This new generation single serve coffee maker brews the coffee a step closer to the espresso-way. The coffee maker from Senseo comes with a frothy coffee layer that delivers a nice crema on top of the mug.

All three devices are the "one touch of a button type". The brewing time shrunken to less than one minute (after they heat the water, which will take another minute).

A drawback of the coffee pod system is that it limits your choice to just several types of coffee. The coffee maker from Melitta is the cheapest of all three ($50), but uses only Melitta pods. This is quite disappointing for a coffee addict.

With the Senseo machine from Philips, you can use the pods designed for it (containing Douwe Egberts coffee) or several others, Melitta among them. Ultimately, Senseo sells permanent filters for these coffee machines so you can use your own, favorite coffee.

If you want easy use, you should go for Melitta. But the truth is Philips' Senseo is the best performer: it can brew two cups at a time, it delivers crema due to mild pressure system, and lets you opt for whatever coffee you like, with the permanent filter.

Black & Decker's Home Cafe has its share of drawbacks when it comes to easy use and coffee choices. If you're wandering what's in their pods, the answer is Folgers coffee.

The shelf-prices swing among $50 and $100. The pods are 25 to 30 cents each. Some grumpy voices would say that the coffees used for these single-server pods are just a dread.

The coffee-pod was first created by Nesspresso for their espresso machines, and further developed by other manufacturers.