Most of you probably don’t recognize me because I like to lurk – unless it’s a coffee thread, in which I’ll jump in with both feet. I love me some good coffee and have always expounded the benefits of a good roast and a French Press. I own two, along with a couple of percolators, a pour-over filter basket, and a Bialetti Moka pot (my first coffee maker, actually). I lived in Portland, OR for a couple of years and was exposed to and had access to some seriously good coffee: Kobo’s, Stumptown, and a multitude of others. Seattle has nothing on Portland. However, it’s time this coffee snob makes a confession:
::gulp::
My name in Lancia, and I’ve bought a Keurig machine.
Years ago I wanted an easier way to make coffee that didn’t require me fussing about in the kitchen when I was still half asleep and what I really need was quick simplicity. A local department store had their drip pots on sale… but they also had their Mr. Coffee Keurig knock-offs on sale. I decided to take a gamble… and was deeply disappointed. Every single cup tasted like plastic, even weeks after we began using it. No remedy would remove that taste. Disgusted, I donated the machine to a church rummage sale and went back to the French press.
Recently my office purchased a big fancy Keurig brand machine. We buy a big canister of coffee from Costco and then use one of those refillable mesh filters that fits in the K-cup chamber. I was in love the first time I tried it. The coffee was actually good (not on the same level as a French press, but nothing is) and there was not a hint of plastic taste. Being able to brew a cup of coffee in 30 seconds and get back to my classroom was a huge improvement over the drip machine we’d had before.
So I decided to push my luck and give them another try—this time with a Keurig brand machine.
And man alive I’m glad I did. The coffee is excellent, there’s no plastic taste, and more importantly I can have coffee ready in a few seconds when I wake up in the morning rather than fussing about with the kettle, waiting for it to boil, and all the rest that is involved in the French press (and yes, I know it’s minimal, but at 5 am when I’m still ¾ asleep, that small amount of labor becomes almost too much for my sleep-deprived brain). Nobody else in the house drinks coffee so the single-cup servings are perfect. My wife likes having hot chocolate available, and I’ve always been a tea drinker as well so I might try the Twinings k-cups.
I’ve long thought that faddish… well, anything, but kitchen appliances in particular, were a huge waste of money. The Keurig was on top of that list. But now that I have a good one, I can see what all the fuss was about.
So now that you’ve read all that glurge, I’m curious what kind of k-cups other Dopers like. If it’s coffee I’m all for it—even flavored coffee to an extent. I’d like to get one of those racks that hold k-cups and fill it with an assortment of brews for guests.
Any particular brands or blends that y’all recommend?