Overview
One-cup coffee makers are a sign of the times. Gone are the days when we could huddle around a coffee pot and each drink our cup of coffee at the same time. Now it’s just grab and go as you head out the door. But the good news is that when you want a cup of coffee you don’t have to wait for the full pot to brew, and you don’t have to be wasteful by making more coffee than you want to drink.
The Claim
Hamilton Beech, the makers of The Scoop, claim that you can use your choice of ground coffee in their device and that it will brew you the perfect cup of coffee. They also say that you’ll be able to switch between regular blends and bolder flavors with a flip of the switch, allowing you to use brands like Starbucks or the beans from your favorite coffee shop.
The Hype
They’re running a TV promo for this coffee maker that’s getting a lot of attention for it. It seems like what they’re trying to capitalize on is the craze that went around where everyone was buying up Keurig coffee makers, and then realizing that they’re handcuffed into buying their K-Cups. An instant market was created by the strong desire to want use your own blend of coffee rather than be limited by their assorted flavors.
The Cost
You can get The Scoop on Amazon for $60. When you compare this to the initial cost of a Keurig with the B40 coming in at over $100 and the B60 coming in at $150, The Scoop is winning the cost battle hands down. When you factor in that the only ongoing costs you have with running it is using your choice of coffee it’s the clear price champion. You can opt for the gourmet grounds at your local premium grocery store and still come up about even with the cost of K-Cups.
The Commitment
What a one-cup coffee maker provides is a way to free yourself from a full pot of coffee, so it’s basically like an on-demand coffee maker and provides the same sort of experience you’d get from going to a coffee shop and ordering just one cup. Since you can choose which coffee to put in it, you’re not committed to using specialty pods like with competing models, so if you’re already a big time coffee lover you don’t have to change anything from your normal routine, and you can make just the right amount of coffee when you want it.
Evaluation
Overall The Scoop gets good marks and solves the inherent problem with the Keurig models. Both Keurig and a third party tried to come out with “use your own coffee pods” which get mixed reviews and are said not to work as good as K-Cups. The trick is that the wire mesh needs to filter out as good as a coffee maker or you end up getting grounds in your cup, which nobody wants.
It replicates the feature of the Keurig model by allowing you to add hot water quickly to anything that requires it, like hot cocoa in the winter, and tea any time. This makes it useful for other members of the household that don’t drink coffee or prefer other hot beverages instead. Compared to heating up water for these drinks either in a teapot or the microwave, this is a much better way and provides consistent results.
Common complaints are that it doesn’t brew a decent cup of coffee, it doesn’t get the coffee hot enough, and switching between Bold and Regular doesn’t help. But for each of these complaints there are 2 or 3 other people that say it works great and is just what they needed in a single cup coffee maker. It’s not as if you’re going to be able to replicate the very expensive coffee makers that coffee shops use, but it matches or surpasses the results from an ordinary coffee pot maker.
The Scoop is getting our Thumbs Up rating, as it makes
most people happy. If you’re a coffee epicurean you might not like the output of this machine, but if you’re tired of being boxed in by the K-Cup pods of the Keurig corporation you can free yourself and use any coffee you choose. Putting you back in control of the coffee you consumer is huge, and until Keurig can match that ability it looks like The Scoop is taking the title until something better comes out to knock it off the throne.Our Recommendation
At this price point and considering that you don’t have to keep buying pods to keep using it, this makes sense if you’re in the market for a one-cup coffee brewer. There’s a strong chance that you’ll end up liking it, and our research couldn’t turn up anything quite like it for the price at the moment. Being coffee lovers we’re going to keep a keen eye out for the Next Big Thing in making coffee, and we’ll surely report back to you if we dig up a winner.
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I love Keurig's kcup, but I do hate the fact that I can't switch to another brand time to time. Don't get me wrong, I love the taste of kcups, but I do like to mix it up a bit with starbucks and dunkin time to time. For that alone I think the scoop is worth a try. At 60 dollars the prices is very attractive and the reviews are generally good as well. Is it worth having two coffee machines in one kitchen though.. hmm..