K cup coffee is great. The popularity of the modern Keurig machines is pretty much based on the coffee quality and convenience that K cups bring to consumers.
The range of flavors and coffees that come packed inside these cups have been a big reason for their popularity. Plus, they can brew other beverages like hot chocolate and green tea. Most of us are satisfied and pretty happy with the choice of our K cups.
However, things are changing with the introduction of reusable K cups. They have all the benefits of K cups, but go beyond that and bring more benefits. So, it makes sense to switch from regular K cups to reusable K cups. Here are the big reasons why should make this change:
1. You Save Money With Reusable K Cups
For many people, a big reason for shifting from coffee shops to home coffee brewers is cost. There are big savings from brewing your own coffee rather than getting it from a shop. There are similar savings in moving from conventional K cups to reusable K cups.
We’re not talking of a small saving per cup, but a noticeably big difference in costs. If you find yourself brewing coffee often, you’ll make huge savings by moving to K cups. There are claims of saving as much as $1000 a year with the move.
Sounds like an overreach, right? Well, let’s do a quick check. Check out this listing of Folgers Classic Roast for 128 K cups and compare it with this canister of the same ground coffee. That canister will make roughly 108 cups of coffee with a reusable K cup. Notice that the canister costs just one-tenth of the K cups. That’s a 90% discount, if you’re counting!
2. Using K Cups Is An Environmental Problem
Is there a polite way to say single-use plastics are evil? No? Well, then let’s not sugarcoat it. K cups are made from plastic and they have become a major environmental concern.
In 2015, Keurig, or rather, Green Mountain Coffee sold 10,000,000,000 K cups. Yes, I could’ve written 10 billion, but it’s important to see the zeros there. And these are figures from just one company. There are plenty of big companies that sell K cups and aren’t included in the numbers above.
Those numbers have continued to rise every year. Using plastic K cups simply isn’t sustainable. Companies have tried to answer this problem by introducing K cups made from recyclable plastic. Here’s the rub: they don’t really get recycled.
For waste management facilities, it is neither economical nor possible to look around for tiny plastic cups in a mountain of garbage. So while the customer may pay a premium and feel guilt-free, it doesn’t change things much. The problem is so big that even the inventor of K cups says he regrets making K cups.
Of course, the failure of recycling and the material of the K cups is not your fault as a consumer. However, you do hold the key to change – vote with your wallet. Nothing gets companies to pay attention like consumers moving to a better product.
Employing a reusable K cup will, at the very least, substantially reduce the plastic waste coming out of your house. While you’re at it, I suggest giving up other single-use plastics as well. It’s time to move to healthier and more responsible options.
3. You Can Brew Your Choice Of Coffee
There are countless flavors and brands of coffee available as K cups. But there’s always a chance that the one you prefer isn’t available. Maybe the stores aren’t stocking it anymore, or the company decided to stop its K cups, or any other possibility.
With a reusable K cup, as long as you can buy the coffee, you can brew it. There is no need to wait for a special package like K cups. Whether the brand makes K cups or not is no longer a problem for you.
The greatest thing however, is the ability to use fresh ground coffee. Get freshly roasted beans and grind them right before you want to brew your coffee. It’s tough to beat the taste and flavor of freshly ground beans. Companies can try to preserve flavor as they package ground coffee, but it doesn’t beat freshly ground coffee.
Another good thing is that you can experiment with the coffee to brew a cup that suits your taste. Tinker around with the grind or the amount of coffee in the cup to get it right to your preferences.
Just a note, while you make these changes, don’t go beyond the scope of the cup or your single-serve machine. Don’t fill the reusable cup below the indicated minimum, or above the maximum.
Similarly, a Keurig machine works best with a medium grind. You can fine tune the grind to your preferences, but don’t go pick something too fine because it can clog the filter and create a mess.
Jane Orta
