Showing posts with label Coffee Brewers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coffee Brewers. Show all posts

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The Keurig OfficePRO Single-Cup Commercial Coffee Brewer & My Favorite K-Cups Delivered Right to My Door from Staples.com


Thank you to Staples for providing complimentary product samples for us to base this review upon.  All opinions expressed are my own.

I love coffee (who doesn't?) and appreciate a great cup freshly brewed. But, like many people, I really do not like the cleanup or the extra time that comes with conventional machines. I am also the only coffee drinker in the house and I waste so much coffee using a traditional machine.

Using coffee cartridges like Keurig and Tassimo are really the only option for me. They are easy, fast, and are virtually mess free. I used the Tassimo for a bit, but the quality of the coffee was not quite up to par with my traditional machine, but the Keurig coffee I have tried has always been an excellent alternative. So far, my favorite is the Coffee People Original  Donut Shop Coffee K-Cups.  When I had the chance to try the Keurig OfficePRO Single-Cup Commercial Coffee Brewer for myself I jumped at the chance.

(Click any photo to enlarge)

My Keurig OfficePRO came from Staples of all places. I always associated coffee and coffee machines with specialty housewares stores or department stores. Not only did the machine come from Staples, the assortment of K-cups available from Staples was impressive. I was able to find my favorite flavor and brand with ease. The price was superb. This Keurig OfficePRO, which comes with a sampler of 12 K-cups, at Staples is $129.99 with free shipping, while Amazon is selling the exact model for $142.77 shipped. Wow.


This Keurig OfficePRO is basic in operation and built solidly, exactly what you want in an office or commonly used coffee machine. The plastic is heavy duty and the lift arm made from a thick chrome plated metal.

To use the machine you simply power it on and wait a short bit for the machine to heat up. Once the machine is heated up you won't need to wait again unless the machine is powered down. Leaving the machine on in the morning is worry free. This Keurig OfficePRO will power itself off after 2 hours of inactivity. The reservoir holds 48 ounces of water or about 4 decent sized cup fulls. Refilling the reservoir is as simple as removing a cover and pouring the water in.


The machine has a 3 cup size selector, just choose the size and press brew. Making excellent coffee could not be easier to do with this machine.

Clean up is even easier than brewing with a Keurig. Throw out the used K-cup and that is it. My Keurig OfficePRO doesn't drip like some I have used, so I have not had to wipe up one drip yet. If I did spill or drip, the base pan/plate slides out and comes apart for easy cleaning.


Overall I love my Keurig OfficePRO and am glad to find a suitable replacement for my ground coffee machine. I have no hesitation to recommend this machine to heavy or light coffee drinkers. It is high quality, easy to operate, easy to clean, and makes good coffee at the office or at home.

Visit Staples.com to find out more about the Keurig OfficePRO Single-Cup Commercial Coffee Brewer or to view all the Keurig coffee brewers and K-cups available.  If you are a Staples Rewards member, then you will get 5% back in rewards on all your Staple purchases, plus free shipping on all orders from Staples.com.  Can't get more convenient than having your K-cups delivered right to your front door at no extra cost to you!


Most 3G2S posts contain commission-yielding affiliate links. When you make a purchase after clicking a link, our family earns a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our blog.

Review: Green Mountain Iced Coffee Made By the Keurig Mini Plus Brewer

I love coffee (who doesn’t?) and I especially love a good iced coffee in the summer. But one thing I hate is to make my own, so I buy my iced coffee. When I had he opportunity to try a Keurig Mini Plus Brewing System with a variety of Green Mountain iced coffee and tea K-Cups, I was excited. Although I rarely drink iced tea, the possibility of getting my iced coffee fix without needing to make an extra stop in the morning is like a winning lottery ticket.



The Keurig B31 Mini Plus Brewer is sleek and compact and looks nice enough to leave on the counter top all the time. Its operation is simple and was up and running in moments. The operation of the machine is not a great deal different than any other coffee machine except you do not need to fuss with filters and loose coffee.




Clean up was even less work than brewing. During the morning time rush the Keurig is a breeze . . . easy to use with virtually no clean up at all.  But how did it taste? The Green Mountain iced coffee was excellent, just as good as the stuff I buy. Excellent tasting iced coffee made easily from my own home is really what I wanted and both Keurig and Green Mountain delivers.




As excellent as my experience has been with ease of use and taste, I do have some reservations about the Keurig Mini Plus Brewer. It only accommodates small coffee cups.  To use my larger mugs, I needed to remove the base. I should mention the base is designed to be removed for larger cups, but I think the machine is just too small. I would need to keep the base removed all the time just to accommodate typical sized cups. Want to use a big travel mug? Tough luck. You will need to use another smaller cup and pour it into your travel mug afterwards. At some point the convenience gained from the novel Keurig concept and easy clean up gets lost in the inconvenience of not actually getting the coffee into the cup you want to use.



My overall impression? The Keurig B31 Mini Plus Brewer made excellent coffee, was a breeze to use, and clean up was as easy as it could be, but a few design shortcomings on cup compatibility make the Keurig B31 slightly less than perfect. If this brewer was a couple of inches taller this would be the perfect coffee machine.  This is not the machine to choose for brewing iced coffee or tea directly into a cup of ice, since that would require a taller cup to allow room for the ice.

To view the full line of Keurig coffee brewers and iced beverage K-Cups, visit Keurig.com.


Thank you to Keurig for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.


Most 3G2S posts contain commission-yielding affiliate links. When you make a purchase after clicking a link, our family earns a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting our blog.

Giveaway & Review: Bosch Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System [CLOSED]

I love coffee, need at least one cup a day. But the one thing I hate about coffee is making it myself. I have bought all sorts of devices and gizmos to make it easier, but nothing is easy enough . . . well, none make it easy while also producing a good cup of coffee. So when Karen asked me if I wanted to try the Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System by Bosch I couldn’t say yes fast enough.

The Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System is sleek and about the same size as a typical coffee maker (approximately 7.9"w x 11"h x 11.75"d). The unit can accommodate everything from small cappuccino cups right up to large travel mugs. Since I am the only coffee drinker in the house, the single serve size is just perfect.



The Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System could not be simpler to operate. Just place your cup under the spout, load up the T DISC flavor of your choice and press the unit’s only button. The Tassimo T20 brews exactly 8 ounces into your cup automatically. To top off a larger cup you simply press the button again and hold it down to add more.




Once you are done clean up is about as simple as brewing the coffee itself. Just pop out the T DISC bracket, rinse it off, snap it back in and you are done.



The Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System totally satisfies my desire to make easy coffee, but does it meet my other criteria...Taste? Well...YES! The coffee out of my Tassimo T20 is excellent. I finally have a way of making coffee at home, just for myself, that is both easy and delicious. But this Tassimo is not just for coffee. It can make tea, hot chocolate, latte, and just about any other hot beverage you can think of. My personal favorite so far is the Maxwell House Cafe Collection Latte.


The Tassimo T20 Home Brewing System is a winner. I can now have great easy coffee for one!  You can learn more about the T20, which is available in black or white and retails for $129.99, and the other Tassimo Brewers at TassimoDirect.com .

Thank you to Bosch for sending us a complimentary product sample to base this review upon and for providing an additional product for our contest prize.



What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a Bosch T20 Home Brewing System (color may vary).



Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.


How to Gain Entries:
Browse the selection of T DISCs for coffees, teas, hot chocolates, and more offered by Tassimo. Then leave a comment telling me the name of the T DISC you would like to try the most. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.


Extra Entries:
1)  For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.


2)  For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.


3)  For 10 extra entries, sign up to receive the Sip & Stir Newsletter. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.


4)  For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.


5)  For 1 extra entry each, follow Tassimo on Twitter and/or "Like" Tassimo on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.


6)  Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.


7)  Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.


8)  Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.


9)  Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.





(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!