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Hello…I am in the process of remodeling our small studio rental into an AirBnb and would love suggestions on coffee pots. Our studio has a small kitchenette. I was thinking it would be best to purchase a Dual Coffee pot…one that can make a single serving cup of coffee or a whole pot of coffee.
I am researching them now and like the Braun Multi Serve…It doesn’t use the Keurig pods…Just loose coffee grounds. Eliminating all that plastic waste.
My concern is… how do guests feel about loose coffee and sugar in a prettier containers…thanks for your help in advance.
There really is no machine that makes a good “single serving”. But the right brewer can make 6-10 cups. A clever dripper makes a good single serving but guests may not know how to use it.
I don’t know jack about coffee (I don’t drink it), but I want to follow this thread because I know at least 80% of my guests drink the coffee I provide. I currently have a super-cheap 12-cup Mr. Coffee machine and I provide ground coffee. My listing is for up to 8 guests with an average of 6, so Keurigs aren’t practical, but I still get groups that use the coffee, but only very little, so I think a system that can work for well for 1 guest or several might have some value.
On the kitchen counter is a one to four cup Cuisinart drip style coffee maker with a reusable metal mesh filter (both ~$40). In the cabinet is Mixpresso Single Cup Coffee Maker, which is K-cup (Keurig) compatible, a few reusable K-Cups (total ~$45) and a French Press (~$35).
A small supply of beans and a grinder complete our coffee options.
I started with the K-Cup machine, but someone didn’t like that so that’s when the other two types of coffee makers were added.
Same here. I don’t drink coffee so I have an automatic shutt off basic coffee maker. I buy Costco Kirkland coffee in bulk and vacuum seal and freezing in quart mason jar sizes. I keep that filled. Some use some don’t. I also have electric tea kettle and assorted teas and cocoa.
Truth? We buy nice but inexpensive “Mr Coffee” drip type pots from Goodwill or other thrift shops. Last time, we got two 12 cup Cuisinart brand units from Habitat For Humanity, for $25USD.
We’re geared to couples. Keurig type “puck” machines are geared towards solo travelers. I know as frequent Air Guests, we really don’t care for those Keurig machines – they only make one cup at a time so it’s hard to share “coffee time” together; and the hosts usually do not include decaf pods (my partner can’t drink caffeinated coffee for medical reasons).
We’ve never had guests say anything negative about our regular and decaf coffees kept in nice jars on the kitchenette shelf. We buy large cans of good brands of loose coffee (often Kirkland, but never Folgers!). And guests are amazed that we also offer half a dozen caff and decaf teas as well.
My STR is an entire 3 bedroom house with a decent size kitchen. We provide a Keurig and a std drip coffee maker with a permanent filter. I provide a large can of regular coffee (Maxwell House) if guests want to make a pot of coffee. Guests are generally surprised that I provide coffee - if they don’t want to use my open container, they can provide their own. I also provide at least 12 pods for the Keurig, sugar, artificial sweeteners and creamer.
I don’t drink coffee, but my husband really likes the Walmart Great Value brand coffees - this is after trying many, many brands. He prefers the Dark Roast, we generally use the Medium Roast or the Donut Shop flavors at the STR. It’s about $25 for 96 pods.
I don’t provide a coffee grinder. I’ve only had 2 guests ask about it and I have a feeling they bring their own when I tell them that I don’t provide one. We also have a local coffee shop that grinds their own coffee. If I have a larger group I leave a one pound bag for them as a welcome gift.
As a tea drinker, a hot water pot is what I look for and I provide a basic electric kettle and a variety of teas for our guests.
I’m pretty sure that our guests wouldn’t want loose coffee and sugar.
We have a cafetiere (along with electric kettle of course) but do not supply coffee for it but we do have a grinder because often guests like to use their own brand rather than anything supplied. Also a Keurig, now that they have environmentally sound pods. We supply both regular and decaffeinated.
Guests often leave opened bags of coffee rather than taking it home on the plane. I leave this for guests and point it out during the house tour saying 'this was left by the guests who left this morning so it’s fresh. I thought I’d leave it here rather than throw it out in case you want to use it". They very rarely do.
This is the second (or third?) new topic about coffee in just a couple of days. What luck that we have our resident coffee expert
We provide 5 different ways to make coffee as well as ground coffee, coffee beans (and a grinder) and decaf. We do not provide any type of pod coffee maker. I don’t like those pods, that’s why.
99% of our guests use the coffee and we get rave reviews for all of the options. The coffee and the beans are in nice vintage canisters and no one seems to worry at all about it being “loose”. I never even thought of it, it seems like a non-issue. The one guest I know that didn’t use our coffee was a tea-only drinker and drank plenty of our tea.
You might consider a pour-over maker, in addition to a “regular” coffee maker. It’s perfect for one person. You can get a nice one for $10 or so. And as @KenH mentioned, they are also at thrift shops. I got a beautiful ceramic pour-over for one of apartments at a Salvation Army for $2. They do need special filters but we bought one box over a year ago and have yet needed to buy more. The pour-over gets used about 20% of the time, usually in a group with only one coffee drinker or a solo traveler.
Edit to add: You will need to provide a kettle for the pour-over, but as @jaquo will agree, you need to provide a kettle anyways
I also host mostly couples or singles who like their morning java in big cups. I have my late Dad’s 4 cup Mr. Coffee and 12 cup Mr. Coffee drip coffee machines (about as old as Methusela and still making excellent coffee), wide variety of teas, mason jars of coffee, Portmerion Botanic Garden jars of sweeteners, and a shared jug of 1/2 and 1/2. So far, everyone’s seemed happy with that and happily use the shared items. I also offer a French Press and a small milk frother in case someone wants to up their morning milk game. I also have an electric kettle.
I’ve thought of getting a dual coffee maker like the Breville for pots and single serves, but the reviews are mixed on leaks, etc. I have stainless travel tumblers for those on the go (Dollar Tree, so them going awol isn’t an issue).
I dislike pod coffee makers - quality is so-so and I hate the waste of the pods. I know you can use loose coffee in Keurig but I’m not fond of the coffee that comes out of them.
I know that many people don’t like Keurigs because of the days when the pods couldn’t be recycled. And every rental is different of course. But we use them because we host mostly couples or single travellers. Couples often have different tastes (like us - decaf for me and fully-leaded for him) and for singles of course, it’s quick and easy to make just one cup.
I get it completely. I’m a bottled water snob and, I’m afraid, quite snooty in other ways too.
I don’t worry too much about the type of coffee I leave for guests because they so often get their own favourite. I’d get it in for them in advance if they asked but no one ever has. (Although I’ve been asked for many other things).
@Colette, like so many other things that relate to hosting, I think there’s no one “best” answer.
We provide one way to make coffee, and we’re the ones who make it. We have two pour-over carafes and an electric kettle.
A few guests who have stayed with us for longer times have learned how to heat water in our electric kettle, grind our coffee beans, and use the pour-over carafes.
But mostly we make it (“we” meaning my husband Virgil). He drinks coffee as if they’re about to outlaw it. Many days, he make four or more carafes. He can easily drink it all himself.
People consistently say that our coffee is the best, or among the best, they’ve ever had.
But our solution definitely wouldn’t work for every host or every listing.
I like your idea of a dual pot. I provide a Mr. Coffee type coffee maker, a Keriug and a Moka pot. It takes up a lot of space and the dual coffee maker would take less space plus it would be viewed as a luxury and guests would feel pampered.
I’m not sure what country you are in. I drink Turkish coffee so for me coffee grounds don’t matter. In my rental I have a French press and a regular coffee maker. I will never ever have a keurig. To be honest I don’t really know what a coffee pot is. Tea pot yes, coffee pot no.
Welcome to this site. It’s full of tips and good ideas.
Regarding your coffee question, I would use an airtight container for freshly ground coffee beans and I would supply them at the time the guests are there - so the coffee is fresh. I grind the beans to suit the coffee pot.
I don’t know about the coffee pots you describe.
I provide a plunger which may not suit all tastes. Your idea of the one that can make 1 or more cups sounds good.
Good luck in your Airbnb endeavours!
