Ditched The Keurig

[chemistk]

I'll confess, my wife and I love the thing. We've been using a Keurig since college (going on 7 years now), and have been willing to look past the higher cost per cup and wastefulness of K-Cups for a long time in favor of the convenience of a hot cup of coffee, immediately brewed for you.

We're hosting family for Thanksgiving (not cooking though, thank goodness!) and she threw out the idea of getting a coffee pot instead of burning through numerous K-Cups. I was a little taken aback by the suggestion and shot it down, knowing full well in the back of my head that the cost is lower over time.

Today I started to do the math, and numbers son't lie.

I figured that the two of us consume an average of 23 cups of coffee a week at home, and our preferred K-Cups go for about $0.33/cup on Amazon. Nets out to a hair under $400 a year, which is low when compared to the rest of the world but when I saw that number my stomach turned.

With a coffee pot, I prefer 5 rounded scoops of coffee per pot, about 44 grams (1.6oz). An average pot nets about 4 generous cups of coffee for the two of us. One of our favorites is McCafe coffee, which retails for $8.97 for a 2lb container on amazon. There are 20 'pots' in this container, or 80 cups, so the cost per cup is $0.112/cup. Sometimes we are a little wasteful and don't get around to finishing the pot, I'd say worst case we consume 75% of the coffee we make, so even at worst case our cost/cup is $0.15/cup.

That's a savings of $0.18 or more per cup

Over the ~1200 cups we'll consume at home in a given year, that's a $216 savings per year! Math doesn't lie.

And every penny differential between K-Cups and drip coffee increases savings by nearly $12 a year.

So, I went ahead and ordered a Mr. Coffee with a thermal carafe today for $60, which will be offset greatly by selling the Keurig.


What about a French Press you ask? The texture of the 'grit' at the bottom is intolerable for me. I've tried 7 different French Presses and none of them are efficient about getting the grit out without an extra filter.

Personally, I'd love to do an aeropress, or a pourover, or a chemex. One day, when the kids are older, and mornings are longer and more slower I'll go that route. For now, programmable and efficient is where it's at.

[GnomeErcy]

I just got a refillable k-cup so I can use my own beans. Does the job for me!

[BikeFanatic]

Good for you! Those k cups are wasteful and I do not think the coffee tastes as good as fresh brewed.

[ixtap]

My colleague uses bottled water for the Keurig he brought to the office.

[chemistk]

I just got a refillable k-cup so I can use my own beans. Does the job for me!

I could never seem to get those to work, I tried the keurig branded one for a little while and it always was leaking out the top. It eventually led to the demise of my first keurig by causing some backpressure issues that fried the pump... At least I think that's what happened. (Though, that was a Cuisinart branded k cup brewer and not an actual keurig)

[el_ingeniero]

You would think that companies would realize that keeping their technical staff highly caffeinated is good for the bottom line, and so offer free coffee in the workplace.

Someone I never even knew at the orifice retired last year, and left us a Keurig as a goodbye present. So I bought Kirkland K-cups on sale at Costco for 0.25 each. Way cheaper than the alternative of buying ready made.

I suppose I could invest in a drip maker or press + hot water pot to save more money long term, but I'm unwilling to spend the extra time cleaning up and storing between uses.

[WhiteTrashCash]

I use a four-cup drip pot with a built-in timer and set it up for two cups every night. I have hot coffee waiting for me every morning when I wake up. I think the coffee pot cost me $20 back in 2009. I bet I've saved a lot of money over a Keurig over the years.

[GuitarStv]

My wife has used a French press for more than a decade of coffee making and there isn't any issue with grit whatsoever.  If you've tried 7 presses and are having an issue with grit in the bottom, maybe there's something wrong with the grind of coffee bean you're using.

[Ms.BecomingFI]

I hear you about the Keurig... I did reusable cups and cut filters for them (to keep the soot out).  It's became a hassle of one more thing to do on Sunday nights.  So I switched and the new system is working much better!

Lazy cold brew: put a bunch of grounds (about 1/8 to 1/4 full) in a tall plastic container (I use the one from Ikea with the green top).  Fill half way with water.  This sits in my fridge basically all the time.  In the morning, I shake and pour 1 shot in my aeropress (with reusable mesh filter). Go about my morning getting ready.  On my way out the door, i press it out.  Add water to taste (since it was concentrated). The aeropress gets a quick rinse and goes into it's permanent home in a dish strainer.  I add a little more water to the fridge container, if it's getting low, and put it back in the fridge.  The whole process takes about 45 seconds of my morning.  I have started experimenting with putting the pressed grounds back in the container, and it seems to be working well....still tastes good and is cutting costs!  Every week or so (when it runs out) I switch to a fresh, clean fridge container with new grounds.

Coffee snobs would probably baulk at my method.  But it works for me! Super fast, very little prep and cheap. =)

[MatthewK]

We've never used a Keurig, just a mr. coffee drip type like you have ordered. About a year ago I got an Aeropress and our drip coffee maker now resides in the basement and only comes out when company is over. The aeropress is that good! Yes, it's a bit more work at first but once you get the routine down it's worth it, the coffee is sooooooo smooth. One of the best investments I've made in some time, and only around $25.

[ixtap]

My colleague uses bottled water for the Keurig he brought to the office.

And has now added in fancy disposable expresso cups.

[andreamac]

I had a tassimo (same things as keurig) for a few years, just this spring I got a french press and love it, much cheaper, no waste and just a little bit of cleaning. Also at the moment I'm at home on maternity leave so I have a second cup in the afternoon (just add another tablespoon to morning's coffee grounds) before I clean up.

[Financial.Velociraptor]

No one destroyed it with a golf club and posted gratuitous selfies on Instagram #Hannity?

[WhiteTrashCash]

No one destroyed it with a golf club and posted gratuitous selfies on Instagram #Hannity?

LOL, those people are so dramatic, but I don't mind that kind of "activism". Don't like how a company behaves? Don't buy from them. Don't like how a sports league does things? Don't watch the games. Don't like what a blog writes? Don't read them. Don't like how a musician behaves? Don't listen to them. I'm a big fan of the 1st Amendment. It's non-violent and everybody gets what they want.