OK - Cut me some slack at 4:40 in the morning . . . I hadn’t finished my coffee yet 
Yes, ground coffee not used grounds. I did get a kick out of seeing all the copper piping stands and graduated cylinders in lieu of mugs. They give a very steam punk aesthetic. Nothing like reinventing the wheel to make a buck. I guess if the coffee technician pours the water I would wait in line and pay extra but only if they have cool stands.
I have a K cup but I use my French press as my work horse. My Keurig always dies within 2 years (I’m sure related to the water I put in) so it always goes back to Costco, I get a full refund, and a new Keurig.
I wouldn’t get the 2.0…I wouldn’t want him frustrated if he bought a brand that didn’t work.
I was surprised to find that the walmart brand (very cheap) does have the 2.0-style lids, so they do work in 2.0. And, the Walmart brand has 2 or 3 flavors (breakfast blend, columbian, and donut shop). If you get the 48 count box, it’s only $15. Surprisingly enough, the breakfast and donut blends are very good. Haven’t tried the other one.
I think the 2.0 had a couple of kinks in it that needed to get worked out. I pre-ordered mine from costco and got it either the day the embargo lifted or the day after. It only lasted 2 weeks. I got another, it only lasted a couple of weeks. (both times, stopped heating). Then I got another, and I could tell that it was a little different (even tho it was a 5XX series), and it has lasted for 4 months so far.
I bit the bullet for the extended warranty. $8. (Now I see some are just able to return.) Ya know, going to Keurig or whatever is just another decision we make, like many others. I’ve got a Swiffer wet jet and could have just gone with a cheap squeegee. I am not in favor of wasteful spending, but in some aspects of life, you just call the shots. I’d love a fancy, expensive expresso machine, sure. But not the clean up.
A couple of things, after the 4Cs (CC Cobrat’s Cousins) we now most definitely have a Triple C, namely CC’s Coffee!
As everything, it is a matter a taste, and a matter of ease of use. And then there is the cost. Although I do not think that any Keurig can surpass its technical limitations and quality of the coffee in the pods, it should be a reasonable compromise for a student in a dorm. Starting to have an electric kettle (which might not be approved) and having to find a place to clean the pot after each use is a probably too much for a French Press, and the more complicated AeroPress. The pourover might work but you might as well buy a 15 dollars standard American coffee maker for your money.
On the low end of the market --where Keurig is solidly anchored-- the best alternative is the Dulce Gusto, which is the lower cost version of Nespresso. The issue remains that the better Nespresso capsules are much harder to find. In Mexico, Nespresso was selling the Dulce machine with a dozen boxes of various coffee (16 capsules each) for about 60 dollars. It should be just a bit more expensive in the US.
Fwiw, regarding the size of the Mini Keurig, the capacity is 10 oz, but they seem to have had a 11.25 version in the past.
The pictures I posted --courtesy of Chad Robertson who was there to supervise his upcoming Tartine-- were taken in Tokyo. San Francisco’s “over the top” is travelling well in Asia.
Yes, @xiggi there is a CC’s coffee:
I have had a Keruig for years, it is a workhouse for me. The coffee is fine, easy to do. I have a Cuisinart grind and brew for times when I don’t want one cup. But if that keurig dies, I’m buying a nepresso. They have the one on sale that makes coffee or espresso for under $200 now. I am looking for the perfect home cup, hope it doesn’t disappoint
So Ihad a $10 kohl’s cash to use by tomorrow. Picked up a box of starbucks breakfast blend k-cups, which happened to be on sale, so it cost me $2 for a box of 16. Didn’t the box used to contain 18?
Sigh, jym. It is happening all over the place! The British are royally pissed that their pack of Cadbury eggs “lost” an egg this year…
And when we bought girl scout thin mints, I obviously showed my age because I said something about the 3 sleeves of cookies in the box. Um, nope. Only 2.
I think Starbucks Kcups have always had 16 cups, less than the other brands.
Of note, don’t have 2.0 but I bought some San Francisco Bay brand coffee at Costco, and they included in the box a clip that will defeat the 2.0 restrictions allowing the use of only certified k-cups.
Coffee DRM. Sheesh.