Who has a Keurig? Is it worth it?

Cdshakes


i have never used one, but i hear they don't make a "full" cup of coffee. 
 
k-cup offering (which is basically about a dollar a cup)

Colin

Some of the older machines -- like the one I have at home -- do not make a full cup. The newer ones do, though. 
 
I think a k-cup averages out to around $.52- $.56 a cup. Which isn't too bad. As you said, not as cheap as buying a pound of coffee, but not too bad for a quick, delicious cup of coffee. 

LiquidDreams


Using K-Cups is ridiculously expensive, when compared to regular coffee. It's really nothing more than a novelty item. I made a truckload of money betting against this company, so I am admittedly biased. 

Who cares?  The coffee is great, the variety is great, the convenience is great. 

I am a very cheap bastard, so I care.

Like most appliances in my house, the one we have rarely get's used...but my fiance seems to love it so that's all that matters to me

mindcrime187

Cdshakes


i have never used one, but i hear they don't make a "full" cup of coffee. 

k-cup offering (which is basically about a dollar a cup)

Colin

Some of the older machines -- like the one I have at home -- do not make a full cup. The newer ones do, though. 

Yeah, I have a relatively newer one (honestly I don't know if there are any new models, but mine is from last year, so it's pretty new) and I can choose a few different sizes. I can choose it to brew cold (for teas or iced coffee), a very small cup, average size, large size, and a travel mug size. I usually do the large size brew for a normal mug of coffee, since it doesn't really make as much as the picture would lead you to believe.

if i drank coffee with any regularity i would have one, but i dont want shit breath.

We have one of the single serving machines...I know that a lot of people complain about the cost of the k-cups, but what most people dont know is that they do have a k-cup that allows someone to insert their own coffee.  So if you are the type that only wants a single cup of coffee, you can do that and still use your favorite brand without spending a whole lot on the k-cups.
 
Now they do have filters that you need to buy if you plan on using your own beans...but i've found that cutting normal filters works just fine...and you can get 4-5 uses from a single filter if you cut them right.

I have a Keurig with the "My K Cup" attachment filter. My model is the B30 mini, with one cup size. It isn't on their website anymore, but you can still find it on amazon. I've tried a few different models of Keurigs, and mine is the only one that makes a great cup of coffee from the "My K Cup" -- no silly modifications needed. Although, it's not just because of my exact model. The other Keurigs I tried used already-ground coffee, and I grind it myself. I grind it very course, which I know makes a difference.
 
Altogether, I'm glad I got a smaller version. I have limited room and it helps. The only downside is that I have to add the water for every cup of coffee, but how hard is it to fill the mug you're about to use and pour it in the top? The water also doesn't get stagnant or plastic-tasting that way. I absolutely LOVE the way the coffee tastes out of this thing (keep in mind, I'm a coffee freak, I have two drip brewers, a french press, a kettle, and a percolator -- this is the best tasting).
 
For the cup-size, it's perfect for a regular mug, with just enough room for a scoop of creamer and a quick squirt of agave nectar. Anymore coffee than that at one time and I'd think more about backing off the caffeine intake.

I own the B60 model and love it.  As for the price of the kcups, like everyone's said before they can be pricey.  Sometimes my grocery store sells them for what comes out to 45 cents a cup.  Or you can find deals on deal sharing sites.  When I can snag a deal, I usually buy $75-$100 worth of the cups.  I drink one to two cups per day, as does the wife and would probably estimate it costs us $150-$175 in kcups per year when I find the deals. 
 
Not bad considering I was going to Starbucks paying $1.75 a cup on the weekdays.  That's $455 just for the morning joe minus vacations, etc.  Not counting the money I was spending on the coffee I drank at home...so more than likely I was spending close to $500 on coffee throughout the year. 
 
Sure I could go cheaper and drink the crap out of the Bunn machine at work, but why should I?  My fellow Sumatra drinkers know what I am talking about

Awesome, great comments & suggestions. LAWL @ the "format wars"
 
Glad to know you can use a filter for loose grounds (does it work for loose tea?)... thanks Missus MP & all y'all. Now all I need is a winning scratch card from the liquor store $$$

Donut Shop is one of the best coffees made anywhere by anyone.

Taping


Donut Shop is one of the best coffees made anywhere by anyone.

this...

Love these machines, but I don't always use them...only when I want the extra convenience.  I'll still make normal pots of coffee when I'm making it for multiple people.  If it's just me and I know I want 1 cup, it's perfect.
 
I think it's particularly great to have at work because everyone brings their own cups to the office and you don't have to fight over who makes it and what kind they use, etc.
 
One warning:  definitely clean it out with vinegar as was previously mentioned every 4-6 months or so.  We never cleaned our first one and after 3 years or so too much minerals built up and it died.  We tried cleaning it then but it was too late.  We're now our second machine and we're taking better care of it.
 
 
 

I've been trying convince my wife we need one....this thread is helping push her in the right direction!

JeffV
One warning:  definitely clean it out with vinegar as was previously mentioned every 4-6 months or so.  We never cleaned our first one and after 3 years or so too much minerals built up and it died.  We tried cleaning it then but it was too late.  We're now our second machine and we're taking better care of it. 
 

 
That is one nice thing about my Tassimo machine:  It has an indicator that tells you when you need to run a cleaning cycle.
 
 

My wife bought me one for Father's Day last year. I wish it existed when I was single. I don't use mine daily because we still make a full pot of coffee in the mornings, but it's nice to have when I want to make an extra cup for myself.

I'm considering buying one of those reusable "my kcups", but I'm reading reviews from one end of the spectrum to the other. I don't want to be fumbling around with cutting filters and aluminum foil. Supposedly these are measures people have taken to eliminate water spraying all over the place and grounds ending up in the coffee. If its not going to work perfectly, I'd rather not bother. Anyone have an opinion?

I had that issue when I first tried my reusable. It's a mesh filter, so no cutting filters or anything like that. The problem for me was NOT READING THE INSTRUCTIONS.  You put the ground coffee in the mesh filter, SCREW THE TOP ON, THEN put it in the machine, and brew. Voila! No grounds or water everywhere! When you're done, open the machine, take the adapter out, unscrew it, take mesh filter out, (it will be hot) rinse all in the sink, reassemble, store. Easy as pie. I use the official adapter, though. Don't know how the others work.

Vinman


My wife bought me one for Father's Day last year. I wish it existed when I was single. I don't use mine daily because we still make a full pot of coffee in the mornings, but it's nice to have when I want to make an extra cup for myself.

It's also great for days like today when I needed a cup of coffee immediatelyafter rolling out of bed and didn't have to wait for a full pot to brew. It's a lot more fun watching a 10-cup pot brew when you already have a hot cup of coffee in your hands.

I just got one of these for my birthday and so far it is pretty cool (and I'm on a killer caffeine high right now, lol).  I can see how spendy the kcups can run after checking a few on-line sources but I did get the filter you can use with ordinary coffee, so that helps.
 
But what I'm really going to appreciate it for are the mornings when I get to the coffee pot and find my spouse and my DD have only left me about 2 oz of coffee before leaving the house.  So frustrating!  Well, those days are over.  So I guess, in a sense, the gift was for them because it saves them from having to listen to me complain about them taking the last of the coffee every morning. 

^... but now they'll use all your Kcups.

Out of curiosity,  why would you buy one of these things and then use regular coffee instead of K-cups?  If you're not going to take advantage of the convenience factor, then what's the point?  It' seems like without the k-cups it's just a very expensive drip machine.  Is there some other benefit that I'm not seeing here?

It's the convenience of being able to make a single coffee cup and not wasting an entire pot.
 
I love it, I have the Special Edition.
Tassimo makes better specialty drinks though.
CBTL has a pretty good single serve machine too, and the espresso it makes is fenomenal. Fifteen bars of pressure, pretty neat.
 
Keurig is coming out with a new machine, the Vue, which will require new redesigned K-Cups. You'll be able to regulate water temperature, you'll be able to brew coffee for a 16oz travel mug (features already available in third party K-Cup coffee machines like Breville and Cuisinart), and adjustable height for the dripping tray. 
One important thing the Vue will bring is that the new K-Cups will be recyclable (#5). A lot of people complain about that, myself included. They'll also start making specialty drinks (cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, etc.). We'll see how they taste.
 
I've tried pretty much all of the single serve machines out there, since I work at Bed Bath & Beyond and am responsible of doing demos for the machines every other weekend.
 
As far as favorite flavors, hmmm... I like the Barista Prima brand, I also like the Green Mountain's Colombian Fair Trade K-Cups. For flavored coffees I like Van Houtte's Raspberry Chocolate Truffle and Gloria Jean's Mudslide. Kahlua is also good.
 
What I did when I bought my machine is I bought a 60 K-Cup variety pack, 'cause it has everything: decaf, dark roast, light roast, flavored, tea, cocoa, so it gives you a little taste of what the machine can offer.
 

I'll chime in saying basically the same as most.
 
I have two, one in the studio and one at home. I would waste so much coffee making a pot before. You can get good deals on k-cups online or I order bulk from an office supply company. (If you have a BJ's or Sam's Club type place they sell boxes of 80 cups for about .48/cup)
Like someone else said...if mine broke today I'd have another by tomorrow.

000jesus


Out of curiosity,  why would you buy one of these things and then use regular coffee instead of K-cups?  If you're not going to take advantage of the convenience factor, then what's the point?  It' seems like without the k-cups it's just a very expensive drip machine.  Is there some other benefit that I'm not seeing here?

Well, when I used the machine with my own grind, it is more like a shot of espresso than an "expensive drip machine" and that is what I was missing.  Our espresso maker died about 6 months ago.  So with that feature, I also get to keep using coffee that I already like as well as explore new coffee blends.  And now, with 3 different coffee drinkers (with 3 different tastes) we all get to have what we want, when we want it and not waste anything.

I'm absolutely a coffee junkie... I drink several cups a day.
I used to have one on one of my previous jobs - the coffee was good, but I've never boughtthe machine for myself.
Firstly, their portions are damn too small (I like BIG cups).
Secondly, I'm that type of a guy who prefers to take his ground beans, grind them with the spices he likes (usually dried mint, nutmeg and cardamom, sometimes cinnamon), boil it in a pot... I don't like it when you just push the button and everything's ready. It's not my cup of tea ya'know.

I do & yes. Love it !!