I think this is the greatest for someone like me where nobody else in the house drinks coffee -- each cup takes maybe two minutes to brew, and it's hot and fresh. Plus, this takes regular old ground coffee, not those expensive pods where it's $4 or $5 for 18 cups of coffee. I agree that the mug provided is awful, and actually it's quite tippy in my car holder. I found a taller ceramic mug that is perfect for it, and that's what I use at home. I was an old convert from their "Cup at a Time" model, and this is an adequate replacement for it. No other brand has a single-cup maker that doesn't use the pods that I know of. I will definitely buy an "extra" one for the time when this one finally gets old.