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Make sure you realize you need stronger coffee if you use disposable cups than normally you'd use in other methods of brewing that soaks more to get same taste.
I have a water kettle and a Melitta filter (you can place it over a mug or a thermos carafe). It is simple, but it makes really good coffee ( I get my coffee from Aldi $4.99/lbs).
- K-Cup. not impressed. Expensive wasteful.
- Drip. By far our most commonly used. We use paper Filters. Grind our own beans. We use the carafe-less style and keep the coffee warm the entire day (make two pots a day on weekends). CuisineArt on demand self destructs and leaks after about two years. This time we are using the Hamilton Beach brewstation we found for $40 (new old stock from the previous year). The typical glass pot style will burn the coffee if left too long.
- Nespresso (classic). Love it. Its 70 cents plus shipping for the pods. Not really cost effective nor good for the environment. We use it to treat ourselves with a good espresso. I feel its worth the cost but its not uncommon for us to delay our re-order when the budget is tight. Machine was on sale (Christmas).. we bought the 2nd from the bottom model.
- Bialetti Moka Express. Great. Low maintenance. No filter. Rinse after consumption. Comes in different sizes. No mechanicals to repair/replace. My 4 serving was only $20 bucks on sale. Requires a some practice to get it right. Must resist the urge to turn up the heat to make the process quicker. Seems easier on a gas stove but I've managed on my electric.
- French press. Great on the go. Just pre-grind the beans into a container and add hot water provided at destination. I've only had glass ones and I keep breaking them. Similar to the Bialette. Low maintenance.
- "Got me through college" method. Boil 4 cups in a sauce pan. Dump the very fine grinds in. Allow to bring back to a boil and froth. Remove from heat and let it settle before the froth overflows. Return to heat and allow back to a boil and froth. I do repeat this three times total. Remove from heat and allow to settle. Ladle off the top into cups. Enjoy. You will have grinds at the bottom of your cup and, at least for me, adds to the whole experience/taste. Great bold strong taste.... gives me a reason to take a study break.
Surprisingly, we've found that the Costco (Kirkland) brand of beans is pretty good and for a good price. For the Bialetti, I will sometimes treat myself with Lavazza Espresso in the black can but at $14 a can at the grocery it isn't cost effective. I generally drink black.
If I had to choose one method, probably just fall back to the sauce pan method.
At a previous job, I brought in my french press. Four of us would share a pot. We actually took the k-cups at work, break them open and dump the grinds into the press. Add hot water and set the timer. Tasted a whole lot better than running the K-cups through the machine. That convinced me there is something not quite right about how the coffee is made in the Keureg.. rather than what was in the k-cups.
From a slightly different take:I worked in an office where we switched from regular carafe coffee to k cups and everyone loved them. The variety of strengths and favors made the k a crowd pleaser.
The pods certainly built up. Regular systems at least give you the option of composting and paper filters and grounds are biodegradable. I ended up not liking the k cup vs traditional machine w/filter because of the amount of packaging that was going into the trash. Even if the k cups were recyclable, which they weren't in our case, I would still dislike them for adding unnecessary packaging
Have you tried French press coffee? It's pretty awesome.
I second getting a french press. One can be had for next to nothing at yard sales And thrift stores. And if your power goes out, so long as you have a way to boil water, you can still have hot coffee!
I have one of those, the cost of those k-kups, it takes 2 to fill a cup.
I prefer to buy ground coffee and then use my stove. stove top coffee kettle is my fav way to make coffee. I like much better then Donkin Donuts or star bucks. I think this is the cheapest way to get get good coffee.
Those K cups end up costing people about $50+ per pound of coffee. Almost so expensive that you could hire someone to brew it for you.
With a French Press you can experiment with nutmeg or cinnamon mixed in the grounds and get gourmet coffee for a Folgers price.
Put just a bit of Malted Milk in and the taste is unbelievably good. You can also use finely ground almonds or walnuts or other nuts and dried fruit too, right in the french press.
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I have a French Press, I have an old fashioned percolator, but I still use my Keurig every day. I only drink one cup a day and it works for me. Green Mountain Dark Magic is my favorite k-cup.
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