At the beginning of the year, Sara Lee’s sale of the Senseo brand to Smuckers. For one-cup coffee fans, Senseo is (or was) one of the major coffee pod roasters and manufacturers. As part of the sale, Senseo coffee pods will cease to be available in retail outlets after March 31st, 2012; however, the coffee pods will still be available through select online retailers.

Senseo offers eleven different roasts: Kona Blend, Breakfast Blend, Espresso Blend, Colombian, Kenya Blend, Hazelnut, French Vanilla, Sumatra, Dark Roast, Medium Roast, and Decaffeinated. So, if you’re a fan of Senseo and their eleven different coffee pods, we’d suggest stocking up while you can. The coffee pods are currently the cheapest per-serving form of one-cup coffees available.

1. Who makes pod brewers?
2. Are all coffee pods alike?
3. Where can I buy coffee pods?

Many coffee roasters make coffee pods. Each roaster produces pods from a wide range of coffee varietals grown around the world. These green coffee beans are then roasted in a range of styles. It may take some trial and error to find the brand, varietal, and roast you enjoy most.

Typically, 8 grams of ground coffee are used in each pod. Because some coffee drinkers like a stronger brew, several roasters make pods that contain up to 12 grams of ground coffee. If you like a stronger cup, look for pods that contain 10-12 grams of coffee. Also, some one cup pod brewers accommodate stacked pods to help you brew a stronger cup.

Finally, pods are packaged in different ways. Some brands, like Senseo, package the pods in a single, large bag, and other brands put each pod in a separate foil package. Since exposure to oxygen degrades coffee quality, purists believe that the single-use foil packages keep the pod coffee fresher longer than those pods packaged in a single bag.

Two types of coffee pod packages

Many coffee roasters offer their coffees in pods for use in any pod brewer. However, the flexibility of this “open” system has not resulted in wide spread popularity. After an initial burst of interest, the market for one cup pod systems has diminished and several brands have recently left the single cup pod market.

A good, entry-level one cup coffee maker from Keurig, Tassimo or Flavia is between $100.00 and $130.00 depending on the model, and the coffee, tea, or hot chocolate capsule for each cup is about $.65. In total, the per-cup cost of coffee brewed by a single cup coffee maker is more than if you brewed a pot of coffee at home, but less than buying a cup on the way to work.

Pod brewers like Senso and coffee pods are generally less expensive than the other one cup options, but we feel that pod brewers aren’t as consistently high-quality and convenient as the other brewers, and that’s reflected in the cost difference.

For more information about the cost of each single cup coffee system, please visit the system’s page on our site.

Keurig	Tassimo	Flavia	Senseo