Hank if he's ever had the pleasure of experiencing a nice hot cup of coffee. Any questions? Call and ask Hank Hanky at 530-ITS-HANK (530-487-4265) *There is no charge from Hank; it's just like calling a US landline.

Review: Starbucks French Roast K-Cups

2012-04-19T09:23:46Z

French Roast. The first thing that comes to mind when coffee drinkers hear those words is "intense & smoky" and indeed, some of the coffees we've had over the years which employed this roast style have been quite intense and often smoky in nature. Billed as one of the strongest roasts in Starbucks' line-up, we continue our review series of Starbucks K-Cups today with their Starbucks French Roast K-Cups.

Brewing these K-Cups resulted in rather strong aromas of smoky hickory nuanced by tinges of molasses & dark chocolate. After trying a greater portion of the line-up, we're starting to suspect they all have very similar aromas and just about every one we've tried had the "signature" Starbucks coffee shop aroma (the scent you get when you walk into one of their retail shops). We also detected faint oily aromas hiding underneath but the thing that was the most present was definitely smoky hickory.

Body was very dark brown with shades of orange and red when held in front of a light source. All in all, quite similar to the Sumatra K-Cup we recently checked-out. Acidity was present but once again a bit lighter than expected and helped push all the smoky notes forward. We always review our coffees straight-up black without the addition of any cream or sugar, but there's no doubt this K-Cup could more than handle the addition of those 2 items without losing any of its intensity.

Flavor left no doubt that this was a French roast... smoky hickory and tons of it. Very intense smoky punch at first sip. We detected dark chocolate and a slightly oily taste which marked the first time we detected oils in the taste of a Starbucks K-Cup. Mouth feel was smooth at first with a light oily finish which seemed rather dry and as with just about every flavor in the line-up so far, we only noticed the characteristic "burnt" notes of a Starbucks coffee in the aftertaste.

Aroma - 10 - Like a broken record, we'll state that we noticed signature Starbucks aroma during brewing. Very strong smoky aroma with notes of hickory and tinges of dark chocolate & molasses underneath.
Acidity - 7 - Somewhat lighter than expected, but this helped push the smoky notes forward in the final flavor.
Body - 9 - Very dark brown with sunburst shades of orange & red when held in front of a light source.
Flavor - 10 - Any more smoke and we'd be looking for a surgeon general's warning on the packaging. Tons of smoky hickory, with a very intense hit at first sip. Dark chocolate is present with a slight oily taste in the background.
Mouth Feel - 9 - Smooth at the beginning with a slight oily feel on the dry finish... we were expecting an oilier feel since we could detect oils in the flavor. As with the rest of the line-up, you only get the "burnt" notes during the aftertaste.
Coffee Drinker - Dark roast fans take note, this is as dark as the Starbucks K-Cups get, so if you don't care for this one, you won't like the rest of the line-up. If you're a fan of smoky coffees, this one's definitely for you. We liked the smoky punch and thought it fit the roast profile rather well. Recommended as a first buy for dark roast fans before they check out anything else in the line-up.

Overall Rating: 95 - Excellent

Intense? Without a doubt. Smoky? Oh, you bet'cha. Any darker of a roast and we'd expect the K-Cup to spontaneously combust during brewing. By far, the darkest & most noticeably intense of all the Starbucks K-Cups (No seriously, the image on the packaging is coffee beans on fire). We admit that while these K-Cups are nowhere near the levels of mind-numbing charred intensity which were present in the old Tassimo T-Disc versions, they're still pretty darn strong for a K-Cup.

We think most dark roast fans will be pleased and those who preferred the T-Discs should likely cut to the chase and give first dibs on this flavor before checking out the rest of the line-up. While we're sure there will still be those who claim this coffee is too weak, we certainly found it had enough "oomph" to meet our needs.

Starbucks French Roast K-Cups will work in all Keurig brewers and are available in 16-packs for $13.98 USD at Wal-Mart in USA or 10-packs for $10.99 CAD at various grocery stores across Canada. Some Starbucks shops in USA & Canada might also be selling these K-Cups.

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note that we purchased a box of these K-Cups ourselves for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

Review: Starbucks Sumatra K-Cups

2012-04-18T09:09:43Z

The Sumatran region of Indonesia is famous for some of the dark roast coffees it produces and depending on how they're blended, the final results can be anywhere from earthy & herbal to sour & intense. We decided to see which route Starbucks decided to take and continue our Starbucks K-Cup reviews today with their Starbucks Sumatra K-Cups.

Brewing these K-Cups resulted in aforementioned earthy notes with subtle hints of herbal and even floral notes in background. Once again, cocoa is present but oddly enough, the smoky hickory notes seem subdued. Seeing as how this is a dark roast, we were expecting the exact opposite. Hmm... strange.

Body was dark brown with slight shades of orange & red when held in front of a light source, as expected. Acidity was certainly present but not as strong as expected. Rather than starting off with a sharp bite, it built-up from mild to strong on the finish.

Flavor was obviously a bit more intense than some of the other Starbucks K-Cups we've reviewed but revealed yet more of the same flavors that have become synonymous with Starbucks lately... dark chocolate/cocoa was predominant with a slight taste of smoky hickory in the background. Faint notes of molasses were buried underneath but unlike some other Sumatran coffees we've had, there didn't seem to be any sour/bitter flavors present. Mouth feel was smooth at first but became oily quite quickly and remained that way afterwards. Once again, we only detected the characteristic "burnt" notes of Starbucks coffees during the finish/aftertaste.

Aroma - 9 - It's beyond cliché now, but "signature Starbucks scent" was present here. We noticed earthy & herbal/floral notes and yet again, more cocoa notes were evident but oddly enough, a coffee we were expecting to have smoky aromas barely had any. Weird.
Acidity - 7 - Unlike previous flavors in the lineup, things start off mild and build their way up as you near the finish. Wasn't as strong as expected but still definitely present.
Body - 8 - Dark brown with slight shades of orange & red when held to a light source.
Flavor - 9 - Strong notes of dark chocolate/cocoa are dominant with slight notes of smoky hickory in the background with faints notes of molasses. The only thing that prevented a score of 7 or 8 in this category was the lack of sour notes which we've seen in previous Sumatran coffees.
Mouth Feel - 7 - Smooth at the beginning but quickly turned oily and remained that way. We don't care for oily coffees and were a bit put off by this. As with previous offerings in the line-up, the characteristic "burnt" notes only revealed themselves in the finish/aftertaste.
Coffee Drinker - Well, to be honest, this one's a bit of a head scratcher. While some dark roast fans will probably like this K-Cup, we think most dark roast fans will probably complain that it's too weak. We'd strongly recommend looking for a smaller 10-pack before buying a full box. If you don't like "oily" coffees, you should probably stay away from this one... otherwise, have at it.

Overall Rating: 90 - Exceptional

We came VERY close to rating this coffee as "Good" but the only thing that allowed it to squeak out an "Exceptional" rating was the lack of too many sour notes in the flavor. We're used to Sumatran coffees being sour/bitter but this one just seemed mostly full of dark chocolate with a dry taste instead. We can't recall the last time we've tried a Sumatra coffee with those characteristics and were frankly surprised to see that here.

As we said earlier, if you don't like oily coffees, you probably won't care too much for this one as the oils from the roast are quite present & almost overpowering. We can't help but wonder how potent or oily the French Roast is going to be, but all that taken into consideration, if you can bear the oily nature of this coffee & are looking for a Sumatra which isn't too sour, you might want to give this one a try.

Starbucks Sumatra K-Cups will work in all Keurig brewers and are available in 16-packs for $13.98 USD at Wal-Mart in USA or 10-packs for $10.99 CAD at various grocery stores across Canada. Some Starbucks shops in USA & Canada might also be selling these K-Cups.

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note that we purchased a box of these K-Cups ourselves for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

Mr. Coffee Power Serve 12-Cup Coffeemaker with One Hand Dispensing

2012-04-17T09:23:18Z

Sure it makes 12 cups, but it also has easy one-handed dispensing making it a 12 cup wonder with one cup at time ease. The removable coffee chamber also has a 24-hour programmable timer for wake-up coffee, and a brew-pause function so you can get that perfect cup. Also, this coffee maker reminds us of the Brew Station we reviewed a few years back.

One thing about these single serve at a time with 12 cups on hand coffee makers - if you're throwing a breakfast party the amount of coffee these can hold makes a nice trade off. Also pricing on this model vs the Brew Station is good. The Brew station will set you back about $86, where as this Mr. Coffee version will only set you back $49.

Okay - and there's even more functionality. Audible ready signals, a coffee-level window, and removable filter basket make this 12 cup brewer even more interesting. The 2-hour keep warm with auto shut-off makes this 12 cup coffee wonder more like a single cup coffee maker. The removable drip tray is also easy to clean, and there's cord storage to keep the counter clutter free.

At Mr. Coffee BVMC-ZH1B Power Serve 12-Cup Coffeemaker

Review: Starbucks Pike Place Roast K-Cups

2012-04-16T09:43:17Z

Starbucks got their start back in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. Their first store opened on Western Ave. and was later relocated to Pike Place in 1976 where it remains to this day. Despite being the 2nd store to bear the name, many still consider this to be the 1st and longest-operating Starbucks location in the World. Today we continue our Starbucks K-Cups review series with a K-Cup which was named after this historic location: Starbucks Pike Place Roast K-Cups.

Something we've noticed with the Starbucks K-Cups is that the aroma during brewing seems fairly consistent with only intensity & some subtle nuances being the key differences. Such is the same here as brewing these K-Cups resulted in the signature Starbucks aroma filling the room once again. A closer inspection of the final brewed cup revealed smoky notes of hickory in the foreground with scents of cocoa underneath. We also detected a slight oily characteristic present in the aroma at times.

Body had plenty of reddish hues at all times and kept reminding us of similar color notes which would be present in a glass of red wine. There were colors of medium brown with notes of burnt sienna present and bursts of deep red revealed themselves when held in front of a light source. Acidity was present with a sharp bite at first which quickly mellowed in the middle only to come back slightly in the finish. Definitely noticeable, but not too distracting.

Flavor seems to have quite a bit going on as we detected a wide range of tastes starting with the usual notes of cocoa/chocolate which were blended with slight hints of molasses hiding underneath. As expected, we got smoky hickory flavors which even had very faint nuances of licorice at times with a slight overall earthiness to the cup. Mouth feel was smooth with a light oily feel overall and we only detected a predominance of the "burnt" notes during the aftertaste which lingered on for quite a while afterwards.

Aroma - 10 - Once again, signature Starbucks aroma during brewing, closer inspection revealed notes of cocoa & smoky hickory with a slight oily scent at times.
Acidity - 8 - Sharp bite at first which quickly mellowed only to come back again on the finish.
Body - 9 - Medium brown with an almost wine-like appearance. Light reddish tinges with notes of burnt sienna with shades of deep red when held in front of a light source.
Flavor - 10 - Nicely complex, lots going on here. As with other Starbucks K-Cups, we continue to detect cocoa/chocolate & hickory with hints of molasses, but we detected faint tastes of licorice and a slightly stronger earthiness overall than before. Very pleasing.
Mouth Feel - 8 - Smooth with a light oily feel overall. You only get the overly "burnt" notes in the aftertaste which seems to linger on longer than previous offerings in this line-up.
Coffee Drinker - This one falls in the middle as medium roast in Starbucks line-up and we feel it's a well-rounded contender for your average Starbucks fan. If you like bold medium roasts or are a casual dark roast drinker, you'll probably enjoy this. If you've been living under a rock & haven't tried Starbucks coffee before, we suggest starting here before jumping head-first into their darker roasts.

Overall Rating: 95 - Excellent

Overall, we know we're going to get mixed reactions to this review just as we did for some of the other flavors we recently reviewed in this line-up. We'll have some folks that will say "once you've tried Starbucks coffee, they're all the same" while you'll have others that claim there's only 1 particular roast/flavor that's worth trying and you'll have more that will say they just can't stand the burnt notes in Starbucks coffee and steer clear away from it as much as possible. We understand those reactions and hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. After all, we base our reviews on our own tasting experiences and nobody experiences coffee the same way, so there are bound to be things we detected that others won't & vice-versa.

All that taken into consideration, we really enjoyed this K-Cup and thought it was a well-rounded addition to the other Starbucks K-Cups we recently reviewed. Do we think Starbucks has maybe a few too many similar choices on their coffee menu? Of course, but it's always better to have more choices than none at all. We liked how this coffee seemed to fall in the middle where it wasn't too intense yet didn't seem too weak. We liked the ongoing flavors of cocoa & hickory which seem to be Starbucks signature "taste" across their range and think this flavor is worth a try. If Starbucks decided to name it after their longest-operating & most famous location, they must have done so for a reason. We think this flavor is one that will appeal to most average Starbucks fans and is worth a spot on anyone's weekly morning line-up of coffee selections.

Starbucks Pike Place Roast K-Cups will work in all Keurig brewers and are available in 16-packs for $13.98 USD at Wal-Mart in USA or 10-packs for $10.99 CAD at various grocery stores across Canada. Some Starbucks shops in USA & Canada might also be selling these K-Cups.

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note that we purchased a box of these K-Cups ourselves for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

Coffee and Caffeine Makes Overachievers Do Less

2012-04-13T09:34:25Z

Photo from UnCommonGoods.com

New research suggests while most of us love to drink coffee to increase our energy and get more done, it may in fact have the opposite effect. Research, conducted at the University of British Columbia, suggests that for individuals who are more willing to concentrate and exert effort to achieve their goals than others, caffeine--as well as other stimulants like amphetamines--can actually decrease motivation.

So what does that mean? As a result, productivity can decrease.

Jay Hosking, one of the researchers, explains to Medical Express:

"Every day, millions of people use stimulants to wake up, stay alert and increase their productivity - from truckers driving all night to students cramming for exam. These findings suggest that some stimulants may actually have an opposite effect for people who naturally favor the difficult tasks of life that come with greater rewards."

So in the end asking for a decaf cup of coffee and forgoing that giant cup of caffeine in coffee form may end up in a more productive day.

Via Gizmodo

Review: Starbucks House Blend K-Cups

2012-04-12T09:43:16Z

We continue our Starbucks K-Cup reviews today with their Starbucks House Blend K-Cups.

Brewing these K-Cups resulted once again in the signature Starbucks aroma filling the room (we've been seriously considering installing a neon Starbucks logo sign in the Single Serve test kitchens lately). A closer look at the final cup reveals woodsy notes with faint hints of cocoa & hickory hiding underneath.

Body was dark burgundy with tinges of gold on the edges of the cup while notes of red & orange popped through when held in front of a light source. Acidity was not lacking and seemed rather lively with citrusy notes at times. Since this was billed as a medium roast, we were slightly caught off-guard by a jarring bite at the beginning but things mellowed-out and seemed rather balanced afterwards. Once we got used to it, we rather enjoyed it & thought it was well played.

Flavor yields plenty of smoke in the foreground followed by oily notes which give way to chocolate & faint nutty flavors hiding underneath. There was more smoke in the finish and a faint sweetness throughout with carried over into the aftertaste. Mouth feel was an ever changing mix of oily textures in the beginning, smoothness in the middle and yet more oily notes on the finish. Some people may be put off by this, but we thought it was ok. We also detected a slightly smoky aftertaste. (Can you see a recurring theme here? If this is the medium roast, then the French Roast is gonna be like getting a campfire to the face)

Aroma - 10 - Very reminiscent of the Starbucks shop aroma, a closer look revealed some woodsy notes with very faint traces of cocoa mixed with smoky hickory lurking underneath.
Acidity - 9 - Quite lively, almost citrusy at times. You get a sharp bite on the tongue at first, then it mellows into a balanced characteristic throughout. Other than that jarring bite at the beginning, nicely done overall.
Body - 9 - Can almost be described as burgundy with hints of gold on the edges. Notes of red & orange appear when held in front of a light source.
Flavor - 10 - Lots of smoke up front quickly followed by oily notes that blend into tastes of chocolate. Faint nutty flavors are present with more smoke in the finish. We also detected a faint sweetness throughout the cup which followed through in the aftertaste.
Mouth Feel - 7 - A constantly changing struggle between oily & smooth. Starts off oily, changes to smooth in the middle, then ends with oily feel on the finish. Slightly smoky aftertaste.
Coffee Drinker - When compared to the Veranda Blend K-Cups we previously reviewed, these House Blend K-Cups had much more "oomph" in the cup and seemed to satisfy our dark roast desires. If you like a typical dark roast, you'll enjoy this one. This is traditional, no-nonsense Starbucks coffee at its best. Not overbearingly strong, but definitely not a weakling in its own rights.

Overall Rating: 95 - Excellent

So overall, we'd have to say that we really enjoyed this K-Cup. It was slightly stronger than the Veranda Blend and just seemed more satisfying in general. We like dark roasts and by any other measures, this would have fallen in that category, but this is Starbucks... a.k.a. "Charbucks", so they've labeled it as a medium and we all know after trying some of the old T-Discs that things can get much, MUCH more intense and darker than what's shown here. Regardless, we likey and we think most Starbucks fans will enjoy this K-Cup as well. A solid choice for the majority of people & highly recommended.

Starbucks House Blend K-Cups will work in all Keurig brewers and are available in 16-packs for $13.98 USD at Wal-Mart in USA or 10-packs for $10.99 CAD at various grocery stores across Canada. Some Starbucks shops in USA & Canada might also be selling these K-Cups.

A special thanks to SH for providing this Single Serve Coffee staff review. We would also like to note that we purchased a box of these K-Cups ourselves for the purpose of this review.

Read how we review and rate single-serve coffee and other single-serve coffee beverages here.

VHS Coffee Table Makes Us Want to Toss our DVDs

2012-04-11T11:55:23Z

We guess that's the problem with DVDs - they've never made for a great shape stacked up when it comes to fulfilling our needs as a potentially giant coffee table. Made of hand crafted teak, the VHS coffee table also comes inscribed with movie favorites like Footloose, and the Empire Strikes Back and the shape of a pile of VHS tapes is the perfect coffee table shape.

Designed by T76 Design in Amsterdam, this table is carved in Indonesia. The table measures 49-inches x 25.5-inches x 16-inches and weighs 80 pounds. The limited edition piece retails for $1980 through T76 Design's email.

Via Gizmodo

Get the Melitta One:One for $25

2012-04-10T10:43:37Z

Right now if you buy a case of coffee pods from Melitta USA you can get a Melitta One:One coffee pod brewer (read our review here) for $25. You'll need to Enter the Promo Code: Springsale at checkout to get the deal. We've always enjoyed Melitta's One:One and coffee pods for the variety and quality - so this is pretty great deal and is perfect for Grads and Dads as a gift too.

Coffee Table With Built-In Saucers Catches the Drops

2012-04-09T11:43:58Z

Brandon Gore's Orson Coffee Table is a well-designed coffee table because it has a sanctuary for your coffee cup. THE ORSON will be your new favorite coffee table, and is handcrafted by Brandon Gore in his artisan studio.

Each top is cast in a highly engineered composite concrete, and sealed with a cutting-edge reactive sealer that cannot peel or yellow. The steel base is crafted in-house, and carefully cut and fitted.

We like the simple idea of having a place to put our favorite cup of coffee, and also to not obsess about coasters as we do every morning to ensure the dreaded coffee ring of doom doesn't appear on our coffee table's surface.

Via Gizmodo

How to Recycle Keurig Vue Packs

2012-04-06T11:59:28Z

Make sure and wait for the Vue pack to cool before peeling the lid off.

We've put together an overview of how to recycle the Keurig Vue Packs. Recycling for us here at Single Serve Coffee is really important, and knowing which single serve coffee products can be recycled will help put your environmental mind at ease. The Keurg Vue packs have a peel off lid that allows you to recycle the plastic cup or V-Cup, and you can also recycle the cardboard box the Vue packs come in.

You'll need to check over at Vue Recycling to see if your community can recycle the cup and cardboard box. The #5 plastic the Vue pack is made of isn't as widely accepted in Massachusetts but the number of communities recycling #5 plastic is growing. We also recommend calling your town office and tell them you want to be able to recycle #5 plastic. One simple phone call can make a big difference in getting more things recycled in your community.

You'll find the pull tab on the underside of the Vue pack.

Pull the lid off by pulling on the tab.

You'll be left with the filter and foil top. Don't peel
too quick or you'll tear the filter and coffee will fall out.

We have a countertop waste bin we use for spent espresso
grounds and also to put these filters in. We'll rip them open
and compost the coffee.

The #5 plastic Vue Pack cup or V-Cup is ready to be recycled.

Here is our recycling ready to go with the Vue pack
ready to join the recycling.

Will Starbucks Take the Wind Out of Nespresso's Sails?

2012-04-05T11:23:33Z

The Economic Times has an interesting take on Starbucks' Verismo single serve coffee maker launching this fall - it's going to kill Nespresso's momentum here in the US and maybe even abroad. Since Verismo is coming out this Fall - it's hard to say based on a drink to drink comparison, but the one thing Starbucks has over Nespresso is distribution.

Also Starbucks is not just betting on Verismo. Recently they announced they'll not only be making K-Cups throughout this year for the Keurig platform, but they are also going to be making VUE Packs for the Keurig VUE single serve coffee system. And if you remember they make VIA instant coffee packets - you get the feeling Starbucks sees gold in the hills of the single serve coffee world.

But let's get back to Verismo which is supposedly aimed at the Starbucks quality and cafe style drinks market. Nespresso has for a long time held the reins in the higher end single serve coffee market - and especially espresso style coffee. Verismo is poised to be one of the only contenders in awhile with enough brand recognition to perhaps take over at least one of those reins. And the higher you go into the single serve coffee market for dollar per cup - the better the profits.

This is where Starbucks wants to bridge the gap - make sure everyone has access to Starbucks in single serve coffee form from high to the lower end all the way down to instant. And when you factor in the majority of Nespresso's growth has come from North America over the past year or so due to a stagnant European market - we smell trouble for Nespresso here in the US.

What do you think? Do you think Starbucks' is going to take the wind out of Nespresso's sails? Are there other contenders to worry about who may also cause problems for Nespresso?