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Philips Senseo Coffee Maker
Review of the Revolutionary Single Serve Pod Coffee Maker

You might have heard about the new revolution in coffee brewing: the Senseo^™ Coffee Maker by Philips.

The Senseo was recently introduced to the U.S. Consumer Market. In Europe The Senseo machine has been around for a while and is a huge success, with over 5,000,000 machines sold. That's why I felt it was time for a Senseo review. I hope it will help those of you that are considering buying one yourselves.

The Senseo Coffee Machine was developed by electronics experts Philips in cooperation with coffee roaster Douwe Egberts, both world-renowned companies originally from the Netherlands. They worked together for many years to develop a new coffee brewing system that produces the perfect cup of fresh coffee. The patented single serve coffee pod system uses perfectly balanced proportions of coffee and water. Mild pressure and a special spray head produce the unique frothy coffee layer.

I bought my Senseo System (the Limited Edition Red Version) a couple of months ago and I use it often, usually a couple of times a day. When I opened the Box and removed my Senseo, I immediately noticed the unique design. With it's stylish, snazzy design it simply looks nothing like a regular coffeemaker. Installation was easy. A well-written manual described all the features and included a handy Quick Start Guide, which I used as I was eager to try a fresh cup of Senseo coffee.

The Senseo machine is currently available in 3 colors, white, black and blue, and in a Limited Edition Red Version (in Holland and Belgium only). A lever on top releases the latch to reveal the coffee pod holder. The machine comes with two pod holders, one to make a single cup, one for a double cup of coffee. The water reservoir holds enough water to make up to 5 cups of coffee. (Bigger water tanks are now sold separately as well) It's 1450 Watts water boiler heats a full water tank in about 90 seconds.

The Senseo Machine is Easy to operate, with only 3 buttons to push. The Center Button is the on/off switch and has a red pilot light that indicates whether the machine is ready or not. It will blink slowly when the water is heating and burn continuously when the machine is ready to brew. A fast blinking light indicates a low water level. On both sides you have the brewing buttons that allow you to brew either one or two cups of Senseo Coffee at once.

After the Quick one-time Installation, that involves flushing the machine to make it ready for it's first use, brewing a cup (or two) of fresh coffee is an easy 3 step process:
 

On average it takes about 90 seconds for a full tank of water (up to 5 cups) to heat up. Then it takes about 20 seconds to brew a single cup of coffee.  The fastest I was able to brew a cup of coffee was a minute and a half. In this test I started with a cold machine and completed all steps necessary to make a cup of coffee (as described above). If you intend to brew a cup later, simply leave the machine switched on. The machine will automatically switch itself off after 1 hour.

The Senseo Machine is not only easy to use, it also is easy to clean. I simply took all the removable parts (pod holders, coffee outflow unit, cup tray, drip tray and water reservoir and rinsed them in some warm water. All these elements can be cleaned safely in the dishwasher as well. The outside of the machine can be cleaned with a moist cloth.

The Machine is only half of the system, the other half being the specially designed coffee pods. These pods contain a measured serving of coffee for one cup. The coffee is selected and roasted by Douwe Egberts. Douwe Egberts was founded 1n 1753 by Egbert Douwes, who sold coffee, tea and tobacco from a small local store in the Netherlands. Gradually Douwe and his descendants built a company that became the Dutch market leader of coffee and tea. In 1978 Douwe Egberts teamed up with Chicago Based Sara Lee Corporation to become the second largest coffee roaster in the world.

The original Douwe Egberts Senseo^™ coffee pods are available in mild, regular and dark roast as well as  decaffeinated. Here in Holland we also have additional flavors available, like Mocca Gourmet and the City Sensations, that include the Senseo Milano, Vienna, Rio de Janeiro en Sydney. Because of the success of the machine, other coffee roasters have been allowed to start making their own Senseo pods as well. This lead to a bigger diversity in coffee blends and tastes as well as a price decrease for the coffee pods. I expect this trend to continue in the global markets pretty soon as well.

I was recently informed a company in Holland invented a permanent re-usable coffee pod called the cafe-filter. This permanent filter retails around $23, but pays itself back quickly because you'll save on every cup of coffee. Instead of the well-known Senseo coffee pods from Douwe Egberts, you can use your favorite  coffee blend. For example you can grind your own coffee beans and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee with that flavor you always liked so much, but this time WITH the unique frothy coffee layer.

The Senseo^™ Coffee Machine is available from major department stores, electrical, grocery and high street retailers and comes with a 2 year warranty. You can also order your Senseo coffee maker online at WalMart, Amazon.com or Target. It currently retails at about $67. You can get a $10 rebate when you download the mail-in rebate coupon from the Senseo website The Douwe Egberts Senseo coffee pods are sold in packages of 18 pods, or larger four-packs of 72. If you buy the 72 packs, the coffee pods cost about $0.20 each. Although this is more than the regular price of a quality filter coffee, I am happy to pay a little bit extra for the convenience and the great taste. I would also like to note that because of fierce competition and huge demand the price of coffee pods in Holland have come down to about $ 0.10. I expect a similar trend in the global markets.

The coffee is smooth with a nice aroma and a frothy coffee layer. It is not as good as an espresso, but I like it much better than a regular cup of filter coffee. But the best thing about this machine is it's ease of use and the ability to quickly make one or two cups of fresh coffee. As I am living alone, I always had been looking for a machine like this, that doesn't force you to wait for a long time to brew a full pot of coffee. When I get up in the morning, I'll have my first cup of coffee ready within two minutes, the second one in less than 45 seconds.

I would recommend this machine to anyone that enjoys a good fresh cup of coffee and doesn't have all the time in the world (that would be most of us) to make that perfect cup. Can it compare to espresso coffee from a quality espresso machine? No, but that is not what it was designed for either. But I do believe it will beat a regular cup of filter coffee any time, for it's smooth taste with frothy layer and it's convenience. You can read more senseo reviews on amazon.com by clicking here. Enjoy!

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