The Keurig Saga

[Margot Howe]

We all get awesome wedding gifts. One of mine forty years ago was a Farberware coffee pot.

It was an 8 cup perk and it cranked out wonderful coffee for a year or so. It met its'

demise through Babcie, my mother-in-law. She was a devoted instant coffee drinker. So, the

weekend that my parents came to visit, she filled the Farberware with water and put it on the

stove to heat the water. She wanted us to have fresh coffee when we got up, but confused the

two methods of making it. My dad was first up. He hit the top of the stairs and smelled the

acrid odor of the burning pot,flew down to the kitchen, grabbed the pot and flung it out the

back door before it burst into flames. The pot got replaced before the weekend ended, but

Babcie never attempted to use it again.

We continued to use this pot for years. Morning coffee together was a ritual and important

to the start of our day. But my husband was an aficionado of new products. Eventually the

Mr Coffee came out. I received one as a birthday gift, but before I could return/exchange an

item that I really did not want, he opened it, tossed the box, and proceeded to make the

first pot. It was passable coffee. But you know about these pots. The first cup is good,

but the successive cups get bitter and the pot does not hold the heat. I put up with it for

as long as I could before the Farberware came back out of the closet.

Fast forward through those forty years. The husband is gone, the house cleared of children,

and I'm home with my Farberware product. I replaced the 8 cup somewhere along the line with

a four cup version. But my tastes have changed. I no longer need that 2-3 cup jolt of

caffeine to start my day. I cut down the amount of water to just those two cups and even

then tossed half a cup. Maybe it was time to move on.

I have an awesome sister. She knows what I need or want before I do. She gifted me with a

Keurig K40 for Christmas. With its' single cup dispenser and no reservoir for the water to

get stale in, it seemed perfect. I could make a cup and ignore the second. No fuss, muss or

waste. I bought reusable pods so I could use my usual coffee brand, and could control how

strong to make the coffee. It was perfect. It was perfect for about three months. After a

while, the coffee seemed weaker so I justed added more grounds to the pod. Then I noticed

that I could slug it down in one gulp without burning myself. So I started putting it in the

microwave to heat it up to the right temperature.

Now, this was wrong. Three months use and it was running out of steam. So I called the

Keurig help line. These guys are wonderful. They lead me through the process of cleaning

the machine, and retesting the pot. The trouble was that the water was not heating up enough

to run it through the grounds. So, I was getting weak cold coffee. Their answer was to send

them the jigger that holds the pod, making it unusable, and they replaced the K40. While

waiting for the new arrival, the trusty Farberware made it back to the counter.

K40 number two arrived about a week later. It had the same problem, only it happened much

sooner than it did with number one. I made the call to the help line, went through the

process of cleaning the pot with the representative even though it had hardly been used. I

sent back the jigger that holds the pod, they sent me number three.

Wouldn't you figure that the problem would be solved? Three times is the charm, right? Well

within a week, K40 number three developed the same issue. I called the help line again.

This time he wanted me to purchase and clean the machine with their special coffee pot

cleaner and get back to them. It took a day or two to find some, but I did as asked, even

though the pot was less than a week old. It did not help.

As this was the third K40 that went south, the representative authorized upgrading my coffee

pot to the K45. Bigger so it takes up more counter space. It has a reservoir on the side,

but still has an interior reservoir that you cannot empty. It just sounds nasty to have that

there, but I had control of the outside reservoir. I had a friend visiting who loved his

coffee, so we made up a couple single cups to enjoy that afternoon. I had it programmed to

shut off when not in use. As we sat and visited, a strange acrid odor came into the room.

Investigating the kitchen, I saw that the K45 was now smoking. The auto shut off had not

worked and the house could have gone up in flames had I not been right there. This was

unsettling.

I called the help line again, but this time when he wanted me to clean the machine, I got

testy with him. I saw no reason to clean a machine that was burning up and had been used

just the one time. He saw the reason to my objection and had me return the whole thing this

time. No cutesy little pod holder - the whole dang thing. Have you ever tried to put one of

these odd shaped things back in their packing? It took the two of us the rest of the day to

figure that out.

So, now Keurig number five has arrived. It's another brand new K45. It works perfectly,

giving cup after cup of freshly brewed coffee. And you know what? I don't like it. There

is something about the taste that is different. I tried to get used to it, but I guess at my

age, change is sometimes difficult. The K45 has gone back into the box and the Farberware

perks my morning coffee again. I guess the K45 will end up on a yard sale table some day.

 

[CraigC]

All I can say is I'm glad my morning choice of beverage is water. Coffee for me is either colada, expresso or Irish. None of which I have very often nor in the morning.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I have the same type of story, only it was a Senseo that I put away to use the Keurig. I hated that machine so much, when a woman at work said she wanted to buy one, I gave her mine, free-fer-nuthin. Then I unpacked my Senseo and began using it again, and have, every day, for the last 4 years!

Keurig is all hype. All you get is a plain old cup of coffee, the only difference is you make it one cup at a time. My Senseo gives me one or two cups of espresso, not plain old coffee, with a beautiful head of crema on top.

Plus Keurig has tried to corner the market on those damn K-Cups. Unless you buy a license from Green Mountain, the parent company, to manufacture and sell k-cups, they sue you! If you design some type of addition to the Kuerig unit, such as a basket to use your own loose coffee, or a filter to make the reusable baskets easier to clean, and you don't give them a piece of the action, they sue you!

Several coffee roasters designed a new type of cartridge that is just as good as a k-cup with less waste in the landfill. Green Mountain sued them, and lost, so they designed their newest machines so they won't operate with any coffee cartridge that is not licensed by Green Mountain. I guess the Green Mountain Boys never heard of the U.S. anti-trust laws, eh? Why no one has filed a class-action lawsuit against them I do not understand.

 

[GotGarlic]

I've been using a Cuisinart 12-cup coffee maker for many years. It has a setting for 1-4 cups of coffee, so I can make as many or as few as I want.

 

[tenspeed]

I've had a number of coffee pots over the years. I recently bought a Bonavita, which makes the best coffee of any of the coffee pots I've owned. I buy whole beans from a local roaster and grind them immediately before brewing.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Margot, I'm sorry your sister cursed you with that gift. If you are now a mostly one-cup-a-day person, I suggest you look into cone shaped pour-over coffee makers. It involves a bit more effort than popping in a pod and pushing a button, but the end result is so much more satisfying.

You can check out a selection here: 10 Best Pour Over Coffee Makers Number Five is very similar to the one that Himself took with him when he went away to college in the mid-1960s. We still use it on occasion if our Cuisinart breaks (mostly the carafe breaking) or the power goes out. If that happens, we boil water on an old camp stove and brew away!

...Several coffee roasters designed a new type of cartridge that is just as good as a k-cup with less waste in the landfill. Green Mountain sued them, and lost, so they designed their newest machines so they won't operate with any coffee cartridge that is not licensed by Green Greed Mountain. I guess the Green Greed Mountain Boys never heard of the U.S. anti-trust laws, eh? Why no one has filed a class-action lawsuit against them I do not understand.

There, fixed it for ya, SLoB!

 

[Souschef]

We have a Keurig and love it. BUT, we buy our pods from San Francisco Coffee when they have a sale. We buy boxes of 80, and just paid a little over $20 for a box.
Their pods and bags are biodegradable, and for the new Keurig they have a little adapter to use their pods

 

[skilletlicker]

Nice story Margot. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

I've never gotten into the fancy coffees and am proud of never entering a Starbucks. Always drank percolated black coffee until switching to the brewers like Mr. Coffee.

Best coffee I ever made was for a few years I carefully chose green beans from Sweet Maria's, roasted them on the stove once a week, ground in a burr grinder for each use and brewed in a French press. Good as it was, it doesn't seem worth the trouble now.

For the last five years or so, been drinking Folgers or Maxwell House made in an inexpensive Black and Decker 4 cup brewer.

 

[Bigjim68]

Coffee pot

I use a French press. With it I can make any coffee I can buy and no premium for the pod. 1 cup or 4. If the glass is not broken it will work and the coffee is always freshly ground. Cleaning is a matter of rinsing out the pot.

The glass will break. I buy the pots at Goodwill for a couple bucks, generally new. Works for me.

Pour overs also work well.

 

[cjmmytunes]

I have a Keurig 2.0 Hot and have had no problem at all with it. I get the Walmart brand pods for the coffee and can still make Mom's hot tea on weekdays using the hot water function.

 

[CharlieD]

Thank you, that was fun read. I understand it was no fun to you. An I am sorry. Have to say, I'm pretty happy with our Keurig though. Been working fine for the last two years. And the variety of coffees out there for any taste.

 

[taxlady]

We have a French Press and Melitta cones, but we use a Makita espresso maker that was a wedding gift almost exactly 20 years ago.

We usually make espresso allongé, by making a double espresso and adding hot water from a kettle. Since we make one cup at a time, we only ever make as much as we are going to drink. Sometimes we make cappuccino or café au lait. When it's hot, I make ice café au lait. We are very happy with our "one cup coffee maker"

 

[tenspeed]

I just read an article citing a 2012 NY Times article that Keurig cups work out to over $51 per pound of coffee. Yeow! I pay $12 to $15 per pound at the local roaster, depending on the blend. K cups are not recyclable, but Green Mountain has promised to make them recyclable in 2020.

 

[CharlieD]

I just read an article citing a 2012 NY Times article that Keurig cups work out to over $51 per pound of coffee. Yeow! I pay $12 to $15 per pound at the local roaster, depending on the blend. K cups are not recyclable, but Green Mountain has promised to make them recyclable in 2020.

That's not surprising. They are expensive.

 

[bossman150]

Ugh! I don't understand how people that like coffee can drink the brown water that comes out of a Keurig, there is no way on earth I consider it coffee. I know its easy but wow, I just don't understand that kind of compromise!

Even if you make a 6 cup pot of coffee and only drink 1 or two you will also save money over the Keurig, and it will taste 100 times better. I suppose if you are a weak coffee drinker the taste would not matter as much, but if you really enjoy coffee the difference is massive.

I won't even drink pre ground coffee or if I can help it bags of coffee bought off the shelf, its all stale.

Find a good local roaster that sells coffee that was roasted within the last day or two, a good quality coffee grinder (NOT a whirly blade) and a good coffee maker or French press and you will be in heaven. I know I am in the minority but my grinder I use for drip/pour over/french press is a Breville Smart Grinder and it works very well for that.

 

[gadzooks]

Love your story. I can relate. I recently tried a K40, with reusable pods, and after about two weeks gave it away. I'm back to my old RevereWare drip pot and kettle, still the best coffee I've ever made.

 

[CharlieD]

Bossman, good for you that you drink real coffee, but, no offence, majority of Americans drink brown water anyways. it is only last few years that with the advance of Starbox (or whatever they are called), the Caribou coffee and all kind of fancy coffee machines people are starting to look into what the deal is with real coffee, starting to drink Coffee, instead of coffee. When I make coffee at work, people scream at me because they cannot drink it. I now just make a separate one for me. People think that instant coffee (ok, Maxwell house and Folgers are excluded) is "not a coooooffee", while drinking some brown swamp water thinking that they are drinking coffee. I had to spit out my first seep of coffee in America, and that was in some fancy restaurant and "Coffee House" as they proudly called themselves.
The little cup of coffee in pretty much any Italian or Turkish cafe, heck even in Soviet Union, would give you a pleasant jolt for the rest of your day. Here People drink coffee by the Mug full.

You want good coffee, try Cuban or Brazilian bean. You'll love it.

P.S. completely went of the subject. As far as Keurig goes. There are so many varieties of those little pods, one can certainly find a one for his/hers tate.

Of course this is all I need to make coffee:

 

[Southern Dad]

I am a coffee snob. I love to grind my own fresh beans, heat some bottled water in the kettle, then use the French press to make a perfect cup. That of course, is when I have that precious commodity called, time. I have several Keurig 2.0 machines. I use them for that weekday morning cup and I use one in my office to keep that important nectar in my cup.

The Keurig has its purpose. It is to make acceptable coffee. It isn't to make great coffee or even good coffee. It is to make coffee from a little bitty pod with a limited amount of effort.

There is a "hack" for the Keurig 2.0 to allow you to use your own coffee beans and reusable pods if you wish. I hacked mine to get to the full menu including favorites. It is quick and painless. (Check YouTube)

 

[Steve Kroll]

I'm kind of a coffee snob, too.

I used to have an $1100 Italian-made Gaggia espresso machine. It was completely automatic; you just loaded it up with beans and water a couple of times a week. The coffee was wonderful... like heaven in a cup.

When my wife and I parted ways, she took the espresso machine. I ended up buying a Mr. Coffee. However, this isn't your father's Mr. Coffee. This one is a techie model, and controllable over the WiFi. I wake up in the morning, tell the Alexa thingy to make coffee, and by the time I get downstairs it's waiting for me. Plus, rather than having a warming plate that scorches the coffee over time, this one just has a thermal carafe that keeps the coffee hot for a few hours.

The coffee isn't quite at the level that high-end espresso machine made, but I have to say it's pretty darn good.

 

[Addie]

We ran out of half and half. I hate black coffee. So I went back to my English tea. Just sugar. We became so used to drinking our morning cups black, that I never bought another half and half. Then Pirate tried to put a couple of the little cups of cream in his coffee one day. Spit out the coffee, poured a fresh cup and uses just sugar. He never looked back. And neither have I. No more coffee for me. And no more half and half.