Hot drinks
So thespooniest and I got a bunch of gift cards for Christmas this year. Using one of them, I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and picked up a coffee maker, which I've been wanting for some time. I wanted a coffee maker that made only a single cup (since I'm the only coffee drinker in the house, and I will compulsively drink any coffee that is brewed and not consumed by someone else) and that didn't require me to get a coffee grinder (I'm a coffee snob, so I usually don't like pre-ground coffee, it goes stale too fast). So I picked up one of those flavor cup coffee makers, where you stick the cup in the machine, put water in the water reservoir and hit "Brew."
I am absolutely in love with this machine. It not only makes good coffee, it makes excellent iced coffee (some of the pods are designed specifically to be used for iced coffee). I made 8 oz. of coffee, melted six ice cubes in it, and that produced strong coffee. I drink my coffee quite strong - even most coffee lovers I know think I'm crazy, and this satisfied me.
So then I put in one of the pods that makes tea instead of coffee, since I love both, and brewed Earl Grey, which is a tea I'm very familiar with, so I could compare accurately. This machine, as it turns out, makes a truly superior cup of Earl Grey, and in less time than it usually takes me to make tea.
Then I discovered it can make spiced cider, just by putting water through the machine with a cider pod. Again, it's excellent. The cider itself is just a little bit on the mild side for me, but the spice blend is fantastic.
Next up: trying to find some of the pods that do hot cocoa.
Anybody else ever tried these? Recommendations for flavors to try? So far I've been using mostly Green Mountain coffees and ciders and Twinings teas (I'm going to try some of the Celestial Seasonings pods soon, and I swear I'm going to keep Green Mountain in business single-handedly, since it turns out they own Celestial Seasonings).
I am absolutely in love with this machine. It not only makes good coffee, it makes excellent iced coffee (some of the pods are designed specifically to be used for iced coffee). I made 8 oz. of coffee, melted six ice cubes in it, and that produced strong coffee. I drink my coffee quite strong - even most coffee lovers I know think I'm crazy, and this satisfied me.
So then I put in one of the pods that makes tea instead of coffee, since I love both, and brewed Earl Grey, which is a tea I'm very familiar with, so I could compare accurately. This machine, as it turns out, makes a truly superior cup of Earl Grey, and in less time than it usually takes me to make tea.
Then I discovered it can make spiced cider, just by putting water through the machine with a cider pod. Again, it's excellent. The cider itself is just a little bit on the mild side for me, but the spice blend is fantastic.
Next up: trying to find some of the pods that do hot cocoa.
Anybody else ever tried these? Recommendations for flavors to try? So far I've been using mostly Green Mountain coffees and ciders and Twinings teas (I'm going to try some of the Celestial Seasonings pods soon, and I swear I'm going to keep Green Mountain in business single-handedly, since it turns out they own Celestial Seasonings).