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I've gotten tired of not-so-fresh coffee, and leaning toward a Keurig or similar.

If you have tried one of these, what do you think? I don't like the fact that Keurig tried to make the pods proprietary by putting a code on their labels, but I see claims online that other pod makers have figured out how to simulate that code and make theirs work in Keurigs.

But basically, any impressions or recommendations appreciated.

We have one at work. It is nice to have fresh coffee each time. BUT, I find the pods expensive and I have to say, throwing away that much plastic really bothers me. We do use a company that recycles both the coffee and the plastic now...so that helps.

I have one at work, too, but I use my own coffee, a Solofil cup reusable filter (I got mine at Target, but you can get them at other stores, too), and mini filters that I get on Amazon http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009 ... ge_o06_s00 .

Way less expensive than the pods!

I have one and I love it. No more coffee wasted. I do hate spending extra for the k-cups, and the waste, as others have said. I may try one of the solo-fill cups.

I've had 2. Each broke after about a year. Coffee was ok but I have since turned into a coffee snob and have a Jura that grinds and brews

If/when the Jura breaks, I would not get another Keurig.

I have one at home and one in my camping trailer, both are only used occasionally. There are pros and cons to them, I do like some of the 'fancy' drinks on occasion, but the coffee does not stay hot as it does in a pot. Mine are both the very basic, no frills models, I think they retail for about 50. Added bonus is that there isn't a tank of stagnant water, but it's added to the machine as you prep each cup.

Have used them in hotels and hate not being able to control the strength. They also taste like they brew at too low a temp and then all that trash. Recently got a stainless Japanese pour over to make single servings heating water with an electric kettle. Filter plus coffee goes in the compost, and I can adjust the strength and serving size.

When I use my own coffee and a Solofil cup, I can make the coffee as strong as I like.

No, I don't like them (waste, expense, not very hot), but I do use the work Keurig sometimes. We replace it about every year in the office.

At home, we are very happy with our super automatic Gaggia espresso machine. Totally worth it.

We have one at work and I love it. I drink decaf and cannot drink caffeinated coffees (I have a tremor and caffeine makes it much worse), so it's a great way to get a fresh cup of decaf without commandeering a communal pot when others like caffeinated brews. The wasted plastic bugs me, too, but we recycle it.

I've tried the solo-fill cup but for some reason it let a lot of fine grounds through which I didn't appreciate, so I went back to the K-cups. I buy a huge box of the decaf K-cups from Costco so that cuts some of the expense.

DJR wrote:I've tried the solo-fill cup but for some reason it let a lot of fine grounds through which I didn't appreciate, so I went back to the K-cups.

When I first got the Solofil I had the same experience. Loads of yucky grounds! That's why I use the mini filters. Problem solved.

I'll have to look for the mini-filters!

I had two and did not like them. In addition to the expense, temperature, and waste issues (BTW, you can buy reusable filter cups and supply your own coffee), it made such a mess! I was wiping up dripped and splashed coffee all the time

I'm the only coffee drinker in my house, so I now use a 3 cup maker and a large thermo cup.

they are land-fill makers are far as i am concerned

i think you get a better quality coffee drink from using a small personal sized french press

I had one...loved it...great for iced teas too! However I decided that I couldn't tolerate the amount of waste it created. Plus...I bought an Aeropress, and I much prefer that. The coffee tastes a thousand times better. Although it could be because I switched to using Half and Half

i made quite a bit of money off all you keurig-lovers --i owned stock in the company that bought keurig (green mt. coffee).
so thanks, guys!
but personally, i'm with hoopoe; i think the k-cups are appalling. and coffee made w/a french press tastes much better.
which is mostly why i eventually sold the stock-- i felt too guilty profiting from land-fill-ers .
glad to hear about k-cup alternatives/

Yuk. Don't like the taste nor the waste.

Have a Tassimo for an occasional special drink--latte or expresso.

I have one and it is okay. I don't buy the k-cups. That is such a waste. I go to my favorite coffee place, buy their grounds, and then just use one of the k-cup reuseables. I don't buy the filters either. The reason you get grounds in the coffee with it is because so many over fill it. You only fill it half way. You don't get grounds in the coffee that way and it tastes exactly the same.

Cons: the new Keurigs have a system that recognizes you are not using k-cups and won't work. Don't buy new if you don't plan to use k-cups. Go to Amazon and buy one of the older models. Everyone is right that you can't control the strength. But that is okay for me since I don't like too strong of coffee anyway. The machine DOES store water in it - even the personal size one. If you don't use it often, you are risking drinking stale water. This happens with many coffee machines though.

hoopoe wrote:they are land-fill makers are far as i am concerned

i think you get a better quality coffee drink from using a small personal sized french press

This. And don't be fooled by thinking just because we put stuff in the recycled bin, those materials really do get recycled. The phrase is, in order of importance: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYLE

We were early adapters and used them when they first appeared--living down the road from gmcr we had access to them even before they hit the catalog iirc.
However each and every machine we had was exchanged because of breakdowns, and we eventually went back to our French press and lived happily ever after.
My ancient stainless steel insulated Nissan press is badly dented but still produces excellent coffee.

I prefer to use coffee pads, less waste, and therefore own a phillips senseo. I'm on my second machine, the first one was a first generation and is still working (took it to the office). The second is at least 7 or 8 years old and still going strong. No complaints. And to reduce the waste even more you can also get reusable ecopads for the senseo.

I have a Tassimo which is a back up. We drink espresso and usually only have one latte in the morning. But the Tassimo is fine for when I have guests who don't enjoy espresso or in the winter I will get decaf to have a coffee to warm up after I come home from the barn. Like others have said about the Kuerig, I don't find the coffee hot enough and I don't like the waste. There are no refillable cups for the Tassimo as it reads a bar code. Most of these types of coffee makers allow you to choose the size of cup so if I want stronger I pick a small cup.

I have one and love it. The strength is perfect for my taste and I don't like my coffee boiling hot so no worries there either. I like that I can make a single cup or if hubby and I are both home, a 3 cup pot which is just right for us since hubby tends to drink a bit more coffee than me.

We collect the grounds for the compost pile and recycle the empty kcups.

I enjoy my Keurig. I've never had a problem with the coffee not being hot enough. I'd don't like the waste, but I usually choose the cups that aren't plastic - I like the ones from Trader Joes. I might try using the reusable cup and filter again.

It as a trade off. More waste is created, but less water is used in cleaning the pot and filter holder. The convenience can't be beat, in my opinion.

I switched from my Bun drip maker to a Keurig, thinking it would be faster and more convenient. But i couldn't find a coffee that I liked AND was strong enough for my liking. I went back to my beloved BUn after a few months. Not as fast but so much better coffee!

We made the mistake of buying the little Keurig and do not like it at all. It's a PITA because we like big cups of coffee and you have to make three batches for one large coffee.

I have one. I do like it for it's convenience and swiftness. And I like to drink volume in the morning. It does not make as good a cup as a french press or my DH's fancy @$$ espresso machine but I do not have the patience for that. DH turns the machine on in the morning so I can stumble out and make myself my first cup ASAP. I use the reusable cups that I got at CVS or Target or somewhere. And Peet's coffee. The darker the better. I ordered those little filter thingies so I won't have chewy coffee anymore Coffee grinds and soon filters go into the compost recycling.

redsoxluvr wrote:We made the mistake of buying the little Keurig and do not like it at all. It's a PITA because we like big cups of coffee and you have to make three batches for one large coffee.

First I don't like the idea of water sitting in there forever!!! Also, I have two large thermal mugs I travel with and to fill them both I have to make 6 batches.
Personally, I use a stupid Mr. Coffee and use super coffee to the strength I like (very strong) and can make exactly what I need for my two mugs and off I go

I used to have a big Bunn coffee maker but it broke before two years were up. I was so disappointed in it. I could start the coffee, hit the bathroom, dress and an entire 12 cup pot of coffee was ready!

Exactly! So the little Keurig gathers dust in the closet whilst we go to Dunkies for the XL coffees.

I do not drink coffee, but I HATE those coffee makers. They are so wasteful. They are DESIGNED to be wasteful. They solve a non-problem.

My husband dithered for several years about how to make good coffee in the morning without spending bazillions of dollars on some espresso machine (he didn't want espresso, just good coffee). (And he's too cheap to spring for an espresso maker, anyhow). After trying a gold filter and that weird looking single-size percolator, he got a french press and brews exactly one cup from fresh ground beans in the a.m. After breaking several glass french presses, I got him a stainless one that he can't seem to figure out how to break. It's done the job for over a decade now.

When visiting, I used a family member's Keurig.

The coffee was much hotter and fresher than the coffee from my Mr. Coffee. I thought it was the greatest thing on earth...until I looked into the water reservoir. It is not big enough for a hand to fit into and it has an awkward drain assembly and it is a nasty piece of slime (oh, excuse me BIO FILM) on the bottom.

Can't drink their coffee anymore.