Making It Easy with Coffee Pods

If you have not discovered the ease and popularity of coffee pods yet, you do not know what you are missing. Coffee pods are single serving, pre-measured coffee enclosed in little pods. The pods are specialty paper that is used to keep the roasted, ground coffee contained and look much like tea bags you might find in the stores. These coffee pods are typically perfect for making instant coffee.

With coffee pods, you no longer have to measure the right about of coffee or even worry about that mess you might make with the grounds all over the counter. These pods allow you to simply skip all of that, saving both time and money on wasted grounds. They come in various sizes, which is perfect for whatever strength or amount of coffee you want and it even keeps your coffee machine that much cleaner, which lowers the amount of maintenance it needs.

Coffee pods even have their own machines. These coffee makers are specific to coffee pods and cater to the needs of any fussy coffee drinker. Many people prefer the coffee pods to traditional means of making coffee because it just saves time and effort. All you have to do is fill the coffee maker with water, put the coffee pod right in, and turn it on. In just a few short minutes, you will have made a great cup of coffee, ready for drinking.

Coffee pods come in a variety of your favorite coffee flavors. You can choose from Irish cream, hazelnut, or vanilla. Of course, traditional coffee flavors such as regular or decaffeinated coffee can be found in coffee pods as well. Depending on the flavor of the pod, as well as the specific roast types, the prices will vary accordingly. Coffee pods can be found in the aisle of your favorite coffee shop or local supermarket.

Using Coffee Pods

So, how do coffee pods work, you ask? Something must be very complicated about them considering how long it has taken for anyone to come up with the idea, right?

Nope. Coffee pods are pretty simple in operation, actually, and very similar to your average coffee and filter situation, although they are, for obvious reasons, far better when it comes to single cups of coffee. How else would you be sure that each cup of coffee is just as fresh as the last, regardless of when it made it to the cup? Or how about having six different flavored cups of coffee, one after the other, without wasting anything? Not possible with a traditional coffee maker.

Although brewing instructions differ from brewer to brewer, the general steps of brewing from coffee pods are all the same. First, moisten your coffee pod so that the filter creates a better seal and allows the water to pass through the coffee pod easier. This is also called pre-infusion; so if your coffee pods or brewer call for that, you've got it covered. Check the inside of your brewer to be sure everything looks clean and there's no mineral deposits covering the holes. If any of the holes are plugged, you can run a few brewing cycles with only white vinegar. Check the manufacturers cleaning instructions before doing this, but it's a pretty fool-proof way of cleaning the brewer. Also check for spare grinds since, although coffee pods are sealed, stuff does happen and grinds to get spilled. If possible, try to use only filtered, fresh water. As with tea or coffee brewed any other way, this will help your coffee to taste better.

Now slap a mug under the spout and push the coffee pod brewer's brew button. You'll hear the telltale gurgling sounds like the old style filter system, and then you should see coffee coming out and into your cup. Just like the old type brewers, it's merely passing hot water through the pod then into your cup.

Then, about a minute later, you should have a full cup of coffee. Clean-up is a snap since coffee pods are sealed, and generally all you need to do is dump the used pod into the trash.

Coffee to weak for your taste? Most brewers have enough room to house two coffee pods. With the same amount of water passing through two pods of coffee beans, a much stronger cup of coffee will emerge. Don't try to re-use coffee pods. They are made for one use each, and the results will not be favorable.

Coffee Pods - Great Coffee in a Hurry

People drink coffee for a variety of reasons, but for the most part, they drink coffee because they enjoy the flavor. Unfortunately, in today's world, everything is rush, rush, rush. Even brewing a pot of coffee steals time from all the responsibilities that seem to hang over us. However, there is a solution for those coffee lovers who just don't seem to have enough time in the day... coffee pods.

What are they?

A coffee pod is essentially a bag of coffee that's already been roasted and is ready for brewing. It's not dramatically different from the old instant coffee bags, or tea bags. Except that the taste is much improved. In fact, you can get a coffee pod in a variety of brewing strengths: dark roast, medium roast and mild roast. For their convenience and taste, coffee pods have become very much in demand.

There are two standard coffee pods. The first one is a 62 mm pod and is used for regular coffees. The Philips Senseo and the Black & Decker Home Cafe both use the 62mm size. The 44mm pod is used primarily with espresso pump machines such as the Saeco Aroma, the Krups xp4000 Espresso Machine and the Mr. Coffee ECMP40 Pod Pump Espresso. There are other sizes available, however the 62mm and 44mm are currently the industry standards.

Generally, the process is simplicity itself: you fill the coffee maker with water, place the pod in the receptacle, hit the button and thirty second later you're drinking a perfect cup of coffee. It's that easy. And if you want a rich frothy cup, there are various attachments that help you achieve that, too.

And cleanup? Hey, you just toss out the pod. The coffee grounds are enclosed in the pod (there's no filter), so you don't have to worry about spilling them. And the pod receptacle is safe to toss into the dishwasher.

At this point, you might be wondering about price. You should be able to find a package of 72 coffee pods for less than twenty dollars, which is about twice what you'd pay for an off-the-shelf coffee blend. They aren't for the budget-minded coffee drinker. They're designed for quality and convenience. You're paying extra for the no mess, no measuring, easy cleanup, ready in thirty seconds, cup of a coffee. For many people in these busy, hectic times, that's money well spent.