ARM Industries Perfect Pod Holster Review

ARM Industries Perfect Pod Holster for Keurig Coffee Machines Review:
The manufacturer ARM Industries offers a neat adapter for use with Keurig brewers named the Perfect Pod Holster. It’s similar in design to the EZ-Cup, but does not require special filters and is designed to work with coffee pods instead of ground coffee. We shall see later that there is a work around to allow the use of ground coffee as well which increases the functionality of this interesting adapter. 

The Manufacturer’s Description:
The Perfect Pod Holster allows you to use virtually any pod 55mm and greater in your Keurig coffee Machine. It features a self tamping spring which extracts a better cup of coffee or tea. Now you can buy less expensive pods and use them in your Keurig machine. You can also make your own custom coffee pods using the Perfect Pod Maker (sold separately) forthe perfect cup of coffee you have been looking for.

The Manufacturer’s Feature List:
    * Easy to Use any pod in yourKeurig coffee maker - OVER 10,000 SOLD!
    * Extracts a better cup of coffee or tea
    * ECO FRIENDLY- GO GREEN by using a Holster instead of K Cups filling up landfills!
    * Or Make you own pods with the Perfect Pod Maker
    * Save up to 50 % over traditional K-Cup Coffee

Making a Cup:
1. Turn on your Keurig Brewer 
2. Choose a coffee pod 
3. Insert the pod into the Pod Holster 
4. Pop the assembly in Keurig (goes in just like a K-Cup) and brew  
5. Toss the pod into the trash/compost container 

Pod Holster Results:
The Perfect Pod Holster is fast. Using a Panama Diamond Mountain Esmeralda pod from Fratello Roasters, the process completes quickly resulting in coffee with more body and flavor than most K-Cups available. I find the Pod Holster is convenient to use with retail pods and the selection of coffee brewing choices using my Keurig really opens up. Pods are not proprietary and many “boutique” roasters offer small batches of excellent (even Cup of Excellence!) coffee in the pod format. These pods are diverse in shape (usually 55mm to 62mm with varying thickness) but all I have come across will fit into the Perfect Pod Holster. Please note ESE pods will not work though as these are designed for use with an espresso machine.

HomeMade Pods:
As an added benefit, The Pod Holster allows you to use inexpensive 4 cup basket filters for home made pods - Just grind, fill and twist so what you end up with looks like a mushroom – then stick this into the Pod Holster with the "mushroom" stem facing the bottom of the adapter. Clean up is identical to the process using retail pods too – pop the top, then simply toss the puck. I ran some tests using Fratello Panama Diamond Mountain Esmeralda whole beans. I tried packing 12 grams into my home made pod, but found the result to be inferior to the cup brewed using 9 grams of coffee. This is the only limitation I experienced with the Pod Holster. Because it tamps the coffee and compresses the pod continually while brewing, using less coffee results in a better tasting cup. My B40 Keurig machine takes almost a minute to force water through 12 grams of grounds and the pump clearly was straining to finish. I will not try this again since I do not want to harm the pump inside my brewer.

My Conclusion:
The Perfect Pod Holster adds a whole new level of functionality and availability for Keurig users. A huge drawback to the Keurig system is their proprietary format which locks owners into a limited K-Cup selection – The Perfect Pod Holster changes this landscape by freeing the owner to mix up their brewing options while increasing choices without sacrificing quality in the cup. I recommend this adapter for use with Keurig brewers. A simple review search shows ARM Industries provides excellent support as well. Get this product and other adapters for Keurig brewers from this manufacturer here at ROASTe:

http://www.roaste.com/product/ARM-enterprises/Perfect-Pod-Holster-Keurig-Coffee-Machines