Is the Cuisinart DCC-1100 good value for money?

There are literally thousands of choices of coffee machines available on the market today. With so many choices, it can be extremely difficult to choose exactly the right machine to meet your personal needs. On top of all of the traditional choices, such as the Cuisinart DCC-100BK, there are also many types of single cup coffee machines. This may leave you wondering: "Should I get a single cup coffee machine instead?" To help you with your decision let's compare the choices.

The Cuisinart DCC-1100BK is a traditional multiple cup coffee brewing system. This means the coffee is going to fill the carafe, and then sit on the burner. Leaving coffee to sit in a large batch can lead to inconsistencies in the taste, or even a burnt taste after a certain length of time.

Single cup coffee machines, on the other hand, make consistently fresh cups of coffee, just when you want it, with no fuss and no muss. There are usually no filters to deal with, no coffee grounds to handle, and no carafes to clean out. Nothing could be better, right?! Well, before you rush out and buy one, you should first understand the various types of single cup coffee machines available and what each one requires.

There are three main types of single up machines: coffee pod machines (requiring the use of coffee pods, manufactured by a variety of companies, most of which are available on Amazon.com), K-cup machines (requiring the use of K-cups), and Tassimo machines (requiring the use of T-discs, made by Braun and Bosch, both are available on Amazon.com).

When you have decided upon which type of machine you prefer, you then need to purchase the proper type of disc, cup or pod that will work with your machine. These can be difficult to obtain, and can be somewhat expensive. The process from here is simple: add the water, add the pod, disc, or cup, place your mug under, and press a button or two. Approximately one minute later you have your freshly brewed coffee.

So, is a single cup machine better for you? If you are just looking to brew a single cup of coffee every once in a while then this may be the perfect choice for you. If you enjoy gourmet coffee, but do not feel as though you have the time to grind the beans or the desire to brew an entire pot, then you may also want to consider a single cup machine. However, keep in mind a couple of key points before you make your single cup purchase: every cup of coffee you make will cost more money - buying whole beans or pre-ground coffee is much more wallet friendly; and you will always have limited coffee choices - only certain types of coffee are available in pod, disc, or cup form, although particularly with the K-cups then you do get a wide choice nowadays (but still not the same choice as being able to use any beans you take a fancy to).

Coffee is a brewed drink made by filtering hot water through ground coffee beans. Coffee, which is naturally caffeinated, is one of the most popular drinks worldwide, and is commonly consumed because of the energizing effects its drinkers receive (as well as the taste of course). Americans account for over 20% of the world's coffee consumption, although it is largely imported from other countries.

Coffee is grown in over 70 countries worldwide. The best locations for cultivating coffee are tropical regions where the altitude is between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. Coffee normally needs to be grown in large fields, as one coffee plant can only produce about two pounds of beans each year. The largest exporters of coffee are Columbia, Kenya, Vietnam, Cote d'Ivoire, and Hawaii.

The process of harvesting and growing coffee beans is quite time consuming. Coffee grows naturally on a plant which is so large; many people refer to it as a tree. To make harvesting easier, many coffee growers don't allow the plants to grow past a certain height. Once the coffee plant is first planted, the growers need to wait up to four years before the plant is fully blossomed and ready to be harvested. Once the coffee plant is ready to be harvested, white blossoms appear on the plant.

While many people think of coffee as a bean, it is actually a seed which is grown inside of a coffee plant "cherry." When the coffee plant cherries are fully ripe and the plant has blossomed, the next step is to harvest the tree. Harvesting a coffee plant is quite simple, but labor intensive as it requires removing all of the ripe cherries from the plant. After all of the cherries are harvested, the coffee must be processed immediately.

There are two methods of processing the coffee beans. The first method, which is the wet method, involves sucking the pulp out of the cherries, and then washing the skin and pulp of the cherries off of the exposed beans. The second method, which is the dry method, involves allowing the beans to dry in the sun for up to 10 days. After the cherries have dried, they can be easily cracked and the bean can be removed.

The beans can then be sold as green beans for people to roast at home, or roasted to give us the tasty coffee beans we enjoy every day.