Its the big thing in coffee right now - single cup coffee brewers.

Instead of pouring your ground coffee in a filter, like you do with a regular drip brewer, these new machines are built to accept special pods or K-cups, which are pre-filled. (Its the same principle as those filter bags of coffee you find in hotel rooms, but fancier.)

So you select from the available blends of coffee, buy a box of pods or K-cups and then simply insert one into the machine whenever you want some coffee.

Whats the big deal with a single cup coffee brewer?

The manufacturers are selling them with the promise that you can now brew a great cup of coffee without the hassle of grinding beans or getting the kitchen counter messy with coffee grinds.

Its all about convenience.

And if you are a gadget freak, or like the idea of being able to brew one or two cups of coffee at the same time, without having to grind the beans or clean up any mess, one of these machines may suit you just fine.

But before you go out and spend two hundred bucks on a high-end single cup coffee brewer, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Depending on the brand you buy, youll find yourself limited to the pods or K-Cups that are designed to fit that particular model.

That means you cant try any kind of coffee beans you might find in the store, or online. You can ONLY brew coffee that comes in those pads or special cups.

2. Also, the coffee will never be as fresh as it is when you grind your own beans just before brewing. The pads and cups may be sealed, but the coffee beans were ground a long, long time before you get to brew.

3. This is a very expensive way to make coffee. If you do the math, each cup with these machines can cost you close to fifty cents. Thats a lot more than youll pay if you buy your own beans.

If you want just one or two cups of coffee when you brew, are there some good alternatives to a single cup coffee brewer?

Absolutely.

You can use your regular drip brewer, and just limit the amount of water in the reservoir, and the amount of ground coffee you put in the filter.

Or you can use a French press...for under twenty bucks.

Or for even less than that, you can use a manual drip filter cone. Its just a plastic or glass cone in which you place a filter and add the ground coffee.

The invention of the single cup coffee brewer is a big marketing scam. Its a way for companies to make more money from the same amount of beans.

If you like gadgets, by all means get one.

But there are simpler and cheaper ways to make a much better cup of coffee.