Unlike the horror flick of days gone by, pods are taking on a much milder manner in your morning routine. In fact, they are replacing countless horrors that took place in your kitchen only yesterday.

The trip from bed to coffee pot is more than many of us can really stand in the morning. If you add to that the trials and tribulations associated with grinding beans, scooping the grounds into a filter, then measuring the proper amount of water for your pot, I'm sure you can see where the true horror begins. Once you've managed to eek out one cup of Joe to get your morning off and running, or at the very least one eye marginally opened, you groan to see the mess that has become of your once pristine (well at least somewhat clean) countertops. Coffee grounds and water spills abound as your morning routine has finally exploded from the realm of nightmares and dreamscapes right into your kitchen.

Is there any help? You betcha. I have found salvation in the form of a little coffee pot that makes one little cup at a time. Whilst I am sacrificing the freshness of fresh ground coffee, I am more than making up for that sacrifice in the time I save preparing, pouring, and cleaning up the mess left in my kitchen. My little coffee maker makes the coffee right into my travel cup. All I need to do is fill the water reservoir every couple of days, slip in and dump a pod each day, press the brew button and in a couple of minutes that liquid gold I know as caffeine is flowing through my veins and I am off and ready to face the day (or at the very least my next cup of coffee).

I know that many here have not even bothered to consider the benefit of a pods coffee maker because of the sacrifice of freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee. If you absolutely need those things in your life (and for my afternoon enjoyment I am right there with you, though my taste buds are a little less than aware of the finer aspects of good coffee first thing in the morning) you can make your own pods. This requires a little effort on your part but doesn't require quite the level of hand to eye coordination first thing in the morning that the traditional coffee brewing method demands.

The ease and convenience that a pod brings, delivering a pleasurable drinking experience, coupled with the range of fairly decent pods on the market today makes it a no-brainer to get one.