Keurig single-cup coffee maker

In today's installment of "Stuff We Like," I would like to present the Keurig single-cup coffee brewing system.

A coworker of mine brought one to work and introduced me to the concept. I had been aware of "coffee pod" brewers such as the Senseo brewer and others but this was the first time I'd heard of the K-cup. Each cup is a sealed container of ground coffee, just enough to make a single cup of coffee. You insert the cup in the system which punctures the top and bottom and then forces heated water under pressure through the coffee grounds. Once it's done, you remove the cup and toss it in the trash. It has a large water reservoir so you don't have to worry about filling it up every time you want some coffee. Although the coffee is pre-ground, the cups are sealed so they stay fresh much longer.

The Keurig K-cup isn't the only single-cup coffee system. The second major type is the coffee pod which is much like a large tea bag. Since the bag is not sealed, they probably don't retain their freshness as long, though I would imagine they come in plastic wrappers which help alleviate that somewhat. The third major type I'm aware of is Senseo. However, as far as I know Senseo is the only company which produces pods for their brewers so you don't have the same variety as with the other two systems.

Prior to this I had been reluctant to purchase a single-cup brewer of any type because I was concerned about the expense. For some time I had a standard coffee maker both at home and at the office. But after talking with my coworker I realized that I very seldom brewed my own coffee either at home or at work. The main deterrent was the time required to grind the coffee, brew it, and clean up afterward. Lately I've been either drinking the engine degreaser which passes for the free coffee, or going to the cafeteria where they serve one of the big name brands and buying a cup. My coworker and I did some math.

The Keurig B50 coffee maker was 150 bucks and the K-cups work out to be around 40 cents or so each if you order them online. If you figure that I spend between $1.20 and $1.60 for a cup of good coffee anyway, this brewer would pay for itself in a year or less. And the variety available is quite large. I recently received my first order from Coffee Whiz. Check out the varieties available. They deal in both K-cups and coffee pods and have a great page which compares and contrasts the two technologies.

I currently have my Keurig brewer at work though I'm seriously considering getting one for home as well, or getting a lesser model for work and taking this one home. Another option would be to get a coffee pod brewer for work since I drink more coffee here and the potentially shorter freshness duration would be less of an issue.
Another nice thing about single-cup brewers is that you don't have to worry when entertaining friends and family that one or more will only drink decaf. With a single-cup system, you can give everybody what they want without worrying about wasting a significant portion of a regular pot.