Single Serve Coffee Machines: Philips Senseo SL7812 review

The Senseo range of coffee makers provide a good introduction to the world of single serve coffee makers.  These are coffee makers that  provide a single cup (or sometimes two cups simultaneously of fresh coffee at the press of a button. There are a large range of possible coffee formats, but the Senseo uses the most common size of coffee pods, so there's a wide range of possible flavors and sources, the machine are easy to set-up and use and it's not too expensive, so is a good starting point, while still producing a good cup of coffee.

These Senseo coffee makers have just three buttons, a central on/off button (with auto-off) and buttons for one-cup or two-cup pouring. The only other choice is which pod holder to use, as there's a single pod holder for normal single cup use, or a double pod holder, for either twin cup use or for use with larger drinks.

There's a removable water reservoir that holds enough water for 5 single cups of coffee which fits at the back of the coffee maker, while the lid lifts up to allow access to the selected pod holder.

To use, a pod of the selected type is placed in the pod holder and the lid is closed and locked down via the easy-to-use lever. A press of the 'on' button and the light will start flashing as the water is heated. After a short time, the light will display steadily and a press of the one-cup or two-cup buttons will start the process where the hot water is forced through the coffee pod and the resulting coffee poured into a waiting cup.

Flavors

While the Senseo does use the standard 62mm coffee pod size, the main source of coffee pods is probably going to be the Senseo Douwe Egberts coffee pod range. This allows choices between the traditional coffee strengths of Decaf, Medium, Dark and Expresso, or choices of featured blends such as Sumatra, Brazil, Kenyan and Colombia. Variations such as Breakfast Blend, Creme Brulee, Chocolate and Paris (French Vanilla) are also available even before considering the offering of other suppliers.

Two points to note before buying

First, the Senseo isn't a true espresso machine as it only uses a pressure of ~1.2 bars to brew, whereas true espresso systems will use pressures of 9 bars or greater. As a result, gourmet drinkers after a true espresso are advised to look elsewhere.

The other point to note is that the single cup size is 4-ozs, which may be a bit of a shock if you're used to getting a “grande” or “venti” from Starbucks, but as it only takes 45-secs or so for a second cup, in practice it's not usually a problem – just something to be aware of up front.

To summarise

Despite the above, I'd not want anyone to get the wrong impression, which is that I do recommend the Senseo to anyone who's considering buying a single serve coffee maker, for the following reasons.

• It's fast and easy to use

• It can consistently brew a good cup of coffee.

• There's a wide range of drinks/flavor options available.

• The coffee pods are sold at a large range of retailers, both on-line and in stores.

• It's an inexpensive introduction to this form of coffee drinking

Personally, we bought two – one for the office and one for the bedroom!