No, they aren't paying me to write this!
Here's the review I posted on Amazon last August:
The raving reviews of the Senseo had reached my awareness even before the machine was available in the United States. That had piqued my curiosity but, frankly, when the coffeemaker started showing up here, I thought it might be a case of too much hype and not enough substance.
After reading a number of reviews here and elsewhere on the web, I finally succumbed to temptation while out shopping and made my purchase. (Mine came with two nifty looking coffee cups, two bags of pods, and coupons.)
Since I'm the only coffee drinker in my household, and my current coffeemaker, though wonderful, isn't that good at single cups of coffee, I thought this might be a practical second coffee maker. I arrived home, went though a modified version of one reviewer's suggestion for prepping the coffee maker (I didn't go so far as to soak the removable parts for an hour but just washed them with hot soapy water) and made my first cup of coffee. It was good.
The third cup was really enjoyable. Frankly, I like the foam on top and don't stir it in. I've been extremely pleased. I haven't tried the mild roast yet---I've always been more of a medium/dark roast person myself.
The coffee, served in the cups that came with my machine, reminds me of Europe. The machine looks cool sitting on my countertop, and takes up little space. It's ridiculously easy and efficient to make a cup or two of good coffee. I can't believe I put off buying the Senseo for this long.
However, even though I gave it 5 stars, the system is not perfect. If I was going to suggest improvements, they would be:
1. Have a greater variety of coffee pods available for purchase, with different types of coffees and blends
2. Have more options as far as cup/mug size---in other words, be able to make one cup, two cups, a large mug, etc.
3. Improve the way the water reservoir fits into the machine. I love the design and the look of the Senseo, but this seems a bit flimsy to me. I think it could have been engineered a bit better, with the same look and design.
Otherwise, as a second coffeemaker for our household, I'm thrilled. I still have my Capresso out on the counter for when I'm in the mood for a lot of coffee or for specialty coffees...or for when we have company.
Sinced then, I've discovered several sources for a growing variety of different coffee pods. (See my "Cool stuff" entry from yesterday for a few links.) I also discovered and bought a filter that allows me to use regular coffee in place of pods. I don't recall where I ordered mine, but it came all the way from Holland. The Single Serve Coffee website no doubt has more info on the availability of these filters. If all else fails, several different ones can be ordered from Typical Duth Stuff. (That website has so much good stuff that it's well worth the visit. Whether or not you want to order from overseas is a different story!)
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