Keurig 2.0

<p>I have a Cuisinart. It came with a My K-Cup® Reusable Coffee Filter. So I don’t have to buy the fancy K-cups in the grocery store. I can just use my regular coffee if I want to. I haven’t had any problems with it and I have had it for over a year. My teenagers like the hot water dispenser. They use when they are making ramen noodles. No microwave required!</p>

<p>My godson is one of those demonstrators at a Williams-Sonoma near his college- and making commissions hand over fist. But, if you read extensive reviews, even from the techie sites, there is no agreement on Nespresso. This becomes very much a personal pref thing. </p>

<p>I find it interesting that the restaurants with coffee we like- are not using individual pods. It can have to do with the specific coffee and the grind, the freshness of the raw grounds (why so many have sealed packets, not cans of coffee,) the temp the finished cup comes out and how long the pot of coffee sits. Granted, a restaurant needs more to serve. Sorry I’m seeming argumentative- I’ve been trying to convince myself toward one of these easy systems- and can’t yet. I still will want to use fresh water, sometimes go for a half cup, and can’t justify the cost yet, for the quantity we drink, the quantity of cups we make for ourselves and others. </p>

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<p>You can still use your fave Costco Kcup, but think about it…how would THAT tiny cup make enough grounds for a carafe? You would need the bigger ones to make coffee for the carafe…otherwise you would have 4 cups of light brown coffee.</p>

<p>I don’t understand folks who say that their Keurigs have broken down. I have purchased at least 7 and none have broken.</p>

<p>I think one of the drawbacks of a Keurig is that many folks like to use big mugs. Unless you are buying the “extra bold” versions, likely the water-size-selected is too much for the cup…so the result is a too weak cup. </p>

<p>My H likes to use a big much, so we just run it twice (using 2 Kcups) to fill his big mug. </p>

<p>@xiggi Yes, we Americans are always in a hurry and don’t want to take the time to brew a perfect cup. I have a professional espresso machine, and it can be fun to use, but many mornings it just takes too much time (and I hate cleaning out the grounds after!)</p>

<p>I have a small Keurig and I think it is 3 or 4 years old. Intermittently water will heat up but just sit there so I guess the pump is failing. </p>

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<p>Hey, I am not trying to convince you. There are a dozen ways to make delicious coffee. There are people who enjoy Sanka and plenty who think that Mr Coffee served at your old diner is what the doctor ordered. </p>

<p>Yet, it is fair to compare similar products. Brewers that use capsules is one group. At the same ease of use, the Keurig is not at the same level as 15 or 19 bar machines that extract the flavor with more than running hot water through the capsule. Nespresso capsules are more expensive but are WAY better built. And while Keurig brews coffee, it does make a decent shot of espresso. But neither does a pour-over like a Chemex or the Melitta that is hundred years old. </p>

<p>Fwiw, I have two Keurig machines, and they are my least liked method, and regardless of the quality and pricing of the capsules. I used an old fashioned italian system for some beans, or the French Press for others. Chemex and Melitta are reasonable options for the crisp coffee lover. But when it comes to capsule systems, Keurig is really at the level of your old coffee machine that costs a few dozen dollars. And in this regard, the whole carafe is plain silly as it contradicts the entire benefit of a single use. </p>

<p>You might as well stick to yesterday’s percolator or the above Mr Coffee. </p>

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<p>The last time I went to Costco.com and looked at Keurig reviews there were close to 600 of them. About one-fourth of them were negative, including a large number of complaints about their reliability, and a large number of those about their pump problems. Even the lady at the return desk said they got a large amount of them back several months or years later.</p>

<p>A lot depends on how much use it gets, your quality of water, and whether or not you flush it out (rinse).</p>

<p>I have a Keurig that is used not at my home, but is used a lot. It hasn’t broken…yet. I have several friends who own them and have had them replaced because they broke within a short time of purchase. I have one friend who gave up after returning the third broken one to Costco. She got a French press.</p>

<p>Mine is used at a place where folks want a variety of beverages. Just today, we made decaf, regular coffee, hot chocolate, and English breakfast tea. For this use, it’s good. But for a great cup of coffee at home…um…no thank you.</p>

<p>Exactly, thumper! At my workplace, we have a Keurig and a Nespresso machine. Everyone who wants can use them - just bring your own pods. For the coffee omnivores/cheapskates/busy people, there is a big Bunn with free coffee.</p>

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<p>ahhh…we always use the filters…and always use Brita water. And I provide a Brita next to each Keurig in my vaca rentals. maybe that is why we haven’t had any failures. </p>

<p>Release date is tomorrow, so Costco should be shipping out tomorrow…yay!</p>

<p>My Costco cups do have the Keurig logo on them, but my Sams Club ones do not (just the fair trade logo). Wonder if Sams is going to have to now pay something to Keurig to put that logo on…and that means that their good-but-inexpensive Kcups will go up in price. Now they are about 30 cents each. </p>

<p>Still a very expensive coffee. K-cups go from $16lb to $51lb depending on where you buy them.
I get high end coffee on sale the the grocery store for about $8lb, and either grind it myself or use the store grinders to make enough for the week.
Freshness makes a difference.</p>

<p>Here is my thought. If you think of a Keurig like you think of a printer…basically, the company “gives” you the printer and makes their money off of the ink. Keurig machines are the same. They need to make money off of the pods. There was a article in our newspaper recently about this issue. Apparently Keurig is looking at ways to make sure they get a cut of all of those K cups…and looking at ways that the unlicensed ones won’t be able to be used in their newer machines.</p>

<p>As an aside, it’s kind of sad the guy who spent years developing the Keurig ended up not making much out of it. </p>

<p>Thumper, what kid of French Press do you use- you got me looking. Does it keep the coffee warm enough for the 2nd cup?<br>
Keurigs, though, are not inexpensive. </p>

<p>Bodum…I think they make an excellent French press…but really as long as the screen doesn’t let the grounds through, any one should work.</p>

<p>IMHO, the best coffee maker is the Aeropress, but I understand the allure of pods. Though they remind me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Taste is subjective and we shouldn’t begrudge individual choices, though I do sometimes wonder how anyone can prefer vanilla ice cream over chocolate.</p>

<p>I had an interesting conversation with the owner of a North End, Boston coffee place, one that’s been in business for many decades. I buy their Italian roast and prefer it over their French roast, though the visible difference is small. Bobby told me the difference is the Italian is 3 kinds of beans, each roasted and then combined, while the French is 2. My point, which I know is off-topic, is that we make assumptions about what is best: single malt scotch versus blends, single origin coffee versus blend, etc. I also asked about the roast at Caffe Nero, which is a British/European chain that opened its first US store recently in Boston. It’s a blend and it’s simply delicious. </p>

<p>I think, for example, the Nespresso pods taste better - and the crema produced by their newest machine is absurd - but that doesn’t mean Nespresso would taste better with the crappy pods I see in many offices. Which reminds me of a favorite line from a TV show when one character asks how come this coffee is so good and the answer is “I measure”. </p>

<p>"“sometimes wonder how anyone can prefer vanilla ice cream over chocolate”"</p>

<p>Yet at places like Baskin Robbins, vanilla still outsells the others. </p>

<p>I know that Keurig coffee can’t beat the excellent stuff served in coffee houses and better restaurants. I will still order coffee at a breakfast restaurant even if I have already had morning coffee, just because restaurant coffee is often so much better. </p>

<p>But…I hate dealing with grounds, so a k-cup is just for convenience…and the ability to always have a hot cup available just a few seconds away.</p>

<p>hmmmm… I wonder if the new 2.0 will be able to use the MyKCup? </p>

<p>This reminds me: someone I knew worked in a restaurant featured in one of those Folgers ads where the “switch” the coffee. They shot the ad after service, and with setup and all started filming at around 1:30AM. </p>

<p>Just in case you haven;t seen this one <a href=“http://www.cnet.com/products/keurig-k500/”>http://www.cnet.com/products/keurig-k500/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Keurig says: “The My K-Cup® accessory, due to the nature of its design, cannot be made with Keurig 2.0 Brewing Technology™ and will therefore not operate with the new Keurig® 2.0 system.”</p>

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<p>That is interesting as I thought there were only two types of beans in commercial development, namely the Arabica and the Robusta. Perhaps, they meant to use different sub varieties. Regardless, there is something amazing in getting an espresso or cappuccino in Italy. The freshness of the brew and skills of the barista are exceptional. </p>

<p>Speaking about brewing methods, it is instructive to see how tasters are cupping the coffee. I saw this in Costa Rica and Mexico. Unfiltered with ground coffee directly mixed in almost boiling water. Perhaps we should worry so much about a few grinds! <a href=“Coffee Cupping”>http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/cupping.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Lastly, Pulse has been covering a series of articles about coffee all week. The originals are at <a href=“http://www.fastcompany.com/section/coffee-week”>http://www.fastcompany.com/section/coffee-week&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I would think that even though the new 2.0 doesn’t work with the mykcup you should be able to take 1 of their new pods and figure out a way to reuse it with your own coffee if you want.</p>