Coffee Tips

Keeping you happily caffinated

Cuisinart/Keurig One-Cup versus Soda Stream

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boxing gloves on a mousepad

I have mentioned I am a coffee fanatic and really only drink water, coffee, ice tea and an occasional glass of wine or two. Yes, my beverage roster is pretty limited.

I use my Cuisinart/Keurig every day (all day) to brew coffee but I also brew iced tea with it and I love it.

On a recent trip to Costco my hubby was mesmerized by a demonstration of the Soda Stream, a machine that lets you make your own soda and carbonated beverages. I don’t drink soda or carbonated beverages, so I wasn’t interested. All I could think is, “Do we really need yet another contraption that makes something specific that I don’t really don’t want and will end up at our next yard sale?” Not really.

But the hubby is highly-susceptible to those damn samples and demos and really thought this was a great idea – maybe because he is a big soda drinker.  But, I was also remembering the 50 freezer-burned burritos he had to have from Costco after sampling them. I had to throw about 47 of them out. I was not interested in going down that wasteful path again.

But playing to my personal interests, part of his fast-talking pitch was that there were also several iced tea flavors available from Soda Stream. So after listening to his lengthy pitch (saves money, better for the environment, less recycling of cans and plastic bottles, less lugging of heavy soda up three flights from the store, etc.) and finally making through the huge 25-minute checkout line and to the cashier I pleaded, “Just run and get it if you want it.” I think I just wanted to get out of that overly-crowded warehouse store.

As soon as we got home, the hubby set up his new toy. He made some diet root beer and really enjoyed it.  I decided to try some making some peach iced tea that was included in the sample pack of flavors.  Honestly, it just wasn’t for me. Maybe it was the carbonation. Maybe it was the syrupy flavor. I like my iced tea with no sugar. But in any case, I haven’t touched that machine since. Although, it seems to be getting a work out from my other half.

So, I’ll just stick with my Cuisinart/Keurig one cup brewer for all my coffee and ice tea needs.  Truthfully, it really wasn’t even a fair fight.

Timothys K Cups Are Pretty Good

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Timothys coffee K cups

This past week I have been trying some Timothy’s K Cups that I bought on Amazon last week. I ordered 2 boxes off 50 k cups because I was out of my normal breakfast blend and these were on sale so I made the leap. Although I was a bit skeptical to switch my morning coffee it was only for a short time while I tried these out.

I am quite happy with Timothy’s breakfast blend as they are very close to my normal Green Mountain breakfast blend that I usually drink. The flavor is a little different and if I had to say there was a difference, I would say that the Timothy’s brand is a little weaker and has a bit of an after taste. I am not complaining at all as the flavor is great.

Will I make the switch to these once I run out? I am not sure but if I can’t find my breakfast blend on sale I will get these instead. I don’t see much of a difference at all. If you like Green Mountain’s breakfast blend you will like these also.

Like I said above I found them on Amazon and they were almost 3/4 of what I normally pay for my coffee so if you want to save some money on your coffee I would order these.

Giving Thanks for My Single Cup Brewer

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k cups for holiday banner

My Cuisinart/Keurig gets a pretty rigorous workout on a daily basis, but Thanksgiving Day was a new test for the machine as we had a house full of guests that all are big coffee drinkers.

The single K Cups made it so easy for me to keep up with the rapid coffee consumption. In the past when we’ve hosted a gathering I am brewing, washing, refilling, and grinding beans. It’s a non-stop job. It’s also one task that due to my overly neat (some might say OCD ways) I’d rather not have others handling. God forbid if someone screwed up my old coffee machine. I’d by pissed. And of course, I’d have to buy another one immediately.

But not this time around. The single cup brewer stood up to the challenge. The coffee flowed with ease (thanks to the 84 oz tank) and my only job was adding water every now and again. Because making the coffee was as simple as pushing a button everyone was able to make their own beverage at their convenience and I was not on coffee duty all day. One less thing to worry about when hosting is always a very good thing.

However, I did take a little different tact on one aspect of the coffee serving. Normally, I’m all about choice. I love to provide guests with options and make sure that everyone feels accommodated in all aspects of their time over at our place.

But this time, I didn’t put out all of our coffee K Cup options. Not because I was being stingy with my favorites, but I find that sometimes when faced with a choice people often feel like they picked the wrong thing. So I just offered one type of K Cup (Tully’s Kona Blend) and a decaf option (which went completely untouched).

Only providing a single choice meant people enjoyed what they drank without feeling like they made a bad choice and almost everyone who had coffee made a point of mentioning that they had no idea these single cup brewers made such a tasty cup.

Because things went so smoothly on the coffee front, I’m thinking of having a Christmas gathering that only involves only serving coffee, tea, hot cider and a variety of desserts. Prior to the Thanksgiving test run on the Cuisinart/Keurig I was sure that in order to pull off a holiday party I would need to rent one of those huge coffee urns just to keep up with the guest’s consumption. Now I have no worries. The only thing I have to worry about is baking holiday cookies and this time providing some festive K Cup choices that do justice to the spirit of the season.

Wake Up and Smell the National Coffee Day Today

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Guest Post by Leslie in Honor of National Coffee Day

Coffee is one of human beings favorite legal vices – they don’t call them coffee addicts for nothing! Coffee drinking is practically its own religion with Starbucks being the ultimate place of worship for most caffeine connoisseurs.

Coffee is the reason for most people to get up in the morning. To many coffee drinkers that first sip and first smell of coffee in the morning is like a booster shot. If you’re a serious coffee drinker your day does not get going until you’ve had a cup of coffee.

Coffee has been worshipped by many for a very long time – since the 15th century in fact. Coffee is derived from the coffee bean plant and has worldwide appeal. This energizing beverage gets its zing from caffeine and it is the caffeine that keeps you going.

Coffee beans are almost always roasted before being brewed. A cup of joe is the common way many people refer to this popular java jolt. Coffee is traditionally a hot drink but through the ages, or ice ages, iced coffees, iced lattes, iced mochachinos and cold coffee concoctions have become increasingly popular.

Coffee has not come without its share of controversy, sometimes it is heralded as a benefit to health and other times comes under attack for being not so healthy.

Some favorite hot coffee beverages include espresso, Turkish coffee, Irish coffee, latte, macchiato, cappuccino, cafe Americano and fresh brewed coffee.

Whether you percolate it, drip roast it, French press it, k-cup it, instant it or reheat it, you know exactly how you like your cup of coffee to be prepared and how you want it to taste.

So celebrate National Coffee Day by taking an extra coffee break, try a coffee you never tried before, try some coffee flavored food or dessert, share a coffee with a friend, buy a coffee for a co-worker. Pay hommage to the coffee bean and all its glory on this September 29th the National Day of Cafe.

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Leslie N. loves coffee and likes to create cool tees for more foods and drinks people love including wine t-shirts and watermelon t-shirts.

Do Vegans Drink Coffee

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The other day I was talking with my friend Sharon and we were discussing her vegan lifestyle. I am a meat eating guy no matter how hard she is trying to change me but this morning I woke up and had a cup of coffee and that got me thinking. Is coffee vegan?

I did some research and found that since coffee is a plant that it is fine by itself it is when you add things like milk to it you make it un-vegan. I found that some vegans drink coffee and use items like soy milk or almond milk to keep it vegan but I found out that a lot of vegans are hard core and don’t use anything at all in their coffee.

Sharon made an excellent page called what is vegan that explains things in a lot more detail than I could. If you are interested I would check it out.

Now I am thinking that I could switch up my milk for soy milk and get a little healthier but I doubt that she will get me to switch my morning routine. She will consider it a small step in the right direction and will probably drive me nuts to have a full vegan breakfast too.

What do you think? If you are a vegan I would love to hear from you!

Dunkin Donuts K-Cups Review

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Dunkin Donuts K-Cups Are Not Very Good

Dunkin Donuts K-Cups Picture
Dunkin Donuts K-Cups Review

This past weekend I noticed I was getting low on K-Cups so I decided to take a bike ride over to the next town and stop in Dunkin Donuts and get a box of their K-Cups. It was aa good excuse to get in some exercise and get coffee at the same time. I noticed that they were getting in the K-Cup business last week when I stopped in their store for coffee since it was next to the Verizon store I went to.

I have always liked Dunkin Donuts coffee so I figured how bad could it be. Well as I am a fan of Dunkin Donuts coffee except for the fact that they fill up the cup too much I figured I would get a box and try it out.

Since I am not really a fan of flavored coffee I settled on getting one box of their original blend. The first cup of coffee I made tasted totally like burnt coffee. I instantly thought to myself that this is not going to be a good box of coffee.

I tossed out the first cup as maybe it was a bad K-Cup as that has been known to happen from time to time. I poured that out and made a new cup and although it wasn’t as bad as the first cup it was still burnt. It also leaves a burnt film taste in your mouth after you sip it. I have since exhausted the box and every single one of the K-Cups tasted burnt. To me it was a waste of money. I so much wanted to like this flavor but I think I will be done after this box and won’t be getting any more. I will stick with my Green Mountain Breakfast Blend K-Cups from now on.

Have you tried this yet and what do you think? If you want to try it for yourself you can get Dunkin Donuts K Cups on EBay.

Tea Time

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ice tea brewing

Why, oh why have none of you wonderful coffee people never bothered to clue me in about brewing iced tea with the single cups brewer systems?

Had I known more about the ease of brewing iced tea, I would have not spent the last two years actively avoiding the purchase of single cup brewing machine. I was just so hyper-focused on the coffee aspect of the brewer that I never even thought about iced tea. Maybe it never occurred to me because I love iced tea but not hot tea and I guess I was just thinking about coffee and hot drinks.

This new discovery is a game changer for me.  I don’t drink soda or fruit juices. I only have milk in a latte. So, that pretty much leaves me with water as my cold drink of choice. Don’t get me wrong I love water and it’s good for me, but every now and again I want something flavored. But most drinks are too sugary for my taste.

Sometimes I’ll brew a pot of tea and ice it, but after several days in the fridge it just tastes old.  Now I can have a fresh (and refreshing) glass of iced tea anytime. I just change the brewing size to 6oz. and place a 16 oz. glass filled with ice under the spigot.

Of course, now I have to do some research on teas that are available. The fun part will be the taste testing.

And it’s all perfect timing since today is the hottest day of the year so far here in San Francisco and I could use some cool refreshment.

 

My K Cups Runneth Over

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k cups in bulkIn my last post I told you that I just exchanged my Cuisinart Grind and Brew (we had two different machines with faulty grinders in a span of less than 3 months) for a Cuisinart/Keurig Single Cup Brewer.

My big dilemma was what the heck I should brew in the new machine. I tried the reusable filter with my staple of Peet’s Costa Rican but I found that the ease of using the machine was washed away (literally) by the fact that I had to keep filling and washing out the filter in order to brew multiple cups. So, I decided to stock on the K Cups.

And stock up I did. I went to Costco on the advice of K Cup guru Vinny, and got a good deal – buying 80 cups for only $39.99.  Based on the coffee intake at our house that probably comes out to around the same amount spent as buying a pound at Peet’s every 7 to 9 days.

The only issue with Costco was that the selection was very limited. I think there were only two choices. One was a something that I would never drink. The other was Tully’s Extra Bold House Blend. That’s the one I bought. I think Tully’s is owned by Green Mountain Coffee, the largest provider of K Cups.

Then I turned online to see what was available.  There were a multitude of choices and I ended up ordering about another 80 cups of different brands and blends.  The prices were pretty good compared to the brick and mortar stores. Target wanted $14.99 for 16 cups.  I got a much better deal elsewhere online.

Now my problem is storage. I live in what is considered a big two bedroom apartment by most urban standards but still my kitchen is now overrun with K Cups. I don’t want one of those fancy K Cup carousels or anything that takes up valuable and limited counter space, but I’m still not sure what to do with all the cups.

Despite the fact that our kitchen is very spacious, storage space is at a premium.  I barely have room for all the cooking gadgets I’ve accumulated, never mind boxes and boxes of little plastic K Cups. (And don’t get me started on the fact that they are not recyclable)

I Googled “k cup storage” and found some good and some not so-great solutions.  None of these really appeared like they would work for my particular space requirements. Maybe simple is best. Perhaps I should just go with a decent sized wicker basket. Although, when I mentioned that the hubby he reminded me how we just unloaded a boat load of baskets at our most recent yard sale.

 

 

 

Tempest in a K Cup

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cusinart coffee maker

After years of scoffing at the single cup brewers as inferior to the many brewing devices I already own (a French press, a grind and brew automatic drip, a siphon pot, and an espresso machine) I broke down and got a single cup brewing machine yesterday.

It seemed like the logical choice after buying a Cuisinart Grind and Brew that had grinding problems right off the bat and needed to be exchanged twice in the span of three months. I know the third time is supposed to be the charm, but I wasn’t about to get yet another one of the same models and risk similar problems.  And it was an even exchange to get the Cuisinart/Keurig Single Cup Brewer.

Although my experience with that particular model of the Grind and Brew was frustrating, I wasn’t ready to give up on Cuisinart. Previously, I had a less expensive version of the Grind and Brew. It lasted more than years with no problems until the grinder finally gave out. I thought I was upgrading with the bigger, more expensive machine (it held a half pound of beans rather than just what I planned to grind at that time), but I just wasn’t satisfied.

I also stuck with Cuisinart because I really loved their customer service.  I live in California, and at least for resident of this state, you simply bring any Cuisinart product into a store that sells that product (whether you bought it at that store or not) and they will give you a replacement – no questions asked. I didn’t even have to show receipt or give my name or tell them what was wrong with it. The good folks at Bed, Bath & Beyond just gave me a new one even though I purchased it from another retailer.

I was compelled to make my first cup 10 minutes after I set up my new machine, which was really simple.  It came with a 12 pack of K Cups in a variety of flavors. I like the idea of trying out some different blends before I buy a huge batch of one kind. Also, if my hubby likes a different kind (although, we are usually on the same page when it comes to roasts – dark and strong) he can have his preference too. My first cup was the Green Mountain Dark Magic Extra Bold. I thought it was pretty good.

I still haven’t decided whether I’ll use the store bought K Cups or settle on the reusable filter that came with the machine and load my favorite Peet’s grind.  I like the idea of not washing out a filter every time I brew one cup, but I also try to do my part for the environment and it seems like there is a lot of packaging and waste associated with all of those little plastic K Cups. I’m torn.

Truthfully, my devotion to Peet’s and the company’s lack of presence  in the K Cup space is what held me back from buying a single cup brew station over the last few years There was an announcement about 18 month ago that Peet’s entered into an agreement to acquire coffee distributor Diedrich in order to get into the K Cup business, but I’m not sure what ever happened.  Then just a few months ago, there were reports that Peet’s was entering into a deal with Green Mountain to deliver K Cups.  The market is too big and too lucrative for Peet’s not to try and stake a claim. But I guess I’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out.

Meanwhile, I’ll need to figure out over time how much coffee we’re drinking with the new brewer. We used to run through about one pound of bean every 7 to 9 days. I’m not sure what that translates to in K Cup land.

So much to figure out for such a simple machine.

Checking in on Hotel Coffee

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hotel coffee

Over the long Memorial Day weekend I made a trip to the San Diego area and stayed at the Hilton Torrey Pines in La Jolla. Since I am usually leery of hotel coffee – especially the quality of what is provided to brew in the room – I’m always prepared with my Bodum French press travel mug, some ground beans of my own, along with half-n-half and sugar. And, of course, I also go online prior to any trip and find the nearest Peet’s Coffee and Tea in whatever city I am traveling to.

But lately, I’ve noticed that most hotels (even some motel chains) have begun providing single cup brewing machines in the rooms as a standard feature. These machines are mostly mini versions of the larger single cup brewers and use pods or K Cups. They have replaced the cheap mini-drip brewers most often seen in hotel rooms in the past. The single cup machines are foolproof so no real instructions needed for guests and certainly less hassle and clean up for the hotel staff. it’s also great for places that don’t offer room service.

The one at the Hilton in La Jolla used pods (Lavazza). It wasn’t too bad and I didn’t have to make the unshowered trek to the lobby coffee cart to get my morning brew. In fact, the ease of brewing may have convinced me to give some real thought to a single cup brewer at home.

Maybe, now that hotels are catching on to the importance of coffee as part of their services, I won’t have to pack my coffee gear. And with most airlines charging for bags, I welcome the chance to pack less and lighten my load and still brew a decent cup in my room.