I probably started drinking coffee daily in grad school back in 1996. It was a welcome drink especially since I had either early morning or late classes. Having a hot caffeinated drink in my hand was great. Part of the fun was stopping by a Starbucks or going to the coffee cart right in front of the business school building. The smell has always been what I love the most about coffee. Over time, I moved on to other espresso drinks (cafe mochas, lattes, cappuccinos, etc). But over the past 2 years I've found myself returning to good old regular coffee. I feel incomplete the days I don't have a chance to stop by Peet's or Starbucks before going into work.
Well, the latest appliance we purchased right before Christmas has certainly resulted in less business to some of the coffee establishments I used to frequent. I wasn't in the market for a new coffee maker. We saw a product demonstration for the Keurig at a local Costco. I had seen this coffee maker in other retail stores like Target and even at the supermarket. What drew me in was the promise of a hot, perfectly brewed, single cup of coffee with up to 150 varieties of brews including coffees, teas and hot cocoas. In addition, the unit came with a free single cup filter that allows you to put in your own coffee grinds. The water well holds 8 cups of water and the unit allows you to dispense a small/medium/large cup. Each cup of coffee takes about 30 seconds to make. For a stronger brew, use the small cup setting for less water. In addition, the promise of no setup or cleanup quickly sucked me in. The specially bundled unit (including 90 K-cups, and the free single cup filter) cost about $130. I've now seen the unit itself with nothing included sold for much more than that. Before I knew it, we had 2 big boxes in our cart and were leaving the store.
I've had the unit for about a month and have had a great time making and drinking coffee/tea/hot cocoa. I've stocked the K-cup carousel we bought with as many different varieties as I've been able to find. It's been so much fun having our guests select the variety they want and letting them make it themselves. I have to say that I have not needed to drive to a coffee house for the past month. It's definitely saved me some money and time. Each cup works out to be about 40-50 cents (incl water, sugar, milk etc). In fact it takes me less than a minute to make a cup of coffee everyday. With the cost savings, I'm sure my coffee maker will easily pay for itself soon. But more importantly, it's one of the few appliances that I've actually been excited to use and has actually delivered on what it promised to do. To make a perfect cup of coffee that you will love to make and drink.
My favorites so far are Tully's Kona Blend, Newman's Own Organics Extra Bold Special Blend, and the Green Mountain Coffee Hot Cocoa. But the beauty is that there is something for everyone. Some of our guests liked Emeril's Big Easy Bold, Gloria Jean's Hazelnut, Decaf coffees, specialty teas, etc. I would recommend this coffee maker to anyone who likes the convenience of making varieties of regular coffees/teas/hot cocoas. It's become one of my favorite items to come home to.
