Keurig Karl

So, we now own a Keurig single cup coffee maker. Darlene and I had been admiring them in the stores for many months. We really wanted one, so we spent the last few months trying to justify getting one. For a while it even seemed like the quest might be cancelled altogether and then Canadian Tire put one of them on sale. That's all it took. Thanks Canadian Tire. For those of you that were wondering "Why Keurig? Why not Tassimo?", I'll explain.

I did a lot of research on the two major competing brands. The conclusion I came to is that if you prefer selection over the ability to make a latté, the Keurig is the way to go. They have over 100 varieties of beverage to choose from. Considering that the whole point of getting one of these things was to offer a choice of a different drink each time you use it, that made the decision easy for me.

We got the B30 mini brewer - the basic model (pictured). No reservoir, no programmability, no various cup sizes, no temperature selection. Keep it simple. Water and K-cup goes in, beverage comes out. So how do I like it? Let's list the pros and cons:

Pros:
No having to make and waste a coffee machine full of coffee just for one cup
Choose from over 100 varieties of coffees, teas, cocoas and more
No measuring means consistency each time
No messy grinds to clean up afterwards
Everyone gets what they want
Machine is small, uses little counter space (our chosen model especially)
If you join Keurig's online club, you get some great deals

Cons:
3 minutes preparation time per cup
At $14 per 18 servings, they're not exactly cheap, but still much cheaper than coffee out
No way to vary the strength (with our model - other models have the ability)
K-cups aren't recyclable
Can't use transparent glass cups (it fools the sensor)