I love coffee. I own a lovely coffee maker that makes filter coffee. Over the weekend, we can make several pots of coffee and find that it's not enough for us. We also go through jars and jars of instant coffee (we buy Nescafe's, Taster's Choice). When my sister-in-law realized this and wanted to buy us a 25th wedding anniversary present, she decided that it was time we got a "real" coffee machine. That is why she bought us a Senseo coffee/tea maker by Philips, and we love it. Here is why.

Just looking at this machine on my counter-top is a pleasure. As you can see from the picture, it's very compact and sleek looking. Mine is this pretty blue one and it really looks lovely in my all blue and wood kitchen. The main part looks like a pillar that's melted over a bit. The top of the pillar lifts up, and inside there is where you put the coffee or tea pods. Below that are the spouts where the coffee or tea comes out. Underneath all this is a plate for putting your coffee cup or teacup onto. Just under the plate, on the front are three buttons. The middle one is the on-off switch and the left is the one-cup button, and the right is the two-cup button. At the back is the water reserve tank that leans out for filling and leans in when in place. By the way, when you want to make two cups, you'll need to put two pods into the machine, and there's a special holder for this. Really, that is all there is to this machine.

So simple, isn't it? And the coffee really is lovely. Of course, the taste of the coffee is depends highly on what type of coffee or tea you buy and what you personally like. But on the whole, I have found that the coffee from this machine has a slightly less acidic aftertaste to it than instant, and a touch stronger in general than filter coffee from my other machine. What's really nice is that every cup of coffee has that professional creamy foam on the top, which makes you feel like you've just gotten your cup from a fancy boutique coffee shop. How cool is that?

But I've found a way to get around this. Through Amazon.com in the USA I found a reusable, refillable filter pod. Despite some of the drawbacks (like you have to be careful to use finer ground coffee and make sure you don't have any grounds on the edges of the filter so that it closes completely), I think this will keep me going when I run out of the pods.

My overall impression of this machine is that it makes very nice coffee and tea - if a bit on the expensive side. It's easy to use, easy to clean and very easy on the eye. Of course, it's Philips and that's a very well known and trusted name, so I'm sure it will last me for many years. All in all, a solid four stars and recommended for anyone who likes to make a single or two single cups of non-instant coffee without going to all the trouble of using your big filter coffee maker or your messy café press.

You can buy this through Amazon.co.uk for £35.99. Also, I noticed that ElectricShopping.com sells this for £35.98, but I bet that you can get it cheaper off-line at somewhere like Curry's.