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By and large, commercial coffee pods do not produce the best brews, not by a long shot. At their best they taste flat and one-dimensional, while at their worst they taste, sour, stale, bitter and just generally bad. The pods seem like a good idea because they are so convenient, but it really just isn't worth it if you actually want something drinkable. Your best bet for a quality brew is to stick with freshly ground coffee, but even pre-ground and packed coffee (e.g. Folgers) will turn out a better end result in most cases.
If you are set on using a pod for the convenience factor, however, there are some options besides the pre-made, pre-packed disasters. For example, you can attempt to make some by hand, but why expend all that effort when you could get a Perfect Pod to do it for you. The gadget uses pre-cut pod papers and heat-seals them once you have filled them up with just the right amount of your favorite (fresh!) coffee to brew the perfect cup. The pods work with most pod-using machines and paper refills are sold separately. The Perfect Pod retails for about $40.
[via popgadget]
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11-09-2006 @12:52PM Cary said... How long could these homemade pods be stored and how, to maintain the superior flavor and freshness? If they lose quality quickly the only redeeming quality of pods (convenience and speed) is certainly lost.
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11-09-2006 @9:03PM bdw said... Coffee goes stale ten or eleven days after it is roasted. It needs two or three days after roasting to degas. The quality goes down drastically a couple of days after grinding, or, if you're really picky, a few hours. You can have quality, or you can have convenience.
I have an automatic drip maker with a timer on it. On those now rare days where I absolutely have to be up at an indecently early hour, I set the thing up on the night table in my bedroom the night before, with a mug and pasteurized real half and half creamers next to it. When it goes off, the whoosh-slush sound it makes is far less shocking than an alarm clock, and I can lie in bed while gently waking without fear of going back to sleep. I have fresh coffee in bed with zero hassle.
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11-10-2006 @4:21AM Kristina said... Let's see ... we don't use a regular coffee pot on a stove top, because the auto drip coffee maker is more convenient.
We stop using the auto drip coffee maker, because we want to make individual servings, rather than a whole pot.
We get a pod-based system so that we can buy individually wrapped pods of coffee and save time, and not have to buy pounds of loose coffee for one person.
We get a pod-based system so that we can have a variety of pod flavors or types of coffee or tea. We get a pod-based system because we don't have to measure.
Then, we get a pod maker. We get this pod maker so that we can return to buying coffee in bulk, and grinding it ourselves, or, storing it in the freezer and making up a few pods at a time. We get this pod maker so we can go back to scooping coffee. We get this pod maker so that we can make a variety of different coffee and tea pods.
We get this pod maker so that we can buy higher quality coffees or beans, and grind and use them as we go along.
So. We've gotten rid of the coffee pot, gotten rid of the auto drip maker, gotten rid of the French Press, and now we have a Pod based coffee machine, a Pod maker, a supply of paper for the pod maker, a supply of coffee for the pods, and ...
a lot less counter space.
Stop this madness!
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11-13-2006 @9:23AM Jaime said... Good coffee is a pain.
Fresh off the roast within a week. Freshly ground and brewed fresh... pods are not an answer. The brew temp in most pods machines is too low while in your usual mr. coffee it's too high. Unless you are going to spring lots of cash for a technivorm brewer, you might as well try a french press and deal with the mess. That's easier than crafting homemade pods and brewing at the wrong temp.
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11-19-2006 @8:23AM Irene said... I wonder if this machine can also make Nespresso pods?
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12-03-2006 @10:48AM Johnny G said... Well, if you buy one of the removable MyPod contraptions, you can use your own coffee and won't need pods. And making a cup of coffee in 1-2 minutes sounds good to me! I'll be buying one for the holidays.
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1-14-2008 @6:21PM Karen Lavoie said... I was wondering whether anyone new if you could use regular coffee filters (cut to size) in The Perfect Pod. I'm interested in the machine but don't want to get into a situation where I have to continue to buy the filters for it on-line.
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1-09-2007 @9:15PM Mark said... I like how the article starts off with "by and large", there are coffee pods that yield a great cup of coffee you just cant get them at your local supermarket. Even if this machine took only seconds to make the pod, after you got it out, set it up, turned it on, got out your coffee, got out the filter paper ... I don't know what your time is worth but you can get good pods as low as about 23 cents a cup. For the $40 this machine costs plus the time it takes you could get a lot of top quality pods.
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1-11-2007 @11:15AM Sue said... I just purchased the Perfect Pod maker and it is wonderful!
I have been purchasing coffee pods for our single serve coffee maker and my husband has said the coffee tastes like water. We have been so used to fresh ground, french roast coffee from Carribou Coffee that all the pre-made pods taste terrible. With the Perfect Pod Maker we can use our Carribou Coffee beans and grind them to make a fresh pod to brew!
Now if we can just get the filters locally instead of at one of two online vendors that would be even better! I would recommend this product to anyone who loves fresh ground coffee yet a fast cup of coffee.
I just use one scoop of coffee in the pod filter and press and seal it! Coffee tastes great when it is fresh brewed.
I purchased a pod making coffee machine because I love flavored coffee but husband likes regular so we both get to enjoy our favorite cup.
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