Melitta U S A Inc 640007 Perfect Brew Filter Cone Review. Fresh brewed coffee 1 cup at a time. 1 cup filter cone. Place the filter cone on a coffee cup. Insert a No. 2 Melitta cone filter. Scoop in your favorite coffee to taste. Add hot water, then indulge in a cup of fresh brewed coffee. Includes a starter pack...

 "A Good Way to Start making Good Coffee" 2007-11-26
By Andrew Cox (Tallahassee, FL United States)

I like this product. It is inexpensive, has filters that can be found anywhere, and provides real coffee taste in instant coffee quantities and time. This is great for me, because I do not drink more than 1 cup at a time, and making any more would just waste coffee time and money.



This cone allows you to come up with your own perfect brewing recipe without wasting pounds and pounds of coffee. The way the beans are roasted, the quality of those beans, the amount of coffee grounds you use and how they're ground, the temperature of the water: all of these have a bearing on the taste of your coffee.



First, the water:

The industry standard for the ideal cup of coffee begins with a water temperature of 195-205 degrees. This is not quite boiling, which is why the "Monsieur Brew" brands make such bad coffee. Brewing with water at the boiling point over-extracts the beans, making for an overly bitter-tasting result.

Use a food thermometer to find this temperature range and use it with 2 tablespoons of coffee per 8 ounce cup of output as a starting point. Then vary the amount of grounds and water temperature as you see fit.



Now for the grind and blend of your coffee beans:

Melitta recommends that you get a coffee ground a little finer than the standard drip grind. You can easily get this done in one of the better supermarkets that has a coffee grinder for specialty coffees.



As for the blend, I'm not going to recommend brands, but the hallmark of inferior blends of coffee is that they start tasting sharp and nasty as they cool down. If this still happens with your Melitta filter after you've used the right amount of coffee and the right temperature of water, then you can blame it on your daily grind. With this filter you will quickly find which brands are good and which are bad in a matter of cups, not pots.



After this, keeping a couple of brief notes on what you do and how much stuff you use per cup will lead you to the best recipe for your kind of coffee in a relatively short period of time.

 "Good value" 2008-10-27
By Jane Shepard (NYS)

Good product and improved over previous design...open at bottom so you can view how full the cup is getting so no overflow. New handle design is also an improvement.

 "A great way to make a cup of coffee" 2007-11-22
By D. B. H. (Balt)

I'm picky about one thing in life - and it's coffee. I also travel a bit and find myself far from a cup of good coffee - that's when the Melitta comes in handy. I bought two so I could leave one at my daughter's house so when I visit I can drink my brew - she and her husband don't drink coffee - GASP!

 "Simple, elegant, and it works" 2009-03-22
By M. Rickey (Yakima, WA)

Sometimes the simplest things are the best things ever. Nearly 30 years ago I bought a 1-cup plastic coffee filter cone that is the greatest thing for camping since boiling water. Then they went out of style. For years I've been looking in vain for a backup/replacement and nearly gave up in despair. Melitta delivers and then some! The new style lets you gauge the water level while the cup fills, which prevents spills - my biggest gripe with the old style. My gold-tone #2 filter also fits so I can eliminate paper filters at home. For better coffee extraction, slowly pour in the hot water a little bit at a time, two or three times, so the filter doesn't fill more than about half way. Voila! The best.

 "Perfect Form and Function" 2009-06-04
By M. F. Wiegand (San Antonio, TX)

The Melitta 64007B Single Cup Coffee Filter Cone is an excellent product:

It is a good example of a near perfect combination of simple, sturdy form and excellent functionality. It is well-designed. It is inexpensive. It produces precisely what it says it will produce- an excellent, quickly made cup of coffee. It cleans quickly with a swish of water and a simple blotting with a paper towel or napkin. It retains no residue. The strength of the coffee it makes can be varied by the size of the coffee grounds. It is even rather entertaining to use. Essentially it is flawless.

Cuisinart DLC-4CHB Mini-Prep Plus 4-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless Steel Review. Kitchen style! A brushed stainless finish adds a touch of elegance the MiniPrep Plus 4 Cup Processor is now a fashionable fit for any kitchen. Includes the tools to perform any food preparation task…with superior style....

 "AND I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT I NEEDED ONE..." 2009-05-11
By Canthespam (San Francisco, CA)

Check out this video for some great recipes and ideas.



http://kitchen-dining.hsn.com/cuisinart-mini-prep-plus-4-cup-food-processor_p-5421978_xp.aspx#$



I have a larger Cuisinart that sits on the shelf for months at a time and a 2 cup Black and Decker mini processor, which is just way too small, but I used it for years anyway. I had seen this model on a lot of TV cooking shows, but had no idea what size or brand it was. Now I am recognizing my model in use almost everyday.



I recently came across this 4 cup Cuisinart, quite by accident, and I absolutely love it. I have used it more in the last few weeks that I used the 2 cup in 6 months. It makes excellent bread crumbs, fresh and dried, and just the right amount of salsa or tapenade in seconds. Yes, it does pulverize onions, but I watch it very closely and since they are an ingredient, not served by themselves, they work out fine.



Four cups is a good size and it has a lot of power. It's easy to use and clean.



*** In response to the review where the motor died after only a few uses ... this happened to me the third or fourth time that I used it - it just stopped working. Fortunately my husband was standing there and while I was having a fit, he simply pushed the long plastic thing into the base to make the connection. I hadn't pushed it in all the way. No problem after that and I now make sure it is inserted properly.

 "Little powerhouse!" 2009-01-16
By MKonis (Los Angeles, CA)

I was 21 years old, wandering the William Sonoma store, holding my gift certificate from Dad. I was totally lost. With little knowledge or direction I stumbled upon this little food processor. Honestly, I think I bought it because I thought it was "cute". But I'm so glad I did! Now 6 years later this little baby still earns the honor of being a "counter-top" appliance. The Mini-prep has a sharp blade for quick and even chopping. It's perfect for small batches of pesto or hummos. I use it to grate onion, carrot and cheese and to make a quick smoothie for one. It's small and easy to clean, which I absolutely love. It gets far more use than my big guy and after 6 years it works as well as the day I bought it. A great buy!

 "A MUST HAVE" 2008-08-30
By Dorothy Desmarais-moitoso (Norton, MA United States)

I researched this handy counter top tool and read all reviews for days before purchasing. This being my THIRD, yes third kitchen tool of its kind (the other two got donated to Good Will because they didn't live up to the manufactures claims)I have to say that this is the best little kitchen companion. It has cut my prep time 75%...it is a must have!!! Really!

 "convenience without being large" 2008-03-08
By Wanda S. Bonner (Nashville, TN USA)

I searched for the 4-cup processor and was not able to find it locally. Everyone had the 3-cup processor. This new one will easily chop a medium-sized onion and most everything needed for a recipe. It is light and small enough to keep on the counter. Just what I needed!

 "A great product for Small jobs" 2008-12-24
By K. Elder (Montana)

We love this processor. It is perfect for normal use, a bit small for party's. We use this for salsa, onions etc... Almost every meal we use it for some small chopping, grinding or mixing job. I love using it for the garlic cream cheese for celery. We had the Black and Decker one before this and loved it. The only part that makes this better is that all the parts that get covered with food go in the dishwasher. This was not the case with the Black and Decker.

Senseo Decaffeinated Coffee, 18-Count Pods (Pack of 6) Review. Senseo Douwe Egberts Coffee Pods offer the same fine taste and quality as our Medium Roast, without the caffeine. This coffee has a consistent body with a rich taste so it can be enjoyed at any time of the day. Specially-designed SENSEO coffee pods are measured servings of coffee that give you a full, smooth taste and aroma. The coffee blends are selected and roasted by the premier European company Douwe Egberts, with a 250 year heritage....

 "Decaf Senseo Coffee" 2007-10-23
By Gail (OCEAN VIEW, Germany)

Makes an excellent cup of coffee. I drink it hot or I let it cool for iced coffee. Good full flavor, no bitterness.

 "Decaf Coffee Pods" 2008-06-08
By M. Ritondo (Aberdeen, MD USA)

The Senseo Douwe Egberts decaf coffee pods are a great deal and we love them. This is the best price thst we have found and have been buying them for years and will continue to do so.

Mike & Mary

 "Delicious strong decaffinated coffee" 2008-02-29
By David J. Langrock (Sammamish, WA)

I use this in my Keurig machine (using a perfect pod holder) and it makes delicious and suprisingly strong coffee for a "medium" roast.

 "Senseo Decaf Pods" 2008-05-02
By dixiegayle (Tennessee, USA)

The best tasting decaf pods on the market by far, but becoming hard to find on grocery shelves.

 "Great coffee & great price" 2008-05-02
By D. Jones (PA)

The coffee was excellent and the price was the best available online as I can't seem to find it in the town I live. Package was well packed and came quickly.

FoodSaver V2240 Advanced Design Vacuum Food Sealer Review. Simpler, Smarter, Sleeker - Advanced Design features in a compact design. New Compact Size - Saves Space on Your Countertop! Simpler because it improves upon favorite FoodSaver features like Hands-free operation -- now at the touch of a button. Smarter because it introduces never-before-seen features like variable speeds for different size bags and canisters, and food-specific settings that ensure a secure seal for dry or moist food. It even has a CrushFree™ Instant Seal feature so that, for the first time ever, you can immediately stop the vacuum process when vacuum packaging delicate foods. And it is Sleeker because it combines function and beautiful form with features like an easy-to-use and easy-to-clean flat Touchpad Control Panel....

 "You'll use it everyday" 2010-05-25
By J. Cavaretta

Owned for a couple weeks now. It's worked very well. Does a great job sealing, and vacuum packing works wonders for holding flavor while storing food. A fantastic surprise to this machine is that you can use it to pretty much seal any plastic bags, which i didn't know. I thought it was only for vacuum packing in the foodsaver bags, but you can use the sealer on cereal bags, potato chip bags, and even the plastic bags that bread comes in. Had i known that, i wouldn't have pondered the decision for whether this was really something i would use enough to justify the purchase. I've been using it for something everyday.

 "Will work 18 out of 20 times" 2010-04-07
By Brad (Santa Monica, CA)

I've used the V2240 for 2 months now on a fairly consistent basis. In total I've probably vacuumed sealed at least 500 packages from trail mix, dried fruit, granola... and it is still going strong.



The only two complaints I have:



1.) It will only vacuum seal Foodsaver bags, not ziploc bags. Costco sells them pretty cheap.



2.) The space between the sealer and vacuum channel are too far apart causing the waste of roughly an inch of bag for each vacuum seal.



Overall, I'm very happy with this product and would recommend it.

 "Awesome!" 2008-12-16
By A. Tyre (NYC)

I have used foodsavers for years...I'm not quite sure what the other reviewer is talking about, but I love this. This was a replacement for an older one that finally died. I use it often, and have never experienced any issues with it creating a vaccuum seal even one time. I love this and it's advanced features.

 "Xlnt vacuum seal" 2010-05-14
By Steve (Santa Cruz, California)

After years of use and hundreds of vacuum seals my model 1075 would not seal bags properly. Vacuum OK but even a double seal would let air in after a few days. I have owned FoodSavers since mid 1997 and this is my third unit. Mind you, I vacuum seal hundreds and hundreds of packages each year and have gotten my $$ worth out the past two units. Looking over all FoodSaver models, I selected the V2240. I like the fact it resembles the older 1075, simple to use, and doesn't waste excess bags like the new vertical units do.



My only dislike is the "moist" setting. It's about 5-7 seconds shorter than the "dry" setting. Kinda useless as it doesn't quite finish the job. I prefer to freeze the product until the excess moisture has frozen then vacuum seal on dry. Works like a charm as I just sealed a bunch of smoked bratwurst and fresh caught Coho salmon.

 "One of My Favorite Kitchen Toys" 2010-01-08
By S. Pipenger (Nova York, NY)

This thing is great. I live alone but buy chicken in bulk. This thing allows me to freeze it, take it out, and it's fresh and wonderful without any freezer burn. I bought a plastic marinating dish which I used to quick marinate meats(or to store soft items in there so they don't go stale, and it works swimmingly). Highly recommend it to anyone!!!!

Senseo SL7810/65 Single-Serve Gourmet Coffee Machine, Black Review. Senseo black Single Serve coffee appliance that has a unique patented pressurized brewing system that brews a fresh cup of coffee in just 30 seconds....

 "Convenient & fun" 2009-10-24
By Music Mama Rob (Cos Cob, CT USA)

I received the Senseo coffee maker as a birthday gift 2 years ago and use it almost daily. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house and hate to waste a full pot of coffee if all I want is one or two cups. Making coffee with a Melitta one-cup filter is just too much work compared to the simplicity of the Senseo coffee maker.



The Senseo coffee maker has a reservoir that is easy to fill, and the pods are very convenient to just drop into the pod holder. Two tips I picked up from a single-serve review web site:



1: Pre-moisten the coffee pod so that the edges seal better to the holder, and



2: Preheat your milk so that the milk doesn't cool the coffee when it pours into your cup. I preheat my milk for 30 seconds in the microwave, easy to do while the water is warming up.



I like being able to make a quick double for my travel mug when I'm running late--much faster than driving to Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks and not knowing how long the line will be.



I love to show off my machine for company. I can accommodate everyone, whether they want regular or decaf, mild or strong, etc.



My only wish is that there could be more varieties to choose from. Plus a little hot chocolate would be nice--especially with the foam on top that the machine makes with every cup. K-cups seem to own the market on variety.



Yes, my machine was one of the ones that was recalled. While I had no problem with the old machine, Philips made it very simple by shipping the new machine by FedEx and requesting that the old one be shipped back at their expense in the same packaging. And I was surprised with a pretty white one which replaced the old black one. The white one goes better in my kitchen, a silly thing to obsess about, but I like it.



All in all, the Senseo is quick, easy, fun, and convenient. It's also a lot cheaper than buying on the road.

 "Excellent Product" 2010-04-14
By Maugham (Arizona)

We have this machine, bought in 2004 and used 2-3 times a day. It still works fine, but it's white and we wanted a black one to match our new kitchen appliances. So the old one goes into storage in case the new one breaks down.



There are a lot of so-called "single-serving" coffee makers on the market today. My wife and I have been very select coffee drinkers all our marriage - nearly 30 years. We started with a beautiful La Pavoni expresso maker, which we still have although we had it completely overhauled about 8 years ago.



When we saw the Senseo we thought we'd try it because it seemed much less trouble - although we were highly suspicious of anything that made coffee from "pods" because we were used to grinding our own coffee from beans stored in air-tight containers in the freezer and each cup of coffee we made was made from freshly ground beans.



From the very beginning we were impressed with the Senseo. Push a button and 90 seconds later the water for coffee is at temperature. Push another button and you have a fresh cup of delicious hot coffee, complete with a nice "creama" or frothy top just as you would get from an espresso coffee machine. The single serving button gives you a cup a little larger than the single serving espresso you typically get - say in a Parisian or Italian coffee house. This may not be enough for American coffee drinkers used to a large mug of coffee. If not, you can push the "double" button and get either a large cup of coffee or two small cups the size of an espresso drink described above. Coffee pods come in all strengths (light, medium, dark roast), flavors etc. and are sold at Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway etc. and online at Amazon and lots of other places.



The pods come 18 to a package and a package costs about $4.75 - $5.25 depending on how many you buy and where. That averages about 25-30 cents per cup of coffee if you choose the single serving button - twice that for the double serving button. This is more than if you make drip coffee or do espresso with fresh ground beans, but I think it's worth the convenience. The resulting cup of coffee is really good - rich, hot, flavorful and frothy. We used "Dark Roast" but tastes vary.



As I said earlier, our 6-year-old machine still works pefectly and we use it every day, at least twice but more often quite frequently.



When we have guests we sometimes go back to the automatic drip coffee maker so we can put a whole pot of hot coffee on the table. But even then, if guests request, we can make cups so fast that it's no problem to serve 4-6 guests a hot cup, all done within 4-5 minutes.



We recommend the senseo to friends without reservation.



However, there is one thing you must remember if you use this machine - and this is probably true for any machine: If your water has a lot of minerals in it - especially calcium - you must clean this machine periodically. The instructions say every 90 days - but where we live the calcium builds up quickly so we do it about every 60 days. This is important. A friend of ours through out his machine because he said the coffee started tasting bad and I'm sure sure it was because he wasn't cleaning the machine at all. It's easy to clean - just run half vinegar and half water through it once, and then pure water once. All you do is put in the vingegar and water, then push both buttons (the single serving and the double serving) and the machine pumps all of the water / vinegar solution through the machine without stopping. Of course, you have to be sure it has a contained below large enough to receive all of this liquid.



Also, depending on the mineral deposits in your water, you may need to push a needle or pin through the pod holder drain hole once in a while because sometimes a grain of coffee or calcium build-up clogs the hole.



The machine comes with a reservoir tank for water, two pod holders (one pod and two pods) and a supply of coffee (one package of 18 pods).



You can order accessories for the machine, which include:



A double sized water reservoir (I recommend it highly), replacement pod holders, and a specil pod holder for making espresso coffee especially. You can also buy other replacement parts, but there are only two other parts besides the reservoir and pod holders. These two parts are the small overflow or spill catcher plastic part and a metal "grill" where you sit the coffee cup.



The new machine we ordered from Amazon (in black rather than the white one we already had) has one difference from the machine we bought 6 years ago: the spout where the coffee comes out it shorter, making it higher from the grill where the coffee cup sits. This is an improvement because now you can sit a large mug under the spout whereas the old machine made this difficult because the spout extended down quite far - made to accommodate short little demitasse (sp?) or espress cup sizes. You can still use these smaller cups with the new spout but now you can also use a large mug if you want a "full-size" cup of coffee.



Summary Good Points:



1. The coffee is very good.

2. The coffee maker is very reliable. Our first one has worked without fail for 6 years and is still working. We just wanted a different color.

3. The coffee maker works very fast. A fresh cup of coffee from "0" to finished cup in about 3 minutes. After the first cup, the next cups can be made in less than 1 minute.

4. The price is far below most other single serving coffee makers: We bought our new one from Amazon in April 2010 for $49 with no cost for shipping.

5. The price for each cup of coffee is below any other single serving coffee makers that I have researched. This coffee maker costs between 25 and 30 cents per cup. Double that if you make a typical American "mug" sized cup of coffee.

6.Coffee pods are available at Wal-Mart, Safeway, Targe and other major chains. You can buy a "pod-maker" which allows you to make your own pods. This may be cheaper but we prefer the convenience of commercially produced pods since the coffee is still very affordable even if you buy the pods ready-made.



Caveat: Coffee will turn bad if you do not perform simple regular cleaning - i.e. run half vinegar/half water through the machine at least every 90 days. Every 60 days is better if you live where the water has high mineral content and creates build-up in the machine. If you have a water softener or filter or use bottled water this may keep the machine cleaner longer.



Summary bad points:



We have had good experience with Philips products. They are a Dutch company (perhaps owned by the Royal Family, I'm not sure) and they seem to research companies and then buy them. Some examples are this Senseo machine and their Sonicar electric toothbrush.



Except for their TV, we have had good experience with Philips products. We bought a Philips TV and a Philips DVD/VHS player. The TV works OK but we can't get the player/recorder to work with the TV. When we called their support line the only suggestion they had was to buy another player. So for TVs and DVD/VHS player / recorders we stick to Japanese products.



But the Senseo coffee maker is an excellent machine and we recommend it highly.

 "Super cool coffee maker. Best system on the planet!" 2009-11-29
By Gricycle (Oceanside, CA)

Yes, you have to use two pods per cup to get decent coffee and that is exactly what you'll do. It still has far and away the most choices of good pods here on Amazon and in stores, and is much cheaper to use than Keurig. We like to use two Baronet Coffee Organic Espresso Dark, Fair Trade, 18-Count Pods (Pack of 3) with one Wolfgang Puck Coffee Pods, Sorrento Colombian Swiss Water Process Decaf Blend, 18-Count Box (Pack of 3) and one Café Halo Ethical Addiction Coffee Pods, 16-Count, 4.23 Ounce Bags (Pack of 6). This is 25% decaf coffee that is delicious for about 50 cents per cup. Black coffee fans will love the orange foam on top of the cup produced by the Senseo, but we pollute ours with 2 T. of Starbucks mocha powder, a little SB Carmel sauce, some cinnamon and milk. It tastes exactly like SB's Mocha, much faster, without the extra calories and saves us $3 every day.

 "Love our Senseo!" 2009-10-11
By Amber Rose (Dallas, TX)

We've had our Senseo coffee maker for about 4 years now. Fortunately it wasn't one included in the recall and we use it every day. We bought it for $35 and it came with the large water reservoir. We love it so much we've a few more for family members. Wish I could find another at the price we paid!

 "Makes the best coffee - simple design and quiet" 2009-11-04
By Joseph Giuliano (New York)

I love my Senseo. It simply makes better coffee then Kurig or any other single serve coffee maker. I've had them all. It takes up less counter space side to side and top to bottom.