In the last year or so a plethora of new coffee makers aimed at convenience and ease-of-use have hit the market. Drop in some sort of pre-measured, encapsulated coffee unit (known by various copyrighted names, but generally referred to as "pods"), place a cup under a spout, and hit a button and a predetermined amount of water is dispensed through the coffee. No grinding, no measuring of coffee, and generally no messy grounds to clean up. On those merits these systems sound like a good idea.

     The pods of most of these devices are similar- they are a pre-ground amount of loose coffee held within a filter material of some sort, not unlike a tea bag in nature. Their shape and size tends to make them proprietary in nature, with the company making the device either being the sole supplier of these pods and/or licensing the rights to manufacture them to various outside companies.

     The problem with these pods is certainly not hidden from people educated about the ways of coffee. These pods are filled with coffee that has been roasted, ground, 'podded,' and sealed into shipping bags, then shipped through their various channels to the consumer. Being that ground coffee is best used soon after grinding (within hours for those on the forefront of coffee geekdom), these pods offer far more convenience than taste. For most of these systems it comes down to a matter of trading some taste for convenience and speed, and in some cases, trading a lot of taste for convenience.

     Of all these systems that I have seen there is one that has a 'pod' that differs. While all the systems I have seen use coffee encapsulated in a permeable filter medium, the Keurig system uses proprietary "K-cups." They look like the little cups coffee creamer comes in, but larger. They are sealed with a non-permeable cover. The immediate benefit of these would seem to be that the coffee is protected in an air-tight container which, in theory, should help slow the staling process to some degree. Inside of the K-cup is a small, paper cone filter. When this little cup is dropped into the Keurig machine it is pierced twice- once from above where the water enters the cup, and once from below where the beverage comes out. When done brewing just lift out the cup and throw the entire cup away.

     The machine has a solid feel, weighing in at a hefty 15 pounds empty. The water tank holds a respectable 48 ounces and is easily removed from the machine for filling (as recommended by the manual) but the lid can be removed while leaving the tank on the machine making it easy to fill in place as well. The tank has two hooks that engage the side of the unit's main body when in place so the entire machine can be moved with little worry of the tank falling off. The drip tray is easily removable- maybe a little too easily. For the most part only a slight bump on the bottom of the tray that engages a depression in the base holds it in place. It makes it easy to empty and allows the use of taller cups when removed, but it also makes it easy to drop when moving the machine around.

     Numerous safety systems have been designed into the B50. First, with the use of a floating, magnetic sensor captured in the water tank, the machine will not allow use if the water reservoir is low or not in place. You cannot brew before the machine is up to temperature. You cannot brew if the handle is lifted but you can brew without a K-cup in place (a nice feature for flushing the brew chamber clean, but there is no indication on the display that there is no cup in place). If the heating tank becomes too heavily scaled the unit displays "DE-SCALE" on the LCD display. If the scale builds up to a degree hazardous to the machine's life, the "DE-SCALE" warning flashes. Full de-scaling instructions are included in the manual. I have disassembled some cheap, dead coffee drip brewers that look like Carlsbad Caverns inside because of the lime and calcium build up, so the de-scale warning is a nice touch, especially if it saves your $175 machine from toasting itself.

The K-Cup is a self contained portion of coffee that is sealed from the atmosphere. As you see in this cutaway view, it is comprised of three parts: 1 - The cup itself is a sturdy, plastic, waterproof container. 2 - Inside the cup is a two-layer, paper filter cone much like a drip coffee filter, but strong enough to withstand the brewing process. 3 - On top of the cup is a sealed foil/paper cover which is not meant to be removed (doing so makes a real mess in the machine).

     Each cup is marked with a "best if used by" date. Some have the blend printed on the top label making them easy to identify, but others are identified by printing on the side of the cup that is not as easy to read. If you keep them in their original boxes that shouldn't be a problem. (more pics and details of the K-cups are available at the Keurig website)

     To use the machine, lift up the lever which exposes the brewing chamber. Drop in a K-cup (no preparation of the cup is required), and lower the lever. The K-cup is pulled into place and is pierced by two stainless steel, large-bore needles. One from the top pierces through the top cover of the cup. This upper needle injects the brewing water into the filter cone where the coffee resides. The bottom of the cup is pierced by a similar needle. This is where the brewed coffee exits after it passes through the filter cone.

     Now just put your coffee cup on the drip tray under the brew spout, and when the LCD shows "READY" just press the appropriate button for a "SMALL" or "LARGE" cup of beverage and that's it. The pump activates and the machine goes through its brewing cycle, sending a single, narrow beverage-stream into your cup.

     When it is finished you lift the lever and the used K-cup is presented for easy removal. The system seems to purge itself at the end of a brewing cycle and so there is seemingly nothing left in the cup to drip. You can safely remove the spent K-cup and dispose of it.

     One of the things I noticed as the machine sat and idled was that the heat on/heat off cycle was very fast. There is certainly more inside here than a cheap button thermostat or capillary tube sensor that are found in so many lesser machines. These tend to have a wide dead zone- the temperature difference between the on and off set points. This machine acts like it is controlled by some sophisticated electronic circuitry.

     The brew temperature seems to indicate that is the case. I registered a very consistent 205F (96C). water temp coming from from the upper brew needle with the coffee exiting the brewing group at about 193F (89C).

     One of the major differences with the Keurig system compared to the newer pod machines is that it has been around for a while in commercial use (using more expensive machines, but the same K-cups). Because of that there are quite a number of coffee brands packaged in K-cups, with each brand offering a number of different blends, roasts, and flavors available. It should not be too difficult to find something that suits your tastes. Fortunately, the machine currently comes supplied with a good sampling of K-cups, including some teas, flavored coffees, and decaf coffee, so that you should be able to get a good idea of what the machine can do and what you prefer.

     On the other hand, there are folks drinking coffee that is far older, and wasn't of as good a quality to begin with (such as many of the commercial robusta-enhanced coffees that are on the market). Even six months past the "Best By" date on the K-cups they will probably still produce a superior coffee to those evil brews.

     So did I like the coffee? Generally, yes, it was quite drinkable. Not all the various blends or roasts were to my liking, and I didn't get samples of all the various offerings (just two K-cups of each available coffee would make an order of 152 K-cups!). Between the taste tests done between my wife and I: The teas we tried were all generally quite drinkable, and although I have not had the opportunity or time to taste all the blends, I can say that I liked both Green Mountain's " Nantucket Blend" and "Lake and Lodge." Further taste testing will continue, but as you know, taste is subjective. Feel free to find what you ike on your own.

     "How expensive is it?" the audience calls out. If my math is correct: I weighed the contents of one cup and got 11 grams of coffee. That means that one pound of this coffee costs the user about $21. Depending on the coffee, that is roughly double what you might expect to pay for specialty coffee, roasted, ground, and packaged. Is the price worth the convenience of being able to pop in a K-cup and have a hot beverage seconds later with virtually no clean up? That is a question that only you can answer.

     Since we are speaking of the cost of convenience, I will say that the convenience the Keurig offers is addicting. When busy in the home and needing a quick cup of coffee that hasn't been sitting, burning on a hot plate or needing microwaving to bring it back up to a drinkable temperature, the Keurig B50 fills the bill nicely. Or what if you are at home, alone, sick with the flu. How good would a cup of peppermint tea taste? What if the entire process took less than one minute to make it?