The Keurig coffee maker is the newest thing on the scene and I have a huge problem with it. It is designed strictly for convenience and offers little else.
In a nutshell, you take a small, pre-packaged plastic container full of ground coffee, insert it into the machine, press a button and it brews a single cup of coffee. Why do I have a problem with that?
First of all, you’re using pre-ground coffee and coffee is always freshest when its ground right before brewing.
Second, it uses a small, plastic “pod” full of coffee and in most areas they aren’t recyclable, so we’re talking about millions of little pieces of plastic littering the earth.The grounds from any other coffee maker are 100% compostable — including the filters.
Third, the most common Keurig home machine is around $150, and the price only goes up from there, and it only makes one cup at a time! Whereas you can buy a French Press from the Bodum company for under $20 — and it will make you a better cup of coffee!
Fourth, you’re allowing someone else to determine how strong your coffee is. I know this is the least concern, you allow other people to make your coffee all the time at coffee houses, restaurants, etc., but the Keurig system doesn’t allow you to make it a little stronger or a little weaker — what they’ve got is what you get.
They have a lot of “wow” factor, and they’re about as close to a Star Trek food dispenser as we can get for now (I won’t like those too much when they finally show up either. Some things are better left done by hand), but they’re not worth the waste, the lack of control or the cost.
Do yourself a favor: get a French press and forget about buying a Keurig.
Addendum: Keurig has introduced the “K-cup” which allows you to use your own coffee — like Muggsy’s Beans, for instance. This doesn’t change my opinion, especially regarding the cost of their one-cup coffee maker. Buy something cheaper.
“But,” say those who already have them, “they can make tea and soup, too!” So what? Buying a french press, a teapot and a pan will still cost you less than the cheapest Keurig.