Single-cup coffee maker: Hate all you want, I like it.

[seebs]

Okay, I spent a long time dismissing these as stupid. And then I noticed that per pot of coffee made, I was usually drinking around two cups, and that making coffee was annoying enough that I often didn't get around to it.

So I read some reviews and decided to try one of the Keurig single-serving coffee makers.

It's actually pretty awesome.

The basic gimmick is that the coffee maker has a standby state where it has about enough water for one cup of coffee prepared and heated. Note that "heated" is about 192 degrees F, not boiling. You open the bolt-action part (roomie refers to this as a "45 millimeter bolt action coffee maker"), put in a little cup containing coffee, close it, push a button. About 30 seconds later you have coffee. Pretty decent coffee, as such goes. A lot better than I was getting from a conventional coffee maker, anyway.

It can also make various other things. Tea, for instance. Chai latte. Hot cocoa. They have some things designed to be brewed over ice for iced coffee and the like.

Drinks are pricey, say, 60-70 cents a pop. This sounds bad until you compare it to even McD's coffee. It's more expensive than brewing a whole pot at a time, but not as much as you might think; "cups" for most coffee makers are small (a 12-"cup" pot is about 60 oz, give or take), and these can do 10-12 oz or so in some models.

YMMV. It's a spendy toy, but it really is improving the amount of coffee I drink, which is in turn reducing the amount of pop I drink.

[Kael]

I need to get one of these, 'cause I'm the only person in the house who ever drinks coffee, and I've never had more than one cup a day.

[seebs]

Get one of the slightly fancier ones, which can be told to power off and stop keeping the water heated. And/or set to start preheating at a particular time, such as 10 minutes before you usually want a cup of coffee.

[Gooch's dad]

Wha....? What makes drinks 60 to 70 cents per cup? What is costing so much?

I have a good solution for only drinking two cups--I make two cups of coffee, instead of a full pot. Just finished my 2nd cup of delicious Ethiopian coffee. One of my physics students went to Ethiopa this past year for spring break, and brought me back a whole kilo of coffee.

[seebs]

I suspect that most of what's costing so much is branding/licensing/whatnot.

I was never able to successfully make remotely-decent coffee in non-pot-sized bits with a conventional coffee maker. Also, the overhead per whatever-amount-made was painful for smaller amounts.

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by Gooch's dad

Wha....? What makes drinks 60 to 70 cents per cup? What is costing so much?

The coffee comes in little single-serving plastic cups.

I have a good solution for only drinking two cups--I make two cups of coffee, instead of a full pot. Just finished my 2nd cup of delicious Ethiopian coffee. One of my physics students went to Ethiopa this past year for spring break, and brought me back a whole kilo of coffee.

Or a pour-over coffee brewer, which has the added benefits of letting you heat the water properly, choose and grind your own coffee, and also of costing like $2.

[Qingdai]

Or you can do what I do, use a single stovetop coffee maker.

[wei yau]

Don't even need a cup, just a teaspoon and a mouthful of hot water.

[seebs]

Originally Posted by lisarea

Or a pour-over coffee brewer, which has the added benefits of letting you heat the water properly, choose and grind your own coffee, and also of costing like $2.

I actually had one of those quite a while back. I was not super happy with it; I tended not to get very good results, though this may have been due to sucking.

Interestingly, the Keurig people do provide a filtery thing like that as an option; you can use it with any beans you want, then, and you still get the other convenience and magic.

[freemonkey]

Originally Posted by seebs

Interestingly, the Keurig people do provide a filtery thing like that as an option; you can use it with any beans you want, then, and you still get the other convenience and magic.

Yes, that. This is what I would do.

We keep two 4 cup coffee makers around because I drink regular while hubby drinks decaf. But when they are dead & done, Keurig, here we come.

[seebs]

Also! Turns out you can mail-order the stuff, and if you register a coffee maker, there's a 4-for-2 deal, so we're getting a bunch of stuff at prices so low they're nearly reasonable!

[Kael]

I think I'll put one of those on my gifts-to-me list...

[viscousmemories]

The first Keurig I bought (and apparently the only one I posted about) was the cheapest: Elite B40. I later bought what they are now calling the "Special Edition" version. I stopped using them months ago and took both of them to Goodwill a few weeks ago.

I only drink two cups a day as well and I'm not at all a connisseur so the quality didn't bother me, but the funny thing is that I missed the ritual of making coffee in the morning. In fact I not only went back to using a filter and pot, but added grinding my own beans with a burr grinder every morning as well. Really it takes all of two minutes to prepare and it's a lot more satisfying to me, not least because I'm not adding two little plastic cups to the landfill each day.

I bought my Mom one too and she also stopped using it; I don't remember why but I think it was either or both the taste or she didn't like me having to refill her stock of K-Cups regularly.

[seebs]

I was unable to find a way to make the ritual pleasant, so it just always annoyed me. Too many things to deal with, things that take just a bit longer than I can just sit around waiting for something, but not long enough for me to do anything ELSE. Which is pretty much pessimal for me.

[mulebear]

Frieling USA Ultimo Stainless-Steel French Press + Mayan Black Onyx + High Fat Dark Cocoa = Bear worthy cup of smoky coffee that you sissies couldn't handle

:coffeeburn:

[ShottleBop]

We have a Philips Senseo single-cup coffee maker. I like the fact that the coffee pods are entirely compostable (no plastic). Good coffee, too. (But I've worked in a couple of offices that have used the Keurigs, and htey make very good coffee.)

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

We use a french press. Makes 1 big cup or 2 normal-sized ones at its max limit.


Also, wei:

[Janet]

I have an old, 4 cup Farberware percolator that was probably a wedding present to my parents. I'm fairly certain it's actually part bakelite. It makes two or four cups in about 4 minutes, max. I put it on, brush my teeth and it's pretty much ready when I'm done. The cups are about 6 ounces each, because it's old so 4 cups in that are 2 in my big mug with a lot of milk. I would never bother to trade in for a fancier one and I sincerely hope it never dies.

[SharonDee]

I'll dispose of my Bunn coffeemaker when they take it from my cold, dead hands. Whether I want to make a full pot or just a couple of cups of coffee, it gets the job done in 3 minutes. Plus, the coffee it makes lacks the bitterness that results from using a regular coffeemaker.

[seebs]

Originally Posted by SharonDee

I'll dispose of my Bunn coffeemaker when they take it from my cold, dead hands. Whether I want to make a full pot or just a couple of cups of coffee, it gets the job done in 3 minutes. Plus, the coffee it makes lacks the bitterness that results from using a regular coffeemaker.

Interestingly, the coffee the Keurig makes seems noticably less bitter than the coffee I was getting before. Not sure whether that's related.

[Megatron]

Originally Posted by Anastasia Beaverhausen

We use a french press. Makes 1 big cup or 2 normal-sized ones at its max limit.

They also produce better coffee, in my opinion. I just wish I could find a bigger one that makes more like 5-6 cups, because I am a coffee fiend and don't like having to do this process twice (especially since it's more time consuming than your average machine)

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

Also it "burps" and sprays no matter how gently I push down on the stopper.

[mulebear]

Originally Posted by Megatron

They also produce better coffee, in my opinion. I just wish I could find a bigger one that makes more like 5-6 cups, because I am a coffee fiend and don't like having to do this process twice (especially since it's more time consuming than your average machine)

Amazon.com: Frieling French Press Ultimo 34oz ~ Insulated Stainless Steel Coffee Press ~ 8 Cup: Kitchen & Dining

Originally Posted by Anastasia Beaverhausen

Also it "burps" and sprays no matter how gently I push down on the stopper.

You might be putting too much water in the pot. Also, once you put the top on, press the plunger down about 2 inches below the liquid level. Once the coffee has been brewed, slowly push down on the press.

[ravenscape]

omg an 8 cup french press. brb going to amazon.

[Qingdai]

Me, I prefer not to use the french press, because I always end up with coffee grounds in my teeth.
Plus I like my coffee the way I like my men. Bitter and burnt.