A different (but not better) breed of brewer

True to their names, pod coffeemakers force water through the little coffee packets, or pods, under pressure. Those pods fit in the machine's brewing chamber. Consumers find pods enticing because there's no measuring and no spilling of grounds, and clean up consists of tossing the pod and rinsing the spout. For most machines that we tested, you fill the reservoir, push a water-warmer button, put the pod in and scrunch it down, then wait for the water to heat before pushing another button that picks the cup size or starts the machine brewing. Two machines let you chose cup size at the same time you start the process, a more convenient method—especially for the caffeine deprived.

Does all this produce a better brew? It didn't in our tests. Most pod machines made a relatively weak cup of coffee, though some highly rated models let you use two pods at a time to make stronger coffee. What's more, there's also little or no choice in the brands of coffee you can use, and coffee varieties within the brands can be limited. That's important because, as with drip coffeemakers, the quality of the coffee largely determines whether you can produce a better-tasting brew. Although a few online sites offer "generic" coffee pods that work with more than one type of machine, pods are generally machine specific and not interchangeable. Some pod brands, like Tassimino and Keurig, aren't available in the supermarket.

You'll spend $40 to $190 for a pod machine, but the real expense lies in the coffee. Expect to pay about 25 to 50 cents a pod. Double that if you like your coffee strong, which would require two pods per cup. That's far less than a Starbucks fix, but it's four times as much per cup as drip coffee using supermarket brands.