Happy Friday! The one thing I really look forward to when I get up each morning is a really nice cup of coffee. For years and years I struggled to find the secret to a good cup of coffee - like you find at Starbucks or another good coffee shop. I failed miserably. A few years ago I asked for a Keurig Gourmet Single-Cup Home Brewing System for Christmas, because with the Keurig, you make one PERFECT cup of coffee at a time. No rolling the dice as to whether the coffee will be too strong or too weak.
Keurig is not the only maker of single serving coffee makers. Braun’s Tassimo Hot Beverage System and Phillips Senseo Single Serve Pod Coffee Maker are other brands with their own twist on the single cup solution. I have never tried the Tassimo system, but I have a Keurig and a Senseo.
Keurig’s machine is about $199 and the K-cups that it uses are about $10 for a box of 25. I literally live off of the Newman’s Own Organics Extra Bold - I have yet to find a cup of coffee so good. We also discovered that they make hot chocolate K-cups, too, and the kids love it.
Senseo is made by Phillips and their coffee pods are made by Sarah Lee. The system is much more affordable at $70 and the coffee pods are available fo less than $20 for 72 pods. (I like the Senseo Douwe Egberts Coffee Pods). The Senseo system is easy to use and very easy to clean. If the Senseo system is something you’d like to try out, you can go to ShareSenseo.com, take a short survey and be registered for a chance to receive a Senseo system. If you are selected, you just pay a $15 shipping and handling fee. (You will receive a confirmation e-mail within 2-6 weeks if they are selected.)
I also have a handful of $20 off coupons for the Senseo machine. If you are interested, let me know in the comments and I will do a random draw of those interested.
So, let’s talk coffee today!! Do you drink coffee or do you prefer tea? Are you a home brew, Starbucks or other coffee brand kind of a person? And of course, we can talk about anything else while we are at it! How was your week?
PS - I have announced the winner of the Kipling giveaway from last week. It was lucky #1 - Gayla.Â
Filed under Casual Friday
Hsien Lei wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I have a Nespresso machine that I enjoyed until I get pregnant with #2 who apparently does not appreciate a good cup of espresso. lol Will have to wait a few more months before I enjoy my morning cup of coffee again. Hope my taste buds won’t have permanently altered by then!
Char wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Hsien - oooh, how exciting! Two is a fabulous number. How are you feeling? I couldn’t drink coffee while I was pregnant with any of my 3.
homemom3 wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Woo hoo, congrats Gayla. I think after this past week she deserved it.
I have a cheap ($5) coffee maker, I seriously need to get a real one. I had one an espresso machine long ago but it broke during one of our moves and was never replaced. 
Coffee is definitely a necessity, I love all types…especially flavored. On my shelf I have a peppermint blend and a chocolate coffee blend.
With #3 and 4 it would make me too sick, however once they were born I was all over that stuff.
Any movies Char?
Char wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:06 am
homemom3 - No movies this week - although my kids have a list a mile long that they want to see. I have been having a lot of fun playing Smarty Pants on the Wii against anyone brave enough to go up against me - I’m undefeated!!
I’m going to be the oddball here and say that I think coffee tastes like burnt dirt. :cP Doesn’t smell terrible though.
Congrats to Gayla on winning the bag. I agree she needed a little pick-me-up.
Brooke wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Hello all! Happy Friday to ya! Since the day that my first baby came home (4 years ago) we have had coffee every day and worked very hard to perfect. First with the coffee maker that we got for our wedding - Krupps I think. Then with the fancy espresso machine that we got from Starbucks. It was great at making all those mochas and carmel machiattos! But then we switched - to what? A french press. That has been the best coffee that we have had. And though I love a good Starbucks or Caribou now and then - our coffee is way better!
However - about 3 weeks ago I got on a kick. A health kick, so I removed caffeine. I also heard about Green Tea at the same time. So now I drink decaffeinated green tea every day. I am actually more alert all day long! I am so happy with the switch!!
(But I still looooove coffe!)
Char wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Randa - coffee was definitely an acquired taste for me. It took me a long time to love it and if I have to go without, I can survive.
Brooke - I haven’t had Caribou in a long time. I may have to try that again one of these days. I usually switch to green tea or another herbal tea after lunch. I gave up soda in November so I do a lot of water, coffee and tea.
Brooke wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:28 am
I rarely ever drink soda - always been that way. Just cutting that one or two cups of coffee made a big difference! Oh - I like Caribou better….
Lucy wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:47 am
I used to love coffee - and then last October I gave it up after 27 years (and blogged about it!)
These days I’m drinking lemon and ginger tea. In fact, I’ve got the kettle on at the moment, so must go and deal with that.
I’m glad to be back! I’ve had a major hardware issue this week, and have had to buy a new PC and three new monitors (three!). I’m still trying to retrieve all my data, via Mozy, and have now managed to reinstall all my programs. All are working except for WS-FTP PRO from Ipswitch, which doesn’t seem to like Vista, so I’m still working on a fix for that. Anyone any ideas?
The Mozy backup thing seems to be working, so three cheers and a hearty recommendation for them. Not quite all there yet though …
Char wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Lucy - anything with ginger in it is good in my book. Do you use Firefox for your browser? I absolutely swear by FireFTP for all my FTP needs. Its free and faster than anything else I have used.
Lucy wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Char - yes, I’m a Firefox girl. I don’t know about FireFTP though, so I must go and investigate that. Free sounds good to me! Thanks for the tip.
Katelyn wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I definitely am a tea drinker, but I love the smell of coffee. I’ll take any caffeine right now, though. Last night was the new puppy’s first night in a new place and he missed his brothers and sisters. You can imagine how tired I am.
Char wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Lucy - you’ll love FireFTP. Let me know if you need any help with it.
Katelyn - what kind of puppy did you get?
Laura wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Put me down as someone who likes tea. Especially flavored teas like raspberry or peach. Yumm!
Lucy wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Hoo-wee! FireFTP looks and works same-same as WS-FTP-Pro, but inside my browser! Fantastic.
I’m still waiting for Ipswitch Support to get back to me, so I think I’ll just call that lost money, cut my losses, and go with FireFTP.
Thanks!
[…] am over at Casual Keystrokes participating in their Casual Friday. Today we are talking about coffee - this is what I said: Hello all! Happy Friday to ya! Since the […]
Char wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Laura - Have you tried Lipton’s Mandarin Orange infused green tea? Its one of my favorites.
Lucy - So glad that is going to work for you!
Laura wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Char,
I haven’t tried it, but it sounds good. Our favorite tea is from China Mist.
Hey everyone… Winning the bag was such a super nice surprise! Thank YOU and thank CitySatchel.com too 
Just home from running around — there’s a BIG bright orange thing in the sky I haven’t seen for DAYS and needed to get out and soak up a bit of it.
Coffee… One of my Favorite subjects! The coffee pot broke earlier this week and am doing the single serve old fashioned style brewing until I get around to getting a good pot. That’s just one of those things I can’t scrimp on.
The earliest memory I have of coffee is when I was only three. My grandma and grandpa used to let me drink it. I remember when I was a kid I’d eat instant coffee by the spoonfuls when mom and dad weren’t looking. Now I know they knew when I did, but at the time it sure was yummy.
My favorite is Starbucks Verona or Sumatra. I love the smell and the taste. It’s just one of those little comforts that makes life so right.
Char wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Gayla - I bet you are glad it is Friday! Starbucks Peppermint Mocha is my favorite - too bad they don’t sell it year round.
Hope you have a great weekend - CitySatchel says your Kipling bag went out via UPS today.
Cindy wrote @ February 8th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Hmmm. I have to choose?
I LOVE coffee. I prefer it as a latte honestly. Right now I’m home brewing STRONG coffee with Starbucks French Roast. No sweetener, usually.
ALSO, I am really in love with Yogi Tea’s Pomegranate Green Tea. Nothing added.
Char wrote @ February 9th, 2008 at 8:21 am
Cindy - Pomegranate Green Tea sounds good - I never add anything to my tea but always doctor my coffee.
Katelyn wrote @ February 9th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I got a Cairn Terrier. He is such a cutie. I’m less tired today because he’s getting more adjusted.
HTML-Tags:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe via RSS
