My Patchwork Quilt: Product Review

A few weeks ago I was surfing the Internet and on one mommy blog I came across a "freebie" that I thought I'd try to go after. The freebie was a free Senseo coffee machine! I didn't really think it was real but today in the mail, I received one as part of the "Share Senseo" program. No kidding! Seeing as how we love coffee here, I might as well try it out. This coffee system uses pods so instead of taking your coffee beans and grinding them, then putting the ground coffee beans in the coffee machine...and waiting for the coffee to be finished brewing... you just simply put a pod or two in the holder, press a button, and 30 seconds later you have a perfectly brewed cup of coffee with a layer of froth on top. Sounded kind of interesting. But I wasn't sure it was going to meet my needs for a specific coffee taste. We have been using the French Press method for making coffee and the coffee usually has a "thick" taste to it, one that is deep and flavorful. I have grown accustomed to coffee being pressed by the French Press method and was a little hesitant to try this out. After washing the machine and flushing it with water, I had to give it a try. It was VERY easy to use. I plugged it in, pushed the on button, then the button for a small cup of coffee (four ounces), and waited. It was done in no time at all. I have to admit that with that layer of froth on top it looked scrumptious. Lip smacking good scrumptious. But would it hold up? It was hot and I took a sip. It wasn't too bad - (meaning...not too sure if Mike will like it or not). It tasted slightly bitter to my tongue, but I wasn't sure if it was just this particular coffee blend or not. After all, I'm really not a coffee aficionado. It's kind of a neat little gadget. We'll have to wait and see from Mike if it will deserve a thumbs up or not. In my humble opinion it might be nice to have around but will it be another one of those appliances that just sits and sits, begging to be used? I don't know. I appreciated the speed of the whole process and how easy it was to use. The taste was OK. But I can see how it could become expensive buying replacement pods to use. I'll have to try it out a few more times to know if it's the real deal or not!

Here are some product specs: This particular model retails for $69.99, and there are other, more expensive models that go up to $139.99. For a package of 18 pods, it would cost you about $29.99 although I did find one bag of 16 pods that is for about $16.99. Let me break it down for you - one pod will make one 4 ounce cup of coffee, and two pods will make you one 8 ounce cup. So if both Mike and I wanted just one cup of coffee, we'd use four pods...Yikes! We wouldn't even be able to make it through one week before we'd need to buy more pods. It means that we'd spend more than $120 a month on this particular kind of coffee. That is just too spendy for us folks. I mean, we aren't made of money people!!! That in itself would deter me from buying this. Even though it looks cool and trendy, I wouldn't be able to fork over the dough each week to feed my habit.

The box we received - states "With the SENSEO coffee machine by Philips you can enjoy a perfect cup of coffee - topped with a rich frothy coffee layer - whenever you feel like it. Each cup is freshly brewed so you're always sure of that pure, smooth taste. The patented SENSEO brewing system from Philips in combination with the special SENSO coffee pods makes sure you get only the very best in flavor and aroma from freshly roasted coffee."