Is PowerXL Café Fresh a scam or a great buy?
PowerXL Café Fresh
The PowerXL Cafe Fresh is a small personal coffee maker that grinds your coffee beans and then brews them into an 8 or 16-ounce cup of coffee on the spot. It uses no filters and no pods, saving on waste. Brewing at 195 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the ultimate temperature for flavorful coffee, it makes a delicious cup and can save money on take-out coffee, filters, or K-Cups (pods). An optional reusable travel cup is available for an extra fee.
Total Cost Breakdown
The cost of PowerXL Café Fresh is $69.96 and the shipping is FREE!
Price is from As Seen on TV Commercial page: powerxlcafefresh.com
Features
- Small Basket
The PowerXL Cafe Fresh has a small stainless steel-appearing basket where the beans are ground before brewing. This basket can hold enough beans for one cup of coffee, from 8 to 16 ounces.
- Milk Frother
In case you want to have a latte or cappuccino, the PowerXL Cafe Fresh comes with an individual milk frother. To steam milk, insert this stainless steel wand into the milk, and it will whirl around and froth the milk.
- Water Tank
Like any coffee maker, the PowerXL Cafe Fresh has a small internal water tank where you can pour your desired amount of water to make your coffee.
- Travel Mug
For an extra fee, you can purchase a double-walled stainless steel travel mug to go with the PowerXL Cafe Fresh. Double-walled construction means the mug insulates the beverage inside, keeping it hotter for longer. This mug appears durable, wash and go, and has a rubber grip band around the middle.
- Recipe Book
Although this is not a feature of the core product, the PowerXL Cafe Fresh comes with a. Recipe book called Favorite Coffee House Recipes. If you are interested in experimenting with your home coffee setup to make lattes, cappuccinos or other new things that you have never heard of, this recipe book is a fun addition.
Positive Points
- No Filter or Pod Waste
The best thing about the PowerXL Cafe Fresh is that it eliminates two kinds of waste. There is no need to use filters to brew coffee in this coffee maker, and it is not a pod or k-cup coffee maker. Especially pods have been noted for filling up landfills and making a massive amount of non-recyclable plastic waste. This coffee maker is waste-free, simply using beans and water. It will also save you from needing to constantly throw away paper filters from your coffee maker.
- Optimum Brewing Temperature
The PowerXL Cafe Fresh is built to brew your coffee at between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, an optimum brewing temperature for coffee flavor.
Concerns
- Milk Frother
It is unclear if the milk frother is battery-operated, or completely operated by hand. Handheld milk frothers are plunged up and down into milk by you, and can double the volume of milk in half a minute. Battery operated frothers require a battery, which would not come with this set, as it is not mentioned. That would require an extra purchase.
- Milk Heating
Electric milk frothers use a cord and sometimes use induction heating to heat the frothed milk. This milk frother is not this type as no cord is visible in the advertisement. Milk that is not heated to the temperature of the coffee it is about to be combined with is not as tasty as milk steamed and then mixed with coffee. Thus, without a heating element, the PowerXL Cafe Fresh experience will not be the same experience as going out to a cafe.
- Mug Pricing Additional
The PowerXL Cafe Fresh is advertised with a double-walled stainless steel travel mug. This feature, helpful for those who would like to brew and then get in the car or on the subway and go to work, is not included in the price of the coffee maker. It is an additional fee.
Critical Advice
There is some concern that the PowerXL Cafe Fresh may be targeted to people who cannot really afford it. The first pricing structure mentioned in the "As Seen on TV" advertisement is a structure with three payments. As noted above, the mug is not included, but priced additionally. Finally, the advertisement mentions that you can pay for the whole set (coffee maker, recipe book, and milk frother) together in one payment. This manufacturer would not suggest payments first without assuming that the one who wants to buy this product would not have under a hundred dollars at once to buy a simple coffee maker.
How It Works
This small coffee maker has a reusable filter basket with a blade inside it. It grinds your coffee beans and then immediately brews them using water heated to 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit. The PowerXL Cafe Fresh combines the features of a bean grinder and a coffee brewing machine.
How to Use (Step by Step)
- Beans
Measure the amount of coffee beans you want to grind for your coffee into the mini coffee basket. This is up to you, depending on how strong you want your coffee to be and how much water you are using.
- Water
Next, you want to add water into the slender, clear column to the side of the basket. The PowerXL Cafe Fresh can make an 8 or 16-ounce cup of coffee. Of course, you can always use between 8 and 16 ounces of water and have more room left in your cup.
- Hit the Button!
Press the button on the coffee maker that indicates either an 8 or 16-ounce cup of coffee. Inside the reusable filter basket, a blade will grind down the beans before brewing your coffee in the amount you requested.
How it's Different from Competitors
There are many, many coffee makers out there. The PowerXL Cafe Fresh is pretty unique in that it grinds your beans without you having to grind them separately. It does all that work for you and then brews the coffee. Brewing coffee with this coffee maker gives you a fresher cup than if you used a pod or pre-ground coffee. As opposed to filter or pod coffee makers, it needs very little cleanup and produces little waste. However, it cannot make more than an individual cup of coffee, so it differs on size from many competitors. You may have the ability to froth milk to add to your coffee, but it is not an espresso maker. Milk quality will be different than that of a steamed milk coffee beverage made by a barista.
Tips & Tricks
- Better for Regular Coffee
Rather than using the PowerXL Cafe Fresh as a substitute for cafe coffee, it is probably best for a regular coffee before work. If you live by yourself and want to brew a fresh coffee in the morning, the preparation is likely to be quick and the beans will be freshly ground. The milk frother and recipe book simply do not, however, have the power of a large espresso machine. So, save your lattes for going out on the weekends, and enjoy the basics of this machine despite the additional advertised features.
Wise Advice
Do not buy PowerXL Café Fresh online before searching Amazon.
- Alternatives or the same items are always available and sometimes at lower prices.
Wise Advice
Do not buy PowerXL Café Fresh online before searching Amazon.
- Alternatives or the same items are always available and sometimes at lower prices.
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Posted: 23 Apr 2022 Clarence Smith - (Allentown, PA)
Grinder Motor Stops
We’ve only had it around 6 months, don’t use it often and about a month ago the motor started seizing to spin. I checked the manual for troubleshooting and it said too many beans so I experimented and tried with nothing in the filter and it did the same thing.
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