A drip machine will make a cup for very little more effort than the Eco-Brew cup. A drip cone will make a cup without a machine, for only a bit more effort (progressively trickling in the hot water – or you can dump it all in at once but the extraction isn’t as good).
Yes, there’s something to be said for not having to do anything more than push a button, and not even having to fill a tank. I’ve sometimes pondered a having a tea-temperature water tap installed… And the pods do let you keep a wider variety fresh and in grab-and-go form, if that appeals to you.
Certainly the Keurig and its cousins (there are other cartridge machines) are a good choice for office environments where demand is varied and unpredictable, and people are bad about refilling or dumping the tired stuff or keeping the equipment clean. I can see similar advantages for entertaining purposes, depending on your crowd’s caffeine habits.
The question is just whether the convenience is worth the costs (financial, ecological, etc.). If you feel it is, damn the doubters; buy what meets your needs.
For me, it’d be not exactly overkill but sorta orthogonal to my own requirements. Then again, I compost my coffee grounds and I prefer running the dishwasher to giving guests plasticware, so I’m clearly not their target market.
LATE EDIT: Actually, the fast-lazy way to use a cone for very thorough extraction is to dump coffee loose into a cup, add hot water, stir, then pour through the filter into another cup. Does mean one more object to wash, but that’s why God invented dishwashers.
