My oldest daughter just went off to college. Both her and her roommate are coffee drinkers. If you know anything about college students, most do not make it to breakfast. You sleep as late as you can and then rush to class. That is why I bought her a Dual Cup Coffee Maker. They love it. They set it to go, get showered, ready for class, and have their morning wake-up coffee right there in the room.

If you’ve read through this site at all, you’ll know that I love my coffee.  Sometimes I’m more enthused about the machine than I am the actual brew. I bought them the Cuisinart 2-cup Coffeemaker. I was going to get the one at JCPenny’s – which is the red mug, Wolfgang Puck 2-cup coffee maker, but I liked the idea of using the coffee pods with the Cuisinart better. For college students, easier was better.

Dual Cup Coffeemaker

I first came across this when I was traveling. I was staying at a Marriott in Missouri and they had one in our room. We were staying in a 2-bedroom suite, and I guess they figured that the two cup machine was better than making one whole pot, and the pods were easier for guests than using coffee grounds. Anyway, I liked it, wrote down the name of the machine, and when I got home I found it on Amazon (I find a lot of things there – including my daughter’s college textbooks :-) ).

Here is how Amazon describes it:  “The Cuisinart® Commercial 2-Cup Coffeemaker with its side-by-side design, can brew (1) 8 oz cup at a time, or (2) 8 oz cups simultaneously. Helpful features include an illuminated power button, and easy-to-fill water reservoir, and an auto shutoff feature for safety. Includes 36 World Blend Regular Pods.” I know I can go to my local grocery store and buy coffee pods, or you can order them online from a place like coolbeanspods.com.

With that said, if you are the kind of person who needs to drink one of those 20 oz. coffees, this probably isn’t for you. Although I guess you could brew both cups for yourself, it is meant for a modest cup of coffee. I was actually thinking about getting one of these for my mother this coming Christmas. It is a simple design and she doesn’t need a 10-cup pot of coffee.  Plus, it takes up less counter space than a regular coffee maker.

There are other brands of dual cup coffee makers you might want to consider. There are becoming more and more popular. Cuisinart makes another one with travel mugs. Black and Decker has made one, and Toastess makes a pretty neat one with larger, thermal, stainless travel mugs. I have seen some of these at my local Kohls as well. You might find some at Sears, Macy’s, or specialty kitchen store. I am sure more of them are going to be heading to the market.

All in all, this kind of machine isn’t really for the person who is going to guzzle several cups a day and would be better off with a pot of coffee sitting on the counter all day. The dual cup coffee maker is better for a person who wants one or two cups a day, or better yet, has two people who each want their own cup. Getting back to my daughter and her roommate. They will each use a different pod (French roast, Columbian, etc.), and both be happy. They also have used tea pods, but once you use coffee, it seems everything tastes like coffee after that.