Gevalia Pod Coffee Maker One Day Sale At Woot
Depending on where you are, you have got anywhere from a couple to several hours to get your hands on a Gevalia Pod Coffee Maker for a very low price. Woot is offering a one day only sale for this pod coffee maker, which they are selling for a mere $9.99. I should tell you that they will charge you $5 for shipping, so that amounts to $14.99 in total. Since this coffee maker normally goes for around $40, I’d say that this is still a great deal!
So why would anyone want a Gevalia Pod Coffee Maker anyway? This brand, Gevalia, is actually a European brand which traces its roots back to 1853. The founder, Victor Theodor Engwall started his business by importing the finest coffee (according to his own taste) to his Swedish town. For more than a hundred of years, this company has flourished and has continued to branch out.
This particular model on sale at Woot is dubbed the Gevalia G90 Pod Coffee Maker and can actually be used for brewing both coffee and tea pods. Just like other pod coffee makers, you do not need to deal with messy coffee grinds – you just need the pods (coffee or tea in sealed bags). The whole thing is made up of removable parts, making cleaning an easy task. You also have the option of brewing one or two pods at a time, depending on how strong you want your brew to be.
It may not be the best coffee maker out there, but you can’t beat the price!
Link Mugs For The Coffeeholic Family
I will be the first to say that we are certified coffeholics – my family, that is. I still remember wanting to try my first cup of coffee as a little child, simply because that was all I saw my dad drink. He would have coffee in the morning, coffee after lunch, and coffee after dinner! I was not allowed to have coffee because of my age by I would sneak a cup or two every now and then when I was alone at the house.
Having said that, let me introduce you to this newfound discovery of mine – Link Mugs. They are perfect for the family that drinks coffee together. They’re just like any other mugs. In fact, they do not look very unique or pretty at all (you know me, I have an affinity for coffee mugs). However, they do have a distinctive feature, which you can guess from the name itself: the mugs can be linked together, allowing you to carry three mugs at the same time without endangering yourself (hot coffee!).
I found these mugs at Mocha, and they are designed by Jonathan Aspinall. How do they link together? There is a protrusion on each mug, as well as a sort of socket – put them together and they “stick” to one another. The idea is quite simple, and you can be free from burnt fingers and spilled coffee forever!
Link Mugs are for sale at Mocha for ₤32.50 per set. I think it’s the perfect gift idea for coffee lovers this Christmas, don’t you think?
Cool Innovations From Coffee Fest Seattle 2009
The Coffee Fest at Seattle is being held this weekend – from the 25th of September to the 27th – and inventors have been showing off their creations. Here are some of the more interesting ones, which I think have the potential to become mainstream.
Jeff Baccetti’s SmartCup
We all know that adding the word “smart” to your product ensures that it will get the attention it deserves, right? Seriously, the SmartCup might just be a staple in the traveler’s arsenal. In a nutshell, the SmartCup is a portable, disposable French press. More than having access to fresh coffee while you’re on the road, the general consensus is that coffee brewed in a French press tastes so much better anyway. The good news is that Jeff Baccetti is hoping to sell his innovation for home use in the near future.
SMUG Coffee by Chris and Mike Halberg
Their idea was to have your mug pay for your coffee. How? By using SMUG. The brothers dub it the world’s first intelligent mug. That is, it has an RFID chip which contains information. Users can visit a web site to choose their favorite coffee and load up their wallet. More than the convenience, using the reusable SMUG will also help lessen one’s carbon footprint!
Karen Porte’s TuGo
Frequent fliers can now have a place to put their coffee cups while waiting in line at the airport. Just get TuGo, a cup holder that can be placed in between the collapsible handles of any carry on bag. It holds the cup upright to avoid spills. It also folds to fit the pocket of the same bag it can be attached to. Neat, huh?
Bugatti Coffee Machine
I am in the market for a new drip coffee maker. Ours conked out a couple of months back and we have been using the espresso machine for our daily dose of java. I love the coffee that my trusty Duomo makes BUT sometimes I yearn for the taste of simple brewed coffee.
Anyhow, I was looking for a nice new machine when I ran across – of all things – a coffee machine made by Bugatti. Now if you are not into cars, you may not have a clue as to what the big fuss is about. Truth be told, I probably wouldn’t have an idea as well if not for my husband, who is car crazy. Bugatti is the maker of the Bugatti Veyron, one of the most prized cars in the world. Watch Discovery Turbo (the cable channel) and you will see what I mean).
So how did they find themselves making coffee machines? Heck if I know, but I do know that their machines are beautiful! Even a quick look at that picture above will tell you that these are no ordinary coffee machines. A closer look will not disappoint.
Now here’s the clincher: these machines are also espresso machines! In short, they are not what I need. But hey, sometimes you do not have to get what you need if you find something this beautiful, right? Then again, the price tag is enough to make me get what I need and not what I want. How much is it? $1,300, fancy that!
Black & Decker Spacemaker Coffee Machines RECALLED
If you have got one of these babies, you might want to send it back. Last week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that this brand and model of coffee makers are being recalled due to safety considerations.
The Commission announced that users could get burned due to a flaw in the machine. The specific reason for this is that the brew basket can potentially get out of alignment. When this happens the hot water (scalding hot!) will overflow. Obviously, if any part of your body gets in contact with that, you will get burned.
Yes, there have been reports of this happening and users getting injured. Applica Consumer Products Inc., the distributor of the coffee maker stated that they have received about 235 reports of the malfunction. Of these reports, 10 involved users getting second-degree burns.
Statistics show that roundabouts 584,000 units of this machine have been sold in the period from March 2006 to March 2009. Stores that sell the Spacemaker Coffee Machine include K-Mart, Kohl’s, Target, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Amazon.com. A unit can cost anywhere from $60 to $70.
It is important to note that NOT ALL models are defective in this regard. The announcement takes note of those models that are being recalled:
Description: The recalled product is the Black & Decker-branded Spacemaker™ coffeemaker. The product has an under-cabinet mount, programmable digital clock/timer, removable water reservoir, and either a 12-cup glass carafe or an 8-cup thermal carafe. Only model numbers ODC440, ODC440B, ODC450 and ODC460 are included in the recall. The model number can be located on the back of the coffeemaker.
For information, call Applica toll-free at (866) 668-4442 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday OR visit their web site at www.acprecall.com.
Drip Brewing with a Paper Filter
Drip brew is a method for brewing coffee which involves pouring water over coffee contained in a filter. Water seeps through the coffee, absorbing its oils and essences, solely under gravity then passes through the bottom of the filter. The used coffee grounds are retained in the filter with the liquid falling (dripping) into a collecting vessel such as a carafe or pot.
Paper filters are commonly used for drip brew all over the world. One benefit of paper filters is that the used grounds and the filter may be disposed of together, without a need to clean the filter. However, metal filters are also common, especially in India. These are made of thin perforated metal sheets that restrain the grounds but allow the coffee to pass, thus eliminating the need to have to purchase separate filters which sometimes cannot be found in some parts of the world.
Drip brewing is the most popular method of coffee brewing, owing to the overwhelming popularity of the automatic drip brewing coffee machine. There are, however, several manual drip-brewing devices on the market, offering a little more control over brewing parameters than automatic machines. There also exist small, portable, single serving drip brew makers that only hold the paper filter and rest on top of a cup. Hot water is poured in and drips directly into the cup.
Brewing with a paper filter produces clear, light-bodied coffee, which is free of sediments, but lacking in some of coffee’s oils and essences, which are trapped in the paper filter.
Buying A Grinder? Blade vs. Burr
Recently, I talked about my recent acquisition of a coffee grinder. When I was at the stores, my main consideration was cost. I just bought myself a $40 drip brewer, and I wasn’t about to spend more than that on a grinder.
And so I got myself a small Krups blade grinder. But at that time I didn’t realize I had other options, and that these would likely give me a better coffee experience, if not for the price.
This means if I had the cash to burn, I should’ve gone for a burr grinder.
Blade vs. Burr
There are two basic types of grinders: blade and burr. A blade grinder works by spinninng a set of blades, which chop up the coffee beans. The fineness or roughness of the resulting grind is determined by how long you spin the blades. If you’re using a brewer with a cone-shaped filter, then most likely you will need a finer grind (about 30-40 seconds). But sometimes spinning blades can produce friction and exposure to heat might cause a burning taste in the coffee grind, and the resulting grind will not always be of similar consistency all throughout. Blade grinders can come as cheap as $20 for the smaller ones.
Burr grinders, meanwhile, use a circular or conical wheel, which grinds the coffee against an unmoving surface. The fineness of the grind is controlled by how close the grinding wheel is to the surface. The fineness of the coffee grind is better controlled with a burr type grinder. However, this comes at an expense of higher cost, at about $300 or so for the cheapest.
For personal use, I would say a blade grinder is probably good enough. But if you’re venturing into commercial or heavy duty use, then by all means go for the burr kind, particularly the conical-shaped ones, which are more expensive, are easier to control and maintain.
Zero-G Coffee Cup: Get Me One!
I normally balk when I am asked what I want for Christmas. It is not because I do not really want anything – there are a LOT of things that I would want to receive but I know that they are way out of anyone’s ability to give me. This time, though, if someone asks me, I would probably say the Zero-G coffee cup that was invented by NASA astronaut Don Pettit. Oh wait, I don’t think this is easy to acquire as well. Anyway, this cup is the coolest I have seen in a long time.
The Aero-News (need I say it focuses on astronaut stuff?) carried this report yesterday:
Reuters reports Pettit — a former flight engineer on the International Space Station, who is also part of the current STS-126 crew onboard Endeavour — came up with the idea by tinkering with a sheet of transparent plastic, folding it into the shape of an airplane’s wing and then taping the sides together. He perfected the device while onboard the ISS this month, so he could enjoy his coffee as he normally would on Earth.
“The way this works is the cross-section of this cup looks like an airplane wing. The narrow angle here will wick the coffee up,” Pettit explained in a NASA TV video conference. “We can sip most of the fluid out of these cups and we no longer have to drink our beverages sucking through a straw in a pouch.”
Pettit’s self-made sippy cup has become a hit with his fellow astronauts. On Thursday, he constructed another cup for fellow crew member Stephen Bowen… and both men used their cups to toast Pettit’s Thanksgiving proclamation, which included giving thanks for space exploration and “just because we’re in space and we can.”
Ahh, I have always wondered what the astronauts did in their spare time while in space. Now I have my answer – they do come up with useful things, don’t they? Now, I wouldn’t even dream of going to space and needing (not merely wanting) a zero-G cup but it would really be cool to have one to add to my collection. 
High End Coffee Cup
I have never hidden my affinity for various coffer cups and mugs. I do tend to lean towards the unique mugs, though, and am always on the lookout for something new. I recently discovered a new coffee cup. It is made of porcelain and it is pure white. The thing about this cup is that it looks just like most of the cups that you get when you buy coffee from Starbucks or Coffee Bean – or any other coffee shop for that matter – except that is it plain white.
So what makes this coffee cup desirable? To be honest, the looks do not impress me at all. It is way too plain. Perhaps this plainness has a purpose – you can decorate it and stamp your brand on it. Function-wise, though, this cup beats a lot of other cups out there. It is made of porcelain, as I said, and is double walled in order to give you the insulation you need and want. It can keep hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold for a considerable amount of time. More so, if you like drinking your coffee to go, then the lid, which is made of silicon, will keep the liquid inside and avoid nasty spills.
Dubbed “I am not a paper cup,” this thermal coffee cup is selling for $20.00! Given that I have not fallen in love with the aesthetics, I am not sure that I will part with that much for it. How about you, would you buy this cup?
Starbucks And Clover Machines: Perfect For Each Other?
We have been hearing about these Clover machines for quite some time now. Supposedly, they make use of a distinct way of brewing coffee. Proponents of these machines – and some people who have tasted coffee brewed by them – say that once you have tried “Clover coffee”, you will never want any other kind of coffee ever. I cannot say that I agree as I have never tried coffee made by a Clover machine but hey, I would want to try one!
Anyway, despite the recent spate of news that Starbucks is in dire straits, it seems that the coffee giant is still alive and kicking. Though they have closed numerous stores all over the world, they are still in the process of revitalizing their product line. The news is that they have developed a new line of coffee specially made for the Clover machine. Before you get excited, you have to know that these special coffee will NOT be available in all of the Starbucks stores. Apparently, only 10 stores in Seattle will have them, plus about 30 stores in Boston, and some stores in San Francisco. If you are not from any of these areas, good luck to you!
So will this new line of coffee and the special Clover machine make Starbucks coffee better? I am sure that you will get different responses from different people. Those who already like Starbucks on the outset will definitely say yes while purists who have a dislike for the chain will most definitely say no.
Let us know if you ever get to taste these special brews yourself!
