Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Coffee

Earlier this year Starbucks launched its own brand of instant coffee, VIA.

Not surprisingly, coffee lovers were scandalized by the fact that Starbucks, of all companies, would launch an instant coffee. It didn’t seem to make much sense.

Starbucks countered by saying that their instant coffee was different, and would deliver the same great Starbucks taste as you get from their fresh-brewed coffee.

If the taste is really that good, then VIA would offer the ultimate in one cup coffee making.

Each box contains 12 small sachets of coffee. You simply pour the contents into a cup or mug, then add hot water, and cream and sugar to taste.

The great thing about VIA is that you can put these sachets in your pocket, purse or laptop bag and have them at hand while traveling, or even when at work.

Everything hinges on whether the Starbucks promise holds up.

Is VIA as good as fresh-brewed coffee?

In our humble opinion, it is not. We did some blind comparisons — VIA versus fresh-brewed — and everyone identified which cup contained the instant coffee. There is something about the taste of any instant coffee that always seems to be there.

Granted, if the coffee you get at work or in a hotel is either weak or over-brewed, a cup of VIA would probably be better.

But it does taste like instant coffee, and it isn’t as good as a well-brewed pot of fresh-ground coffee.

Sorry Starbucks, but it just isn’t.

You can buy Starbucks VIA Ready Brew at Amazon.com…

Disclaimer: One Cup Coffee Reviews has an affiliate relationship with Amazon.com

Descale your Keurig Brewer

If you have been using your Keurig brewer for a while, you may have experienced a problem with a build-up of scale within the narrow tubes in the brewer. This is particularly prone to happen in areas with hard water.

Fortunately, the display screen on the brewer will tell you when it is time to descale.

You can descale your brewer either by running vinegar through the brewer, and then rinsing with a few cycles of water, or with a product called Dezcal.

But what if you do all this, but you still have a problem? Some people descale their brewers and find the descale message remains, or they are still not getting a full cup of water coming through when they brew.

The answer is very simple, and has been the subject of a discussion over on the CoffeeDetective.com website.

Sometimes coffee grinds from the K-Cup back up into the steel needle that pierces the top of the K-Cup. If the needle becomes clogged, then it gets harder for water to pass through when you are brewing.

Simply take a toothpick or paperclip and gently scrape away any build-up of coffee grinds in the needle. Then run water through the system to flush out the loose grinds. Be careful when you do this, as the needle is very sharp.

Anyway, this seems to do the trick.

Starbucks T-Discs for Tassimo Coffee Makers

If you have a Tassimo Single Serve Coffee Brewer, and wish you had more choice in the beverages you brew, here is some good news for you.

On December 16th, 2009, you’ll be able to choose from a range of new Starbucks coffee beverages for the Braun and Bosch Tassimo brewers.

The new arrivals from Starbucks include cappuccino, latte and a range of regular coffees, including their famous Breakfast Blend.

You can re-order now and have your Starbucks T-Discs delivered well in time for the holidays.

Get your Starbucks Cappuccino Primo T-Discs at Amazon.com…

Check out the full range of new Starbucks coffees for the Tassimo at Amazon.com…

Our review of the Braun Tassimo TA 1400 Hot Beverage System…

Disclaimer: One Cup Coffee Reviews has an affiliate relationship with Amazon.com

The Dolce Gusto One Cup Coffee Maker

Yes, there is yet another choice out there for lovers of single serve coffee makers.

We have K-cup coffee makers, coffee pod coffee makers, T-Disc coffee makers, to name just three – and now we have the Nescafe Dolce Gusto single serve coffee maker.

The Dolce Gusto uses proprietary coffee capsules. Like K-Cups and T-Discs, these are sealed and contain just the right amount of coffee for a single serving. And you have to use the capsules. You can’t use loose coffee or any other kind of coffee container.

So why might you want the Dolce Gusto?

My first answer would have to be because it looks so amazing. It’s a beautiful piece of design and really does look very different from other coffee makers.

In addition, it’s a good machine… it has solid construction and a 15-bar water pump, which means you get the same quality of espresso you would expect from a coffee shop.

You can use it to make a regular cup of coffee, or espresso-based beverages, like cappuccino.

And it’s fast, making a coffee in under a minute. You can also use its custom-control lever to adjust the strength of each brew. Finally, it has a removable 51-ounce water tank, which allows you to make several coffees without having to refill the tank.

The Dolce Gusto makes single serve coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, shots of espresso, chococinos (hot chocolate) and even iced cappuccinos.

If we have a complaint, it’s that when you use this brewer, it feels a little light in its construction. That said, when I read through customer reviews, there are no complaints about anything breaking or failing in any way.

Most users give the Dolce Gusto a big thumbs up.

Get your Dolce Gusto Single Serve Coffee Machine at Amazon for $149.99

Keurig Office Pro K-Cup Coffee Maker

The Keurig Office Pro B145 Coffee Brewer works in the same way as any other Keurig brewer. You use K-Cups and brew one cup of coffee at a time.

One cup coffee makes a lot of sense for an office environment, where people may have very different tastes in the types of coffee they enjoy most.

Using the Keurig Office Pro means everyone can get their own stash of the coffees and blends they like best.

If you like flavored coffee, make one cup for yourself.

If someone lined up just behind you wants a herbal tea, they just use a herbal tea K-Cup.

Single serve coffee making was developed for the home market, simply because it`s a more convenient to brew one cup at a time, without the mess and bother of traditional filters and drip brewers.

But, in fact, one cup coffee machinesare an even better investment for a small office, or for a group or team within a larger office.

No more conflicts between caffeinated and decaf. So more arguments over whose turn it is to make the coffee. No more worries about that guy who always grabs a cup before the brew cycle is complete.

The Keurig Office Pro has the same features you find in the Keurig home brewers, but is built to deal with about ten times the usage. It is UL Approved for Commercial Use, and includes the special construction and materials required to meet the UL standards.

Learn more and buy the New Keurig Office Pro K-Cup coffee brewer here…

K-Cup Coffee Spinning Carousel

One of the great things about having a Keurig K-Cup Brewer is that everyone in the family, or office, can choose the exact type of coffee they want to brew.

One person wants a dark roast, bold breakfast blend – and someone else wants a decaf. No problem, because everyone can just take the K-Cup of their choice and plonk it into the brewer, one cup at a time.

The trouble is, if you buy two or three boxes of different K-Cups to suit everyone’s taste – where do you store the boxes? Three boxes of K-Cups take up a lot of space, and if they are not on the counter, it’s inconvenient when it comes time to brew.

The great thing about this carousel is that while the footprint is small, and it can fit neatly on any counter top, it has 27 hoops into which you can place your K-Cups.

If you want three different types of K-Cup coffee within hand’s-reach, just fill one row of hoops on the carousel with each type of coffee.

No more ugly boxes on the counter top. No more having to open cupboard doors or drawers to find the coffee you are looking for.

Whether for friends or for your own family, the K-Cup spinning carousel is a great gift idea.

Buy the Keurig K-Cup Spinning Carousel at Amazon.com

Keurig K-Cup Breakfast Gift Basket

It’s that time of year again, and we’ll all be scratching our heads trying to find the perfect gift for friends and family.

Well, if you know someone with a Keurig K-Cup brewer, give them one of these excellent gift baskets.

Each basket includes 24 K-Cups of Green Mountain Coffee’s most popular coffee – their Breakfast Blend.

But that’s just the start. You also get biscotti, pancake mix, maple syrup and granola.

That’s a pretty good combo for anyone with a Keurig brewer who also enjoys a nice hot breakfast on a winter morning.

Order the K-Cup Breakfast Gift Basket here…

Or check out Green Mountain Coffee’s full range of holiday gift baskets for coffee lovers…

Bialetti Mocha Pot

Here is another way to make one cup of coffee at a time. The Moka pot above makes more than one cup, but there are other models in smaller sizes.

Not only is a mocha pot one of the simplest and best ways to make a great cup of coffee, but this Bialetti model is also a thing of rare beauty.

Most coffee makers look plain ugly. Even the original, basic Moka pot design was somewhat drab. But this stainless steel beauty will look good anywhere…in your kitchen or on the dinner table after a meal with friends.

A mocha pot makes a coffee that is unmistakably rich, with a taste somewhere between regular drip brew coffee and espresso.

We use our Bialetti on a regular basis. We don’t use it to make straight shots of espresso. But we do use it to make espresso to which we add hot water or hot and frothy milk.

To use a mocha pot, you simply add the water to the bottom section, pour ground coffee into the metal filter, put everything back together and then heat it up on the stove.

In addition to its beautiful design and the quality of the coffee it brews, this mocha pot has a couple of other advantages that might appeal:

- No plastic parts.

- No moving parts or electronics (i.e. nothing to go wrong.)

Basically, the Bialetti Mocha Pot delivers on the promise of all good design – beauty and functionality combined.

Use it to make a coffee for yourself, or when you are entertaining and want something a little more stylish than a regular glass carafe.

Learn more and buy a Bialetti Mocha Pot here…

The Keurig B60's 7.25 Ounce Drip Trasy

The Keurig B40, B60 and B70 all have a good sized drip tray to catch spills and drips when you are making coffee.

But I didn’t know their full capacity until this morning when, while making my first cup of the day, I managed to start the brew cycle without putting a mug under the brew head. Pretty dumb, I know. But I’m not at my best first thing in the morning.

The funny part was when I turned back to the brewer, and my mug of coffee seemed to have disappeared. I had heard the brew cycle, there was no mess on the counter…so where was my coffee?

Fortunately, the drip tray contained the full 7.25 ounces.

I can understand why this isn’t one of the advertised features of these brewers. Not everyone is so careless. But I was grateful nevertheless.

What about the Keurig B30 Mini? No, it doesn’t have a drip tray that can hold 7.25 ounces. But it does have a very nifty failsafe system that prevents you from starting the brewing process unless you have a mug in place under the brew head.

Which goes to show that all the Keurig brewers are a great choice for early-morning knuckleheads.

Read our K-Cup Brewer reviews:

The Keurig B60

The Keurig B70

The Keurig B40

The Keurig B30

The Breville BKC600XL

Keurig B40 Elite K-Cup Brewer

Elsewhere I have written that the Keurig B60 Special Edition was the most popular among the Keurig K-Cup brewer models. And perhaps at some point it was.

But now it seems the Keurig B40 Elite has become number one.

And that, perhaps, has something to do with the recession, as the B40 is the least expensive of the full-size Keurig brewers.

The Keurig B40 was the first K-Cup brewer made by Keurig for the consumer market.

Being the first, it doesn’t have some of the extra features you’ll find on their more recent models, the B60 and B70.

That said, what it does have is the exact same brewing system.

You simply add a K-Cup, close the lid and press the brew button. And the cup of coffee it makes is just as good as those made by the more expensive models.

Best of all, the Keurig B40 costs less than $100.

While the Keurig B40 is certainly the base model, with only one brew size, it does have one additional feature that is very welcome…

It has an auto-off feature that turns the brewer off if it isn’t used for two hours. This is useful, because if you leave it on all the time, it is constantly keeping enough water hot for your next brew, and adding to your electricity bill in the process.

If you are on a budget, or are looking for a second Keurig brewer for your office or even a dorm room, the B40 may be exactly what you’re looking for.

Learn more and buy the Keurig B40 Elite here…