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Nothing. The best part is that there is NOTHING to clean. There a dozens of varities available. You won't be happy with anything but a french press. As far as the pod style makers go, this gets my top vote - and is the one sitting on my kitchen counter. You read that correctly.
Did I mention that there is nothing to clean up. If you are a complete coffee snob, don't buy this. For the 99% of the rest of you, this is terrific. All you have to do is fill the water tank every few days and buy the packets.
This allows you to make a more or less concentrated brew. Of the many Flavia coffees I have sampled, Sumatra is the most satisfactory for me (and for the other coffee addicts in my office).There are indicator lights next to the fill adjustment knob. Once up to speed, the machine uses relatively little power and goes into low power mode if it's left on but not operated. There's a lot of non-recyclable waste.
Once you get familiar with them, they are very helpful in letting you know when the machine is ready to brew or if it needs its tank refilled. Flavia offers a $25 carousel that holds 6 of these rails but it's a space hog in a small kitchen. The first fills but usually does not burst the bottom of the coffee packet. To keep the machine from disintegrating, I now warm the packet's plastic top in a jar of boiling water while the Fusion heats up, which makes it easier to punch them.The dispensing head moves up and down which is a good thing because even when it's lowered flush with the lip of a large diameter cup, some coffee will occasionally splatter out. Coffee is prepared in a series of water injections.
This is the main reason I chose the Fusion over the larger SB100 model which takes a long time to heat up and keeps its larger water tank close to boiling. There's no practical way to brew your favorite freshly ground coffee with any of Flavia's machines. 20 packets come mounted on a plastic "rail"- you slide a packet off the rail one at a time. The next injection audibly pops the packet, releasing the brew into the cup. (Some packets are much harder to punch than others).
Flavia offers many coffee varieties, plus tea, chocolate, and some flavorings. If you make mug sized drinks at the high fill level, you have to refill the tank frequently. The beverage packet is the only part of the system exposed to the brew and it gets thrown away after one use. The foil and plastic beverage packets are very expensive for the small quantity of coffee they contain: works out to about $29 per pound for Sumatra, $33 per pound for the bland "House Blend" (calculations based on the case price at myflavia.com, not including shipping). Flavia pays the shipping on all orders over $100.The Fusion is ready to brew in 90 seconds and needs little or no wait to reheat between coffee packets.
To make a mug of coffee as rich as what you get at a Starbucks requires at least 3 packets, about $1.56 a cup.The mechanism that punches into the top of the packet started to break apart on my machine. You can take the whole tank off and fill it at the sink, but I don't trust the seal to hold up if this is done routinely and prefer to fill the tank with a small pitcher.There's a filter in the water tank which you are supposed to replace periodically, an additional cost ($11). The Fusion's designers seem to have taken their inspiration from The Jetsons cartoons. Don't even try dispensing directly into a small cup.The wasp-waisted tank holds relatively little water. At $100 including a starter pack of drinks, the basic Fusion is relatively inexpensive and lacks nothing but the extra trim and colors available with the substantially more expensive "Deluxe" model. There are 5 fill levels easily adjusted with a knob on the top of the dispensing head. The final injection consists of steam that forces most of the residual liquid out of the packet which rarely drips when you remove it from the machine.THE BAD: only works with Flavia coffee packets. The less expensive flavors are no economy; the "cheaper" packets contain less coffee.
The machine is even weirder in life than it looks to be in the pictures. THE GOOD: pretty good espresso without the mess. At the minimum fill level with one of Flavia's more potent coffee choices, you get something approaching coffee house espresso. Flavia's coffees range from $46 to $52 for 100 packets on the company's web site.
If I want to use a travel mug, I use a regular coffee cup and pour it into my travel cup. It's less mess than my regular BUNN coffee maker, no drips or spills at all. It's no more loud than an espresso machine. I told him, "Wow. The water reservoir is easy to prep for use and has a lid on top so you can refill it without removing it from the machine.
It does help me get through a busy morning making school lunches, doing dishes, packing backpacks and getting out the door. My 8yo son loves the Choco and Milky Way indulgences, and it's so easy, he can make it himself with limited supervision (me sitting at the table nearby). This cannot be done whisper quiet. But remember, it's pushing water through the packet very quickly, pushing open the bottom of the packet. Occasionally, when doing Choco, Creamy Topping, or Milky Way, a few drops will splash up onto the coffee maker back, but a quick swipe with a damp paper towel and it's clean. I just make sure the next time, the brewhead is positioned on top of the cup and there are rarely spashes.Yes, the machine is not quiet. I don't have to remove it to refill with water (I use a regular drinking glass to refill it). As I type this, they are having a 20% off at least 3 cases sale, which really helps with the cost and stocks me up for several months.Bottom line for me: This doesn't replace my regular coffeemaker for weekend pots or big groups at my house.
It's not as noisy as my dishwasher, mixer, food processor, or blender. not to mention the gas we save not having to drive over to the coffee shop).Watch for sales on the coffee packets and wait for the day they release them for sale to outside vendors. It does make noise as it heats the water (a "splooshy" sound) and it makes a whoosy sound as it brews the coffee. The House Blend and Breakfast Blend coffees are very tasty, especially when combined with a Decaf Hazelnut or French Vanilla. And it does give me the ability to invite my best friend over for a latte without paying $3.95 a cup. while we're hanging out in our slippers, giggling like schoolgirls playing hookey.And for that, the machine is priceless.
(Well, not quite. It does give me the ability to make one hot cup of decaf to have with a cookie in the evening. I want one of these for our house." I didn't know he'd take me seriously.He surprised me last week with the home version for our 15th anniversary, and I LOVE it. The machine fits nicely under my counters. I wouldn't say it's the loudest thing in my kitchen, by a long shot. I do most of my shopping online anyway (except groceries) so it's all good.
but it will pay for itself quickly if I can invite my friend over more often than before. I first used Flavia at my husband's workplace, the BIG leased version with auto water and self-disposal of the packets. The height adjustable brewhead adjusts to 5.5" which will accommodate every coffee cup I own. I can live with this for the nifty coffee drinks I can make.I knew going into ownership that I can only get the coffee drinks from Flavia and I'm okay with that.
Spoon it in the mug and the water will shoot down and stir it up. now a breeze. You can also use this method and replace the tea bag with a tablespoon or two of your own powdered cocoa mix. They are actually really tasty.*Best of luck.
Instant Oatmeal. BUT. The only thing running through the foil packet is hot water so there is no fear of germs or contamination. We put a traditional tea bag in a mug and press the coffee button. Yes it is a little annoying that you have to buy the coffee, tea and cocoa packets online. If you save one of the empty powder packets (such as Creamy topping or cocoa) you can put it back in the machine and run clean hot water through it. It will shoot a pre set amount of hot water into the mug, with no mess, and make instant hot tea. It also froths it a little because, unlike microwave hot water, it is shot into the cup- mixing it up.
*Note* Due to the filter process of making coffee, I would highly reccomend you continue to purchase the pre-filled Flavia fusion coffee pods. I bought one of these on sale at Macy's about a month ago, and I LOVE it. After you have done this one time you have an empty sterile packet with a small hole in the bottom that allows you to use the machine for a variety of other uses. Cup of Soup.
I hate the fact that all of the other detectives love it to. Now we need a doughnut machine that dispenses doughnuts as easily. They love the coffee, hate paying for it.Amazon.com needs to sell the coffee and then the price would go down. It was easy to learn how to operate with the quick tip instructions. It tastes great and is super easy.
I am a detective for a large police agency and we need our coffee.The machine arrived and was packaged well. I have used others without the adjustment and splashed coffee all over.I love this machine. At about.50 cents a cup I am going broke. even a cop can use it. I bought this machine to put in my office.
I have the Deluxe with the adjustable head which is a life saver. It gets pricey when you do the two step exotic coffee drinks.Highly recommend this machine and the coffee.
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