Monday, January 02, 2017

So, how's it going with the Keurig?

I don't like coffee that has been sitting in a coffeemaker for long, so I've always made a point of drinking the three cups I've made for myself every morning pretty fast.  Cliff gets up later, and I'd make three cups for him at that time, sometimes four.  I buy our Kirkland House Blend coffee beans at Costco and we grind them as needed so our coffee's always fresh.  

When I first bought the Keurig, I ordered various kinds of K-cups, including some off-brand ones on Amazon.  I was over-zealous with my purchasing when Keurig had a 30%-off sale; I should have gotten a sampler pack and done some taste-tests.  Many of the K-cups make some very strong coffee:  However, there's a difference between good strong coffee and lousy strong coffee.  Cliff didn't care for any of the stronger varieties, so I ordered some of these:
 These work well, and Cliff was happy to be drinking coffee made from our Costco beans again.  I liked this option too, and was wishing I hadn't been so enthusiastic about ordering all that coffee from Amazon and Keurig.  This is definitely a cheaper alternative than buying the pre-made K-cups.  However, I force myself to use one of those stronger varieties every other time I drink a cup of coffee, because I don't like to waste money.  

The only problem I find with the use-your-own-beans things is that there is some muddy-looking coffee at the bottom of my cup when I'm done; so I ordered some of these, which work great:


Now our favorite coffee is perfect.  

In spite of its strength, I enjoy the Starbucks House Blend.  Cliff and I both like the 8 O'Clock K-cups from Keurig:  they don't make such strong coffee, and they are cheaper on the website than other brands.  For awhile, I would drink a couple of cups of coffee from the Keurig, then make Cliff his usual three cups in the coffeepot when he got up.  After lunch I'd make four cups of coffee in the Bunn and we'd each drink two cups.  However, I confessed to Cliff that when I make one cup of coffee at a time in the Keurig, I don't rush to make a second cup.  When I do have that second cup, I no longer want a third one, at least not as often.  And the coffee is consistently good.  So I stopped drinking coffee out of the Bunn entirely.  A couple of days ago, Cliff said he wouldn't mind using the Keurig exclusively, as I was doing.  So I drained the water out of the Bunn and put it in a closet.  It's nice to have that space back on the kitchen counter.  

I still grind our favorite coffee beans to use in the reusable K-cups, but of course it isn't quite as freshly-ground as we're used to.  I grind enough for six or eight cups and keep the ground product in a sealed pint jar so they don't get too stale.  It works, and is still our choice.  Of course, by the time I go through all the pre-made stronger varieties I bought that I'm forcing myself to drink, my tastes may change.  

Maybe a good cup of coffee really is worth more money.

The one thing I'm wondering is this:  With two coffee-drinkers using only the Keurig, how long will it last before it dies and I have to buy another?

We shall see.  

6 comments:

  1. I still have my regular coffee pot out in case I get company, but I usually use my Keurig. I like the variety of different kinds and flavors of coffee too.

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  2. Keurig replaced our cofeemaker when it went out, with no problem. Just got some holiday coffee for ours, it was 70% off. Turned out to be about twenty cents a piece. Seems like alot of trouble to use it to make your own? I drink tea so I just use the Keurig for the hot water, but my hubby lives for the coffee like you do.

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  3. My Keurig is about 8 years old & works very well. I used the paper filters for a while with the make- your- own k cups but the coffee tasted weaker with that filter & without it cleaning the make- your- own was kinda messy & I just never got it together in a way that worked well, so I am back to buying just K-cups. I love that machine, as I love my coffee. I just bought a bunch of K cups meant for the holiday at 70% post-holiday that are wonderful. I agree, I also drink less coffee in the years since I've not had a coffee pot. Not a bad thing, either.

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  4. I meant at 70% off the regular price, post holiday. They came out to 21 cents a k-cup for great coffee.

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  5. I run vinegar through mine every few months, kinda like I would do with a regular coffee maker. I'm the only one who uses it for coffee, but the others use it for hot water for cocoa. I like the Starbucks Breakfast Blend and yes... I do think it's worth it.

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  6. My 20+ year old Krups is still going strong, so I'm not sure about the Keurig. :) I like ground coffee and steamed milk in mine. Equal Exchange Mind, Body,and Soul is great coffee. :),

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