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Keurig. A complete waste of money?

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13

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  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,982 Member
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    I almost bit on Keurig's "Try Keurig" K-Select promotion for $99 including 56 pods w/no tax & free shipping. But after I thought about it, I decided I just didn't need it

    The convenience is nice but the Keurig isn't maintence free. In addition to the pods, you need to buy filters and need to "descale" the device occasionally too.

    So, I'll stick w/my French press. It's a PITA to have to clean & wash it after each use but the bulk coffee I buy is much cheaper than buying pods and, even if I bought a couple of these refilable pods, I'd have to clean & wash them too.

  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
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    thecharon wrote: »
    I guess it depends on the yearly household budget. I can see in the workplace being valuable ONLY if people bring their own pods. Unless it's a company that is making a large profit and can "spoil" their employees. I can imagine a large world-wide company cannot provide pods for all their office employees. "There is always an accountant crunching numbers and I'm sure this gets looked at".

    :lol: I work for a non-profit organization (smallish, about 130 staff) where the entire C-suite AND Board of Directors are made up of CPAs (to say nothing of the finance department and Audit Committee) and we have multiple Keurigs at each office, all kept stocked with a variety of pods (I think there's 12 types for the one closest to my desk).

    It's not a big expense over traditional coffee makers since it's only made on demand with no waste. Little more expensive at the outset, obviously, but now that we have the machines the cost of the pods isn't really prohibitive, even for an organization with no profit and incredibly cautious financial oversight. A couple extra cents per cup of coffee is pretty reasonable for the benefits of convenience provided.



  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
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    my husband and i are keurig users. i love the flavored coffee, and he's ok with it, but sometimes prefers a simple dark roast.
  • 4legsRbetterthan2
    4legsRbetterthan2 Posts: 19,590 MFP Moderator
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    never could bring myself to buy a keurig. I am the only one in the house who drinks coffee so I like having a single serve since it has a smaller footprint. If you are looking for a single serve I like the chefman brand ones. Alot of the single serves require a specific size cup to work, has to push the bottom of the filter unit to let the coffee down like bigger pot ones, but this one doesn't do that, so it fits any cup or travel mug I have tried. On the downside, don't go into zombie mode and forget to put the cup in after setting it up, that makes a big mess!
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
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    holy over thinking! just buy it. best freaking thing ever.
  • MichelleWithMoxie
    MichelleWithMoxie Posts: 1,817 Member
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    never could bring myself to buy a keurig. I am the only one in the house who drinks coffee so I like having a single serve since it has a smaller footprint. If you are looking for a single serve I like the chefman brand ones. Alot of the single serves require a specific size cup to work, has to push the bottom of the filter unit to let the coffee down like bigger pot ones, but this one doesn't do that, so it fits any cup or travel mug I have tried. On the downside, don't go into zombie mode and forget to put the cup in after setting it up, that makes a big mess!

    lol! I’ve totally done that before! Too early, too sleepy :sleeping:
  • Xelbabe
    Xelbabe Posts: 10 Member
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    Don't bother with Keurig! I had one, but if you drink coffee in any amount, it's useless. Not to mention, if you use the refillable pods for your own grounds, you're going to get a disgusting sediment at the bottom of your cup. Even if you're using the single-serve k-cups, grounds still escape through. Anything flavored is simply a powder they're pushing water through.

    Overall.. disgusting. Get a good ol' Mr. Coffee.
  • Mslmesq
    Mslmesq Posts: 1,001 Member
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    I have a keurig. I got a good deal on it. I amost never use it. But when I need it, it’s convenient. Mostly for a single serving when no one else wants any coffee.
  • jeannemarie333
    jeannemarie333 Posts: 214 Member
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    Yes, to each their own. I asked Santa for a French Press for Christmas (my sister :) I buy starbucks french roast whole bean and grind my own - and yes it is soooo worth it :) I know Keurig has its uses and that's great, but I was never interested. Coffee onward pals ... a coffee Chicago girl :)
  • JoeCWV
    JoeCWV Posts: 213 Member
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    I have a Keurig and use it almost every day. I also have a Bunn Coffee Maker and use it. If I plan to be home all day I will often use the Bun. For the grab and go cup of coffee the Keurig is nice. Like others have said to each his/her own.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,454 Member
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    I only drink a couple of cups most days. For me, what works is a Melitta (or knockoff) porcelain cone that sits on the cup, #2 paper filter, home ground beans, boiling water, on top of microwaved milk.

    Reasonably quick, cheap, compostable/biodegradable supplies, easy. I have a bigger cone & insulated pitcher for when there's company. Usually grind a few days' beans at a time, in a tiny electric grinder I've had for around 40 years now.

    For me, all Keurig would do is take more counter space, be harder to clean, maybe produce more or worse waste, save less than a minute per cup. Doesn't make sense . . . for me.

    Everybody's habits and needs are different.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Keurig's selling point is that the K-cup delivers Starbucks flavored coffee cheaper than Starbucks.

    For those of us perfectly happy with paper filters and 10-cup carafes, it's a waste.
  • th1nr
    th1nr Posts: 42 Member
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    My former roommate had a keurig that I used to use sometimes and honestly it wasn't that convenient? I have a regular "mr coffee" maker now and it takes about 5 seconds to put two table spoons into the filter and exactly the same amount of time to make the coffee. You can just make one or two cups you don't have to make the whole pot of coffee every time. I don't grind my coffee I buy it ground. You can also get flavored ground coffee if that's your thing.
    The one advantage to using a keurig is I think it would limit me to one or two cups of coffee per day instead of the amount that I drink.
    I can also understand having a keurig at an office where you can't trust everyone to know how to use a coffee maker without like messing it up or sneezing into the coffee grounds or something people are idiots.
    So that's my two cents. I'll have to read why a vacuum is a waste of money though? How are you supposed to clean your carpets?!?
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    Xelbabe wrote: »
    Don't bother with Keurig! I had one, but if you drink coffee in any amount, it's useless. Not to mention, if you use the refillable pods for your own grounds, you're going to get a disgusting sediment at the bottom of your cup. Even if you're using the single-serve k-cups, grounds still escape through. Anything flavored is simply a powder they're pushing water through.

    Overall.. disgusting. Get a good ol' Mr. Coffee.

    Huh, that's never happened to me, there's never grounds in my coffee. Maybe you got a defective one?
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
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    mph323 wrote: »
    Xelbabe wrote: »
    Don't bother with Keurig! I had one, but if you drink coffee in any amount, it's useless. Not to mention, if you use the refillable pods for your own grounds, you're going to get a disgusting sediment at the bottom of your cup. Even if you're using the single-serve k-cups, grounds still escape through. Anything flavored is simply a powder they're pushing water through.

    Overall.. disgusting. Get a good ol' Mr. Coffee.

    Huh, that's never happened to me, there's never grounds in my coffee. Maybe you got a defective one?

    I had the same issue with the refillable pods. They don't have as fine a filter as the K-cups do so you get sediment with them. I gave up on them as they were too hard to keep clean, so I'm back to store bought pods. I get a box from Costco and they are not a bad price per cup. Yes it's more than ground and a pot, but it works for me.

    We just got a coffee service at work so at least those pods are recycled. I should take my pods from home to work so they can be recycled.

  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited December 2017
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    thecharon wrote: »
    They are recycled just as any plastic is. Cleaned, then melted, then reformed. I bet you could take them to any re-cycling center. I would clean them first.

    Nope. They are not recyclable with your plastic waste. Don't put them with your recycling. They are burned as a fuel alternative.

    I'll find the link.

    https://www.recycleacup.com/faqs/#1445885229672-9b3c239c-1fbd

    If you want to recycle them, you have to disassemble them, separate the lid, the cup, the filter and the grounds and recycle the components.

    And from our service
    https://www.vhcoffeeservices.com/sustainability/

    "*Toronto and Vancouver: used K-Cup® packs are sent to local waste-to-energy facilities.
    British Colombia and Montreal: used K-Cup® packs are sent to cement plants to be used as an alternative to coal for energy production."
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
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    mph323 wrote: »
    Xelbabe wrote: »
    Don't bother with Keurig! I had one, but if you drink coffee in any amount, it's useless. Not to mention, if you use the refillable pods for your own grounds, you're going to get a disgusting sediment at the bottom of your cup. Even if you're using the single-serve k-cups, grounds still escape through. Anything flavored is simply a powder they're pushing water through.

    Overall.. disgusting. Get a good ol' Mr. Coffee.

    Huh, that's never happened to me, there's never grounds in my coffee. Maybe you got a defective one?

    I had the same issue with the refillable pods. They don't have as fine a filter as the K-cups do so you get sediment with them. I gave up on them as they were too hard to keep clean, so I'm back to store bought pods. I get a box from Costco and they are not a bad price per cup. Yes it's more than ground and a pot, but it works for me.

    We just got a coffee service at work so at least those pods are recycled. I should take my pods from home to work so they can be recycled.

    Ah, I use the mesh pods, not the refillable one. I could see where grounds could be an issue.

    The San Francisco Bay packaging has gone a different direction, all their packaging is industrial compostable. IRL, this means throwing them out with the trash like the plastic pods unless you separate the compostables and regularly take them to whatever industrial facility is closest. That's just not happening in our house. On the other hand there's no plastic involved and they are completely biodegradable.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited December 2017
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    I can't understand why the French press isn't more popular, to be honest.

    late to this party, but i had one of those and idk, i found it a pain to get those grounds out of the pot. i'd much rather keep all my coffee confined in a single filter i can just pull out and drop in the recycling bin.

    keurigs i can't square with my footprint conscience. i'm uncomfortable enough as it is with those little single-serve plastic milk things.

    edit: also, i like folgers coffee . . .