# Are K-Cups for me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045 "2012-03-07T17:22:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/1 "2012-03-07T17:22:16Z")
I have a Coffee Maker. The Wife and I _exist_ due to coffee. In the morning, she and I split a 12 cup pot in 4 oversized coffee mugs. We buy Coffee beans in bulk from Costco. It seems to me the single use K-cups would either be watered down if they filled our large cups, wasting coffee in smaller cups, or a PITA if we had to brew little cups in the morning. I get the ‘hey! I’ll have Creme de Menthé today!’ schtick, but I already have packets of apple cider and hot chocolate…they work fine with a kettle and boiling water. Does a $150 maker, and buying K-cups in cases (again, from a Costco type place) even make financial sense? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/2 "2012-03-07T17:25:09Z")
From what I’ve seen, no. Even w/ the refillable cup making it somewhat cheaper you’ll constantly be making more coffee. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/3 "2012-03-07T17:25:52Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > I have a Coffee Maker. The Wife and I _exist_ due to coffee. In the morning, she and I split a 12 cup pot in 4 oversized coffee mugs. We buy Coffee beans in bulk from Costco. > > It seems to me the single use K-cups would either be watered down if they filled our large cups, wasting coffee in smaller cups, or a PITA if we had to brew little cups in the morning. > > I get the ‘hey! I’ll have Creme de Menthé today!’ schtick, but I already have packets of apple cider and hot chocolate…they work fine with a kettle and boiling water. > > Does a $150 maker, and buying K-cups in cases (again, from a Costco type place) even make financial sense? No, but it does taste good. 😃 You can buy the less expensive version ($79 or so). Depends on how much java/tea/chai you and your wife consume. Our three-person home has the 60 oz version, and everyone is happy. Coffee for me, tea for the mrs, and cocoa for the kid. It beats waiting in line at starbucks any day of the week. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/4 "2012-03-07T17:29:30Z")
Three of the four family members drink coffee, the remaining boy can learn to boil water if he’s desperate enough. 🙂 So it’s effectively a luxury item? Would one k-cup fill a 14-16 oz cup or would it taste watered down? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/5 "2012-03-07T17:31:14Z")
_Please_ tell me I’m not the only one who was thinking “bra size” when they saw the title. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/6 "2012-03-07T17:32:04Z")
I picked it because I didn’t want to google the proper spelling of KEUORIGG ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/7 "2012-03-07T17:34:05Z")
We love ours, but only because we are a one coffee drinker household. They are wasteful if you have multiple users. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/8 "2012-03-07T17:37:08Z")
My husband and I own the Platinum model that you can get at Costco, and the largest pour you can get at a time from that is 12 oz. I don’t think the 12 oz is watered-down if you get a bolder coffee style (Starbucks darker roasts, etc.), and you would probably get a decent cup with a strong coffee variety in the refillable K-cup even if you went for those extra few ounces from the same grounds. It works for us because we don’t go for a lot of coffee at once, but prefer to have access on and off throughout a day. Plus ours has a timer so it will be pre-heated and ready by the time the alarm goes off in the morning, though it doesn’t take long to heat up at all. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/9 "2012-03-07T17:37:29Z")
The NY Times recenly had a story about these types of machines and how expensive they are to operate: [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html) > [@](#): > > For example, the Nespresso Arpeggio costs $5.70 for 10 espresso capsules, while the Folgers Black Silk blend for a K-Cup brewed-coffee machine is $10.69 for 12 pods. But that Nespresso capsule contains 5 grams of coffee, so it costs about $51 a pound. And the Folgers, with 8 grams per capsule, works out to more than $50 a pound. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/10 "2012-03-07T17:47:29Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > The NY Times recenly had a story about these types of machines and how expensive they are to operate: [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html) Good Lord! ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/11 "2012-03-07T17:50:41Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > I have a Coffee Maker. The Wife and I _exist_ due to coffee. In the morning, she and I split a 12 cup pot in 4 oversized coffee mugs. We buy Coffee beans in bulk from Costco. > > It seems to me the single use K-cups would either be watered down if they filled our large cups, wasting coffee in smaller cups, or a PITA if we had to brew little cups in the morning. > > I get the ‘hey! I’ll have Creme de Menthé today!’ schtick, but I already have packets of apple cider and hot chocolate…they work fine with a kettle and boiling water. > > Does a $150 maker, and buying K-cups in cases (again, from a Costco type place) even make financial sense? I would say no. Keurig is best for situations where the coffee quantity is low and/or sporadic. Since you make and drink a large quantity of coffee in the morning, k-cups will be expensive and not save you much time. To get 16 oz of coffee, you would need to use at least 2 k-cups. Since you are worried about the strength of your coffee, you may even need 3. For me, I need to use the smallest water setting to make passable coffee on a Keurig. To get to 16 oz, I would need at least 3 k-cups. The amount of coffee inside that cup is tiny! Open one up sometime and take a look. The filter is a cone and the entire bottom part is just air. To make 4 oversized coffee mugs you are looking at at least 8 k-cups! Stick to the coffee maker, overall, it will probably be faster too. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/12 "2012-03-07T17:53:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > _Please_ tell me I’m not the only one who was thinking “bra size” when they saw the title. You were not. I saw it and thought, “Well, it depends on how big your boobs are, doesn’t it?” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/13 "2012-03-07T18:38:08Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > I would say no. Keurig is best for situations where the coffee quantity is low and/or sporadic. Since you make and drink a large quantity of coffee in the morning, k-cups will be expensive and not save you much time. To get 16 oz of coffee, you would need to use at least 2 k-cups. Since you are worried about the strength of your coffee, you may even need 3. > > For me, I need to use the smallest water setting to make passable coffee on a Keurig. To get to 16 oz, I would need at least 3 k-cups. The amount of coffee inside that cup is tiny! Open one up sometime and take a look. The filter is a cone and the entire bottom part is just air. > > To make 4 oversized coffee mugs you are looking at at least 8 k-cups! Stick to the coffee maker, overall, it will probably be faster too. +1 - Keurig is a single cup maker - 6-8 and 10 ounce cups - You should stick with the larger/regular coffeemaker for your usage. ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/14 "2012-03-07T18:52:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > _Please_ tell me I’m not the only one who was thinking “bra size” when they saw the title. Nope, I did too. And the answer was heck yeah! (You may now throw old cabbages at me for my chauvinism) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/15 "2012-03-07T18:55:18Z")
> [@Barking\_Dog](#): > > Nope, I did too. And the answer was heck yeah! (You may now throw old cabbages at me for my chauvinism) I was also thinking that! _dodges cabbages_ ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/16 "2012-03-07T18:59:26Z")
I love our Keurig, but…I don’t use the K-cups. There is 5-10 dollar accessory that has a cleanable, re-usable filter; just fill it with WHATEVER you want to, pop it in, and boom. So much cheaper and more customizable, it’s unbelievable. Without that, I wouldn’t have bothered getting a Keurig. WITH it, I can grind/pour in whatever I have or feel like, add cinnamon or whatever spices into the filter, and it’s better than…well, anything. Was going to say better than Starbucks, but their coffee’s never really pleased me. Well, except their new Blonde. I got a sampler to bring home, and it works GREAT with the Keurig, awesome flavor. I also have not had any problems with my coffee being watered, but that may be because I fill my own and don’t use the cups. Never had it watered down, not even making GINORMOUS cups of coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/17 "2012-03-07T19:01:19Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > _Please_ tell me I’m not the only one who was thinking “bra size” when they saw the title. [Nope, I even googled it to be sure.](http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG7434093/Supersize-K-cup-bras-arrive-on-the-high-street.html) ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/18 "2012-03-07T19:02:10Z")
They’ve got one where I used to work. I found them delicious but would use two to make a 12 oz mug. There was a button you could press to make 12 ounces but I found that far too weak. This made excellent coffee. I’d mix and match.In the summer I’d start with my favorite Italian Roast and then add Bailey’s Irish cream. Pour this over two cups of crushed ice with a dash of half and half. The best iced coffee somebody else paid for ever. Not sure if a Starbucks gigante (or whatever they call it) would be more cost effective, though. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/19 "2012-03-07T19:29:20Z")
They’ve got a new Keurig machine specifically for big travel mugs. The snag is that it only takes something called V cups. AFAIK, there’s no way to use K cups in it, and no idea if there’s a “My V Cup” for it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045/20 "2012-03-07T20:17:59Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > No, but it does taste good. 😃 Unless you like your coffee black, in which case good luck finding something that’s better than “marginally better than instant.” I think even Costco beans are going to give you a better cuppa. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-k-cups-for-me/615045.md?page=2)