From fresh-brewed coffee to tea and hot chocolate, this single-serve three-in-one hot-beverage center makes them all–directly into the cup and in less than two minutes per cup. The versatile unit can drip-brew coffee grounds or coffee pods, steep tea bags or leaves, and make hot water for instant hot chocolate, cereal, and soups. It can even make iced tea and coffee. Configured to offer the ultimate in flexibility, the appliance accommodates any size travel mug, cup, or bowl, and its two-level cup stand reduces splatter. The unit also comes equipped with a removable 14-ounce water reservoir, which slides out like a drawer and offers measurement marks for easy filling at the sink. Providing added convenience, its compact desi [Read More...]
Buy Hamilton Beach 42115 3-in-1 Hot-Beverage Center, Black at Amazon
Cool Things Beyond Coffee: I’m smart…the other day I wanted to know how do you download music to an ipod and I found the answer.
October 10th, 2009 at 5:27 am
This is replacing a 4 cup Melitta coffeemaker (couldn’t find a replacement carafe that would fit the brewer, which sat atop the pot).
This appealed to me in that this product has the following good features:
1) no pot/carafe to crack or clean
2) no waste (since you didn’t have to brew 1-3 cups to get 1 decent sized mug + waste)
3) no hot plate/pot to turn off - nothing to worry about if you started a brew and then were unexpectedly called away or forgot about it
4) no paper filters required (but see below)
5) looks interesting - doesn’t look like a coffee maker, takes up less space on counter, easier to keep clean.
I read some reviews - good and bad- and decided to get it anyway. AM SO GLAD I DID- I REALLY LIKE THIS THING!
Reasons: 1)-4) above, plus:
5) water resevoir + filter assembly is dishwasher safe (top rack)
6) capability of using pods (I wasn’t about to buy an expensive ‘pod-processor’, so this is a very nice ‘perk’ - pun intended! ;o)
Very easy- load it up, walk away, come back to beverage. Lovely!
Some tips to head off any/all problems-
1) Read the manual. Hey, things happen, but really - use COLD WATER ONLY.
2) If brewing multiple cups- WAIT AT LEAST 30 SECS after light goes off before starting another brew. To be safe, I wait a full minute- have not had any problems.
3) I could see the potential for ‘filter fouling’, so I buy generic #4 Melitta filters (huge pack can be bought for <$2/pk) (& since #1s are almost impossible to find/expensive). I cut them down to fit the little filter basket, and I can go back n forth from tea to coffee to hot cocoa to soup without carryover effects (dump out coffee & rinse assembly after coffee).
4) Be careful with pushing down on plastic parts- again- read the manual. You might have to double-check to be sure that the water resevoir is pushed in all the way some times (it happened to me once). Use the handle/flap assembly to open/close the filter assembly - this is covered in the manual.
I agree- it would be nice if this were made more robustly (less plastic), and I do worry about the ability to get a replacement brew basket if need be. But I paid less than $20 for this (at Meijer), so can’t complain.
October 10th, 2009 at 7:51 am
I have owned and used this product on a daily basis for almost 6 months now.
If you’re anything like me, you enjoy a cup of coffee to help wake up in the morning. Notice I didn’t say 12, or 10, or 8, or 4, or even 2 cups. Is it really that crazy of an idea to have a cheap coffee maker that can make only the ONE cup you want to drink? I was writhing over reviews of the 2-cup/2-travel mug coffee makers and their problems when I found this one. My thoughts: Looks cheap. Price IS cheap. Must be cheap. But there’s little else, so… I guess I’ll try it. Needless to say, I have accepted this little guy into my family.
Pros:
-One cup, no waste. You can make a cup with 8 to 14 oz. of water measured in the creatively graduated water reservoir. You pour water in until you see the water touch the inverted steps for each size cup. This is very helpful in filling either a traditional coffee mug or a larger travel mug. You also use much less coffee (a tablespoon or two) per day, so your coffee will last longer.
-Speaking of travel mugs… the slide-out pedestal for a mug can be removed or pushed in to allow more clearance for a travel mug. Otherwise the pedestal helps keep a mug close to eliminate any splashing.
-Everything is washable. I simply dump out my grinds and rinse the basket and pour spout in the sink. Once every month or so I stick them in the dishwasher (with the pedestal, too).
-Robust. Yeah, it’s plastic, but it’s no slouch. I use mine daily and haven’t once felt like I was going to break anything. I keep mine next to the stove so it catches some splatter, and it wipes clean very easily.
Cons
-No timer. Not that I really need one, since it makes a cup in 2-3 minutes, but I guess some people really don’t want to wait when they get up. All you do is push the button down, let it work, then it automatically shuts off. If you need to shut it off in the middle, though… be prepared to unplug it. That’s your only option (even the manual says so).
-Questionable permanent metal filter. My first couple weeks I felt like there was too much sediment in my coffee (you know, that texture that you get in the bottom of a big pot sometimes). I was pretty turned off by it, leaving the last few sips. The solution? Since they don’t make paper filters that small, I just bought a pack of the traditional basket filters and cut out circles to fit. A pair of kitchen shears can do at least 20 at a time. Now I make my coffee with a paper filter inside the metal basket and voila–no more sediment!
Hope that information helps. I don’t review often, but I’ve recommended it to friends and felt like this would help the next person take the plunge.
October 10th, 2009 at 8:34 am
This is a great appliance. I love tea, and I just bought one of these to use at work for making tea whenever I like.
The machine works great. My only complaint, if you can call it that, is that it’s largely constructed of plastic, and doesn’t feel terribly solid. I reckon that if you treat it nicely it will last quite a while, but in the future I may opt for finding a similar appliance that’s built a little stronger.