Pod Coffee Machine

The pod coffee machine was invented by Philips. They call their pod machines the 'Senseo'. They have successfully patented the technique the 'Senseo' uses, but in Europe they failed to patent the actually pods the machines uses. Which are called 'pads' in some countries.

This has resulted in most coffee granule manufacturers to make pods. This of course proved a disappointment to Philips, who had hoped to have a monopoly on the pods used by the 'Senseo'.

There are a variety of models produced by Philips. Some 'Senseo' machines have a milk reservoir to produce latte's, while others do not. It is believed that the 'Senseo' uses a filter technique to produce coffee.

All you need to do to operate a 'Senseo' is to insert the pod, make sure the milk or water reservoir is full and press the button. The pod usually contains just enough coffee to make one cup. The pods can contain all styles of coffee, such as Mocha, Caffè latte, Lungo, Macchiato, and Chococino.

Philips designed the 'Senseo', not only to conveniently make one cup of coffee without the need to buy a whole bag or jar of beans. But, to produce a cup of coffee that equals the quality of those produced by Espresso machines and coffee shops. The 'Senseo' machine is not hugely expensive, between £50-100, but the pods are relatively pricey for the amount of coffee they produce.

So far the 'Senseo' pod machine dominates the market. But other pod coffee machines have been developed which do not infringe on the patent issued to Philips. Because the pods themselves are not patented, they can also be compatible with the pods designed for the 'Senseo'.

The main competitor to the 'Senseo' is currently the 'Tassimo', which was developed by Braun. However, another machine has recently been developed by Krups, and we can expect more pod machines to be developed by other manufacturers in the near future.