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Keurig
This is a coffee maker. It is named Keurig and it seems to be taking this area by storm—I can’t speak for other areas. But these things are popping up all over the place. There’s even one in the grocery store for customers who need a coffee fix. There’s one in my kitchen, too.
The Keurig is the most wonderful coffee maker in the world, I’m convinced. It also brews one of the best cups of coffee I’ve ever tasted and only takes about 15 seconds to brew a mug of fresh, piping hot coffee. I mean hot coffee. There is nothing quite like an almost instant mug of delicious steaming coffee first thing in the morning.
It also solves the problem of figuring out how to keep an entire pot of coffee hot for the next eight hours. Not an issue now.
However, the Keurig is potentially one of the most environmentally irresponsible products on the market.
Each cup of coffee is brewed using one of these K-Cups. The number of K-Cup boxes lining the shelves in my grocery store is horrifying. There is also a local coffee vending company that almost exclusively trades in K-Cup products. They are doing a booming walk-in and mail-order business.
For the occasional at-home coffee drinker, K-Cups might possibly be excused. Nice for guests, too. But for those of us who swill coffee in quantity, they are horrible little plastic things. It’s just too bad that they work so well.
I figure, with my coffee intake, I’d end up with about 150 used K-Cups per month. For most people, those probably end up in the landfill. Imagine 150 K-Cups per month times a village of similarly dedicated K-Cup users. That’s a lot of plastic in the ground. And, of course, at about $11.00 per 24 K-Cups, that adds up to a sizeable amount of money every month for coffee.
After the first blush of thrilling delicious convenient coffee last month, my conscience started bothering me mightily (although I was relieved to discover these things are recyclable and they make excellent little pots for starting seeds). My checkbook wasn’t all that excited, either.
Enter the more environmentally responsible (and cost effective) solution—a reusable filter. Keurig at least tried to offer a mitigating product for the consumer. Their parent company, Green Mountain Coffee, has admitted that the K-Cups are a thorny little environmental problem for a company that has highly touted their social and environmental responsibility. I don’t, however, see K-Cups going away. They are kind of integral to the Keurig reason-for-being.
I ordered my reusable filter from Amazon and haven’t looked back. The thing works beautifully, despite the odd complaint in the Amazon reviews. Perhaps the gizmo has been re-engineered since the first reviews—not sure—but it has worked well for me every single time. And I get to select my own favorite coffees at a fraction of the K-Cup price. I will say, though, that through my initial K-Cup experimentation, I discovered Green Mountain’s Nantucket Blend, which is one of my new favorite coffees. I can buy whole beans at the store and grind to my own specification.
Okay, so now my conscience doesn’t bother me. I love my Keurig coffee maker. Love. It.
Dang, now I really want one! The individual cups is what has been keeping me from getting one. I to have seen them everyplace I go! Calling me.
We would probably go through at least 160 of the cups a month here in this house. And the cost? I just can’t justify this lol. I won’t buy the kids some of their favorite drinks because of the bottle factor. They don’t recycle them here in this city. Dumb asses. Just paper and cardboard. Thankfully propel has come out with the individual packages so I can mix them up in a pitcher so at least they have that. Now if Vitamin water would just come out with them?
Oh, GC2 is having the tonsils out today so I will be at the AJH all day today! Yay fun. I hope I don’t forget my book.
Just cathcing up. Love the new look. Its very calming! I saw one of those little coffee machines during the Holidays, and have to admit I was tempted. Instead I started back into my old Starbucks habit on the way to work, non-fat latte, 1 pump hazlenut.
How’s GC2 doing, J? Did she have to stay over or do they allow them to come home afterwards now? Hope she’s not too miserable. Give her a hug for me. Poor kid.
I never got into the Starbucks routine, Annie. For one thing the Starbucks here is in the most inconvenient place conceivable. It’s definitely geared to tourists and downtown workers. Parking is nearly nonexistent and there is no drive-up. I like Dunkin Donuts better anyway. But I seldom go there anymore either. I have to say that my Keurig really does save me money and a cup of delicious coffee is so quick that there’s really no need to visit the local coffee house for a quick convenient cup. I should have sprung for a Keurig a lot sooner.
She is doing very well. They have her on pain meds and antibiotics. She had the surgery first thing in the morning and they kept her until late afternoon.
She feels better than she did when she was really sick, she can talk a lot better than she could before lol. Not always a good thing! The Dr said they were worse than he thought they would be. They really needed to be taken out.
This is not the post I should have clicked on this morning! I have my Dr’s appointment at nine and I have to fast so I can’t even have any coffee! ugh. I just hope I don’t kill anyone on the drive over there lol. Thankfully there is a Coffee place just across the street from his office.
Well, I’m happily drinking my third cup of the day. Just as hot as the first one. No nuking required. Seems a small thing, but it makes my world run much better. ;)
I’m glad to hear that GC2 is doing well. Even talking! LOL.