Funny that you mention this… I have a friend with a Tesla, who I think has become a bad driver since buying the car. He tends to watch the screen too much and the road too little. This summer, while I was riding with him, he cut straight across a roundabout, scaring everyone witless. Afterward, I started watching what the sensors weren’t picking up, and it is indeed scary.
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Excellent analogy. My office breakroom coffee is pretty abysmal–too bitter and too weak for my taste. But there is a KCup machine, and I buy the pods that I like (usually Starbucks Caffe Verona or a Lavazza dark roast). Thankfully, fresh milk and half and half are provided, so the KCups are a much better choice for me in this situation. I also appreciate a KCup machine in a hotel for a quick cup while getting ready for a day out.
At home, I use a drip machine most of the time, with a variety of good quality fresh beans. I do occasionally get the taste for Medaglia D’Oro made in the moka pot because it’s what my grandma used to make for us.
I do think KCups serve a purpose, and can be very convenient. But I don’t think they are a replacement for good beans in a drip or french press.
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Yes indeed. We’ve also been schooled to match tool to the task.
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Agree with everything you wrote!
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I don’t think K is better or worse then drip. About the same. I think the bell curve applies. Good ground coffee does edge out K for the win imo.
I don’t disagree. But I’m still fascinated that Keurig-brewed coffee brings out so many very strong negative feelings.
It would be fun to conduct a poll. My biggest problem is the plastic cups, environmental.
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Yeah, a poll would be good. I get the arguments about waste stream and $, totally.
Heh, was just going to mention the waste & $. The plastic K cups are a blot on the environment. The cost per per K cup is 30 to 40 cents vs less then 10 cents or so for national brand coffee.
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I was buying these back when I was in the office more often:
https://www.amazon.com/Francisco-OneCup-French-Compatible-Brewers/dp/B007TGDXNO/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2GQBZPGUXGS1A&keywords=san+francisco+bay+coffee+pods&qid=1707168519&sprefix=san+francisco+bay+%2Caps%2C242&sr=8-5
They don’t have the plastic cup part, just the ring and foil to hold a little filter bag. You had to store in a plastic container to keep the coffee fresh. But the coffee tasted pretty good, and they got used up at a pretty good pace. They are also fully compostable.
But is it? I don’t even own a Keurig machine, but is the environmental cost of plastic K cup more than someone buy a cup of coffee at a local shop?
All I know is that press, pour over, or espresso, all I put in my compost pile is coffee grounds and, sometimes, unbleached paper. Ditto for the Bonavita. I very rarely buy coffee in coffee shops. If I did, however, I would not be putting plastic into the environment by doing so. People who buy milk based drinks do unless their shop uses glass bottled milk or waxed cardboard cartons.
I wonder if many generations from now we will have evolved to be made of corn and plastic.
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I think when you’re talking Keurig you’re comparing it with home-brewed coffee. You wouldn’t pay for K at a coffee shop.
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I have consumed some absolutely shitty coffee in my travels. There comes a point where warmer than body temperature and contains caffeine means it qualifies as coffee.
Have I drank Keurig? Of course. Will I again? Of course. (There’s a pod machine in the hotel room where I’m staying right now.)
Do I like it? Not particularly. Do I think it makes great coffee? Absolutely not.
But while Im trying to clear the fog as I get ready for a full day of meetings, it qualifies as safe harbor. Not where I want to be, but a solution until I can find something better.
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I had a k-cup this morning in the break room at work. My first one in at least a year. It was just how I remembered, about 40th percentile drip coffee. I finished it. I was grateful. It hit the spot.
K-cups remove lots of variables and make a consistent pretty ok cup of drip coffee. I’m not a hater. But my moccamaster does a lot better, but requires fresh ground beans to do so.
Yesterday morning I broke out my Aeropress. I think it makes excellent coffee, but I have to weigh against using it how fiddly and messy it is. My personal tipping point for the fiddle and mess comes when I need to serve more than just myself.
I can understand why K- and N- pod machines appeal: while they’re single-serve, you can crank out cup after cup in short order.
Oooh now I’m eager to try my aero press again when I get home from this work trip I’m on at the moment.
I agree completely with your analysis. The AP makes a surprisingly good cup of coffee. But I find it doesn’t stay very hot. By the time it’s ready, it already less than my optimal temperature. Making two cups would make the first cup too cool by the time I finished the second.
I also don’t love using plastic with boiling hot water, even though the current production runs are BPA free. If a stainless version was available, I’d buy it.
Good points. I once tried to interest the maker in offering a 2-serving version, but they were decidedly… lukewarm on the idea.
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I just saw an ad last week for an XL version.
My travel model makes 3 shots at a time so means 2 cups of Americano
Huh. I do the full shot into one med-lg cup and top with water, and that isn’t enough for me to split. I’ll check out the larger one, thanks.
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