I heartily recommend the AeroPress. It's very compact, easy to use and makes a wonderful shot, or with water added to result a fantastic Americano.

I really like my Hamilton Beach 3-in-1. (http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-42115-Hot-Beverage-Center/dp/B000R4J8VQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1254155829&sr=8-7)

It makes a good cup, is around $30 and uses regular grounds instead of annoying pods. I purchased mine at a b&m Target.

6 pack of red bull? i mean, if this is the only time you're going to need this...
otherwise i highly recommend the bodum french press, especially if you have a water kettle to boil water. one option for cleaning is to dump everything down the toilet. seriously.

I don't know what your budget is like but, I got my boyfriend the Breville Gourmet Single-Cup Coffee Maker for Christmas and he loves it.

It's on the high end of these types of machines but I looked for weeks and it had the best reviews and features like a K-cup filter so that you can use your own coffee grounds, tea leaves, etc., and never have to use the pods if you don't want to. It also has things like auto on/off timer. Also, the stainless steel exterior and blue lights look great!

http://www.amazon.com/Breville-BKC600XL-Gourmet-Single-Cup-Coffee/dp/B000VX7VJO/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1254158624&sr=8-6

I have and absolutely love a stove top espresso maker by Bialetti. (Here's a link: http://www.surlatable.com/nav/i/category/coffee %26 tea/espresso %26 cappuccino/bialetti moka express espresso makers/*/price range/%2425 %E2%80%93 %2449.99/n/218.do?sortby=ourPicks, or you can do a search at surlatable.com. I bought mine for $10 or so at Home Goods.) It's quick and very simple, and the best part is that it requires very little cleaning! You put water in the bottom, pack coffee into the filter, screw the top on, and put it on the stove to boil. When it's done, you just rinse all the parts. It's best not to wash it with soap, because you actually want oils from the coffee to build up on the surfaces. Otherwise you can get a slightly metallic taste. For this reason, your first few pots of coffee won't be great, but after that the taste should be fine. If should add for true coffee snobs that these pots don't produce true espresso, which requires that the water be pushed through the grounds with greater force. But I think it tastes pretty close. If you boil it slowly enough, you can actually get "crema" to foam on the top. Plus I love the simplicity of not having to maintain a large piece of equipment that might break.

P.S. If you try a stove top espresso maker, make sure you use finely ground coffee suitable for an espresso machine. I tried regular grounds at first, which didn't work out well. Also, you can get a pot by Bialetti that lets you add milk for cappuccino, if you prefer. It's called the "Mukka."

Nesspresso makes a very fine cup of coffee. The pods are all pretty good (some great, some not to my liking, but not bad.) I've found the Kuerigs pods to be bad in general, and about the same cost. The machine are more, but man do they make good coffee. And clean up is a breeze.

1 for the aeopress. Seriously the best tasting coffee I've ever had, anywhere.

My last company had a Keurig B70 and I thought it was awful. I wouldn't say I am a horrible coffee snob, but I like a strong brewed cup. The stuff that came out of the Keurig was fast-food/convenience store quality at best. The thing "broke down" fairly often as well

NOT TO MENTION ALL THE WASTE that single serve machine create! Packaging and the little brew units, create too much garbage.

French press or or a Melitta filter cone brewer with a hot/cold water cooler is a much better option.

Did I mention single serves machines are wasteful? Because they are!

I`m very sceptical about pod coffee makers - they are quite easy to use and clean, but also have a lot of shortcomings - especially when it comes to rather limited variety of drinks you can prepare with them, not to mention inability to use fresh ground coffee of your choice. If you are (or might be) a real coffee lover, not only for its 'kick', but for the flavour, if you like to celebrate certain everyday activities, but also are open for a little experimenting, I suggest a traditional pressurized coffee maker - either a pump or steam type. The first one is for making espresso and derivatives (cortado, cappuccino, latte..), the second one is for making mocca - strong, hot coffee capable of waking the dead. I have both (OK, actually I have seven coffee machines. Yeah, I`m a nut :)) and use one or another depending on the mood and time of the day. These machines aren`t super clean and easy to use, you need a decent grinder and time to get practice for satisfying results, but it`s worth it. I won`t recommend any particular machine here - that choice is way too personal. Just try coffee from different machines and follow the taste. The first sip of crema from the top of freshly brewed espresso is a magical moment - and I enjoy it at least twice a day.

Seriously? This person wants to pay for 2-day shipping for a single serving coffee maker? Hit up a local Target or something to get a French press. I got mine at Ikea for $7. Or what about one of those cheapo little coffee makers with a four-cup pot? Who cares if it's four servings. A "venti" Starbucks is technically one serving but it's 20 oz, that's over two cups right there.

As far as a single-serving ESPRESSO maker... well, I still think the French press is a better bet, but those Bialetti espresso makers are supposed to be great. And you can get electric ones if you don't have a stovetop availble for heating it on.

And if all that is too complicated, why not just buy a case of Starbucks double shot espresso cans?

Also, French presses are super easy to clean. Dump out the grounds, rinse the mesh plunger, maybe scrub the inside of the canister with a little soap and you're done.

Drip coffee still tastes the best, according to every article I've ever read. Just buy a small 4-cup automatic drip coffee maker. Drink a cup or two and throw out the rest - it'll still be cheaper (and create less waste) than one of those single-serve machines with all its pods and whatnot.

I have a kuerig right now and I love it, it even has the ability to make iced coffee which is Delicious. I threw out my phillips Senseo since it continualy leaked all over my kitchen counter.

I did consider a french press, however I'm the only one that drinks coffee in my house and I usually brew a cup before going to work or just one cup on the weekends. The Kuerig works well for what I want it to do, which is brew a cup of coffee quickly so i can get out the door, and also taste good as well.

As for the people who say that it is wasteful haven't actually researched them enough to know that you can buy a adapter that uses standard ground coffee. So the only waste there is, is coffee grounds.

If you wanted to delve into wasteful, you would have to ask yourself this. What is more wasteful cleaning a french press everyday(thats water your using!) or cleaning a Kuerig every three months (manufacturers recommended cleaning schedule).

dbailey

True there is water waste with regular coffee machines/presses. But the kuerig still creates little plastic cups with foil lids that cannot be recycled. So those will be around more or less forever. The coffee is also sub-par as it's made to be shelf stable. But I am one who grinds my coffee daily, so to me preground coffee is only used in moments of desperation.

Also true there is a kuerig adapter for real coffee, but it only fits some models. So while that is an option, you would just have to make sure to get the right model.

I had this same dilemma back in college. I am not an energy drink fan, and prefer coffee. I bought a Black & Decker Brew n Go, which brews one cup of drip coffee. $22, eligible for amazon prime: Amazon Product Link

For Pod based coffee - I would have to put in a 1 for nespresso, and -1 for keurig. We have a nespresso at my current office, and I am a big fan. On the other hand, my previous office had a keurig and I felt the coffee from there was flavorless.

I'm sure she's bought a coffee maker by now, but I'll 3rd (4th?) the stovetop espresso maker. Awesome (strong!) coffee, inexpensive, and simple cleanup.

I actually started a blog about them at Stovetop Espresso World because I love mine so much ;)

Check it out for tips on using a stovetop espresso maker.

They aren't difficult to clean actually. I use a standard sieve I have in the kitchen. Just hold the top of the French press over the sieve and run water, which will remove the grains from the filter part. Then fill the press container with some water, swish around and pour into the sieve. The grains fall into the sieve and it's a simple wrist flip to put them into the trash.

And on a side note, I don't get those single servers at all. All of that plastic waste! And you can't buy anyone else's coffee but their's or someone who makes a compatible thing for it. Why would you buy a $100-plus item and then be forced into a program completely controlled by the manufacturer of that program?