Starbucks single serve K-Cup portions give coffee lovers who have the Keurig Brewer the option of having their favorite beverage right at home or the office without setting foot outside the door. able in K-Cups for the Keurig brewer. Currently available through retailers, the Starbucks K-cups will be offered on the Green Mountain Coffee website early in the 2012. Varieties include: House Blend. French Roast, Breakfast Blend and Sumatra, to list a few.
An advantage of the Keurig single serve brewer is that you can buy an insert that enables you to, in effect, make your own reusable K-Cups.
There is nothing like always having the freshest coffee possible every time you fill your cup. Single serve coffee makers are a dream come true for anyone who loves coffee (and tea and hot chocolate) and enjoys drinking fresh cups throughout the day or night. Making a pot of coffee may make sense sometimes but the reality is a good portion of what’s in the carafe becomes undrinkable in a short time and has to be (or should be) dumped.
Keurig’s new Platinum Single Serve Brewer is quiet and quick (under one minute) and with five cup size options (including one for iced beverages) it brews a fresh streaming beverage equally ready for travel mug or delicate porcelain cup.
There are other helpful features including Auto On/Off, Digital Clock, easily removable drip tray, Adjustable Temperature Control and the "Set Your Favorite Cup Size" option. The removable water reservoir holds up to 60 oz, enough for ten cups.
So yes, the machine is great but how about what you make in it? There are about 200 different varieties of K-cups and enough brands, Timothy’s, Green Mountain Coffee (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is Keurig’s parent company), Van Houtte, Gloria Jean’s,Coffee People, Newman’s Own, Caribou,Emeril and more with enough types (dark, bold, mild, medium, flavored, decaffeinated--good selection of dark and bold decaf types--we may not want the caffeine but some of us still want rich flavor--, half-caff, Kona, Seasonal, Fair Trade, Organic, etc) to please anyone. Brewing tea in the Keurig is also a pleasure. The tea comes out delicious and there are teas from Celestial Seasonings, Bigelow,Twining’s, and hot chocolates in white, milk or dark.
Another option we especially like is the My K-Cup. Sold separately, you can spoon your favorite loose coffee into the My K-Cup and brew just like you would the disposable K-Cups, only you can wash it and re-use it.
The Keurig Platinum lives up to expectations and more.
Suggested retail price: $169.95
If you are short on space you might consider the mini-Keurig—right at home in vacation homes, cabins, college dorms, boats, RVs, or home office desktops. This machine is simpler than the larger models but the principle is the same. The mini-Keurig heats and brews an 8 ounce cup in under 3 minutes. (You add fresh water for every cup.) This very portable brewer is available in black, white and red.
You can add Breakfast Blend and 10% Kona coffee to the choices for your Senseo single serve coffee maker. The ground coffee packed in pods offer an easy and quick way to brew a fresh cup of coffee anytime.
The 10% Kona Blend gives you just enough of the precious Hawaiian Kona coffeeto make a memorable dark but not too strong brew that just might help you start your day. Or try the new Breakfast Blend—bright and at the same time mild. Either way, you can have fresh coffee one cup at a time and the pods are usually available in grocery stores.
What is the best way to prepare coffee? It may depend on how many servings you need at a time. If two or more people are going to be having a cup or mug or two at the same time, then it make sense t make a full or partial pot with a counter-top coffee maker or other full-pot at a time appliance.
But if you find you are wasting more coffee because only a cup at a time is consumed, (reheating cold coffee is okay once in a while and saving the excess to make iced coffee is fine up to a point) then perhaps a single cup coffee maker makes sense for you.
Yes, the trade-off is that you will have to buy one kind of single serving coffee pod –the one that matches your brewing machine. Keurig, Tassimo and Senseo all have specific coffee pods that go with their appliance.
But once you make the commitment there will be no regret.
