Only the 4th one? I know BBB is becoming more sparse but that’s where you should be buying it if you have one nearby. They’ll exchange without a warranty. Just keep the receipt. Mines giving signs of turning up its toes soon and I can’t find the receipt.

I’ve got to try my regular coffee machine again. Perhaps I overthink it, looking for the perfect beans and the perfect grind, only to turn out imperfect coffee time after time. Maybe I should just go to the supermarket and buy some preground whatever.

Pour overs and French press are too much work for me, too. But a drip coffee maker using a paper filter is the right amount of work for me. I have had a Behmor for several years and a Mr. Coffee before that.

I don't mean to be preachy but I agree with colleenoz on the negative environmental aspects of coffee pods - not to speak of the amount of plastic ending up in landfills from Keurig failures.

This past year I went through a lot of coffee experimentation trying to find something that was satisfying and finally decided that espresso machines with microwave milk for quick lattes with my favorite and easiest for cleanup.

Frothed milk is too much effort on a daily basis. But I do grind the coffee beans daily.

I tried stovetop espresso makers, manual pour-over drip coffee and French presses along with extra strong coffee in just a normal drip machine.

I must have looked at the moccamaster technivorm on Amazon for 6 months and I'm glad I didn't actually buy it

if you are into plants, those spent K coffee pods are excellent for starting seeds ...

also, they have the reusable K-pods that you load. They work pretty good.

I procured my K off of the bay. It was a rebuilt. Have had it several years and gets heavy use - by me - and especially at family gatherings. It came with a pitcher to refill the reservoir. I add water every other day.

It probably depends on how much coffee you drink each day. Many automatic coffeemakers do have a 1-4 cup setting and you can't beat them for convenience especially when using the gold-tone mesh filter. We all have our favorite brand; mine is Cuisinart. I get about 5 years out of each unit.

I grind beans and add water the night before so I just press the power button when I get up.

IMO Keurig is highly over-rated.

I'm on my second Mr Coffee espresso machine in 25 years that I use pretty much every day.

> Frothed milk is too much effort on a daily basis. But I do grind the coffee beans daily.

If you care at all about the "froth" I've found that microwaving the milk and then using a mini battery powered whip to "froth" it works as well or better than the stupid steam blowing nozzle on the espresso machine.

I have a Keurig that is rarely used because I switched to tea. But we use it when all the kids come home for the holidays. This last week the warning light lit up to DESCALE, and I don't know if it had been warning a few days of the holiday visits or not. DH had tried to make a cup, and it would not work. I tried to descale it with vinegar as directed, but it wouldn't take up the vinegar or heat it, even after letting it soak over and over. I found the solution on the internet. I poked a paper clip into the openings in the needle that pierces the pods. Then I unplugged it, removed the container now holding the vinegar, upended it over the sink, and pounded hard with my fist a few times on the bottom. Voila, it worked again. I descaled it with the vinegar, rinsed it well, and we are back in business. Hope this helps anyone with a similar situation.

While I don’t dispute the plastic waste from k-pods, relative to some other options it doesn’t seem that bad. For instance, I use two pods to make my wife’s coffee in the morning and far less plastic gets thrown out than if she bought at the station.

Switch to tea, drink more water!

I’ve never gotten the reusable pods to brew anything acceptable. Too fine and it would impede the flow, too coarse and it’d be hot water. Never found a happy medium that actually worked. I have a theory, unverified and untested, that a portion of what’s in those pods is instant coffee. Otherwise how can they get such a quick brew with relatively cool water?

There's also the machines themselves--such a short lifespan puts many, many more of them into the landfill. I hope parts of them can be recycled, but I don't know about the plastic.

Bob, I was recently looking at those on Amazon, super cheap too.

BBB has your purchases on their computers. You don't need your receipt.

the pods ad like straws. Easy targets to demonize, because they're small. Using them in big offices is probably wasteful, when most people just want caffeine in a mildly palatable delivery system. One pod a day in a home probably has a lower total environmental impact than all the fuss and fixings do.

Ritaweeda, I can't tell if you're looking for an alternative or just sharing. I know someone who has a gorgeous three foot tall sculptural Japanese cold brew maker. She makes coffee concentrate one a week, which does have all the rigamarole of a regular coffeemaker, but the the bottle of brew lives in the fridge. She says it's better as fix and heat cups, than normal hot brewed coffee. You can also buy cold brew in bottles and skip the weekly brewing and cleaning, but I don't know if those are also good.

While we were working on this house as soon as we got the electric up to code and got it on, I bought a $12 Mr Coffee machine just to do us until we finished the kitchen. Almost 2 years later it is still going strong, and there are many days we brew 2 pots. And coffee grounds/ filters are great compost. It's mostly a matter of taste, if I really liked the Keurig coffee better we'd probably have one. But it does seem the K-machines don't last very long, especially given the price.

I've retrieved the vacuum carafe and filter-and-coffee holder from my old Krups that lasted 20 years. I'm doing pour-over with these remnants; pitched the rest of the machine, which never adequately heated the water anyway. I make three cups of coffee in the a.m. It takes two 'pours' of boiling water over the coffee and I'm screwing the lid onto the carafe. Resultant coffee is cheap -- and better than ever.

BBB has your purchases on their computers. You don't need your receipt.

Maybe that’s changed but it wasn’t my experience a few years ago, in the course of a keurig return. I asked if they could look up by name in case I used credit card and they said no.

I see these complaints about the reliability of the Keurig and don't understand. That hasn't been my experience. Mine (the only one I've had) was a hand me down. My SIL saw them in red (more like cinnamon) and bought new in that color. She gave me the one she'd been using. So it wasn't new when I received it, I was still at my old kitchen then and we moved 7 years ago. DH used it this morning as he does every morning. I still have our old reliable elec percolator that made great coffee, but made too much since I rarely drink coffee at home and he will only sometimes have a second cup.

There is still the red colored Keurig at SILs beach house and one at her home up the street so those haven't failed either. Lucky?

I agree, I think it depends on the brand of the machine. Ours is a Cuisinart and have never had a problem in about 8 years

I have a Cuisinart as well. They have a really good warranty - 5 years (?). Mine has lasted 7+ so far. They also honour their warranties. Recently though I’ve discovered the MOKA which takes 3 mins on the stove. Now I can’t go back to the Cuisinart coffee machine coffee

We have a Moccamaster Technivorm and it makes fabulous coffee. The first one last close to twenty years and will still work but the switch got goofy-a simple fix but I don't like a machine that old. Coffeemakers are common fire sources so we got a new one. I would just do a pour over but DH loves a fancy machine and he makes the coffee. It heats the water to a perfect temp. Pod things would never work for me. I like my coffee really strong.

How weird, FOAS! It was several years ago that I learned it, when the clerk looked it up before I could find the receipt in my purse. Maybe it's different at different stores or regions? Maybe there's some kind of Keurig scam or Keurig themselves demand the receipt? They have to have it in the computer to do all the calculations of percentages of the coupons being returned!

Dunno. Could have been my clerk.

Mine is a Cuisinart branded one, too. I “upgraded” due to the longer warranty plus the larger reservoir. I’m on my third of those, fourth if you count the one I returned immediately due to it being painfully slow as compared to previous ones I had. Picked out a new one and same thing. Cuisinart had agreed it sounded slow so they told me to exchange it, but they couldn’t quote a correct time range for a pour. Who knows. It’s a racket. Expensive mediocre coffee. But it’s convenient and with that we’re hooked. Fortunately my favorite pod is a store brand, so it keeps it somewhat reasonable.

We like our Nespresso but the pods are pricey and the do have some sort of recycling program, but I think that may be "window dressing". Most of the time, I use a Bonavita. They are probably not as good as a technivorm but a good value and do heat the water automatically to the right temp; they have a 4 cup model. It's like an automatic pourover.

Do you get the soft recyclable/compostable pods? They're the best option. One plastic pod or thousands.....its all bad for the planet.

I use a Keurig at work sometimes. It is convenient but the coffee is weak and thin, by my tastes. Like see-through American diner coffee.

Before we got the espresso machine, we used practically every kind of coffeemaker. My favorite was the French press, because it's so straightforward. Here's James Hoffman's video guide to French press coffee making:

https://youtu.be/st571DYYTR8

My next favorite was the Bialetti moka stovetop coffee makers, because they reminded me of a little cabin in a wooded bit of Tuscany. These take a little more technique.

https://youtu.be/rpyBYuu-wJI

The Mr. Coffee type drip coffee machines are convenient, but I don't usually want a whole pot of coffee. Then again, sometimes you need a whole lot more than a pot. So we got (were given) a really big Mr. Coffee, that makes 25 cups. And finally we bought a 100 cup brewer at a restaurant supply store, and now we can meet almost any need for mass quantities of coffee (weddings, funerals, etc).

As for frothing milk, I think the battery powered frothers work very well, save only for how long the process takes. A minute to heat the milk in the "radio oven", then three minutes of just standing there, holding a vibrating frother and feeling faintly ridiculous. Add 5 minutes if you have to hunt around for fresh AAA batteries.

But much better than pumping the manual frothers, which all too often simply fails to produce acceptable aerated milk no matter how long you labor.

With the espresso machine's steam wand, it takes less than fifteen seconds to steam milk.

Back to the topic - of the pod makers, I by far prefer Nespresso to Keurig.

Reading about the woes of these modern coffee makers makes me appreciate the old simple peculator we had in our early married life. We'd put in about 3 cups of water and coffee grounds in the top, slapped on the lid and placed on a burner. In about 15 minutes or less, we have more than 2 cups of coffee. These days, my wife does not drink much coffee. She's reducing her caffeine intake and I make a quick cup in the morning using instant coffee and the microwave. That takes about 2 minutes from preparation to finish. Cleanup is washing one cup.

I make two cups of coffee per day and use the pour over method. I have an electric kettle. I don't think it's that much work. I wish i could do away with the paper filter but nothing is perfect. It works for me. I can't live without my coffee.

I still have the keurig, but use it only for company...it's so convenient when someone wants decaf and someone wants regular...cup at a time seems to do it as well as the set and forget while I'm prepping desserts. But now, for myself, I'm doing pour over. It is a lot cheaper, and it takes a lot more time. As a result, I find I'm drinking more tea. I also find the coffee made this way (maybe because I'm using more grounds to make the coffee?) is altering my digestive system and not in a good way.

Am I the only one who thinks that the Keurig makes a horrible cup of coffee? I do not have one, but a couple of friends and relatives do, and it seems that no matter what kind of coffee I buy or how recently the pods have been purchased, it makes a crappy cup of coffee. Just bad. It really doesn't seem to be the coffee itself or its freshness, it's the process. Obviously, a lot of people use these things, so I've got some persnickety taste buds, but I'd rather lick asphalt.

Marymd7, absolutely agree with you. French press, pour over, Moccamaster or even the humble stove top moka pot from Italy are all infinitely better than Keurig and its upscale cousin, Nespresso, to me.

Marymd, we are the opposite, even though we've now gone through 4 of the Keurigs, we don't care for any other coffeemaker's results. When we go out especially for breakfast the coffee tastes awful to us. We do always use a dark roast pod, usually French roast. And it's just so much simpler. We have gone through so many types of coffeemakers over the years, even went back to the old fashioned percolator, nothing suits like the Keurig. Maybe we should just try another brand that uses pods.

We have various tools for coffee brewing. OXO Barista Brain 9 cup brewer for morning coffee; a Canadiano pour over for relaxed, specialty coffee time; French press just to have one.

Marymd - Most that I’ve tried are pretty bad. I do try to cap mine at .50/pod and that’s increasingly limiting what I would try. Like Rita, I go for a dark roast like French Roast. Only way to go IMO. For years my in-laws bought us Kirkland’s Pacific Bold. Not bad and the price was right as most times they wouldn’t accept my money. McCafe is ok, but only affordable on sale. I’ve settled in on Nature’s Promise, which is organic store brand of Stop & Shop here in the NY area. Not all store brands are created equal though, Shop Rite’s was probably the worst of any pod I’ve had. Shop by weight. Many of the cheaper ones have like .31 ounces per cup. I look for .4 and higher. Lastly, 8 oz may be tolerable for better K-cups, but I always use 6 or it tastes watery to me regardless of brand.

For pods, DH will usually buy Signature Select. He likes Costa Rica dark roast and it's available Safeway, Top Foods, other places. On sale somewhat consistently for $4.99 box of 12 if buying three or more boxes. About 40 cents per pod. So I'll have something different to offer people dropping in, I'll keep a box or two of tea pods, and a richer Starbucks coffee pod too.

I'm not a coffee drinker (though I do make basic coffee for others, which I'm told is good), but I think I'm missing something. Aren't we talking about instant coffee? I'm not sure I understand paying a dollar per cup for instant coffee at home. I get the variety for guests, and getting what you want while travelling, but isn't brewed coffee better than instant?

The pod is not instant coffee. Instant coffee dissolves in hot water. The pod is filled with ground coffee beans and remains in the pod after brewing.

I also received a Keurig second hand. My son bought it when his in-laws visited, and then a year later we got it. We’ve had it about five years, and it's still going strong. I really like it because I’m the main coffee drinker and have to have decaf. But I can keep some full-caf cups on hand for when my husband wants a cup. I usually have only one cup a day, in the morning. So between my limited use and my need for decaf, it was always hard for me to go through a bag of pre-ground or whole beans before they got stale. So, for me, using a Keurig actually improved my coffee experience.

Thanks, Michael. That explains it. :)

Don't have an opinion on the coffee maker for you. I have a Mr. Coffee that I'm quite pleased with and another that uses the pods that I've never taken out of the box. Coffee grounds are great for the garden and if you sprinkle them around the foundation of your house, the repel ants and spiders.

I have a Moccamaster coffee maker and Baratza grinder...it's expensive but the coffee tastes so much better.

I have a Chemex pour over and I love the coffee. I buy green beans from Burman Coffee and roast them myself, then grind them as I need them. The first Chemex was too small, we had to buy the larger one. I have an electric kettle, brew a Chemex full of coffee and then decant it into a Thermos to stay hot. Elery has one that's not fancy, an Army issued one that his son had while he was stationed in Kosovo, but it'll keep coffee hot all day without "cooking" it. The process is a bit time consuming but it's worth it to me.

We do have a Keurig, and one of those devices that let me use my own coffee instead of the pods. Since green beans cost me $5 or $6 a pound, plus the energy to run the roaster, I can make an awful lot of coffee for the cost of a box of those pods, and keep them out of the landfills too.

I have a French Press that I use occasionally, an AeroPress that never gets used, an electric countertop percolator that Elery likes, a Cuisinart drip pot that grinds the beans and has a timer. That makes so much noise it'll bring you out of bed in the morning when the beans start grinding, thinking it's an air raid or something, sheesh. We also have an old stovetop Corning Ware percolator that I used to use when the power went out and I used the camp stove, and an aluminum pot that was used when camping. My office coffeepot was a Hamilton Beach BrewStation that didn't have a carafe, it brewed the coffee and held it until the lever was pushed to fill a cup. It's now in Amanda's camper. Large family functions require the GE 40 cup electric perk coffee maker. Oh, and a small pour over type filter that makes a single cup of coffee, Elery takes it with him when he goes to his daughter's as she does not drink coffee or own a coffee pot and he doesn't want to have to drink gas station coffee. He's also opposed to paying what they want at coffee shops, so he'll make his own by the cup, thanks!

My favorite is the Chemex, my least favorite is the French Press, I get a kind of "sludge" in the bottom of my cup with that. All make a passable cup of coffee, as long as I use good beans.

Annie

So right now we are drinking coffee made in a Chemex-like pour-over and I had to coach DH on how to do it. Yesterday I went to several stores looking for a thermal coffee server to keep the excess hot. None had anything until I went to BBB. They only had one type. I know I probably would have had better luck shopping Amazon but I didn't want to wait, needed it now. DH still wants to get another pod coffeemaker and will go through the hoops to get a refund for this one. What they do is send a gift certificate after you have packed up the broken one and sent it to them. I will do some research in the meantime and try to find out which pod type might last longer than the Keurigs. We've been through so many changes with coffeemakers over the years, it's like it's something that we must suffer every other year just because the coffee Gods get a kick out of it. Life was so much simpler way back when we were perfectly happy with instant coffee!!!

I have a friend who does everything short of picking the beans himself and another who won’t drink anything but Nescafé instant. Personally I drink too much coffee for a pod to be cost effective nor do I see any quality advantage over a simple drip machine.

If one does like pods and uses lots of them, maybe the solution isn’t finding a cheaper machine but rather investing in a commercial version???

As an aside, Starbuck’s Via “instant” coffee isn’t half bad in a pinch but is a bit expensive. As I understand it, the little “stick” is a mixture of instant and “micro ground” coffee.

Annie, too bad you don’t have more options at your disposal. ;)

This thread has me thinking it’s time to try brewing coffee again. Like gooster I’ve got a Bonavita somewhere that’s supposedly certified for something, so the variables should be more user and/or beans. I’ve never sat down and brewed pot after pot, with tasting notes for the different grinds. Perhaps that’s in order.

Although the Keurig etc seems handy (I don’t have one), I just can’t bring myself to pay approx $45+ per kg for coffee in the pods (excluding the plastic issue)

Well this time the way it's handled warranty-wise is different from the last time. DH climbed up in the attic and brought down the box it came in because the last time we had to ship it back to them. So he called today and they said just dispose of it and they will ship us a new one. I had paid $5 for a 2-year warranty on it a year ago. I bet this cheap piece of crud only costs $5 to manufacture if that.

We roast our beans like Annie and use a Chemex. We are clean-as-we-go-cooks but always a few very minor chores in the morning. DH starts the kettle, takes the pups out, empties the dishwasher if needed or loads it...makes the coffee for a small cup or two each and into heated travel mugs for the work day.

Wetting the pour-over filter and pot with boiling water sterilizes the pot. Pour out the hot water and grind beans. Basic, simple, morning routine. Check weather and news at the same time. Never in a rush as we are both a boss and never running late.

Electric coffee pots are right up there with toilet handles and kitchen sponges on the mold/filth list. (and environmentally irresponsible). We don't put wet dishes away because the moisture will grow mold in our cabinets.

A coffee pot reservoir is wet at all times, even if the reservoir lid is left open. They do not heat up enough to sterilize. Vinegar does an ok job if you stop the cleaning halfway and let it sit for at least an hour. Run through then run another flush with clean water...

Kerig pod styles are the worst since water just sits there. (microbial soup)

I gave up coffee altogether 20 yrs ago as it just did not agree with me. Thought it was the empty stomach, maybe the vitamin. Switched to tea for a year or more and was fine.. I was flushing our Braun white elec pot with vinegar but one time I looked in and it was full of pink mold, (many pots are black now). Can't see it.

Same with countertop steam ovens. No way to give them a good cleaning. My steam wall oven has a very hot descaling. No roasting, broiling. I don't want that. All that food mater sitting in an oven with moisture. I use it to steam only. Leave the door open overnight.

A healthy immune system can handle all sorts of issues as we are designed to do but why give your system an extra struggle/battle. Keep it as healthy as you can for the other struggles it does so well daily....flushing toxins.

I like my morning coffee but switch to cold brew green tea for the rest of the day.

The first coffee snob I ever knew, long before it became stylish, made coffee on the stove in a saucepan, slowly. Nary a bubble to be seen. Mustn't disturb the oils nor scorch the water.

FOAS, you know I like to make sure all my bases are covered, LOL. I didn't start drinking coffee until I was nearly 30, and I started with LOTS of cream and sugar. Gave up cream for my cholesterol, changed the sugar to artificial sweetener because of the calories, gave up the sweetener when that became bad for me. Now I drink it black, but it was a long road there, and now I'm serious about my coffee, I WANT it! The doc says if I'd give it up it would probably help my gastric reflux, but I just don't want to.....

Annie