reusable k-cups for keurig coffee makers

[gurana]

I've recently added a keurig elite (b-40) to my coffee stable. The coffee is fine... some of the varieties are better than others. But one of the first things I did was order some reusable k-cup systems. My goal for this isn't necessarily to get "the best" coffee... I've got my other methods which I've nailed down for my own personal tastes. What I'm looking for is a way to somewhat maintain the convenience of the keurig, reduce waste, and save a few cents per cup made -- all while making the best cup possible.

So for those that use one of the reusable systems, what tips do you have? I've orderd two different kinds: solofill and ekobrew.

for those interested, the keurig is a decent system. Great for super fast pretty good coffee. Awesome for mornings before going into work. I even found myself using it even though I had the time to use another method. For me, the key isn't just the time I have to brew the coffee; it's whether I have the time to sit and enjoy and appreciate the differences between keurig and something like an aeropress or frenchpress... with two kids though, that type of time to just sit quietly and drink coffee is kind of rare.

 

[ShaveYourSoul]

We have the My K-Cup metal filter system with extra filters. I find it to be way more convenient, plus you have a bigger range in coffee since you can buy bagged. The nicest part is, I no longer have to search out for the best price/cup.

 

[JoshuaNY]

We have the My K-Cup metal filter system with extra filters. I find it to be way more convenient, plus you have a bigger range in coffee since you can buy bagged. The nicest part is, I no longer have to search out for the best price/cup.

+1 I have the My K-Cup metal as well. Works really well, and only takes a few seconds to rinse out and clean it to get it ready for the next cup or day if you dont have extra filters.

I have not used the two you mentioned but I assume they will work just as well.

I also like that you can use your favorite bagged coffee in it.

 

[Blue Raccoon]

I got one a couple of years ago and took it to work for my desk.. (our office had free coffee and no one would drink it) when I retired the guys blitched so much I left it there.

 

[gurana]

I just got them in yesterday. Made my first cups this morning... threw them all out.

Now, my wife picked up the beans and they were crap. That could be the problem, but judging by the appearance of what came out, I don't think so.

So either I made poor choices (again, I got the ekobrew and solofill models), or my grinder just isn't good enough. I've got a cheap black and decker grinder... it's been fine for aeropress and drip. I don't have an espresso machine, but I doubt it would be good for that. I made four batches, two with each filter. Medium grind setting, then the finest, wich isn't that fine. The results were pretty much the same. Obviously weak looking coffee that tasted terrible....

So, I think I'm going to finally pull the trigger on a new grinder... ****. This keurig is really costing. I'm going to have to drink only keurig with one of the reusable cups for like 5 years to make up for it all

Below I'm going to outline a few considerations I'm making, for anybody that might be considering trying one of these systems. I'll post again later with results. Hopefully this will help people out.

Firstly, I avoided the my k-cup system. By far, it got the worst reviews of all. Honestly, the couple of posts above were the first I had seen anything coming close to a positive review of that system. I avoided it mostly because of the poor results people were reporting, but also because on the face of it, it seems like it was more of a pain in the *** if you were switching from disposable k-cup to my k-cup. HOWEVER, if I can't get the two I tried to yield good results, I'll give it a shot after some more research. One of the variables I'm thinking might be at issue is pressure. The fact that the my k-cup system requires you to pull out the k-cup holder might be a result that keurig couldn't come up with a more compact system that allowed for the same amount of pressure to be recreated.

There are a few possible scenarios playing out with what I've tried so far. One, the grind I used was too fine. this may lead to water being fed into the filter to shoot back up before discharging, because it can't get through. Two, the grind was too coarse. Obviously, like with drip coffee, the water would essentially just pass through too quickly. Either of those, I can possibly fix with a better grinder and experimentation. The last thing, which I allueded to before, is a pressure situation. Making a finer grind might help with this. However, it's possible that there's no grind level that will fix it, and I'm left to abandon the re-usable k-cup idea, or moving along to another system, such as my k-cup.

the grinder I'm thinking of getting is the hairo skerton manual grinder. It's about $50. Reviews point that it is limited in terms of coarse grinds (for french press), but good on all other settings. I donated my french press to my office, so I wouldn't need it for home. If I were to get an electric grinder, I'd go with something like a baratza virtuoso... I've set money aside for that a few times, but each time I get to ordering one I talk myself out of it.

 

[ShaveYourSoul]

I just got them in yesterday. Made my first cups this morning... threw them all out.

Now, my wife picked up the beans and they were crap. That could be the problem, but judging by the appearance of what came out, I don't think so.

So either I made poor choices (again, I got the ekobrew and solofill models), or my grinder just isn't good enough. I've got a cheap black and decker grinder... it's been fine for aeropress and drip. I don't have an espresso machine, but I doubt it would be good for that. I made four batches, two with each filter. Medium grind setting, then the finest, wich isn't that fine. The results were pretty much the same. Obviously weak looking coffee that tasted terrible....

So, I think I'm going to finally pull the trigger on a new grinder... ****. This keurig is really costing. I'm going to have to drink only keurig with one of the reusable cups for like 5 years to make up for it all

Below I'm going to outline a few considerations I'm making, for anybody that might be considering trying one of these systems. I'll post again later with results. Hopefully this will help people out.

Firstly, I avoided the my k-cup system. By far, it got the worst reviews of all. Honestly, the couple of posts above were the first I had seen anything coming close to a positive review of that system. I avoided it mostly because of the poor results people were reporting, but also because on the face of it, it seems like it was more of a pain in the *** if you were switching from disposable k-cup to my k-cup. HOWEVER, if I can't get the two I tried to yield good results, I'll give it a shot after some more research. One of the variables I'm thinking might be at issue is pressure. The fact that the my k-cup system requires you to pull out the k-cup holder might be a result that keurig couldn't come up with a more compact system that allowed for the same amount of pressure to be recreated.

There are a few possible scenarios playing out with what I've tried so far. One, the grind I used was too fine. this may lead to water being fed into the filter to shoot back up before discharging, because it can't get through. Two, the grind was too coarse. Obviously, like with drip coffee, the water would essentially just pass through too quickly. Either of those, I can possibly fix with a better grinder and experimentation. The last thing, which I allueded to before, is a pressure situation. Making a finer grind might help with this. However, it's possible that there's no grind level that will fix it, and I'm left to abandon the re-usable k-cup idea, or moving along to another system, such as my k-cup.

the grinder I'm thinking of getting is the hairo skerton manual grinder. It's about $50. Reviews point that it is limited in terms of coarse grinds (for french press), but good on all other settings. I donated my french press to my office, so I wouldn't need it for home. If I were to get an electric grinder, I'd go with something like a baratza virtuoso... I've set money aside for that a few times, but each time I get to ordering one I talk myself out of it.

For me, it makes a pretty decent cup of with the pre-ground bagged coffee. I'm not picky with my coffee, so I don't really know if it is a 'good' cup or not. We did buy some self grind beans and ground them in the store once with the setting for metal filters. It seems to me the grind was a bit larger, and it did actually make a more even cup. So maybe try a bigger grind?

 

[StillShaving]

I just got them in yesterday. Made my first cups this morning... threw them all out.

Now, my wife picked up the beans and they were crap. That could be the problem, but judging by the appearance of what came out, I don't think so.

So either I made poor choices (again, I got the ekobrew and solofill models), or my grinder just isn't good enough. I've got a cheap black and decker grinder... it's been fine for aeropress and drip. I don't have an espresso machine, but I doubt it would be good for that. I made four batches, two with each filter. Medium grind setting, then the finest, wich isn't that fine. The results were pretty much the same. Obviously weak looking coffee that tasted terrible....

So, I think I'm going to finally pull the trigger on a new grinder... ****. This keurig is really costing. I'm going to have to drink only keurig with one of the reusable cups for like 5 years to make up for it all

Below I'm going to outline a few considerations I'm making, for anybody that might be considering trying one of these systems. I'll post again later with results. Hopefully this will help people out.

Firstly, I avoided the my k-cup system. By far, it got the worst reviews of all. Honestly, the couple of posts above were the first I had seen anything coming close to a positive review of that system. I avoided it mostly because of the poor results people were reporting, but also because on the face of it, it seems like it was more of a pain in the *** if you were switching from disposable k-cup to my k-cup. HOWEVER, if I can't get the two I tried to yield good results, I'll give it a shot after some more research. One of the variables I'm thinking might be at issue is pressure. The fact that the my k-cup system requires you to pull out the k-cup holder might be a result that keurig couldn't come up with a more compact system that allowed for the same amount of pressure to be recreated.

There are a few possible scenarios playing out with what I've tried so far. One, the grind I used was too fine. this may lead to water being fed into the filter to shoot back up before discharging, because it can't get through. Two, the grind was too coarse. Obviously, like with drip coffee, the water would essentially just pass through too quickly. Either of those, I can possibly fix with a better grinder and experimentation. The last thing, which I allueded to before, is a pressure situation. Making a finer grind might help with this. However, it's possible that there's no grind level that will fix it, and I'm left to abandon the re-usable k-cup idea, or moving along to another system, such as my k-cup.

the grinder I'm thinking of getting is the hairo skerton manual grinder. It's about $50. Reviews point that it is limited in terms of coarse grinds (for french press), but good on all other settings. I donated my french press to my office, so I wouldn't need it for home. If I were to get an electric grinder, I'd go with something like a baratza virtuoso... I've set money aside for that a few times, but each time I get to ordering one I talk myself out of it.

Were you able to get your brew worked out? If you can't adjust the grind, is there leeway to adjust how the cup gets loaded, like tamping as one would do for espresso to get a better extraction? That said, I expect that something better than a whirly blade grinder is needed for your setup, not that I have any experience with using a k-cup.

 

[HollisBT]

My goal for this isn't necessarily to get "the best" coffee... I've got my other methods which I've nailed down for my own personal tastes. What I'm looking for is a way to somewhat maintain the convenience of the keurig, reduce waste, and save a few cents per cup made -- all while making the best cup possible.

I had my Keurig machine for about two years or so before I finally gave up on it, for the exact reasons which you have listed. It made a great cup of coffee, there were a few k-cups that I absolutely loved, and wish that I could still find locally in a whole bean form. But my decision to part with the machine came based on a few things, cost of k-cups, the waste, the inconvenience of having to order k-cups, and to a lesser extent the quality of the cup of coffee.

I managed to find a used Saeco Vienna Deluxe on craigslist for a (very) good price, so I snatched it up and sold the Keurig ASAP. I would even go so far as to say that quality aside, even though my new espresso machine makes a far better cup of coffee than the Keurig, I have managed to offset the cost of the new machine AND save some money from buying whole beans vs k-cups.

 

[JPDyson]

When I had the Breville K cup machine, the included reusable filter was as good as the retail pods, or better. Not saying it was great.

I had a decent burr grinder at time.

 

[JoshuaNY]

Would something like this be more suitable for an infrequent coffee drinker?

First off, welcome to B&B. Check out the Newbie Section and General Shaving.

Yes absolutely. In fact they make a 1 cup Keurig. Check it out here. Its called MINI and only holds enough water for one cup of coffee. Its a bit on the pricey side at $100. But as some drip systems are $80, it doesnt seem to bade to me. Plus you can choose all different types off coffee, and tea as well.

 

[StillShaving]

I used to drink coffee almost daily, and have a Cuisinart 4-cup drip coffee maker. Recently though, my coffee just tastes terrible. I've cleaned the unit, which didn't help, and I have a feeling the bag of coffee I have has just been sitting around too long. I can't even stand to drink a cup of it.

Nowadays, I drink coffee pretty infrequently so having a bag or can of coffee around isn't really practical, I guess. And, I have heard that drip coffee is the yuckiest kind of coffee.

I was thinking of getting a Keurig, so I could just use the K-cups whenever I wanted a nice fresh cup of coffee. Would something like this be more suitable for an infrequent coffee drinker?

A K-cup might be an appropriate choice, though I would not encourage it if you drank more than a few cups per week. You may also want to first try something like Starbucks Via, which is the best instant coffee I have tried and less expensive. If you can by fresh coffee in small amounts that is yet a third option.

Your 4-drip maker is probably not heating the water hot enough, which contributes to the poor taste. That same stale coffee would probably taste a lot better when brewed in something like an Aeropress.

 

[chado006]

Wondering if you ever got it figured out? I'm pretty picky about my coffee and I love our Keurig but only with refillable filters because I was never happy with the coffee from any of the pods. I've got both a My K-Cup filter and an Ekobrew filter. The My K-Cup has worked out much better for me, for some reason, I'm getting grounds from the Ekobrew. I'm not too sure why, no holes in the filter and it can't come over. How far do you fill them? The My K-Cup filter is slightly smaller than the Ekobrew but I put a good 1.5 tablespoons in which almost fills the My K-Cup.

I do have to say, a Keurig doesn't match up to a good french press but it's so fast and convenient. Every once in a while I break out the FP but the Keurig gets 90% of the use.

 

[gurana]

Wondering if you ever got it figured out? I'm pretty picky about my coffee and I love our Keurig but only with refillable filters because I was never happy with the coffee from any of the pods. I've got both a My K-Cup filter and an Ekobrew filter. The My K-Cup has worked out much better for me, for some reason, I'm getting grounds from the Ekobrew. I'm not too sure why, no holes in the filter and it can't come over. How far do you fill them? The My K-Cup filter is slightly smaller than the Ekobrew but I put a good 1.5 tablespoons in which almost fills the My K-Cup.

I do have to say, a Keurig doesn't match up to a good french press but it's so fast and convenient. Every once in a while I break out the FP but the Keurig gets 90% of the use.

I just ordered my new grinder (and a new moka too ) a couple of days ago. Expecting delivery by 10/17. Probably review by the week after to give it a fair go.

I will add to the sentiment that the keurig is a pretty good convenience thing... and I didn't think it would be. I never really saw making a cup of aeropress or CCD as being particularly time consuming, but compared to the keurig, they're excrutiatingly slow. I'm saving... probably dozens of seconds every morning.

All kidding aside, the time saved is substantial. And, truth be told, I don't really sit and contemplate the complexities of my coffee when I'm drinking it on the go. As long as it's not total swill, it's good for my daily purposes. The keurig, IMHO, easily hurdles that bar. However, because I'm adding a manual grinder to the mix, it may end up blowing the whole purpose of using the keurig reusable cups in the first place. Much of the time saving comes from me being able to do other things whilst waiting for the keurig to warm up and brew that first cup. Can't do that while manually grinding beans. I'm fully prepared for the possibility that in order to make use of the reusable cups I'd have to do something that defeats the purpose of the machine (for me) in the first place. My wife has no qualms about the money wasted or the waste generated by this system, so it's not like we'll not use it any more...

 

[gurana]

I've had the porlex tall grinder for a few weeks now. I've been using it with the two reusable k-cup systems I have (the solofill and the ekobrew.)

Essentially, my prediction laid out above proved to be true: Yes, with an adequate grinder you can get single-use kcup quality out of either of those systems. One may even be able to get a better cup than any of the kcup varieties, but that's not been my personal experience with the beans I've used. However, if you have a manual grinder, the time it takes to grind beans kind of defeats the convenience factor of a keurig system. I.e., while you're grinding, you could have a kettle on and make something like aero press or CCD for a single cup, and you'll end up with about the same amount of time taken.

As for the differences between the two systems, the final product of each is virtually the same. The solofill has that protrousion from the center bottom of the cup, making it impossible to lay down flat while you fill it with beans. With the porlex grind recepticle, this is moot. You can just pour it in while you hold it. If I were to suggest one above the other, I'd go with the ekobrew. The ability to lay it flat might be important to some, but also the solofill is a little harder to clean out, because of the protrusion mentioned previously.

One final note about the reusable kcup systems. There are generally 3 variables one has to play with to make the perfect cup. Dwell time and water temperature are not adjustible with keurigs, leaving only grind. This too is effectively eliminated as a variable though. If you grind too finely, you can choke the system causing problems with the machine. If you grind to coarsely, you'll get very weak coffee. Basically, the way the system is set up, you have to find the perfect bean/roast that happens to match up with the requried grind. You may have some wiggle room with grind, but probably not enough to dramatically affect the outcome. Perhaps +/- 1 stop one a hand grinder like a porlex or hairo.

To bring this back to the keurig itself, I'd probably have not gotten one if I had the choice (SWMBO decided she wanted one, so now we have one.) The convenience of the system isn't worth the added price per cup nor the ridiculous waste. For me, this is very much in the spirit of why I choose to go with DE shaving above carts. You can ameliorate the cost per cup and waste issue with a re-usable system, but you'll need a good electric grinder to do so.

 

[Patman27]

We have a Keurig as well, and I like the coffee for a fast weekday morning brew, but I believe you cannot beat a freshly ground batch out of a french press or stove top espresso when time permits.
I am planning on getting a reusable cup to decrease waste but not wanting to change out the machines basket. Anyone have good results with the Ekobrew? Anyone tried it with tea? It's the amazon deal today...
Cheers