How do Keurig coffee makers work?

[mazeroth]

I've never used one, but I'm guessing the cups of coffee you buy for them are just concentrated coffee. The machine simply pierces the cup and reconstitutes it with a volume of water. So, why do they cost around $100? Couldn't you just get warm water, empty the contents and save yourself $100? I know the convenience isn't there, but it's crazy that these things cost as much as they do.

 

[hdeck]

and the coffee they produce is awful as well

 

[mizzou]

Step 1. Purchase a "Keurig"

Step 2. Purchase "K-Cups" (Available now at most big box retailers (walmart/target/samsclub, also online at Amazon, etc.)

Step 3. Place K-Cup into Keurig, and press the "Brew" button

Step 4. Enjoy your drink (whether it be tea, hot cocoa, or coffee!)


I enjoy making hot mochas, brew one cup cocoa, then 1 cup coffee, mix with milk and have a couple nice drinks for 2

 

[mizzou]

and the coffee they produce is awful as well

pshhh!

Newmans bold is quite fantastic. There are some bad ones, but it holds its on extremely well considering most people use a keurig because they simply dont have the time to screw around with grinding fresh beans and doing a french press before work

 

[lxskllr]

A single cup coffee maker is useless. I never drink coffee in single cup quantities, and something like that would be a huge money pit.

 

[mizzou]

I've never used one, but I'm guessing the cups of coffee you buy for them are just concentrated coffee. The machine simply pierces the cup and reconstitutes it with a volume of water. So, why do they cost around $100? Couldn't you just get warm water, empty the contents and save yourself $100? I know the convenience isn't there, but it's crazy that these things cost as much as they do.

It's not concentrated coffee, it actually brews it. It's not "instant coffee". You can even get your own self-brewing cup that you can use your own beans in, but I dont like it as much as the regular ones.

http://www.amazon.com/Keurig-K-Cup-...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1289145163&sr=8-1

The cup I think could be designed better, but after it's done brewing when you take the cup out, you have to throw it away because the used beans are still inside.

It's pretty wasteful since the cups are all plastic, but at around $0.25 - $0.40 per cup, it is much better then blowing $1.50-3.00 on a quick cup at the gas station or starbucks

 

[MadAmos]

they have ground coffee in the cups and the coffee is pressure brewed. You can get an adapter cup that will allow you to use any ground coffee. With the right coffee and not using the highest water setting they can brew a decent cup, and even from a cold start it takes 3-4 minutes.

 

[xSauronx]

pshhh!

Newmans bold is quite fantastic. There are some bad ones, but it holds its on extremely well considering most people use a keurig because they simply dont have the time to screw around with grinding fresh beans and doing a french press before work

is it really that much better than a cup of coffee from a regular coffeemaker? i like coffee ok, but im not a coffee snob (i spend my money on beer snobbery, thank you very much), but Im happy enough with some ok coffee from the coffee maker at home.

gas station coffee...well...if i have to, and i make sure to give it cream and sugar

 

[Minjin]

I have a Senseo machine that I've never been quite satisfied with and the market has pretty much abandoned. I plan to "upgrade" to k-cup eventually. Every k-cup that I've had at banks and such has been good.

 

[nageov3t]

A single cup coffee maker is useless for me. I never drink coffee in single cup quantities, and something like that would be a huge money pit for me.

fixed that for you

I only ever drink a single cup... my keurig is crazy useful for me and it's a lot more convenient than having to wash out a pot just because I want a cup of coffee.

it's also nice when company is over and you've got 3 people wanting coffee, 1 person wanting tea, and another craving hot chocolate.

 

[mizzou]

is it really that much better than a cup of coffee from a regular coffeemaker? i like coffee ok, but im not a coffee snob (i spend my money on beer snobbery, thank you very much), but Im happy enough with some ok coffee from the coffee maker at home.

gas station coffee...well...if i have to, and i make sure to give it cream and sugar

no way, I don't think anything competes with a solid drip coffee maker and great quality beans. In no way at all does it beat or compete with the french press method.


Where the Keurig owns it's competition though is when you have one person in the household who drinks coffee, or possibly a coffee drinker and a tea drinker. The "hot water" on demand option is fantastic for using your own tea-bags, and even the k-cup tea bags aren't so bad either...

Honestly, I never used to have time to brew a pot of coffee in the morning before work, and even on the weekends, I would waste TONS of beans on a full pot because I'm not going to drink 12 cups of coffee. I hated those mini-serve drip makers because they just tasted weird for some reason (the ones w/ gold or metal reusable filters)


What's going on now is that in my omw to work method, I just turn the thing on as I walk past it, when it gets warm right before I leave, BOOM-SLAP, I have coffee in my hand in 20 seconds, no mess to clean up, no 3/4 pot of coffee wasted.








----I probably spend about the same on beans vs. using k-cups, I do NOT like the waste factor but I put up with it because I get to have coffee every single day.

 

[mizzou]

I have a Senseo machine that I've never been quite satisfied with and the market has pretty much abandoned. I plan to "upgrade" to k-cup eventually. Every k-cup that I've had at banks and such has been good.

I can't explain why Senseo didn't take off and K-cups did. I knew it was risky getting a Keurig for this reason, but now you literally find K-cups everywhere, it's pretty much here to stay for the next several years probably

 

[nageov3t]

I can't explain why Senseo didn't take off and K-cups did. I knew it was risky getting a Keurig for this reason, but now you literally find K-cups everywhere, it's pretty much here to stay for the next several years probably

does Keurig have a partnership with Poland Spring or something? every office I've been in with a Poland Spring water cooler has also had a Keurig machine.

using the Keurig in my company's office was what sealed the deal for me. I probably wouldn't have gone out and spent $100 on a coffee pot if I hadn't been able to use it extensively and see the benefits of it in my work enviornment. I can say the same for several other of my coworkers as well.

 

[Double Trouble]

I was very skeptical of the Keurig when my wife wanted to get one, but I must admit that I'm a convert. It's extremely easy, very quick and convenient, and you can get a zillion different flavors just about anywhere.

I wonder if you have to buy the Keurig brand k-cups or if other manufacturers have started selling "generic" ones that will work in there.

 

[xSauronx]

no way, I don't think anything competes with a solid drip coffee maker and great quality beans. In no way at all does it beat or compete with the french press method.


Where the Keurig owns it's competition though is when you have one person in the household who drinks coffee, or possibly a coffee drinker and a tea drinker. The "hot water" on demand option is fantastic for using your own tea-bags, and even the k-cup tea bags aren't so bad either...

Honestly, I never used to have time to brew a pot of coffee in the morning before work, and even on the weekends, I would waste TONS of beans on a full pot because I'm not going to drink 12 cups of coffee. I hated those mini-serve drip makers because they just tasted weird for some reason (the ones w/ gold or metal reusable filters)


What's going on now is that in my omw to work method, I just turn the thing on as I walk past it, when it gets warm right before I leave, BOOM-SLAP, I have coffee in my hand in 20 seconds, no mess to clean up, no 3/4 pot of coffee wasted.








----I probably spend about the same on beans vs. using k-cups, I do NOT like the waste factor but I put up with it because I get to have coffee every single day.

right on. im happy enough with some 8 o'clock pre-ground and my drip maker, my girlfriend was considering the keurig though and i wasnt sure what to tell her. ill pass this on

 

[mizzou]

I wonder if you have to buy the Keurig brand k-cups or if other manufacturers have started selling "generic" ones that will work in there.

Green Mountain is a big supplier of K-Cups, there are quite a few others who create them I think?. They are for the most part, all the same price everywhere I've been. The only difference in price is usually from store to store or online.

I get a box of 80 newmans own organic coffee and it's my favorite


http://www.amazon.com/Newmans-Organ...7GYY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1289148835&sr=8-2

 

[BoomerD]

The way I drink coffee, (think Coneheads...consume mass quantity) those things would be prohibitively expensive for me. I don't think there's a day where I don't drink AT LEAST 2 pots of coffee, (old 8 cup Bunn maker) and often, 3 pots.

 

[mizzou]

The way I drink coffee, (think Coneheads...consume mass quantity) those things would be prohibitively expensive for me. I don't think there's a day where I don't drink AT LEAST 2 pots of coffee, (old 8 cup Bunn maker) and often, 3 pots.

D:

 

[Brainonska511]

I just use a standard drip coffee maker (4-cup) or a French press, dependent on how lazy I'm feeling or what kind of coffee I want to have. Usually only make half the amount that they can both make, as I usually only drink 1 cup in the morning. K-cups just seem so wasteful. They seem great for an office setting, where you want to give employees fresh cups, etc... but in the home, meh.

 

[slayer202]

I've never used one, but I'm guessing the cups of coffee you buy for them are just concentrated coffee. The machine simply pierces the cup and reconstitutes it with a volume of water. So, why do they cost around $100? Couldn't you just get warm water, empty the contents and save yourself $100? I know the convenience isn't there, but it's crazy that these things cost as much as they do.

hahahh

 

[mizzou]

I just use a standard drip coffee maker (4-cup) or a French press, dependent on how lazy I'm feeling or what kind of coffee I want to have. Usually only make half the amount that they can both make, as I usually only drink 1 cup in the morning. K-cups just seem so wasteful. They seem great for an office setting, where you want to give employees fresh cups, etc... but in the home, meh.

can't you taste a difference between 1/2 pot and full pot brewing?

Maybe it was just my crappy drip maker

french press isn't wasteful, but it's messy and time consuming vs the alternatives

 

[Brainonska511]

can't you taste a difference between 1/2 pot and full pot brewing?

Not really. Maybe if I was making 1 cup of coffee in a large drip pot (like a 12 cup maker). A 4 cup maker filled a little more than halfway tastes about the same to me as filling it all the way.

 

[lokiju]

I got one from Costco a few months ago and I love it.

I get the big boxes from Costco of the Donut Shop coffee for $29, which has 80 cups that taste damn good IMO.

My wife doesn't drink coffee and I only have one cup per day in the morning so for me it's perfect.

 

[DrPizza]

I was very skeptical of the Keurig when my wife wanted to get one, but I must admit that I'm a convert. It's extremely easy, very quick and convenient, and you can get a zillion different flavors just about anywhere.

I wonder if you have to buy the Keurig brand k-cups or if other manufacturers have started selling "generic" ones that will work in there.

THIS is why it's popular. Brewing a pot of coffee is too much like work - one step in particular: measuring the amount of coffee that you're going to use.

Now, that reminds me: I need to go brew a pot of coffee.

 

[CallMeJoe]

I'm going to get a Coffeeduck for my Senseo, since the pods are becoming more difficult to find. The Keurig and Tassio machines seem nice enough, but I don't like all the plastic waste generated. It's hard enough to justify the filter paper waste of the Senseo pods and those can be composted.