much cheaper.

I can't believe people fall for it

No one has to remember to clean the pot. No one takes the last cup and leaves it empty. There are a LOT of advantages to these things in an office.

A Keurig is a bit like a time clock that spews joe out the bottom, tho; they're fine in the office but why in hell would you want one at home?

you should give your office mates a little education and get one yourself about plastics in the environment

No pods, filters (unless you get fine ground), or waste. It only makes as much as I can drink in one cup so there is even less waste than if I made a small pot at a time. The amount made at one time is adjustable, too, unlike pod or K-cup coffee makers. I just add the correct amount of water for the cup size I want to make, put in enough coffee for that amount and punch the button.

It's The Scoop by Hamilton Beach - http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/single-cup-coffee-makers-the-scoop-single-serve-coffee-maker-49981.html

I've gone from throwing out coffee when I mis-judged how much water to put in the pot to having no waste at all. Even the coffee makers with reservoirs that I used to use were far more wasteful than this one.

I did pick up some very finely ground coffee at the after Christmas sales that made sludge - I just cut some of the left over filters (from the coffee maker that died) down to fit and that problem was solved.

in the coffee world there is something called the rule of 15. Green beans are good for 15 weeks, roasted beans for 15 days, and ground beans for 15 minutes. Yes, it is kind of general, but is pretty close in actual practice. Since I don't drink a lot of coffee, I can roast small amounts at a time. Oh, and the quality is much better. A roaster will set you back $300, but after that initial outlay the coffee is cheaper, and better. Plus, you can play with different roasting times for darker or lighter roasts. Good coffee doesn't need sugar.

I never buy the cups unless they are very much on sale, but I can almost always find a sale. I do agree that the cups are a problem because unless you take them apart they can't be recycled. So I'm finding other uses for them - if you take off the top they are a good size for starting seeds.

you can get an insert and use any coffee you like.

We have a Keurig and it's great because it makes one cup at a time, as needed.

The problem with that one is you get a lot of water that doesn't pass through the coffee grounds.

The best I've found is one that was in our local grocery store that uses paper filters, and has a spring on the bottom to pack the coffee together and leave no space for the water to bypass the coffee. Though you have to pull the spring out of the bottom of the unit to get enough coffee into the filter.

I'll have to check that out.

I feel kind of guilty using the K-cups, but I like the single-cup capabiity of the Keurig because I end up making a lot of coffee I don't drink. The reusable ones are definitely better, but I am trying to re-use the K-cups whenever possible.

i can easily make a single cup in my drip coffee maker if I wanted to. Just put in enough coffee and water for one cup. Alternately I've used a coffee filter with the coffee inside, closed with a twist tie. Pour the hot water over the coffee bag and it functions like a tea bag. I then compost the coffee bag and re-use the twist tie.

is a redo of the famous Latin American "colador de cafe". It is a white cotton filter funnel mounted on a wire ring attached to a wooden handle. It makes the best coffee after an espresso machine.A colador costs about 3$ and lasts for years if washed after usage. This plastic junk is expensive, polluting and UNNECESSARY!

They were only slightly more expensive and they did biodegrade. Were I a coffee drinker, I'd get another one of those or a French press, they both make great coffee and are far cheaper than an espresso machine.

you're contributing to the plastic morass we're in

I am just not a fan.

I've never had a decent cup of coffee from any keurig machine. It always comes out and tastes like dirty colored water.

They can produce very good coffee. I love them when they are in hotel rooms.

But they are not efficient and I don't own one. I have a quality drip coffee maker with a thermal carafe (so no nasty burnt coffee).

Still, my experience is not necessarily other people's experience, but from what I have had, it sucks.

Like I said, I don't own one and have intention of ever doing so.

you're getting the toxins in the plastic in your system. Hello, cancer and neurological disorders

I really am just not a fan of it.

- and the oceans - with such ridiculous waste is appalling to me.

I'll never own a keurig.

if I were him, I couldn't use the product without getting sick knowing I left hundreds of millions on the table. (K cup is worth several billion to Green Mountain, the owners)

Where Keurig designed a sensor into the machine that only allows officially licensed (which means even more expensive) K-cups...you can't even use the refillable types or local store brands.

However, smart folks have found ways to get around the sensor but all seem like a waste of time...a regular old drip maker is so much easier...and you can buy such machines to make a wide variety of amounts, from one cup to infinity.

We've got a Keurig at home, because I'm the only one drinking coffee, and I have one occasional cup at home (mostly I drink it at work).

We got the Keurig when we couldn't find a drip coffee maker that did a decent job of making one cup of coffee. The "small" ones really only worked well if you're brewing at least 3-ish cups.

So we got a refillable pod for the Keurig brewer. Still uses more coffee than a drip would for 1 cup, but less than brewing 3 cups just to throw two away.

Looked at a french press, but that started to rival the Keurig in cost when you get a decent one and add on something like a kettle to quickly heat the water.

The Melitta Pour Overs.
It's a holder that sits atop a cup. You just put the grounds in it and the brewed coffee just goes into your cup. You do have to boil water separately, but it's a lot simpler than a French Press. They make a few model, some with their own cup or thermal carafe. I got one that makes a small potful, and it tastes very good! It's now my official backup for when my regular machine (a Cuisinart) dies or for when I just want one or two cups (or if I need regular and decaf at the same time).

so is the Aeropress.

The coffee always tastes weird to me.... But it is still a better solution than the pod machines for efficiency.

It makes the best cup of coffee ever. It's like a melita drip cone except you can let it sit and brew for a couple of minutes, then once you place it on your cup, the valve opens up and drips the coffee. You can thank me later.

http://ineedcoffee.com/clever-coffee-dripper-review/

And runs into the same need-something-to-heat-the-water-quickly problem that makes it rival a cheap Keurig.

Not saying it's bad, we just went with the other option.

A kettle is versatile. As well as giving you the water for coffee, it gives you the water for tea. And for stocks, unless you always make yours entirely from scratch. And for instant soups, if you like those. And instant noodles. And ...

Stainless steel, makes one perfect cup and I only paid $35 for it. There is no garbage to deal with and the grounds just flip into the compost bin easier than for the French press.

I used to use a French press but a good one is expensive, the cheap ones don't last; and they use way more water for cleaning out all the grounds.

Just a hint if you decide to buy one, make sure its stainless not aluminum; and also make sure you buy a type that you can get replacements for the little silicon ring. That's the only part on it that can cause issues.

all can do one cup at a time easily

I agree that Keurig went too far.

I own one, because my wife likes it, but it is not 2.0, just the regular kind.

with the beans and a grinder! Need that morning coffee to be great....

I have a grinder myself. Love it.

I have never used a french press though....

I raise my cup to you, sir!

I do grind my own beans (most of the time), but I draw the line there!

This is the best coffee out there...

but you can get better coffee than anything in one of those little cups. I like fresh ground.

This guy invented and profited from a device he doesn't use. Profit is not always a dirty word, everyone is forced by our system to make money to survive, the majority does that via employment, but it is not the only way to make money honestly. Nobody knows in advance whether something they create will be a marketing success, and if it is successful, how successful.

What is wrong with our economic system that folks are, for the lack of a better word, driven to create and market products such as this expensive coffee-making system?

tho starbucks makes a lot of trash. i tried 2 times to make a decent cup. they will never ever be FRESH ground. the waste. shit. i eliminated my coffee maker cause it was bad. keep the filter holder + drip into my mug. heck, i need to get an old percolator to try that again. i used to make good coffee in it.

that don't require a filter make the best coffee ever.

Dude.... No.

Percolators are awful. My in-laws still use one and.... Blech!

The coffee tastes burnt from the first cup.

They are expensive, however; but cheap compared to Starbucks or other coffee shop.

I use a cheapo drip maker much of the time or a pour-over system for a cup or two. The latter actually makes better coffee.

of (1) how much waste they produce, (2) how truly stupid they are (hell, they still sell instant coffee if you only want one cup), and (3) how only the oil/plastics/packaging industry benefits from them.

the quality was good and they are cheaper than the other brands. My budget only allows me to use
the refillable Kcups now and, boy, are they messy—coffee grounds take on a life of their own! I've never found a coffee maker that makes a decent single serve, until the Keurig. I'm bookmarking this thread for suggestions for when my Keurig dies.

It was cheap and makes a great single cup and it keeps the pot hot. I also use it to brew tea. I throw a teabag in the filter, add water and have a cup for my drive to work in a couple of minutes. It uses much less power the a large 12 cup maker.

Just took off the top, cleaned it out then replaced the top with packing tape. Worked great. But more hassle than it was worth, so just went back to making a pot. I didn't buy the k-cup machine in the first place, my girlfriend did.

but I make it as a standard drip so I can compost the unbleached filters, and mix the used grounds with crushed eggshells, peat moss, playground sand and native soil to yield a useful starter/seedling mix.

And I prefer espresso-grind granularity PCC Breakfast Blend- fair trade, shade grown, reasonably priced.

Might as well be responsible, albeit jittery.

You grind it into a super-fine powder. Light roasted beans only!
take your ibrik.

Add sugar to your ibrik.
Add water to your ibrik
Add coffee to your ibrik.
do not stir or large men will come to your house and rearrange your dental fillings
Heat. Gently.
do not boil or smaller men will come to your house and abscond with your housepets
do not look away or you'll have a mess.
When it foams to the lip of your ibrik, take it off heat.
Now you can stir.
Return to heat. Foam again.
Remove
Stir
Heat to foam.
Remove.
Don't stir. No worry of large men, it's just not optimal.
Scoop out foam. you can put it in your cup or your garbage, up to you.
Pour. Milk is of course optional.
You now have coffee that is worth your time to drink.


Or you know, I guess you can squeeze boiled fish-piss through burnt grit and slurp the slop that results. Whatever floats your boat.

I use a one cup melitta with a reusable filter.

so its cheap and reusable.

Problems solved.

period

Really? One pod lasts years and years, I'm sure.

If you want to be outraged about plastics how about those plastic rings they use to hold a six pack of soda together? They are all over the oceans of the world killing wild life that get trapped in them.

Or plastic shopping bags that are a part of the environment now. I just saw a lot of those off the side of the highway yesterday because the snow all melted away and revealed the trash all over.