Coffee Machine Brands

Dunkin Donuts Announces Dunkin Turbo Flavored Coffee

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:13:42 +0000

With the announcement of the Smucker’s deal and K-Cups to be made for the Millstone and Folger’s brand of coffees, we couldn’t resist thinking about all the flavors of Dunkin Donuts coffee that maybe in the future could be made into K-Cups. Though there’s no mention directly of Dunkin Donuts K-Cups – how about some Dunkin’ Turbo K-Cups? Dunkin’ Turbo is the new rich, smooth, medium roast coffee that has an extra boost of delicious Dunkin’ Donuts flavor to kick-start your day. Dunkin’ Donuts flavor?

We’ll have to get some and try it as we do enjoy a “Medium Regular” cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee every once in awhile. Would you like to see Dunkin’ Donuts K-Cups? What are your favorite Dunkin’ coffees you’d like to see in a K-Cup if they ever made them?

At Dunkin’ Turbo

Coffee Powered Car – Where We’re Going We Don’t Need Coffee – Just the Grounds Please

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 12:28:51 +0000

The Carpuccino, a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco which has been modified to run on ground coffee, will drive 210 miles between Manchester and London in the coming weeks. The trip will require over 150 pounds of coffee, with the car getting a mileage of roughly 1.4 miles per pound (now that’s a lot of coffee). The vehicle can hit speeds of 60mph, though the trip could take as long as ten hours, as the car has to stop every 60 miles to clean out its coffee filters- no joke.

The Carpuccino was built by the BBC1 show Bang Goes The Theory as a reminder to show how unconventional fuels can power vehicles. Now the sad part – the Carpuccino’s trip will cost up to 50 times as much as it would if it were running on gas. Maybe they should have run it on espresso alone instead of just the grounds? Thanks to Michael for sending this in.

Via Gizmodo and Daily Mail

Review: Milka Hot Chocolate T-Discs for Tassimo

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:00:08 +0000

After our recent battle with a frozen downspout, we didn’t quite feel like getting a coffee buzz once back inside the house, so instead, we started craving some good old-fashioned hot chocolate. This got us to thinking, it’s been ages since we reviewed any hot chocolate T-Discs for the Tassimo system and there hasn’t been anything available to our liking… until the introduction of Milka Hot Chocolate T-discs on tassimo.com several months ago.

More common to the European market than on “this side of the pond”, Milka Hot Chocolate is a combination of chocolate syrup T-Discs blended with European milk creamer T-Discs. The goal is to create a creamier version of hot chocolate than what we’re used to with the Tassimo system. We’ve tried to enjoy the only other option, Suchard T-Discs, through their original version to their larger creamer-sized version and back to their recent “European Recipe” version, but they’re just too watery for our liking and left a lot to be desired.

Milka’s addition of its milk creamer helps go a long way in fixing this issue but is not the only factor in a better overall cup… instead, it’s the taste of its chocolate syrup which helped sway us in its favor. This is not your typical hot cocoa taste… it’s a rich, silky taste more akin to pure Swiss chocolate (think Toblerone). A quick look around the British Milka website reveals that they do indeed use “Alpine Milk” in all their products and as for a bit of odd irony, the site also reveals Milka’s parent company to be none other than Suchard (Kraft does own both brands, after all).

The creamer has a somewhat sweet taste compared to your typical American milk creamer T-Discs and this only further enhances the final taste of the product. We’re not sure if this is due to 1% skim milk being used instead of 2% milk (we couldn’t find any indication of this on the packaging) or if it’s just due to the way European milk is supposed to taste. Alone, the creamer has some of the “chemical” flavor we’ve experienced in the past with the American version, but once you add the chocolate, it disappears.

Aroma is definitely more pronounced than the Suchard T-Discs and is identically matched to the flavor profile of “Alpine Milk Chocolate”. Froth is present until you stir the cup (as instructed on the packaging) which quickly starts to dissolve remaining bubbles back into the drink. It’s certainly a very pleasing alternative to your typical cup o’ joe on a cold Winter afternoon (and believe us, we’ve been seeing quite a few of those around the Single Serve Coffee kitchens lately).

Overall, we love these Milka Hot Chocolate T-Discs and feel they’re a long overdue and much welcome addition to the Tassimo line-up. We can’t find any faults with this flavor and highly recommend it. It’s a hit with adults and due to the constantly disappearing packages around our kitchens, a MAJOR hit with the kids as well. There’s no competition, if you’ve got the choice between Suchard T-Discs and Milka T-Discs, Milka wins & is our top pick everytime. Unfortunately, for our Canadian readers North of the border, Kraft Canada has yet to release these T-Discs on their Tassimo.ca website (we feel your pain), so we can only recommend you start bugging your American friends or relatives to ship you some Milka gift packages ASAP.

If we were to rate this on our conventional coffee scoring scale, it would probably score in the very high 90s… maybe even our first 100 (yes, they’re THAT good). Milka Hot Chocolate T-Discs will work in all Bosch Tassimo models and are available via tassimo.com for $9.99 USD. Each package includes a total of 16 discs (8 hot chocolate + 8 milk creamer).

Milka Hot Chocolate T-Discs for Tassimo will work in your Braun Tassimo TA1200 or TA1400 models as well as the Bosch Tassimo T45 and Tassimo T65 hot beverage systems.

ECO CUP – Save the Planet One Cup of Coffee at a Time

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:43:52 +0000

We’re always on the lookout for a coffee cup that both helps us use less throwaway cups, and looks pretty cool. We’ve seen many versions of the “faux” porcelain cup, and we think the sleeve and lid in silicon makes this one a winner. The sleeve may come brown or white when you order this, and the single-walled, porcelain cup with attachable silicon lid keep drinks warm while helping the environment.

Update:CoffeeWiz.com just sent us word they’ve sold over 1000 cups since introduction last year of the ECO-Cup. That means they’ve helped to save 300,000+ paper, plastic, and styrofoam cups the fate of ending up in a landfill. Our hat is off to CoffeeWiz.com for featuring this product and promoting eco-friendly ways of enjoying coffee.

At ECO CUP and CoffeeWiz.com

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Caffe Americano Coffee Capsules

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:00:11 +0000

Packed in a 3 count box pack, these smart capsules make a perfect Americano using the Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine. We love a good Cafe Americanano, and can’t wait to try these for the Nescafe Dolce Gusto. Has anyone else tried them?

At Nescafe Dolce Gusto Caffe Americano

Follow Single Serve Coffee on Facebook, Twitter, RSS, and Receive Our Weekly Newsletter

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:29:17 +0000

All of the articles we post and other fun stuff here at Single Serve Coffee can be followed in a variety of ways. Each day we post an article here or two so make sure and visit us on the web, and weekly you can of course get our newsletter via email. You can also now follow us on Twitter and Facebook. If you’re using a feed reader such as Google Reader or the like make sure and use our RSS feed. So make sure and take advantage of the variety of ways you can get our Single Serve Coffee news, and we also encourage you to visit us right here every day as well.

Thanks again for being a loyal reader, and we look forward to sharing lots of Single Serve Coffee news in whatever format you desire.

February 2010 Monthly Round-Up for Single Serve Coffee

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:55:02 +0000

February 2010 was another month of amazing single serve coffee news and reviews. We did an extensive hands on review of the Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee K-Cup Brewing System, along with reviews of the Nescafé Taster’s Choice Single Serve Instant Coffee Packs. If you’re new to our site and single serve coffee you can also follow Single Serve Coffee each month on Facebook and Twitter for the latest single serve coffee news, reviews, and deals.

Coffee Concentrates & Extracts

Review: Nescafé Taster’s Choice Single Serve Instant Coffee Packs

Coffee Cups & Travel Mugs

Cuisinart

General News

Keurig & K-Cups

Monthly Round-Up

January 2010 Monthly Round-Up for Single Serve Coffee

Portable Single Serve Coffee

Review: Nescafé Taster’s Choice Single Serve Instant Coffee Packs

Reviews

Single Serve Coffee Deals

Join the Café Express Coffee Club and Save $2.50 Per Box of K-Cups

Single Serve Coffee Machines

Review: Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee K-Cup Brewing System

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:00:12 +0000

The Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System is the first Cuisinart coffee brewer to use K-Cups for making tea, hot chocolate, and of course coffee. The Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System features a very large 80 oz water reservoir, iced and regular coffee brewing settings, along with storage of a My K-Cup resusable coffee filter. It also features a very fresh yet angular Cuisinart industrial design, along with a very easy to read blue LCD display. We’ve been looking forward to more options in K-Cup brewers, and it’s really nice to have a brewer from a major brand like Cuisinart.

If you want to compare exhaustively the features of other Keurig Brewers we suggest reading the following Single Serve Coffee reviews, however we’ll do our best to cover all the differences and innovations we find in this review as well.

The SS700 has an 80 oz water reservoir. Yes – we said 80.

There is also a ton of info and reviews in our Reviews, Keurig & K-Cups, Keurig Reviews, and K-Cup reviews categories of entries. That’s just the prep – now on with the review.

Features of the Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System

Five cup sizes, including an iced beverage setting. 4 oz Iced, 6, 8, 10 and 12 oz coffee settings.
Travel Mugs fit by removing the drip tray
The hot water button is great for instant coffee, soup, tea and hot cocoa.
There is a rinse button that cleans the brew chamber
The brewer is fully programmable with auto on/off and adjustable temperature control, and the blue backlit LCD display with digital clock is easy to read at a glance.
Quiet brew technology, an extra large removable 80-ounce water reservoir
Charcoal water filter that only works with the Cuisinart – you can’t use the Keurig Charcoal water filters
Includes a 12 K-Cup® portion pack
Reusable My K-Cup coffee filter for ground coffee and spoon included with storage area on brewer for My K-Cup only

So this means you have a very large reservoir, the ability to use K-Cups and the coffee of your choice using the My K-Cup filter, and a very nice looking new coffee brewer for your countertops. Okay – seriously besides the lack of storage integration for the spoon used to fill the My K-Cup filter, this brewer for the home has the most features available for $199 in any Keurig brewer.

Integrated My K-Cup storage – however the spoon
does not store in here.

The brew temperature is also controllable, so you can set it to 187 to 192. We suggest just leaving it at 192 – because if you want hot coffee the brewing process we found knocked 10-15 degrees off the 192 at the brew head to have coffee arrive at 180F or so at the cup.

First Impressions Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System

We published some first impressions in our earlier article, but we thought we’d publish some more as well.

The Reservoir is huge – at 80oz if you stick with the 8 oz cup that’s 10 cups without refilling over the the standard Selecct Keurig 60oz water reservoir
The My K-Cup storage on the side is novel – but we don’t like the fact the spoon that comes with the Cuisinart has no place for storage. We think this is a big miss on the part of the designers of the brewer because once you move the spoon and don’t store it away (like you can in the Breville brewer) then it’s just going to be missing
The controls are nice and the display icons are a bit clearer – showing the ounces in the silhouette of the cup icon
It’s very quiet so that’s nice the Quiet Brew technology is throughout all the Keurig models now
The metal outer coating wipes up easily and is very solid – but it also feels really industrial
The setting menu is a bit confusing – for some reason the flow of the Keurig Select B70 menu is better and easier to setup
We love the brew head – it reminds us of again – some Star Trek starship – and it’s slippery coating wipes up easily
The hot water option is okay – we just wish you didn’t have to open and close the brew head – but what if there was an old K-Cup in there? Hmmm….

Brewing a Cup of Coffee with the Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System

As we stated earlier you can use the K-Cup portion packs, and the included My K-Cup reusable coffee filter to make coffee with the Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System. There are over 200+ K-Cups coffees, teas, and other hot beverages available, so selection and choice isn’t a problem.

To make a cup of coffee you do the following:

Turn on the brewer – the brewer has an auto-on and auto-off feature and has timed on and off settings as well
Open the brew head
Insert the K-Cup portion pack
Shut the brew head
Put your coffee under the brew head
Pick your brew size and hit the brew button
In less than 60 seconds you’ll have a steaming hot cup of coffee

Brew time is the same, and the brewer is very quiet. The My K-Cup has to have the brew chamber removed and then you insert it into the brew chamber area just like any other Keurig model.

Open brew head.

Questions and Answers from the Single Serve Coffee Community

We asked the Single Serve Coffee community to sound off with questions and in our Cuisinart Questions thread in the Single Serve Coffee Forums. Also we had many comments and questions on our set of articles over the past two weeks and we try to answer them here as well.

Question: How does it compare to Breville. What is the water temp? does it brew a better cup? Quieter? Faster? filter better? Made as well? Anything it has the Breville doesn’t that makes it worth buying?

Answer: This is a great set of questions and we’ll be to the point. How does it compare – besides the scoop storage we think it’s on par, and we love the design of the Cuisinart. Brew temp is 187 to 192 with about 180 at the cup. It’s quiet, it’s the same brew speed, the filter works but is unique to the Cuisinart. It had the larger reservoir and the hot water and rinse features.

Question: Does the SS-700 brew a robust cup of coffee without having to use extra bold coffees?

Answer: No. There isn’t any strength features to make medium or light coffee magically become bold coffee. If you want bold coffee – use extra-bold K-Cups. If you want medium or light coffee – use those K-Cups.

Question: What differentiates this unit from the Keurig and the Breville? Other than aesthetic reasons, why would someone want to buy the Cuisinart over the other two comparable options?

Answer (we think Jim Evans from CoffeeWiz.com answers this best):From a consumer point of view I can answer that in one word .. Cuisinart … They sell way more traditional coffee machines that anyone else and have a huge loyal following. In addition because it’s Cuisinart it screams quality. And we also think the brewer is of high quality and if you have other Cuisinart appliances it will fit right in.

Question:Definitely a compare against B40/B70/OPOD/BUNN in quality of coffee produced.

Answer: The coffee produced from the SS700 is on par with the Keurig B40 and B70 – any of these brewers with the brew temp of 192 produce excellent coffee. Comparing this to a coffee pod brewer like the OPOD or Bunn is more difficult. The different coffees produced and pod size can be a factor in producing bolder coffee in the pod brewers, but you can achieve similar results with the SS700 or other Keurig brewers using the right K-Cups or My K-Cup with the right coffee. Also factoring in the Perfect Pod Holster or the new EZ Cup accessory you can use coffee pods, K-Cups, and ground coffee in any Keurig brewer – allowing for an amazing variety of coffee tastes, strengths, and preference.

Question: Any idea if Cusinart intends to roll out a version of the mini? or maybe some color options – anything leaked about metalic red, blue, gold, black, etc.?

Answer: No other colors or the mini has been brought up. We imagine for this year – this is the only Cuisinart K-Cup brewer you’ll be able to get.

Question: Will I be able to get the Cuisinart at Keurig.com or other retailers besides Bed, Bath, and Beyond?

Answer: We don’t know. Right now Bed, Bath, and Beyond seems to be your only option. We think as the year goes on there will most likely be more availability at other retailers.

Question: Can I use the Keurig charcoal filters in my Cuisinart SS700?

Answer: No. They are indeed different, so you’ll need to use the Cuisinart filters with your brewer.

Question: Is the hot water and rinse options just a gimmick?

Answer: Yes and no. They are indeed useful – the rinse is really great after hot chocolate or something messy. The hot water features allows you to quickly make hot water and once you close the brew head – it’s only 1 minute or so between uses. You can still use any Keurig brewer to make hot water by removing any K-Cups and making a cup without a K-Cup in the brew head. However for people who want more buttons – we think you’ll like have more buttons with dedicated reasons to be.

Conclusions

Pros:

Large Water Reservoir at 80 oz – this is the killer features
Integrated My K-Cup storage
Hot Water and rinse feature – works and we like the dedicated buttons
Many brew optionsBrewer is very quietNice industrial designEasy to read LCD screen for brewing options
3 year limited Warranty – most other brewers have a 1 year warranty

Cons:

At $199 it’s expensive
Lack of storage for the coffee scoop

We think you can’t go wrong with the Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System if you want a top of the line single serve coffee brewer. The large 80 oz reservoir is the thing you’re buying in our opinion, along with a generous 3 year warranty on a very well designed brewer. We love the ease of use, and the fact the Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System works with all K-Cups and the My K-Cup reusable filter gives you as the coffee and hot beverage drinking consumer the most options.

At Cuisinart SS700 Single Serve Coffee Brewing System

Thermos 16 Ounce Leak-Proof Travel Mug – Built Rugged for the Outdoors

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:00:06 +0000

We’ve just spent the morning trying to unfreeze a downspout, and thought how a really great rugged travel mug of warm coffee could have made the job easier. We have just found the TherMax double wall vacuum travel mug which locks in temperature to preserve flavor and freshness. We’ll just take some warm coffee please.

This mug also features a unbreakable 18/8 stainless steel interior and exterior which would come in handy from the frustration of unfreezing the downspout. The mug has a Leak-proof 360° drink lid which makes coffee drinkable from any direction, and has a large footprint and sturdy rubber bottom.

At Thermos 16 Ounce Leak-Proof Travel

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Smuckers to Make The Folgers Available In K-Cups for Single Serve Coffee Brewers

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:14:44 +0000

The best part of waking up is Folger in your K-Cup! This is big news as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. and The J.M. Smucker Company today announced a multiyear manufacturing and distribution agreement under which GMCR will manufacture certain coffee brands owned by Smucker, including Folgers® Gourmet Selections¢ and Millstone® in single-serve K-Cup® portion packs for Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers. Smucker is a leader in the U.S. retail coffee market with its brands Folgers, Folgers Gourmet Selections, and Millstone. Smucker also manufactures and markets the Dunkin Donuts® coffee brand through retail channels in North America.

Under terms of the agreement, Smucker will have the ability to market and sell a variety of Folgers Gourmet Selections and Millstone K-Cups to consumers in the U.S. and Canada through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, drugstores, and wholesale clubs, as well as through Smucker retail websites. GMCR’s Keurig business unit will have the ability to market and sell Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups direct to consumers via its website: www.keurig.com.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. will be the exclusive manufacturer of Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups using roasted and blended coffee beans provided by Smucker. A select offering of Smucker coffee brands of K-Cups are expected to be available to consumers beginning in the fall of 2010.

That’s right – we can expect even more K-Cups to be available starting this Fall and on grocery shelves across the US. We really hope we see some Dunkin Donuts K-Cups – but who knows – right now it looks like Millstone and Folgers will be the front runners from the Smucker brands.

“Adding the power of well-known Folger’s Gourmet Selections and Millstone coffee brands to the broad and growing assortment of K-Cup portion pack varieties available to consumers expands the appeal of the Keurig Single-Cup Brewing system, and will allow us to reach more consumers in more geographies,” said Lawrence J. Blanford, president and CEO, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. “We look forward to Smucker’s participation in aiding Keurig Single-Cup system adoption through grocery channels.”

“We are excited about the opportunity for our coffee brands to reach consumers through the fastest growing singleserve coffee brewing system,” said Vincent C. Byrd, President U.S. Retail Coffee, The J.M. Smucker Company “With this agreement, consumers of our coffee brands will benefit from the quality coffee experience and convenience provided by Keurig’s Single-Cup Brewing technology.”

Additional terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (Nasdaq:GMCR – News)

As a leader in the specialty coffee industry, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR’s operations are managed through two business units. The Specialty Coffee business unit produces coffee, tea and hot cocoa from its family of brands, including Green Mountain Coffee®, Newman’s Own® Organics coffee Tully’s Coffee®, and Timothy’s World Coffee®. The Keurig business unit is a pioneer and leading manufacturer of gourmet single-cup brewing systems. K-Cup® portion packs for Keurig® Single-Cup Brewers are produced by a variety of licensed roasters, including Green Mountain Coffee, Tully’s Coffee and Timothy’s. GMCR supports local and global communities by offsetting 100% of its direct greenhouse gas emissions, investing in Fair Trade Certified¢ coffee, and donating at least five percent of its pre-tax profits to social and environmental projects. Visit www.gmcr.com for more information.

GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Relations section of its web site, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. GMCR encourages investors to consult this section of its web site regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to GMCR’s automatic email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly from GMCR as it is released.

About The J. M. Smucker Company

For more than 110 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that help families create memorable mealtime moments. Today, Smucker is the leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. Its family of brands includes Smucker’s®, Folgers®, Dunkin’ Donuts®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Eagle Brand®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, White Lily® and Martha White® in the United States, along with Robin Hood®, Five Roses®, Carnation®, Europe’s Best® and Bick’s® in Canada. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. The Company has appeared on FORTUNE Magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States 12 times, ranking number one in 2004. For more information about the Company, visit www.smuckers.com.

The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks, except Pillsbury is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC used under license; Carnation is a trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., used under license; and Dunkin’ Donuts is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC used under license

At Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.