Appliance Review: Bella Single serve “one scoop” brew coffee maker

... or why you really don't need a Keurig

For the last few years the single cup coffee maker has dominated the coffee maker market. The popularity of the Keurig coffee machine has led to an influx of various brands of pod coffee machines. This rise in popularity and the almost “common” and “essential” status of these machines led to my father receiving one for a Christmas present.  At first I was impressed; I could simply reach my hand into a box and choose one of many varieties and flavors of coffee, for myself and only myself! Past the initial novelty though, I was and am not fond of the Keurig or pod machines. Firstly they are expensive; the basic models start at $100. Also the pods (or k-cups that for the keurig specific) are also pricey; for a basic brand they are a little over 50 cents apiece. While this isn’t much individually; it can add up if you drink a lot of coffee, or you buy specialty brand pods. I also dislike the flavor. This for me is my biggest issue. The flavor of keurig coffee has a distinct sour/burnt taste. This is my biggest pet peeve when it comes to coffee: acidic taste.

This Bella coffee maker though, has none of those problems. It is cheap, about $20, and comes with a permanent filter so it is unnecessary to buy paper ones, and can use any coffee. The coffee maker also has the added bonus of coming with a coffee cup, a solid 2 cup sized mug. From this machine I have never had sour coffee. I think that the water does not come out as hot, or maybe the pressure of the water going through the cup in keurigs cause it. While this machine doesn’t make coffee faster than a keurig, I have not noticed it taking any longer, or at least a significantly longer amount of time.

(Extra tip: If you like a bold blend use French roast; it tends to be lest acidic than other dark blends.)

a view of the inside; the water well is in the far back. The front features the permanent and re-usable filter.

With this machine I use Maxwell house French Roast. An 11oz. can cost me $3.39 and makes between 80-90 cups of coffee. That comes out to about four cents per cup. If I bought the exact same coffee in pod form I would be paying about 60 cents ($7.49 for a pack of 12). This machine also causes less waste. The pod machines use up plastic for every cup and more cardboard etc. from the box packaging (7 boxes would equal one can of regular coffee). Since the Bella has a reusable filter it uses even less waste than a traditional drip machine that uses paper filters. The filter is also very easy to clean; just dump the grounds in the trash (though I recommend waiting a few minutes because of steam build up) and rinse under warm water.

Overall, I think this machine is great. With this I can make cheap cups of coffee that I can flavor with whatever I like (creamers, syrups etc.) without getting the horrid sour taste from pod machines. I would defiantly recommend this machine to anyone in the market for a single serve coffee marker and it is great for dorms since many college dorms do not allow burners like those found on many conventional drip brewers. While this may not be fancy (though it does come in multiple colors if that is a selling point!) neither really is a keurig when you think about it.

This sells at most department stores and Walmart.