Single Serve Coffee Makers Brew A Perfect Cup Of Joe At Home

Yes, forget the percolator or the drip, these days its all about the single serve; machines that can make your cappuccino or espresso at the touch of a button. Basically all you do is insert a coffee capsule, add water and it's done.

"With a drip coffee maker, you are making an entire pot of coffee and it is cooking while it is still sitting on the machine all day long. When you make single serve, you make a fresh cup every single time you make it... there is also very little clean up factor. You've got one little capsule and you've got one thing of water. That's it, end of story: no more grinds, no more filters, no more scrubbing the pot," says Michelle Israel.

These machines sell for anywhere from $70 to $700. So what's the difference? Well before you go shopping, NY1 asked Michelle Israel of Bloomingdale's to tell us what's brewing in the world of single serve coffee makers.

First thing you need to ask yourself is what type of machine do you need.

"There's definitely a difference between multi-beverage machines and single serve coffee machines," says Israel. "Multi-beverage machines can make up to 30 different types drinks out of one machine. There's cappuccino, macchiato.

There's coffee; there's tea; there's green tea; there's a million different varieties. So there's multi-beverage and then there's the more traditional machines that make cappuccino, latte, espresso and coffee."

Also, the more expensive machines offer a receptacle that accepts different amounts of water which can effect the strength of the coffee.

Then of course you need to decide on the gadgetry and the style, from special timers or add-ons that steam milk.

Another thing you need to think about is what kind of coffee do you like. If you drink a specific brand like Gevalia or Green Mountain, you should know these brands work with specific manufacturers so you want to find out of your coffee works with the machine you want.

Most manufactures work with several brands, but make sure you know which ones. Some machines even allow you to make your own coffee capsules.

Speaking of the capsules, on average those run about $10 a box, so that is about 50 cents per cup.

So depending on how much coffee you drink, you need to decide if a single serve coffee maker is worth a shot.