All of us IT related types appreciate coffee, right? When we want our coffee we want it right and we want it right now.
Also, as good as Starbucks is, spending lots of money on coffee can, at times, can get a little old and inconvenient.
How a little back story?
Over the years the coffee machine market has changed. 6 or 7 years ago there started something of a battle between ‘pod’ coffee makers. There was Phillips’ Senseo machine and the Keurig systems.
Naturally I had to have one of these new-fangled, different, single serving style, coffee machines.
Of course I ended up with a Senseo and it turns out that I backed the wrong horse as it were. Phillips’ Senseo coffee machines seem to have faded the way of 8 track and Laser Disc and the Keurig machines have risen to the top.
In my opinion Phillips kept their ‘platform’ too closed. They made their machines themselves, under their own name. They made their own pods, under their own name etc. etc.
Keurig has allowed for a whole lot more variety both in their machines and in their ‘pods’ – or K-Cups as they’re known and this is why Keurig has taken the market. Or at least that’s how it seems to me.
Now, maybe I’m late to the game here. Yes, both Keurig and Senseo have now been around for quite some time. I’m writing this because I now have a Keurig and in my opinion Senseo has sufficiently faded pout of the market enough to not even rank any more.
Yes, there is a third player in the market – Tassimo. Yeah, really?
So – moving on from the Senseo (which essentially rotted away) to the Keurig Special Edition Brewing System. It’s something of an upgrade.
In case you don’t know the Keurig machines are a brand of single serving coffee machines that take a special individual, disposable, K-Cup. It’s quick, its easy, you don’t have to brew an entire pot of coffee just to have a cup of coffee. You don’t have to even have to drink two cups of the same coffee in the same day. Make whatever you want, whenever you want.
The Special Edition brewer is one of (very) many different K-Cup brewers. It’s one of the better home brewers and costs around $150.
The Special Edition system even comes with 12 K-Cups for you to try.
The programmable machine comes with a 48oz reservoir which can be removed entirely to refill or you can just take the top off and pour your water in.
There are 3 different brewing cup sizes – 6oz, 8oz or 10oz. Essentially a large shot, most of a mug or half a large mug.
The machine is quick to warm up.
It’s quiet to brew
It’s simple!
A nice touch is the removable drip tray. If your cup is larger than usual or if you want to fill up a travel mug you can just take off the drop tray and place your cup to fill.
Of course, like any coffee pot there’s a clock, Auto on/off and an auto shut off – that’s all pretty standard.
Right now there are about 252 K-Cup varieties covering everything from flavored coffees, teas, ciders, hot chocolates and more. You name it they have it – some of it is even pretty good 
At most a 5 pack of K-Cups costs about $4 – of course you can get them cheaper – works out at less than $1 per cup. It can be pricey but they’re instant, convenient and right there. They’re widely available too – most grocery stores carry some form of K-Cups. You can brew over ice too for iced tea and coffee.
Brand names like Emeril, Ghirardelli, Dunkin’ Donuts, Caribou, and Starbucks are just some of the names you’ll see on the list.
Don’t want to spend the money? There is a reusable K-Cup available that you can add your own ground coffee to and brew from that.
I’m sure there’s a fair amount of waste. The K-Cups are one use, use it and throw it away. I’m sure that the grounds in the K-Cups aren’t being used to their fullest.
In all – I love it!! It’s super convenient and I like that I can just pick whatever I want to drink, whenever I want to drink it.
Have you seen the Keurig brewers and the K-Cups? thought about getting one? Do you have one?
Thoughts?
Related articles
- This stock is really percolating: Ticker Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) (optionsanimal.com)
- Dunkin’ Donuts to sell Keurig coffee makers (boston.com)
- Reviewed.com recommends coffee, espresso makers (usatoday.com)
