CBTLâ„¢: Contata
The Market for single cup coffee makers has been getting a bit crowded of late. But not all of the machines seem to be equal. Most only offer a quick cup of coffee, and my experience with a Kuerig has been less than stellar, if not horrible. But my experiences with some fo the other brands has been much better.
Enter a new single cup coffee maker from The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ®. Their take is an interesting addition to the world of single serving makers. As it seems to do what the Kuerig cannot, and brew a cup of espresso. There are two machines being sold by CBTLâ„¢, The Kaldi and the Contata, I wonder if their names mean anything beyond just sounding fun? The machine is a neat piece of industrial design with smooth lines and a nice finish. Although I’m not too sure of the difference between the two machines as their specs seem pretty close. Both are actually small espresso machines capable of producing 15 bar of pressure, while still being able to brew a good cup of coffee.
The Machines use proprietary CBTLâ„¢ beverage capsules and are capable of making Tea, Coffee and Espresso. Since I already love my current Tassimo machine I would relish the chance to do an espresso throw-down between the two. I couldn’t find any word on their website regarding the availability of a fill your own coffee pod selection. A feature which would make this an unbelievable option. So if anyone is listening, please make this available, trust me not everyone will buy it and the other pods will still get sold. You would earn massive cache from coffee people everywhere for throwing this option in.
CBTLâ„¢: Kaldi
The pods seem to be priced relativity reasonably at 10 for roughly 6 dollars, less than a dollar a cup of coffee, or espresso. Hard to beat that when compared to retail.
All of that aside though I am interested to see what the world of single cup brewers will bring to us coffee lovers. It seems more and more machines are coming out daily, sometimes with their own beverage capsule sometimes not. But all we as consumers can do is look at the pretty machines and try and make the best choice to fit our beverage consuming habits.
*Disclosure: This article is a sponsored piece, but the content and conclusions are my own