Keurig and K cups

[Huntindog1]

For years we used any ole coffee maker and would try fancy expensive coffee.
My parents always used the more economical Folgers or Maxwell house coffee but I always thought their coffee was so much better than I ever made. They told me it was the fact they used a Bunn coffee maker. Well one year for Christmas several years ago they bought us one. And sure enough our coffee greatly improved.

This year for Christmas I got the wife the fancy fully programmable most expensive Keurig coffee maker.

So we tried and tried to make good coffee but it wasnt up to par with our Bunn. So I got to investigating the situation and found that the claim to fame with Bunns is they heat the water too 200 degrees and do a good job of making sure it stays at 200 degrees. Well the fully programmable Keurig would only let me turn the heat up to 192 max. So after playing around with the thing for a few days we took it back.

I then went and got the Bunn My Cafe that will do K cups , Coffee Pods / tea bags , Ground Coffee / loose tea and just hot water option. It was a little more expensive.

Well like magic we are back into business the coffee is tasting like it should and the machine even has a pulse feature that the Keurig didnt have to get even a more robust cup of coffee.

 

[Delta-T]

well whaddayaknow. I'm not all that picky about my coffee....needs to be brownish but I have a friend who meticulously heats his water to 200 on the stove top (with thermometer) to make coffee. I will no longer chuckle at him when I see him do it. Science, how bizarre.

 

[begreen]

I like Bunn equipment too. Our Capresso coffee maker heat the water to about 200F also. It does make a difference in what oils are released from the beans.

That said, I'm not a fan of the whole Keurig scheme. It adds a ton of extra packaging which ends up in the landfill. I'm not sure how much this adds to the cost per cup of coffee, but is it worth it?

 

[Huntindog1]

Its that oily texture that makes it coffee and not flavored water.

 

[Jags]

If I drank a single cup of coffee, I would be hanging from the ceiling fans yelling YEEE HAAW. Not a pretty sight.

 

[pen]

When I was first married I tried several different coffee pots and many brands of coffee and couldn't get a decent cup to save my life. I was convinced it was my water but after bringing home other water from my parents (which makes good coffee at their home) and a local public artesian well, and still having bad results, I figured it was the coffee pot(s) reluctantly.

I was about to buy a percolator for the stove top when the wife surprised me with a Bunn and I love that thing although it is an energy hog keeping the water hot all the time. I'm not coffee snob, but I know what a decent cup should taste like, and I finally could get it at home.

Haven't been impressed with coffee from the k-cups myself that I've had at other people's homes and agree with BG about the waste and am often surprised at the price of those things when I see them in the store. Plus, for my purposes, it wouldn't be ideal to use to fill a thermos with to take to work.

I'll stick with the Bunn and just pay the electric bill for now, still cheaper than getting it from a gas station each morning.

I also have a French press and love the coffee from that, but it's not nearly as convenient as the Bunn and doesn't make enough for my thermos.

pen

 

[begreen]

We use a french press and I do love the flavor of that coffee. Unfortunately my cholesterol levels do not, so I have switched to tea for my caffeine fix.

 

[pen]

We use a french press and I do love the flavor of that coffee. Unfortunately my cholesterol levels do not, so I have switched to tea for my caffeine fix.

Hearing this scares me. Haven't had my cholesterol tested since last century. If I have to worry about coffee, I'm screwed with the rest of my diet

I have heard that alcohol is good for one's HDL, so I expect an outstanding report there

pen

 

[GAMMA RAY]

Hearing this scares me. Haven't had my cholesterol tested since last century. If I have to worry about coffee, I'm screwed with the rest of my diet

I have heard that alcohol is good for one's HDL, so I expect an outstanding report there

pen

My HDL which is the "good" cholesterol....was 125 the last I had it checked....My doc never saw an HDL that high before. I do partake in alcoholic beverages.... Maybe there is a connection.

I am not picky with my coffee...I take my sugar with a wee bit of coffee and cream..
As long as it gives me an incentive to approach my day and not kill anyone in the process, I really don't care how it tastes as long as I can get it down.

 

[Delta-T]

I am not picky with my coffee...I take my sugar with a wee bit of coffee and cream..
As long as it gives me an incentive to approach my day and not kill anyone in the process, I really don't care how it tastes as long as I can get it down.

word.

 

[yooperdave]

I'd have to admit that the best coffee I've had has been from Bunn coffee makers.
Always sad to see them fail, its the gasket between the heated resevoir and the fill tank that eventually fails...But after a few attempts at repairing them, I finally found one cure that has lasted for over 3 years!!

 

[Jags]

...But after a few attempts at repairing them, I finally found one cure that has lasted for over 3 years!!

Holding out for payment, or what??

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i actually drink a pretty large amount of coffee at work, and some on weekends at home, if i were to get a machine for single cup i'd probably opt for the ones which you can use your own grounds and not buy the K cups which are outrageous in price per cup to me. now if i were buying a starbucks a couple times a day maybe it would make fiscal sense, but it doesnt make sense for me to buy a high dollar maker, then buy single serving cups which cost over a dollar a pop.

 

[FanMan]

I've become convinced that the best coffee is made by boiling water on the stove and making the coffee with a Melitta cone filter. More work, though. Mostly I use a Cuisinart coffee maker/grinder with a timer that goes off just before I get up. My wife prefers the Keurig for the convenience. You can buy refillable K-cups if you don't want to keep throwing away the little plastic cups... lots less expensive, too.

 

[PapaDave]

I got the K-Elite for Christmas 2011.
Wonderful machine, but the kups are expensive......to me.
I bought one of their filter cup things which lets you use your own grounds which makes it less costly, but it can be a pain.
During our last power outage (which lasted 3.5 days), I heated water on the woodstove and poured it through the old drip maker. Worked well, .......nobody else could understand how that worked.
I felt like a genius for a couple days.

 

[jeff_t]

I have tried some refillable k cups, but really didn't care for them. As much sediment as a french press. Somebody said the Keurig branded ones are much better. I rarely use it at all, but my wife makes a cup every day that I'm gone. We buy them at Sam's, and it ends up about $.50/cup when buying a box of 80. We really like Newman's Own.

I use one of these with a cheap, insulated carafe. I suppose it is a bit more time consuming, but I'm never in a hurry.

 

[fishingpol]

We have a Keurig at work. It is not as good as our little Mr. Coffee maker at home. I like our electric percolator even more, but that does not get used as often.

 

[Cross Cut Saw]

For years we used any ole coffee maker and would try fancy expensive coffee.
My parents always used the more economical Folgers or Maxwell house coffee but I always thought their coffee was so much better than I ever made. They told me it was the fact they used a Bunn coffee maker. Well one year for Christmas several years ago they bought us one. And sure enough our coffee greatly improved.

This year for Christmas I got the wife the fancy fully programmable most expensive Keurig coffee maker.

So we tried and tried to make good coffee but it wasnt up to par with our Bunn. So I got to investigating the situation and found that the claim to fame with Bunns is they heat the water too 200 degrees and do a good job of making sure it stays at 200 degrees. Well the fully programmable Keurig would only let me turn the heat up to 192 max. So after playing around with the thing for a few days we took it back.

I then went and got the Bunn My Cafe that will do K cups , Coffee Pods / tea bags , Ground Coffee / loose tea and just hot water option. It was a little more expensive.

Well like magic we are back into business the coffee is tasting like it should and the machine even has a pulse feature that the Keurig didnt have to get even a more robust cup of coffee.

YES! FINALLY!
This is my area of expertise!
I have been a coffee roaster for over 18 years.

Not only are K cups an environmental disaster (millions upon millions of plastic cups thrown away annually), they are gross. They don't offer the proper ratio of coffee to water and don't allow the proper temperature to get a full extraction.

The average k cup is 9 grams of coffee which would only be suitable to brew about a 4 oz. cup of coffee!

The ratio you want is 2 grams of coffee for every ounce of water. Your average coffee scoop that comes with your home brewer is roughly 6 grams of coffee depending mostly on the roast level of the coffee you're using (darker coffee is less dense than lighter coffee). Your average 10 cup brewer is one liter (33 oz) so ideally you would use 11 scoops of your average scoops for a 20% extraction.

When choosing a brewer choose one that has a thermal carafe instead of one that sits on a burner. A brewer with a thermal carafe will have to properly heat the water prior to it going through the grounds, something that has a warming plate on the bottom will typically brew using water at a lower temperature that doesn't allow for proper extraction.

My favorite way to brew coffee is using a Chemex, a simple pour over brewer that brews an amazing cup of coffee!

 

[yooperdave]

Holding out for payment, or what??

Hey Jags-All I used was a high(er) temp silicone adhesive. Like I say, it is stilll holding out well, and no leaks so far! I can't remember exactly what brand, but if you need to know, just pm me and I'll find out for you (or anyone else).

 

[billb3]

I tried a Keureg B30 and it has to be the absolute worst Keureg machine made. Hot water isn't anywhere near hot enough to make a decent cup of coffee. The machines with the water tanks on the side are much better.
I've gone back to pouring nice hot boiling water slowly into the grounds over my cup through a melitta single cup filter holder during the week when I have just one cup of coffee in the morning and a little 4 cup cuisinart brewer on the weekend.
I'm no coffee aficionado but a crappy cup of coffee is a crappy cup of coffee.

At least the grounds and paper can be recycled.

 

[Huntindog1]

My favorite use of my Bunn My Cafe is to use ground Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee in the module for ground coffee.

The machine comes with a 2 table spoon scoop that written on the scoops handle says 2 tablespoons of coffee and 10 ounces of water for best results.

So for a 10 ounce cup of Dunkin Doughnuts coffee its about the best tasting cup I have ever tasted.

If you havent tried Dunkin Doughnut Coffee you should.

We use the Kcups for convience when conveince is needed. Rarely.

 

[firebroad]

Wow, this is a GREAT thread, and has been an eye opener. I did not know about the link between coffee and cholesterol. Though my levels are good, I did some checking, and it seems that paper filters remove most of the cafestrol, as they call it. So Keurig, french press, permanent filters and such are not so good.
Although I must admit when I go to my niece's home, I enjoy those K-cup coffees, but it is not so economical for a coffee junkie like me (I drink decaf, I don't want to hear any grief about it). I currently use a Krups, but I'm not so excited about the quality; looks like I'll be investing in a Bunn next time.

 

[KattWildz]

Hmm, love coffee here too, drip maker, espresso maker and French press. Just heard recently coffee is a NO NO when having high BP and cholesterol levels. Controversial there, also heard that coffee on the other hand is good for you, so what's up with that??
My recent cholesterol level was 148 Always had levels below 100...this all began when I moved to PA...just ask Hogwildz..he has introduced me to poor eating habits Time to go back to my Healthy eating habits and exercise (running) once again...

 

[begreen]

Welcome Katt. The cholesterol producing component of coffee is in the terpenes that are in the coffee bean oils. I've read that you can reduce this effect by filtering the coffee with a Melita or Chemex filter. Sounds like you will need to wean Hog of the neanderthal diet and show him some good west coast foods. Best of luck with that! lol

 

[KattWildz]

Welcome Katt. The cholesterol producing component of coffee is in the terpenes that are in the coffee bean oils. I've read that you can reduce this effect by filtering the coffee with a Melita or Chemex filter. Sounds like you will need to wean Hog of the neanderthal diet and show him some good west coast foods. Best of luck with that! lol

Perfect, thx! the thought of giving up my coffee was not an option...where might I find those types of filters?? I suppose I can search online...