Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Keurig and stuff

Keurig Mini-Plus
Just popping in amidst sinus issues making life... interesting.  Doctors through the years have asked if I had any major illnesses before developing Juvenile Diabetes and I have always answered... problem pregnancies and problem sinuses.  March, with its' extreme temperatures in one day, has always been a challenge.  I can handle the sinus pressure but it is the nausea that just knocks me out.  But I'll take it as it means we are going from winter to spring.

I'm planning a few posts about homeschooling and education, which I will write as soon as I'm not in a Benedryl induced coma.  My apologies to those I've promised for YEARS that I will write about the subject.  I want to have it all ready to go before I start posting.  So... if I'm out of pocket here I'm probably writing the homeschooling posts.

Regarding the Keurig... I heart my Keurig.  It sits on the counter very near my Precious mixer.  I fell in love with the Keurig after using Stephanie's when we were there in October.  She and her hubby have the Big Kahuna Keurig.  It is not only convenient but it makes an exceptional cup of coffee.

I knew ahead of time she was getting us one for Christmas as she had to ask what kind I wanted.  She'd planned on buying one like hers but when she saw the new Mini-Plus in... red... she had an idea I'd prefer it.  It's bigger and better than the little desktop model and takes less counter space than the biggy (which is important in my small kitchen) and it is... red.

It's advertised as a good "second coffee maker" and that's how I use it.  Most mornings I brew coffee in the bigger coffeemaker as that is much cheaper.  However, I have used the K-cups in the morning when I needed coffee quickly and did not prepare the bigger coffeemaker the night before.  But I always feel guilty when I do that. ;)

The real benefit of the Keurig is in the afternoon and evening when one of us only wants one cup of coffee.  It's also great for the nights Christopher comes home late and has to study for a couple of hours.  Used to he'd make a pot of coffee and it would be bitter by the time we were up the following morning.  It works well for Stephanie and her husband since one drinks regular coffee and the other decaf.

I'd say if you are going to use it for your main coffee maker, you'd want the bigger Keurig.  Neither the small nor the midsized we use store water in a canister and neither can use the big mugs (although ours can use a bigger cup than the desktop model).

At one time, most of the available K-cups were in dark roast (which my husband doesn't like at all) but I've been able to find lighter roasts at the grocery store these past few months.  Now that the Keurig has become so popular, our regular grocery store coffee is available in a K-cup.  I personally buy what is on sale (and I can usually find one brand on sale at the various stores) but when I have my druthers, the Green Mountain Breakfast Blend is one all three of us like.  It's the Goldilocks of the K-cup world...

When you buy a Keurig, it usually comes with a variety of Green Mountain K-cups to try and most are dark roast.  I believe it does come with a sample Breakfast Blend, though... at least it did in ours.  I'd already tried a variety at Stephanie's house so I knew what to expect.

I use the Keurig to quickly heat water for tea, too.  Just don't insert a K-cup in it when you run the water through.  If you can afford it, there are all kinds of really neat K-cups on Amazon... tea, hot chocolate, and "apple cider" just to name a few.  I haven't tried any of them, yet.  Although I did have a few cups of Celestial Seasonings tea on Stephanie's dime and they were all delicious.  :)

If you currently spend a lot of money to purchase coffee at coffee shops instead of brewing it at home, you will end up saving money with the Keurig.  If you drink only one cup a day or you have different needs for caffeine and decaf, it is still worth being your main coffeemaker. 

Since my Keurig was a gift, I didn't have that original cost of the machine.  Since I purchase K-cups when they are on sale and I do not use them (most of the time) for morning when we have two cups of coffee... they are affordable luxuries... but they are a luxury item as they cost about 50 cents to 60 cents each... much more than when making coffee with purchased beans or ground coffee... much less than if you purchase your prepared coffee away from home... lots and lots less.

Stephanie bought me the Keurig insert that makes it possible to use your own coffee instead of the K-cups but I still haven't figured it out, yet.  I will overcome... it is not rocket science and I will figure it out.

11 comments:

Vee said...

This is totally new to me. It's almost as if you're speaking a different language. Ha! Okay, I'll be ready when I see it in the store. We do love our coffee around here, and our tea, and our hot chocolate. It is cute! (You had me laughing with your reference to your mixer.)

Unknown said...

I have a Mr. Coffee type single cup coffee pot (uses K-cups as well, but the machine is Mr. Coffee brand instead of Keurig). I love it. I am a single parent and usually only have one cup of coffee a day. It was such a waste for me to make a full pot (even with a 4-cup coffee maker). I love my single cup "Mr. Coffeee Keurig"!

Lisa said...

I heart my Keurig too! We have the bigger version because it is our only coffee maker. My husband drinks decaf. and I drink regular, and we usually only drink one or two cups a day, so it works great for us. We've tried some of the cocoas and the teas and enjoyed them too. I have the insert to use my own coffee, and while it doesn't turn out quite as good as the K-cups, it is still ok, and it is cheaper. I buy my cups through Big Cat Coffee and when I can find them on sale at local stores.

Have a good day, from one Keurig lover to another!

postmodernMom said...

"Note From Me":

For those warehouse shoppers (Sam's, Costco, BJ's), the Green Mountain and/or Newman's Own K-Cups are available in bulk for approx. 38 cents each. For us, this was comparable to our gourmet organic coffee we were buying, as there was always a little wasted coffee (if not, at times, a lot!). We got four pots out of $8 worth of coffee, and that was about four to five mugs worth per pot. So 20 cups out of a pound of coffee, or 21 K-cups for $8. If you factor in the occasional waste, we come out on top. Toss in fewer coffee shop runs (we love our K-cup coffee!!!), and we come out WAY on top. Never going to beat Folgers, but I'd have to be in dire straits to sip a cup of that sludge, anyway (SORRY, Mom!!). I have one to two cups a day, so it doesn't add up to much for me!

GrammaGrits said...

My husband recently bought the same size Keurig at a great price. Now he wishes he'd bought the larger, quicker one. But he does love how hot the coffee is plus he sometimes uses the insert for his own coffee grounds. If he can figure it out, I'm positive you can, too - ha! Moi - a tea drinker and use my own loose leaf, so I haven't tried the Keurig. Blessings!

InHisGrip said...

FYI...
The K-cups are available in all varieties at Amazon... My husband buys them there and says they're about half price what they run at Walmart... He also pays for a special membership so gets free shipping, so it's worth it to us to order them there. We've tried many different varieties, and also like the Green Mountain varieties best... Since we buy on Amazon and have free shipping, we also resupply our daughter's Keurig machine in another state when we want to give her a special treat!

Rhonda said...

I don't drink coffee but hubby does.
we were recently gifted with Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine. I did not expect him to like it but he does like it a lot, for the same reasons as you.
I did find the cups on Amazon to be quite a bit less than at Walmart. Not more economical than brewing a pot full but much less than going to Starbucks.
Hubby is a little hard to give gifts to, so I plan on suggesting the cups when the children ask what to get him for his bday or fathers day.

our machine is black, your red one is so cute!

ann said...

Hi brenda,
i suffer from sinus too and I inhale steam from eucalyptus oil or tea tree oil in boiling water. i also use vicks vapour rub in boiling water as an inhalation. it really helps with pain as it gets right into sinus's and loosens congestion. I hope you try this as it really works. use every couple of hours. ann

Anonymous said...

Dee from Tenneessee

My husband won't buy anything for himself...so I ordered the Keurig for him last year. He loves it and he is worth every penny. He does use the insert though instead of buying the K-cups to save money. Brenda, I also have HORRIBLE nausea (sp) with allergies and what works for me -- and I just pray it to continue -- is ginger. I buy the pills and they have helped me SO MUCH and SO quickly --heard a dr mention it on a local show. You might want to check with your dr and ask about it.

Anonymous said...

I usually just read, but thought you'd like to know that Starbucks and Keurig made an agreement to start offering Starbucks in those little cups.

Shan said...

Just FYI - I saw at my local Lowe's (Home improvement store)...A K-Cup REFILLABLE! I snagged it right up..it was $17. You fill it up with your normal coffee, and run it through the Keurig. It works wonders..and helps with cost of the K cups :)