K-Cup Reusable Filter – A Good Fit for You?

When I first got a Keurig machine, I liked the fact that you could use your own coffee (not a K-cup) by using the reusable filter.  The reusable filter does require a bit of extra fuss (especially if you are making multiple cups of coffee one right after the other), as you need to scoop your coffee into the filter, and then clean/rinse out the filter after each use (and if you take out the filter holder right after a cup is brewed, be careful… both the holder and filter are quite hot).  There is certainly less hassle and mess by using a K-cup.  However, each has it’s advantages.  But it’s nice to have the option to use your choice of ground coffee if you prefer.

One note about these filters… they eventually need to be replaced.  I’ve had the brown filter holder start to crack and the ring where the filter sits has broken off in pieces.  Between the temperature of the water and just normal wear and tear, you should expect it won’t last forever (I’ve bought about three and they each lasted a few months each time before it needed to be replaced).  Even when some pieces from the ring fell off, it still worked fine until I started to get grinds in the cup or water spilled out from places it shouldn’t while the machine was brewing a cup.  However, it’s still a good accessory and not too expensive (typically around $15).

Check this out for a new Keurig reusable coffee filter and holder.  If you want some extra filters (in case you tend to make multiple cups of coffee at a time and don’t want to clean after each use), check out Keurig 2-pack reusable coffee filter basket.

Look for other Keurig and K-cup info at www.KCupofJoe.com

Keurig Brewers and K-Cup Coffee – A Great Father’s Day Gift

Coffee is never a bad choice for a gift (unless the person you‘re giving the gift to is not a coffee drinker).  If you are in search of a father’s day gift, then a Keurig brewer would be a great choice, especially to replace an existing coffee maker.  If they already have one, then K-cups for the brewer make a good gift.  If you’re not familiar with Keurig brewers, they are easy to use, quick and convenient to brew a cup of joe, and require very little maintenance.  In addition, they can also be used for brewing other hot beverages like tea and hot chocolate.  Here are a list of four popular Keurig brewers, each having different features and settings, and listed in order from most to least features.

Keurig Brewers:

Keurig B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System:  This platinum model offers the widest range of five cup size options for brewing, as well as the full spectrum of features including auto on/off, digital clock, adjustable temperature control and the “Set Your Favorite Cup Size” option.  The largest available 60-ounce removable water reservoir holds up to ten cups before refilling and the removable drip tray allows for easy cleaning and the use of travel mugs.

Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System:  The Special Edition features chrome accents, a blue, back lit LCD display and three brew size options.  Programmable features include a digital clock, adjustable temperature and auto on/off.  The 48-ounce removable water reservoir holds up to eight cups before refilling and the removable drip tray allows for easy cleaning and the use of travel mugs.

Keurig B40 Elite Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System:  The Elite Brewing System, the most affordably priced Keurig brewer, offers two cup size brewing options and a programmable auto off feature.  The 48-ounce removable water reservoir holds up to 6 cups before refilling and the removable drip tray allows for easy cleaning and the use of travel mugs.

Keurig B30 Mini Brewers:  The mini brewer is compact, easy to use and brews an 8-ounce cup anywhere you can take it along and plug it in.  The mini heats 8 ounces of water in about 3 minutes and then brews just like other Keurig brewers with no water remaining in the brewer.

Keurig K-Cup Coffee:

If your intended father’s day recipient already has a Keurig brewer, then K-cups are certainly a good gift.  For a list of K-cups and where to purchase, check out www.kcupofjoe.com.

Happy early Father’s Day to all…

De-scaling your Keurig Brewer

It is recommended by the manufacturer to de-scale your brewer every six months (if you have hard water, you should probably de-scale more frequently, like every 3 months). I’m sure a lot people either forget about this or think “eh, what’s going to happen”. Well we had our first Keurig machine for about 2 years before it went kaput… we used tap water and only de-scaled once or twice. It ended up that the heating coil broke (it was still making the noise as if the machine was heating up the water, but the display never said “Ready to Brew”). We called customer service and basically the heating coil can break if there is too much build-up from mineral deposits if you don’t de-scale. So lesson learned and we bought a new machine, and have been using filtered water from the dispenser in the fridge (which takes longer since our water dispenser is the slowest I’ve ever witnessed… that’s a whole other blog post in itself). Now that you’ve heard my story, I encourage you to de-scale. It’s a bit time consuming, plus the pleasant aroma of vinegar lingers through your kitchen, but it‘s worth it. Here are the main steps for de-scaling your Keurig coffee maker:

Step 1: Empty water reservoir.
Step 2: Pour undiluted white vinegar into the reservoir up to the top edge of the viewing window.
Step 3: Place a ceramic cup in the drip tray, and brew the large cup size. Just a note, make sure you don’t have a Kcup in the holder… it must be empty.
Step 4: When it finishes brewing, empty the cup in the sink. Continue this process until the reservoir is empty.
Step 5: Fill the reservoir with fresh clean water and let it sit for 4 hours (make sure to keep the machine on).
Step 6: After 4 hours, empty the reservoir into the sink. Fill reservoir with fresh water and basically repeat Steps 3 & 4 above (place a ceramic cup in the drip tray, brew a large cup size, empty the cup into the sink, repeat process until reservoir is empty).

I would recommend running another brew cycle with fresh water to make sure you get rid of any residual vinegar taste (sometimes I do 3 full cycles before I start brewing coffee… I made a cup of coffee after just 1 cycle and I could still taste the vinegar).

This is a general guideline for de-scaling that applies to most models with a water reservoir but may not be applicable to all models.

Keurig Brewers – Easy To Use

Keurig brewers make it easy, convenient and quick to make yourself a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Make sure you have water in the reservoir, open the handle, pop in your K-cup, close the handle and brew. In 20 seconds you have a hot cup of whatever you’re brewing. You can also use a reusable filter to brew yourself a cup of any ground coffee. If you’re making a cup of tea with a traditional tea bag, brew as you normally would just without a K-cup in the standard K-cup holder.

Sounds easy, right. It is… however, I’ve come home to find my Keurig with the handle up, the holder half in-half out, the water tank blinking, water splattered on the counter and the drip tray on it’s side. It’s like someone got into a fight with the Keurig machine. After multiple of these occurrences, I learned my mother-in-law was having some difficulty when trying to brew herself a cup of tea (using a traditional tea bag). Granted, at that time we were mainly using the reusable filter, which requires you to pop-out the standard kcup black holder, and insert the holder that comes with the reusable filter. But if you want to use just the hot water, you need to pop the standard holder back in (otherwise you’re going to have water pouring out from spots it shouldn’t be). So I can understand why there was a little confusion and a messy scene left behind. Because I love my mother-in-law dearly, I gave her some training, and I’m proud to say she and the Keurig have been getting along much better now and have formed a nice friendship. Just like anything else that is new, practice makes perfect.