LOVE this personal brewer!, October 27, 2011

I’ve been a long time user of personal brewers – two pod/cup type machines one well known, one lesser known. My problem with them both is that using your own coffee (I have my non pod favorite!) produces a mess and/or very weak coffee. They simply don’t hold the right coffee/water ratio to produce what I would consider an excellent cup of coffee.

I recently spied this machine and immediately liked that it was non proprietary, read the former reviews, looked at the price tag and was skeptical – how good could it be for under when its rival starts at 0? I finally brought one home and I’m sold! Using the “bold” setting it made even a decaf coffee nice and strong and it reminded me of the results that I get with my French Press – full bodied, rich & flavorful.

I like that the basket for the coffee is nice and deep and easy to fill. The water resevoir is easily filled. It holds an ample 14 oz. of water – you get out what you put in so playing with the measurement and grind of your favorite coffee takes some perfecting. The brewer starts immediately, the light goes out signaling it is finished brewing. It is a tad faster than the mini version of the more popular single cupper. The coffee comes out hot. I haven’t seen any issues with leaking, spraying, etc. Hamilton Beach was also thinking when the made the drip tray so that it flips over and fills the space to a smaller cup size.

I’d add some cons but really there isn’t anything that I dislike about this machine.

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Super quiet, great coffee, awesome value, ridiculously easy to clean, November 19, 2011

I just purchased this yesterday, so I can’t vouch for its longevity, but we have made several quick cups of coffee and tea using this and it works great.

Let me say that I am a caffeine addict. I prefer my coffee bold, am picky about my freshly roasted beans and prefer the taste of french press-made coffee. However, I am also not a morning person, and having to make a large cup of coffe in the morning while trying to get busy kids and a busy mom ready for school/work is quite a chore. Also, being the only coffee drinker in the house (my husband and oldest son like tea), my only option after drinking the first cup was to dump out the rest or refridgerate it and microwave it later – neither were options I was thrilled about.

I didn’t want to pay the price of one of the larger Keurigs; nor did I have the counter space for that. We have a large Keurig at my office and, while I certainly appreciate being able to brew a fresh cup of coffee whenever I want, it’s a noisy machine, it has to be constantly plugged in to maintain its heating elements, and the coffee pods leave something to be desired.

I checked out the smaller, less-expensive Keurigs in the stores, but they felt very flimsy and I had read reviews about them breaking down frequently.

My HB One-Scoop feels sturdy, doesn’t take up much counter space, was reasonably priced and, best of all, makes a great cup of coffee. It took a few tries for me to determine how fine to grind my beans and how much of it to use, but after that, it’s been a breeze: You take your cup, fill it with water and pour that into the reservoir on top. Then, you take the scoop (which doubles as a filter), scoop out the amount of ground coffee you want, slap that scoop into a filter cup that is already sitting in the well, close the lid and press either the “regular” or “bold” button. The coffee drips quietly into your cup. Also, clean up literally takes seconds – All you need to do is rinse out the scoop filter and filter cup in hot water.

You don’t have to plug this unit in until you’re ready to use it, and an adjustable shelf allow you to use a smaller mug or a larger travel-sized mug.

This comes with two scoops, so you can make more than one cup of coffee if you have company and not have to stick a wet scoop into your ground coffee. We have also used it just for hot water for tea and it works equally well with a rinsed out filter scoop and filter cup.

In addition, the scoop and water reservoir also has measurement lines for an 8 oz. and 14 oz. cup of coffee, although I do use extra coffee to get the strength I like.

I love being able to use my favorite coffees and not get stuck buying expensive, weak-flavored pods. I’m so glad I got this.

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CAN’T FIND A BETTER CUP OF COFFEE, November 30, 2011

By 

Sharon E. Herring “Sharbear” (Ft. Walton Beach, FL) – See all my reviews

  

I am a coffee connoisseur. I have tried every machine from the Senseo to the Bunn Home Cafe (very expensive coffee brewer) to the French Press. I am tired of the “pod” machines because you just cannot get a good cup of coffee, even when you make your own pods. Therefore, I researched numerous coffee brewers and was contemplating getting a Keurig when I spotted this coffee brewer during a TV commercial. My first thought was that this is the ideal concept — scooping your own coffee — no pods or K-cups. I purchased this brewer and was determined not to like it because it wasn’t an “expensive” brewer. While it does have several inconveniences, like having to refill the water reservoir each time you want a cup of coffee, bottom line is it makes the best cup of coffee for a single serve coffee maker that I’ve ever tasted! It is a simple machine, but ideal for those who just want a delicious cup of coffee each time you turn it on. Another plus, the water gets very hot, unlike other machines I’ve used where the water comes out luke warm.

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