When we lived in the Netherlands we were introduced to the Senseo coffee makers and got hooked. My brother has a Keurig. I like the Senseo better because you can brew a double cup if you want and it is enough to fill a commuter mug. We can make a fresh cup of coffee, small or large/caf or decaf, whenever we want. It's just the 2 of us most of the time and we were constantly tossing out half of a carafe of coffee from a standard coffee maker each day. We bought ours from Amazon. I ordered Senseo decaf pods from Amazon, as well, but have a very large stash of Perla dark roast pods that I bought before we moved back to the States. I would recommend the model with the large water reservoir because it's easier when you have company. seagrass

Glenda posted that a friend had given her one...remember. My husband and I participated in testing the home version when they were still in the making. We used it for a long time but I have several coffee makers and I think the keurig is overpriced and the kcups too expensive. My favorite pot is a 4 cup Mr.Coffee ...I use it almost every morning...it makes probably the best coffee of any maker I have ever had including my most expensive coffee maker and my expresso machine. I know this little 4 cup machine is just a lucky happening as they all probably don't make wonderful coffee...but I won't gripe and I've had it forever. I don't drink enough coffee any more to worry about the cost but I refuse to pay the price for kcups and the keurig coffee maker just because of the principal of it...I think it's a rip off.

I am addicted to coffee....No.. Maybe its even worse than that because the only liquid I drink is black coffee from the moment I get out of bed in the morning to my last cup on the nightstand when I turn in. As a consequence all my friends and family feel some sort of compulsion to keep me supplied with all the latest bells & whistles in the coffee pot market. Last xmas I got three coffee makers and on my birthday in April I got two more, and what do you suppose I got for Fathers day? You guessed it, another da#@ coffee maker. This has been going on or about 6 or 8 years so you can imagine how many coffee makers I have piled up around here, and these are not cheapies either, one of those machines has a retail price of over $900. Would I pay that? Not even if I won a million in the lottery. As if that was not bad enough, every time ppl come to my house the drag in a bag of the latest gourmet blend or some off the wall blend that even common sense should tell you not to buy, by example, have you ever tried French Garlic Blend? As a courtesy, while the guests are still here I generally set up the new machine and make a pot of their super blend just to try it, but alas, I am like Glenda, when all is said and done, I always go back to my Mr.Coffee, which I bought at the dollar store for the whopping sum of $12. Now in regards to coffee grounds. Out of curiosity I just checked in my pantry. I presently have 29 bags of Gourmet blends, Light roast, med roast, dark roast, French Vanilla, Irish cream, Austrian Mocha, Turkish, Egytian, Cherry blend, peach blend, apple blend, Southern Comfort blend, Cajun blend (boy that one is an acquired taste) French Garlic blend........ Garlic blend? What were they smoking when they invented that one? Japanese blend, German Breakfast coffee, and the list goes on and on and on....... As my brother would say, I like my coffee like my women, Hot, Black & Strong! Don't even think about putting cream, milk, non dairy creamer, sugar or artificial sweetners in my cup. A good tasting cup of coffee will stand for itself and doesn't need all that help. I like a fresh brewed cup of coffee that has a rich full bodied coffee flavor, but is not harsh or bitter and God forbid I should be stuck with that ink black, acidic mess that some folks call coffee. The only thing worse than that is when ppl leave a couple cups in the pot overnight, then nuke it in the microwave in the morning, but then they usually add so much milk & sugar they end up with a mocha shake instead of a cup of coffee. My absolute first choice of coffee grounds is 8 o'clock coffee that comes as roasted beans in the bag and you grind it fresh at the store, or even better, at home if you have a coffee grinder. My second choice, although it is nearly impossible to get where I live now is "Community Coffee" which is made in Mobile, Ala. (It should be noted that Community Coffee rated #1 on a blind taste test of 100 brands of coffee by consumer reports) Then its; Folgers-original roast Maxwell House-original blend. Occassionally I like to drag out my tiny Espresso Maker and make a cup of Espresso using Folgers which I have ground down to espresso powder. NOW A WORD OF CAUTION FOR ANYONE PLANNING A TRIP TO NEW ENGLAND....... The first time I went into a local coffee shop in New England I ordered a cup of coffee. Waitress says "regular coffee?" When she said regular coffee I was imagining all the nasty gourmet blends that are out there and I said, "Yes, regular coffee" A minute later she returned with a cup of coffee with cream and sugar in it. I said, "What the he## is this, I didn't order a milkshake" She laughed and said, "Your not from around here are you? In New England "Regular coffee" has cream & sugar, "Light coffee" is cream only, "Sweet coffee" is black with sugar, and "Black Coffee" is Black coffee, although nobody drinks that...LOL)

I don't think consumer products targeted for high volume, mass-market appeal are necessarily made with quality or durability as a high priority. So many shoppers choose products by price that manufacturers seem to focus on achieving low price points by limiting costs of production. Quality suffers with that approach. And I think that's also why for many product types, there have emerged "premium" and much more expensive brands that do emphasize higher quality. These are successful too. So just as the ones who aim to sell their products at high volumes in discount stores, the ones that aim up-market with higher price points also find eager customers.