For Coffee Pod Users: Your Favorites?

Our first Keurig lasted seven years, and the current one is coming up on its third birthday. I consider that reasonable for this sort of appliance.
 
Midpack said:
99% false, and SFBC knows it - like 90% of the companies that greenwash. Almost all of the biodegradable or compostable "alternatives" end up in landfills (degrading after hundreds of years) - but it's effective marketing that lets people think they're being responsible without giving it any thought. And 90% of the other plastics that could be recycled end up in landfills and oceans - for more than 30 years.

https://sfbaycoffee.com/pages/compostable-faq
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Very good point. The nearest facility near me (and I'm outside Chicago, not out in the boonies) is a 45 minute drive each way.

And it seems to me we don't want biodegradable things in a landfill. It's actually a negative, isn't it?

If not properly composted, but enclosed in a landfill, they just turn to muck and can leak out that muck. If you put non-biodegradable glass or plastic, etc in there, it just sits and does nothing. What would you rather have buried in your back yard, a bunch of stuff that could rot and turn to slime and emit gasses, or something more like gravel that remains inert for centuries?

But uninformed people see "biodegradable" and think that's good, not realizing it only applies under certain, rare circumstances.

Does anyone live in a community that offers proper composting of stuff like this?

edit/add: I see Gumby posted that theirs get burned for electricity - that might be a pretty good use of them.

-ERD50
 
I've got one of those reusable filters too, but don't like the "sludge." I didn't know you could get liners for it, so thanks for that tip. This morning I'm drinking Dunkin Donuts dark roast and will try the medium too.
 
I have only used Keurigs at friends' houses and they all had the disposable pods. I may get one for home use. Do I need to order reusable cups separately or do they come with the Keurig? If I need to order them separately, are some better than others?
 
We use our entry-level Keurig from time to time - mostly at night for decaf. We like Starbucks - not the company, but the coffee. I’m guessing the pods will last for a year or more easy.

We also take our own pods when we travel as many hotels have Keurigs now, but not the best coffee for them.
 
Gumby said:
The pods go in the trash, which, here in Connecticut, gets burned for electricity. We don't have landfills.
ERD50 said:
edit/add: I see Gumby posted that theirs get burned for electricity - that might be a pretty good use of them.
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Hate to keep harping on a tangent, but since you make the distinction re: waste that shows you would like to reduce your environmental impact.

Waste incinerators are no magic bullet, if even better than a landfill. I know because I operated one for 18 years as part of our manufacturing compliance - and we were burning a very consistent waste stream, unlike waste incineration. But don't take my word for it, there are tons are articles online, here one from Connecticut...

And in fairness, CT is a better environmental actor than many states. All states are overwhelmed with waste...

https://www.clf.org/blog/dont-take-out-trash-connecticut-waste-crisis/
During my time with CLF, I dove into the nitty-gritty details of Connecticut’s waste crisis. And the deeper I dug, the more dismayed I became. Here’s just a fraction of what I learned:
  • Connecticut, as a whole, throws away two to three million tons of trash (like paper, food, plastic, glass, metal, textiles, and leaves) each year.
  • 500,000 tons of that trash are exported to out-of-state landfills and incinerators each year.
  • The remaining garbage gets sent to one of the state’s five waste incinerators.
  • These incinerators are poisonous, emitting toxic pollutants into the air that neighboring communities breathe in.
    [*]The ash residue left over after garbage is incinerated gets trucked to ash landfills, like the one in Putnam, Connecticut. These landfills are also toxic to the environment.
While I found all of this troublesome, most unsettling is that Connecticut’s two largest trash burners sit in environmental justice communities in Hartford and Bridgeport. Combined, these incinerators burn about two-thirds of the state’s waste. And the low-income communities and communities of color living near these polluting facilities are hit first and worst by toxic emissions.
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donheff said:
Do I need to order reusable cups separately or do they come with the Keurig? If I need to order them separately, are some better than others?
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One usually comes with the machine but I'm not a fan of the design of that cup. I much prefer after market cups but some of those aren't great either. I did find some I really like, the ones pictured in my post above. Here is a link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B082GPNXBK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
aja8888 said:
Very cool setup, especially the water level float valve! My auto fill method is not as creative....I use DW to fill it with a small pitcher.
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LOL, Thanks, We only buy Coffee makers that have a water container that lends itself to my mod, not all do. I usually take my preferred "float de jour" with me when shopping for one, just to make sure there is room for it.
 
We've gotten out of the habit of even drinking coffee, so the Keurig sits there most of the time. Back in the day, we used the reusable pods and filled them with whatever coffee the summer guests left behind. I like a very flavorful coffee (some version of a Kona blend, usually) and it seemed many guests liked the fact that they could find Kona coffee locally at any store. Only issue was "sludge" as others have mentioned. I just got used to leaving the last half inch of coffee in the cup. YMMV
 
Midpack said:
Hate to keep harping on a tangent, but since you make the distinction re: waste that shows you would like to reduce your environmental impact....
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I live 9 miles ENE of the Bridgeport trash burning plant. Guess which way the wind blows around here? So, yes, I do eat my own cooking, so to speak. The one in Hartford is on the Connecticut River on the far east edge of the city, in an industrial area next to the airport where no one lives. Its emissions largely spread over the richer suburbs to the east of the river. So Lucy Hinckley, the CLF volunteer you quoted, should get off her high horse about the trash-to-energy plants being in low income areas. Everybody gets some of our infrastructure. Some have the waste plant or the power pant, some have the highway or the train running through town, some have the airport, some have the prison, some the courthouse, some the college or hospital that doesn't pay real property tax, some have the gas pipeline or the high voltage power lines.

Would it be good if we all could generate less waste and didn't have to burn it? Yes, yes it would. Although better to burn it and get some electricity than bury it and get none. Further, I note that Ms. Hinckley says she has solar panels. Does she know that waste was generated in producing them? Or that at some point they will fail and need to be disposed of? And they can't even be burnt. What then, Lucy?
 
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donheff said:
I have only used Keurigs at friends' houses and they all had the disposable pods. I may get one for home use. Do I need to order reusable cups separately or do they come with the Keurig? If I need to order them separately, are some better than others?
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A lot of the Keurig machines come with a reusable filter cup/pod.
 
JRon said:
We also take our own pods when we travel as many hotels have Keurigs now, but not the best coffee for them.
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We also travel with our own pods because the decaf choices are limited and usually awful. Only some of the hotels we use have a Keurig in the room.

We recently bought one of the Keurig mini-K Plus units that were on sale at BB&B for a good promotion. This unit is compact enough to carry on longer road trips and even comes with a built in pod holder.
 
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We use both refillable pods and purchase ready made.
I buy whatever coffee and/or pods are on sale in bulk at Costco or Fred Meyer. Usually Starbucks, DH likes dark roast, I like blonde. We like many of the Stumptown Roasting company flavors, too.

Special occasions will buy Kona coffee direct from Mountain Thunder Plantation in Kailua!
 
I should have mentioned this on the Amazon Prime thread.


I like trying different coffee and am not very picky. I use warehouse deals on Amazon to get all kinds of brand name coffees for between 24 to 32 cents a pod.


They are usually close up to expiry date but not always. Sometimes it's a repacking issue or discontinuing a certain brand or size box.


This pays for my Prime every year...
 
I used Starbucks Sumatra in the Keurig.
Working from home I have switched to a pour over method and my favorite coffee is still Starbucks Sumatra. I just grind the beans fresh every morning.
 
In my Keurig, i use the Donut Cafe pods that I get at Ollie's for 20 cents each (100 for 19.99) I'm particular at all for my morning coffee, just as I just grabbed a cup of whatever at the office coffee pot when I was working. Over the holidays my wife gets me some good Starbucks Holiday blend beans that a freshly grind and brew. When I desire a good cup, I'll brew up some Black Rifle Just Black.
 
jazz4cash said:
I always joke about coffee pods being a conspiracy to quadruple the cost of coffee. DW lives her Kuerig and mild roast pods. We had a win win for a while with Aldi pods (donut shop, hazelnut, et al). $2.99 / dozen. She says they are not as good as they used to be. I tried a few more boxes but they were all disappointing. Anybody else notice this? I suspect Aldi has changed their sourcing. Not surprising considering how fast they are growing around here.
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That is how I justify having an espresso machine and all the stuff involved. :D

A rhetorical question, but doesn't using a refillable pod negate the main benefits of a pod machine? That being the quick, easy, and relatively good coffee that it generates. Otherwise is it not so much different from using a drip machine, french press, AeroPress, etc. I like getting a pod machine coffee when eating out as the taste is usually quite good, but I drink too much coffee at home to own one.
 
I like to make a large cup on strong in my Kuerig with Donut Shop regular and powdered French Vanilla creamer. My favorite!
 
triangle said:
That is how I justify having an espresso machine and all the stuff involved. :D

A rhetorical question, but doesn't using a refillable pod negate the main benefits of a pod machine? That being the quick, easy, and relatively good coffee that it generates. Otherwise is it not so much different from using a drip machine, french press, AeroPress, etc. I like getting a pod machine coffee when eating out as the taste is usually quite good, but I drink too much coffee at home to own one.
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It’s still quick and easy with a refillable pod, plus very fresh. Maybe 10 more seconds if the coffee is ground. The machine takes a little time to heat anyway and the pod is filled and ready to go well before that. Another 2 secs to dump the pod and rinse.

French press is way more work and time. AeroPress less messy, but still more involved.

We also have a Nespresso machine but use that later in the day.
 
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DH tried a few brands due to a 50% off coupon. Caribou Coffee decaf is very nice.
 
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