Senseo coffee makers on display at Saturn in downtown Frankfurt this past summer... More on that in a sec; first, a bit of background:

One of my favourite breakfast spots in Toronto, The Swan, serves coffee from some kind of fancy machine, yielding a deep, rich cup of the black stuff with a thin layer of light brown froth on top. Little did I know that this froth actually has a name — crema — and that Philips sells a crema coffeemaker for the home — the Senseo — that has apparently ignited a coffee revolution not seen since Mr. Coffee introduced the first automatic drip machine in 1972!

What I didn't know (and still don't) is whether or not Philips has any plans to market the Senseo in Canada. The closest thing I could find was the Melitta One:One, available at the The Bay.

Now, anybody who knows me well also knows that I obsess over silly little distractions like this, and as far as obsessions go, this one was good for many hours wasted on the internet. I found one newspaper comparison of the different machines, and a usenet post by a coffee lover who seemed to know what he was talking about.

For me it basically came down to this: I wanted the Senseo, but felt weird about having to import my regular supply of coffee from the US. I was also weirded out a bit by this photo of Senseo crema — to me, the froth looks way too thick to be real; I think that Philips adds either chemicals or maybe even some instant coffee to their pods for the crema effect, not unlike the Taster's Choice my dad used to suffer through.

In the Melitta's favour, The Bay promised to let me return it within a year, so there was no real reason not to at least give it a try; and with that slim justification I purchased a One:One in white and joined the pod revolution.

This morning I've had my first two cups of coffee, both with Melitta pods. The first was labeled "buzzworthy", and managed to give me the shakes with delivering any real flavour. The second, "love at first sip", was a little more mild; neither of the two, however, can compare with the Kick Ass that usually goes into my drip machine when I start my day.

What I did like, though, was not having to make more than one cup at a time. These machines are quick, convenient and super easy to clean, so instead of being burdened with the responsibility of finishing off a pot of stale, baked goop before the burner on the machine shuts off, I can enjoy a fresh cup of the black stuff whenever I feel like it. Melitta makes tea pods for their One:One too!

This morning I ordered some gourmet pods from the States, which pretty much defeats the purpose of not getting the Senseo in the first place. Chemicals or not, I'm still interested in tasting that Senseo crema, so I'll be shuffling off to Buffalo after the election next week to get me one. Stay tuned...