Keurig coffee flavors and brands

[Bestwifeever]

For the OP, DH buys K cups at Walmart having found them the cheapest. No advice on brands or flavors.

That license trick on its new model is probably not intended for the refillable cup mavericks (I wonder how many people do this as it makes the process so much less convenient, the main reason for using Keurig I believe) but at getting a piece of every Keurig compatible orefilled coffee cup. Maybe the majority of its users are offices and won't be affected. Interesting decision.

 

[photoguy]

Doesn't using refillable cups take away most of the advantage of the keurig?

 

[REWahoo]

That license trick on its new model is probably not intended for the refillable cup mavericks (I wonder how many people do this as it makes the process so much less convenient, the main reason for using Keurig I believe)...

Good question.

Based on the thousands of customer reviews of refillable cups on Amazon, I suspect going the refill route is reasonably popular. Yes, it is less convenient but offers the advantage of using your favorite brand of fresh coffee at a substantial savings. I calculate my per cup cost at $0.15 vs paying $0.35 - $0.50 for convenience. Less landfill waste, too.

An added bonus is the DIY/cheap route fills my "frugalness quota" first thing every morning!

 

[Bestwifeever]

Interesting article on Keurig's DRM decision here: Keurig 2.0 Can Survive Knockoff K-Cups (GMCR)

Keurig wanted a closed system but it's clear it won't be able to get one.

Will Keurig win?
If one company found a workaround this quickly, it seems like others will have no trouble doing so. This will cost Keurig some sales, but ultimately, it's not a major headache since Keurig has deals with major players in the coffee space.

Yes Mother Parkers and TreeHouse, along with various store brands, would appeal to people buying portion packs solely based on price, but cost-conscious customers have never been the Keurig audience. It has always been cheaper on a per-cup basis to brew a pot of coffee the old-fashioned way. Keurig's K-Cup, however, offers choice, customization, and a premium experience. With nearly every major coffee maker on board as a licensed partner, including Dunkin', Starbucks, and Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD ) , it seems unlikely that most Keurig users will opt for cheaper, obscure brands.

Seems like it is working out for them pretty well.

I really don't think the refillables are even on their radar. I wonder if there will be a licensed refillable cup sold for the new machines.

 

[braumeister]

From the same think-tank that brought us "New Coke"...

LOL!
I hope this decision backfires on them big time.

We have an older Keurig and like it.

DW only has one cup a day, and prefers the flavored coffees which is why we bought it originally.

I make a regular pot of coffee every morning (Starbucks Caffe Verona), but now and then I want "one more cup" and the Costco Pacific Bold is good enough to satisfy me.

 

[REWahoo]

Doesn't using refillable cups take away most of the advantage of the keurig?

The ability to brew only a single cup and use fresh grounds of whatever brand/flavor each person prefers is, in my opinion, a convenience equal to or even greater than the pre-packaged feature.

DW and I each drink only one cup each in the morning and like different coffee. The Keurig solved that problem nicely, and the benefits of using refillable cups far outweigh the negatives for us.

 

[38Chevy454]

Don't drink coffee myself, but DW does and uses the refillable cups and then buys her favorite coffee. Saves a lot of money vs buying the individual cups.

 

[REWahoo]

I wonder if there will be a licensed refillable cup sold for the new machines.

The refillable cup I linked in this post works with the new 2.0 Keurig machines: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/keurig-coffee-flavors-and-brands-75305.html#post1540676

 

[Chuckanut]

I can't say I think K coffee is that good. It's better than instant, which is not saying much.

The pod machines remind me of ink jet printers. The machines are the cheap part, the cost of consumables is very, very high. You can reverse this situation and get a great cup of coffee with a machine like this:

Jura Capresso Impressa C60

The cost is high, but your cost for coffee is much, much less. I buy 3 pound bags of beans from Costco for about $17. Hundreds of cups of coffee for the price of 35 pods! You are not locked into any particular brand or system when it comes to buying coffee.

And, the quality of the brew is outstanding!

So, the question is where do you want to spend your money? On a pod machine that's more expensive to operate in the long run and makes mediocre coffee. Or on a much more expensive machine, that uses much cheaper whole coffee beans from discount stores and makes a great cup of coffee?

 

[mpeirce]

One (among a few) reasons we have the Keurig is that we like one type of coffee while the folks who sometimes visit seem to prefer other types of coffee.

So we stock a few different types and everyone is happy.

 

[Bestwifeever]

The refillable cup I linked in this post works with the new 2.0 Keurig machines: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/keurig-coffee-flavors-and-brands-75305.html#post1540676

I wonder if Ekobrew paid for the license? From the workaround articles posted, there is a label on the cups printed in magic ink that the new Keurigs read (workarounds involve cutting out and reusing the label). It looks like a nice little gizmo.

When I gave DH the Keurig several years ago, I bought him a refillable cup that he has used only a couple of times when someone wants decaf, for example. He probably has a K cup himself maybe once a week at most, but likes having the variety of the packaged cups. I don't mind the taste of the packages but I rarely drink only one cup of coffee so just make a pot in the regular coffeemaker.

 

[Lsbcal]

+1. People who use Keurig's are more interested in convenience than coffee quality, cost or minimizing waste. It's a popular option these days and you could do worse, but a Keurig won't make great coffee, extraction temps too low, extraction time too short and coffee/water ratio compromised.

Well said.

My take: clearly we are witnessing the decline of American civilization.

 

[W2R]

I am all for convenience, to a point. But after reading the Amazon reviews of various models, I decided against a Keurig at this time.

Eventually they may come out with a model that appeals to me and when they do, I might buy one. But not right now.

 

[M Paquette]

the newest keurig does not allow you to use regular coffee in a refillable filter nor can you use cups not liscensed by keurig. I had a lot of keurig coffe.......didn't work in new machine, called keurig and they replaced my coffee with new liscensed k cups.

Here's how to fix the new machines:

Here's a tidy fix for refillable coffee pods:
Keurig 2.0 Hack

 

[Life_is_Good]

Been drinking the K-cups for about a year. I've tried a zillion variety packs to discover that I really enjoy these favorites:

Hazelnut - Gloria Jean
Pike's Place - Starbucks
Jet Fuel and Black Tiger - Coffee People

The last 2 are extremely dark and bold.... and delicious.

 

[photoguy]

The ability to brew only a single cup and use fresh grounds of whatever brand/flavor each person prefers is, in my opinion, a convenience equal to or even greater than the pre-packaged feature.

Good point. I don't have to compete with DW since she doesn't drink coffee. However some of my friends have told my that my coffee choices (vanilla hazelnut) are disgusting.

 

[Walt34]

"Interesting" choice by the manufacturer...reason enough not to buy one for me (I'd never have bought one anyway).http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/10/09/keurig-2.0-bitter-taste-coffee-drinkers-competitors/

That's my take on it too. They invented a nice coffeemaker and that's a good thing. They they just got greedy. I really dislike greedy.

DW talked briefly about getting one until I explained the cost per cup. Then she didn't want it either.

 

[Ready]

I've been very happy with my Keurig 1.0 model. I suppose I'm not a real coffee snob, and I think Starbucks is too strong and dark for me personally. I would not buy the 2.0 model because of the attempt to block non-Keurig pods from operating properly.

As far as which coffee is my favorite...whichever one is on sale at Costco. The one I always seem to go back to is the Rogers brand, which Costco sells for around $24.00 for 80 pods. And the Rogers pods don't look like the other K-cup pods. They have less plastic in them, but they work fine in the 1.0 brewers.

They sometimes have sales at Costco which brings the price down to $20, or .25 cents per cup. While a big 3 pound bag of whole bean coffee would cost less than that per cup, it's cheap enough for me that I can't be bothered buying the whole beans and using the MyKcups instead of the disposable pods.

 

[davemartin88]

I don't care for flavored coffee so just buy the least expensive regular coffee K-cups at Costco. We used a Keurig in the house when they first came out but went back to fresh ground and fresh brewed when we retired. The Keurig is in my workshop where it is perfect as it's easy to use, saves a trip to the house, and I only have to rinse out my cup. I use both half&half and sugar in my coffee so evens out a lot of the differences in flavor.

I guess K-cups are like printer ink. Keurig must feel they are losing too much money to others making cups where they don't get a cut of the sale? Will be interested to see if they back off the 2.0 change. If there was a real feature or difference that only Keurig produced or licensed cups could offer, then I might see why they thought this would work but taking away choices seems short sighted to me.

 

[Chuckanut]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/5/7986327/keurigs-attempt-to-drm-its-coffee-cups-totally-backfired

Time will tell.

 

[Focus]

The Coffee Review site published yesterday an extensive article on the currently available capsule single-serve coffees: Coffee Review: K-Cups and Single-Serve Capsule Reviews.

If you want to skip the overview, you can go straight to the capsule reviews: Coffee Review - The World's Leading Coffee Guide.

They also ran an article a couple of years ago on packing one's own K-cups: The New World of K-Cups - April 2013 | CoffeeReview.com.

 

[Sojourning]

Interesting article Chuckanut. Also interesting that no mention has been made by anyone of Tassimo.

A discussion over which brand of coffee is better is pretty much a waste of time. I mean there are people who swear by Folger's Instant and buy it in those humungous Orange plastic containers.

The advantage to a single serving machine is that you brew a single serving and it is far more convenient to do that with a machine than in any other way. Price is not the deciding factor. After convenience, comes selection and that is why I am surprised on one has posted to say 'forget Keurig, I'm a Tassimo man'(or woman).

That some people have changed the primary factor from convenience to price (pre-made vs. refillable pod) just goes to show you that some people will turn anything into a question of price if they can.

The other thing I find amusing is the tempest it has apparently caused over the DMR issue for their new model. Tassimo has had bar coded pods since day one. It is how the machine knows how to vary the process. That means, refillable pods have never been on the table.

We have been using a Tassimo for around 10 years now, since they first came out in Europe. We are now on our third machine. Keurig has never even been on our radar when buying a new one simply because they cannot make a Latte which is our morning drink of choice.

I drink only one each morning and no more coffee products all day usually. My wife likes another in the early evening and sometimes has a Cappucino instead. We had a contractor in doing some work on our house and he appreciated being able to get a double espresso to get him going in the morning. We appreciated it getting him going. Try getting your Keurig with or without your refillable pods, to do that. Or how about a Caramel Latte Macchiato or a Crema or Mocha.

If Tassimo had introduced a machine that just made coffee in Europe, it would probably have gone nowhere. Here is a current comparison.
Keurig vs Tassimo - Difference and Comparison | Diffen

So for me it's not about which flavours or brands as originally asked, that's a pretty pointless question since it depends on individual taste preferences. For me it's about do you want the convenience of single cup brewing in a couple of minutes ignoring price per cup and also want to be able to brew espresso, latte, cappucino, crema, mocha, or only coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

You couldn't get me to give up my morning latte no matter what price per cup you told me your Keurig refillable pods brews your coffee in.

 

[Marita40]

I was without a kitchen for 3 months during a remodel. The Keurig mini saved me from a complete insanity breakdown due to its simplicity and convenience. Due to no water in the kitchen it sat on my bathroom sink vanity adjacent to my bedroom ready for that first cup in the morning. No grounds or mess to deal with, and since there was construction mess all over the house (it seemed) it was bliss.

My pods of choice are Dunkin Donuts dark roast or Gloria Jean hazelnut.