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Out of all the alternatives to coffee pods, I have found the "Ecopad" to be the best simulation of the cup of coffee produced by use of the coffee pod. Nearly the same rich foamy, frothy top to the cup of coffee itself which is the whole reason I have gone this direction in coffee making. This is the best of all the alternatives to coffee pods provided by the coffee maker company, and I get to use my favorite coffees.
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I have my Senseo almost a year (just found out is being recalled - please check yours! [...] ). Anyway before finding out about the recall I started having trouble finding the only coffee pod I like, Sumatra. It was no longer in any grocery or other retail store in area and even Walmart shiptostore no longer carried. Tried every other non-flavored pod I could get my hands on locally and none were acceptable. There are still places on the web but didn't want to spend even more for what is expensive coffee already. Figured I would try this and would use espresso fine grind as recommended since I like a strong cup. Well, I tried both regular espresso grind and a very fine grind. Both expensive enough that it wouldn't be much cheaper than the packaged pods even. Tried one cup (with an empty just water run first to get everything hot), one-cup twice for a mug full, and two cup setting. The coffee varied from mediocre to impossible to drink. For the most part, I get brown water with a foaminess (not foam on top, more a "general" foaminess) You can tell when it is coming out, after first blast, it is hardly colored anymore. And no coffee aroma. The best results are packing as tightly as possible with the finest grind and using one cup setting (running without pod first to heat everything up and having fresh water in it rather than what was sitting in boiler since yesterday).
That result, however drinkable, is not worth the mess. And what a mess. I knew the pods would be a little messy to fill and figured it would be the price to pay for this being cheaper than buying pods on the web. But the mess to empty! Yikes. Now I remember why I got the Senseo in the first place. To not go through the mess of grinds to deal with. And very fine espresso grinds packed tightly into the pods are very messy indeed to clean out. More like dirt. I don't have a garbage disposal so this is awful. Not only do I have the dry grounds mess filling, I have the wet mess disposal to deal with.
For now I have bought the Sumatra on the web. And will use that until the replacement machine comes. Since that machine is black (that is all they are giving in exchange for recalled machines) and mine is red (the other reason I bought it!). I think I will sell the black one unused and get myself a Keurig. Senseo is too much trouble and whether the Sumatra pods have become difficult to find because they are maybe closing up? Or if it is just being phased out, I can't find a coffee I like in their line anymore so why go on with this.
If you are into very watered down coffee, the ecopads are an option for you. To me it is too much mess for nothing.
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Fantastic product!! Works great. If you're thinking about this or a coffee duck, I can bet you the duck's not worth the extra $$, although I haven't tried one.
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This are so neat. They are really handy for making a cup of different or special coffee's. Love it
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I bought a pack of these at the same time I ordered a duck. I found the duck easier to use and clean but it produced no foam. With the ecopads we get more foam than with the senseo pods!
I love being able to use whatever coffee I want to use. I like to use Trader Joe's coffees and I've found I get the best results grinding at the store alternating between the espresso and the turkish grind. I've also used it with plain old folgers type coffee and it is acceptable. When cleaning, I find it is less messy if there is a cup or bowl filled with water in the sink to swish it clean in;it can splatter and make a mess if you try to rinse under a running faucet.
Our pads are still going strong but I'm ordering more so I can prepack a few and have them handy.
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