Keurig

[Mollysdad]

Recommend a good brand of PODS for decent tasting coffee.
I've tried a bunch, and it's always weak.
I make one cup a day, so the Keurig is practical, but if I could find tasty coffee it would be a plus.

When I go to Starbucks, I get Sumatra, but even the Starbucks Sumatra K-cups need more zing!

I like the convenience of the Keurig, so I'm not getting a french press, or a fancy machine.

[SeaLevel]

San Francisco Bay

[Hans627]

I agree on San Francisco Bay. Here is a link. I enjoy Fog Chaser.

In addition to the taste I appreciate that the pods are about 80% biodegradable.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Option 1 would be the inserts for what you have already and any ground or bean coffee you want to use. Cleaning up the inserts is a bit of a pain so it may not be ideal.

Option 2 is a dirt cheap Melitta pour over setup. You use paper filters and any coffee you happen to like.

I'd love to tell you there is an option 3 that uses a magic pod for the setup you have. I spent a lot of time trying tons of them. None of them came anywhere near what I expected. My comparison is fresh ground beans so maybe I'm a bit spoiled. Even with fresh ground, I'm picky about who I get the beans from. If we have a power hookup, I use an electric grinder. No muss no fuss, not much to clean up. If we are really out in zero power land I have a hand grinder that isn't much more trouble.

Bob

[time2play]

I like Kirkland Pacific Bold or San Francisco Bay French Roast, both found at Costco. I have found the trick to getting my coffee with a nice dark bold flavor, is to choose the 6-oz option on the Keurig machine. We have the default cup size set to 8-oz, so I have to change it to 6-oz each time I brew a cup.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Hans627

I agree on San Francisco Bay. Here is a link. I enjoy Fog Chaser.

In addition to the taste I appreciate that the pods are about 80% biodegradable.

Okay, I ordered a variety pack. They have NO dark roast coffee, so I'm a bit skeptical, but with your recommendation, I gave them a chance.
The best news is the price is really good compared to the grocery, and orders over $30 ship free.
The variety pack got the price of the pods down to $0.40 each!

[overlander63]

I like the Seattle's Best bold.

[SteveSueMac]

Totally agree with San Francisco Bay brand.m for several reasons:

The majority of the materials are biodegradable

The "filter" based cup is more like normal brewing

The non-plastic cup (like all other k-cups) eliminates that plastic overtone in all other k-cups

You sound like you like "chewy" coffee. I don't know that their coffee is as strong as you want. So 2 options:

1) do two 8-oz brews for a single 16 oz coffee

2) use the modifier that allows you to put your own grounds in a reusable (thicker) k-cup - use your own dark roast and lots of it.


Hope that helps.

[AWCHIEF]

Use less water. Works for me. Best for dark roast and espresso labeled pods. My favorite pod is the Green Mountain Dark Magic.

[RandyNH]

If you look at some of the other Pod Brewers, k-cup compatible, you'll find that they allow for a stronger brew, that being they pause the water flow a few times during the process. Other benefits are, cost - we paid $69 for the last one and that they don't retain water in them all the time, all the non-single use Keurigs have an internal reservoir that you can't empty. And of course no barcode reader necessary.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mr.-Coffe...500-1/53856724

[andreasduess]

Keurig cups are an environmental nightmare. Avoid them, wherever possible. A simple Melitta pour-over filter will deliver great coffee with none of the drawbacks.

[TinShack]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Totally agree with San Francisco Bay brand.m for several reasons:

The majority of the materials are biodegradable

The "filter" based cup is more like normal brewing

The non-plastic cup (like all other k-cups) eliminates that plastic overtone in all other k-cups

x6

San Francisco Bay French Roast. Also, it's less than $.35 per cup. The downside is once opened the pods will go stale since they are not individually sealed. They are packaged in compostable bags of 8 so they will keep indefinitely until the bag is opened. The other downside is you get more sediment since it's a filter based pod.

They go out of their way to be as environmentally friendly as possible, including using coffee from family farms from which they are very community oriented.

It's tasty too!

[OTRA15]

There is an older multi-page thread on this FYI:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f484...ers-74502.html

And these threads also contain helpful info on other brewing methods:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f484...er-132587.html
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f484...nes-90342.html

[NWGetaways]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

Keurig cups are an environmental nightmare. Avoid them, wherever possible. A simple Melitta pour-over filter will deliver great coffee with none of the drawbacks.

Aside from the mediocre results, mold and algae issues, environmental waste, AC power required to use - Keurigs are great!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/keurig.asp

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Totally agree with San Francisco Bay brand.m for several reasons:

The majority of the materials are biodegradable

The "filter" based cup is more like normal brewing

The non-plastic cup (like all other k-cups) eliminates that plastic overtone in all other k-cups

None of those things affect the taste of the coffee. But thanks.

1) do two 8-oz brews for a single 16 oz coffee

That doubles the cost, I'm frugal.

2) use the modifier that allows you to put your own grounds in a reusable (thicker) k-cup - use your own dark roast and lots of it.

I have one, there's a limit to how much you can put in. Besides, I don't want to grind beans. Plus, I like the convenience of the Keurig. Making your own K-cups kind of defeats the purpose.

Originally Posted by NWGetaways

Aside from the mediocre results, mold and algae issues, environmental waste, AC power required to use - Keurigs are great!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/keurig.asp

I didn't think anyone believed Snopes any more, but my Keurig has no mold. I only use water from nearby glaciers. (JK)
I do find it curious that a group of people who own Airstreams with the carbon footprint of a volcano are so worried about a K-cup in the landfill.

[NWGetaways]

Any electric coffee maker is vulnerable to guests or mineral deposits hitching a ride into your brew. There are lots of places to read about the issues.

Then there is the problem of quality of the results. They invariably fall short of other so-called manual methods in that.

We use a French press when making two cups, and an AeroPress for one. No electric power required, simple, with filtered water at the right temp and good coffee about as good a cup of coffee as is possible.

The only advantage I can see in Keurig's favor is convenience.

It's not the pods it's the method.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

If you haven't tried the Melitta system before, give it a try. It's dirt cheap to check out. Cleanup / setup / tear down is about as easy as a K-cup setup. It's been our go to approach when camping for 50 years. Electric, propane, gas (Coleman stove) and campfire all work as power sources. Ground coffee works just as well as fresh ground. A recently ground bag from the local coffee shop is still pretty good stuff ...

Bob

[kb7our]

Crazy simple and will last forever, albeit more costly than some other options but it only hurts once then just buy the #2 filters. Doesn't get much better or easier than this for a simple way to adjust strength to your liking.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AR2OZ2...a-310752838522

[LBOskiBear]

We have a small Keurig for the AS but a simple pour-over as a back-up for when we are boondocking without power. Now that we have a generator, may have to fire that up for coffee in the a.m.

Like French press results, but hate the mess to clean and am fearful of loose grounds getting into the drain/tank. The other plus is that I can easily store K-cups in the AS without worry of them deteriorating between trips. But, loose coffee (even unground) can go bad soon.

We use a Nespresso at home and recycle the aluminum pods. Trying to convince the partner that we need one for the AS but that argument has so far fallen on deaf ears

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by NWGetaways

Any electric coffee maker is vulnerable to guests or mineral deposits hitching a ride into your brew. There are lots of places to read about the issues.

I don't use hand sanitizer, or worry about germs. People who do are helping create "superbugs" that antibiotics won't kill. Hand sanitizer just kills weak germs, the strong ones go on to reproduce and improve the species. On the other hand, my anti-bodies do pushups in my bloodstream. 25 years of outdoor work built up my immune system. Germs fear me.

Then there is the problem of quality of the results. They invariably fall short of other so-called manual methods in that.

I totally agree. But it's the convenience. I don't enjoy MAKING coffee, I just want to drink it while spending my time online, annoying people here.

So boiling water, pouring it, digging out the ground beans, measuring, and waiting are all things done automatically by the Keurig.

Originally Posted by LBOskiBear

fearful of loose grounds getting into the drain/tank.

Why? Don't you wash dishes? Food particles are much worse than coffee grounds.

BTW, back in my tent camping days, I made coffee by putting grounds loose in the boiling water and then throwing the egg shells in the pot too. Supposedly, the egg shells kept the grounds in the pot, not the coffee.
Not sure there's any science it that, but the coffee was good.