The day I saw this thread, I thought about that Keurig K-cup cartridge that they make for using your own coffee and avoiding all of the K-cup waste.
The next morning I went to the kitchen and was astonished to find … a new Keurig K-cup filter cartridge, in its box, on the kitchen counter next to the coffee maker. Apparently, my nephew had been asking for proper Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, so his mom bought the cartridge for him and a big bag of DD coffee. Impeccable timing.
My first two attempts made me think it was more trouble than it was worth, but the coffee tasted better than the regular K-cups.
I then figured out that the trick is to clean the filter screen before making your brew, and then leave your grounds in the filter for the next guy to clean up.
By doing this, the filter is cold when it is cleaned, and much of the water is gone, so the grounds shake out easier.
Unless your workplace has an ice machine, then the iced tea option works in a 24 oz tevis tumbler with lid that has been first filled to about the top internal ring with ice =) you make the tea directly into the cup of ice and it is ready.
Same thing with the “iced coffee” kcups. But you can use any “bold” flavor kcup for iced coffee. And any non glass tumbler. I haven’t tried any of the tea ones because a box of tea bags is less than $5 for 20.
We just got a Keurig for home and it’s nice, as I don’t drink coffee often. Plus it’s very quick and easy.
However…the best coffee I’ve had so far was making my own cold-coffee. I don’t know what the real term is, but all you do is grind your beans, so you can make whatever flavor you want, then put those ground beans and some cold water in a sealable container and then just…leave it over night. Think I left mine 12+ hours. Straining the grounds is the most work, but the coffee is incredible. No bitterness whatsoever, extremely smooth, quite strong. Just…excellent.
Anyway, for the best coffee with the least fuss, and not expensive if you just don’t drink it that much anyway <like me> I think the one-shots are great.
Edited to add that I double-plus one-up the reusable cup. Can put whatever you want in there; I just added cinnamon to mine <like I used to do when I had a drip maker> and it added that flavor to the coffee just like I wanted.
I’ll have to remember the ‘wait til it’s cold to clean out’ part, though it’s easy enough to clean as it is.
So - I’m about to spring for one of these - as a recent trip to Italy really helped open my eyes to what coffee could be.
The consensus here is between the Keurig and the Tassimo - what are the relative differences between the two?
I’m currently leaning toward teh Tassimo - since it seems more adept at making the expresso/cappucino/latte thingies - but then it seems that the preference here is more toward the keurig -
I also will be buying it online at one of the two sites - as I do not want the entry level of either model that is currently available at walmart (water filter, etc that come with the next step up seem like the right way to go) - so, other than the direct sites - where’s teh best place to go?
I think Keurig is preferable because there are so many more flavors available. At Bed, Bath & Beyond, they have a WALL of k-cups. Tassimo is going the way of Senseo (extinction).
The Tassimo uses powdered milk discs for the cappucino and lattes. Atleast I think it’s milk it may be powdered ‘similar to milk’. Either way, that’s 1 milk disc + 1 coffee disc per serving.
Here’s how I make a cappucino with the Keurig: I partially fill a mug with milk (or half & half), microwave for 30 -60 seconds until steamy, froth it for a few seconds with a battery powered frother that I got from Amazon.com for .99. Then I let the Keurig do the rest. It takes a little more time but it taste like a real cappucino.
