Coffer Lovers? Mr. Coffee or Keurig single serve brewer?

B

budmonster

macrumors regular
Looking at coffee makers for a Mother's Day gift, it's all she drinks. She never had a single serve coffee maker like a Keurig and I don't drink coffee so I don't know what I'm buying. What do you recommend? I saw a Mr. Coffee single serve for $80 compared to the the $100+ Keurigs, people said it's pretty similar? Also, she loves her Folgers coffee, can she use that too or do these machines just allow the cups?
 
I have experience with both the Mr. Coffee and Keurig branded machines. The Mr. Coffee is actually a pretty decent deal, the water tank is a little small it generally holds 2 8 oz cups which is nice considering the cheapest keurig doesnt even have a tank. Con with the Mr. Coffee is becuase it uses a gravity feed to bring in the water it takes longer to heat the water and it doesnt get as hot as the keurig machines. Currently I'm using a cuisinart keurig machine and its fantastic. Heats up super hot and also has a nice auto on off feature so it can be ready to brew when I wake up and turn off when I leave for work.
 
I have a Keurig that I use daily. Mr. Coffee, Cuisinart, Breville, and others make machines compatible with the Keurig K-Cup system. Not sure if that's the Mr. Coffee machine you're talking about.

I'm happy with mine. I did consider the new Keurig Vue system but ended up staying with K-cups.

Folgers does make K-Cups, so she could either use those in her machine, or buy one of the reusable cups and add whatever coffee she wants.
 
Coffer Lovers? Mr. Coffee or Keurig single serve brewer?

budmonster said:
Looking at coffee makers for a Mother's Day gift, it's all she drinks. She never had a single serve coffee maker like a Keurig and I don't drink coffee so I don't know what I'm buying. What do you recommend? I saw a Mr. Coffee single serve for $80 compared to the the $100+ Keurigs, people said it's pretty similar? Also, she loves her Folgers coffee, can she use that too or do these machines just allow the cups?
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The single cups are $$$/cup, and stale. But drinkable.

There is no such thing as a coffee lover who likes Folgers...

My father has a Hamilton Beach(I think) brew station that grinds and brews. Impressively repeatable quality every cup, and very easy.
Far less finicky than my burr grinder and press. Id highly recommend.

Then get her fresh coffee. Bag should be dated less than 6mo. Should have a plastic valve one side. Coffee beans let off co2 gas after roasting, 1way valve lets that gas out but not oxygen in. Oxygen makes it ho stale. Bags without the valve are left out to turn stale before sealing and shipping

Then again.... If she's anything like my mother, she wouldn't know the difference.
 
FWIW, one of the bigger Keurig units with a larger water tank and other features is available at Costco later this week for $125 (after $25 coupon) and that includes a bunch of coffee (60 cups ~$30). IMO a much better deal than either of the cheaper units.

It comes with a reusable filter that can be used with the Folgers, but you can also get other reusable pods that give better results.

B
 
Check the office supply stores (Staples, Office Max etc.) for the commercial brewers. Usually can find great deals.
 
Menel said:
The single cups are $$$/cup, and stale. But drinkable.

There is no such thing as a coffee lover who likes Folgers...

My father has a Hamilton Beach(I think) brew station that grinds and brews. Impressively repeatable quality every cup, and very easy.
Far less finicky than my burr grinder and press. Id highly recommend.

Then get her fresh coffee. Bag should be dated less than 6mo. Should have a plastic valve one side. Coffee beans let off co2 gas after roasting, 1way valve lets that gas out but not oxygen in. Oxygen makes it ho stale. Bags without the valve are left out to turn stale before sealing and shipping

Then again.... If she's anything like my mother, she wouldn't know the difference.
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These are excellent suggestions regarding the beans. They are the most important element in any coffee process...and the fresher, the better. It's really a matter of GIGO...the best machine in the world can't fix mediocre, or stale, beans. I would suggest that 6 months is a bit too long...I would look for something as close to 2 weeks as possible for whole bean. For pre-ground, even less time since roasting. I realize that's not always possible, but go for the absolute freshest possible.

The one-way valve bag is essential during the post roasting resting period (generally 2-4 days), allowing the CO2 off gassing to drive O2 out of the bag, as well pointed out by Menel. If one wants really fresh coffee, the refillable cartridges, or cups, or whatever, are your best bet. You can then buy really fresh coffee for the machine. Whole bean coffee, properly stored, is fresh for about 2 weeks. Ground coffee is fresh for about 15 minutes.

I quickly grant that not everyone is as...ah...totally crazy about freshness as I. :p Just do the best you can, and enjoy the end product.

I don't know much at all about single serve machines...I'm sure other coffee enthusiasts more knowledgeable that I will be more helpful.

And my Rule No. One: If you like it, it's fine! :D

imaketouchtheme said:
Wait for Shrink to comment.

He knows his coffee!
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Thanks for thew kind words...there are lots of folks who know a whole lot about coffee...much more than I!:eek:
 
shinji said:
I have a Keurig that I use daily. Mr. Coffee, Cuisinart, Breville, and others make machines compatible with the Keurig K-Cup system. Not sure if that's the Mr. Coffee machine you're talking about.

I'm happy with mine. I did consider the new Keurig Vue system but ended up staying with K-cups.

Folgers does make K-Cups, so she could either use those in her machine, or buy one of the reusable cups and add whatever coffee she wants.
Click to expand...

This is the Mr. Coffee I saw.
 
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If I want to take a moment, use some good fresh beans, perfect grind, use filtered water, the French press, it’s a total zen moment. Nothing beats it.

We also used to love our Bunn, which is a great drip brewer, instant on, well built, we used a really good filter from Amazon, and did quite of a bit of fresh ground (Breville 800XL).

However, we’re usually on the move, and Keurig does the trick for us 95% of the time. We’ve got a K75 downstairs that handles 5 sizes, get _hot_, brews near instantly and has a massive reservoir.

We also have a little single serve Keurig up in the bedroom that’s going on 6 years old and just keeps on going. When the single server craps out (if ever!), I’ll probably try a non-Keurig branded brewer, very likely that Mr. Coffee.

Using filtered water is critical - the pumps, lines, valves, etc., get ruined by the deposits in water. Some of the larger model Keurigs have tank filters which is nice if you don’t have a filtered water source (like from your fridge).

FWIW, we use almost exclusively Green Mountain K-cups. They have a wide range of flavors, roast, they’ve got some great company policies, and are sold through all sort of outlets on and offline. I recently scored 4x 24 count of Lake and Lodge, a favorite of ours from Coffee Cow, and with a few cow bucks from recent purchases, a coupon, free shipping, it worked out to about $0.42/cup.
 
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Now you are on my subject. As a coffee lover, I insist on having fresh coffee at well, just about all the time. I once gave up coffee, it was the worst hour of my life. That said, I have a Keurig in each of my offices and at home. Absolutely love them. Remember to register your brewer on Keurig for a great coffee discount (4 boxes - 22 cup for something like $30 including shipping). Serial number is where the drip tray slides in. Also look to stores like Big Lots to get K-Cups.

If I need to brew a pot, I've got a Bunn Coffee Maker. It's a machine like you see in a Waffle House. Got it at a yard sale, wicked discount. I love it. No waiting. So, I'm telling you that you need two. One for when it is just you and you will savor every drop that is brewed and one for when you have to share because it is the polite thing to do.
 
D.T. said:
If I want to take a moment, use some good fresh beans, perfect grind, use filtered water, the French press, it’s a total zen moment. Nothing beats it.

We also used to love our Bunn, which is a great drip brewer, instant on, well built, we used a really good filter from Amazon, and did quite of a bit of fresh ground (Breville 800XL).

However, we’re usually on the move, and Keurig does the trick for us 95% of the time. We’ve got a K75 downstairs that handles 5 sizes, get _hot_, brews near instantly and has a massive reservoir.

We also have a little single serve Keurig up in the bedroom that’s going on 6 years old and just keeps on going. When the single server craps out (if ever!), I’ll probably try a non-Keurig branded brewer, very likely that Mr. Coffee.

Using filtered water is critical - the pumps, lines, valves, etc., get ruined by the deposits in water. Some of the larger model Keurigs have tank filters which is nice if you don’t have a filtered water source (like from your fridge).

FWIW, we use almost exclusively Green Mountain K-cups. They have a wide range of flavors, roast, they’ve got some great company policies, and are sold through all sort of outlets on and offline. I recently scored 4x 24 count of Lake and Lodge, a favorite of ours from Coffee Cow, and with a few cow bucks from recent purchases, a coupon, free shipping, it worked out to about $0.42/cup.
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Just a note on filtered water. While I completely agree that the quality of the water makes a big difference, filtered water does not really protect the machine from lime scale. If we are talking about "filtered", as in a Brita filter, or Culligan filter...they both will remove elements that, when removed, improve the taste of the coffee. However, lime scale which, among other nasty things, seriously effects the functioning of the boiler, and therefore effects reaching proper temperature, is caused by calcium carbonate (not removed by filtering)...what is often called "hard water". If the machine does not have a built in (and replaceable) water softener cartridge, frequent de-scaling of the machine is necessary. Even with a water softener cartridge, de-scaling is still necessary, but not as frequently.

So, the use of filtered water is, I fully agree, necessary for the taste of the coffee, water softener and de-scaling is essential for the proper functioning of the machine...

Once again, I acknowledge my lack of specific knowledge of Keurig systems. My comments are general in regard to espresso and drip machines...and perhaps Keurig, but others are better able to comment specifically on those coffee machines.
 
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The Keurig machines will let you know when it'as time to descale. Mine is a few days shy of 6 years old, have only used filtered water and have only had to descale 3 times.
 
Shrink said:
So, the use of filtered water is, I fully agree, necessary for the taste of the coffee, water softener and de-scaling is essential for the proper functioning of the machine...
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I had good intention (what’s that about paving a road? :D ) to reply _way_ back when you originally post this ...

It’s a little late but yes, the above (more so the entire original post) is really spot-on information about water/maintenance/cleaning.

Whew, glad to have +that+ monkey off my back. :D
 
D.T. said:
I had good intention (what’s that about paving a road? :D ) to reply _way_ back when you originally post this ...

It’s a little late but yes, the above (more so the entire original post) is really spot-on information about water/maintenance/cleaning.

Whew, glad to have +that+ monkey off my back. :D
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Doncha just hate it when there is something you just HAVE to post...and you just can't get to it!?

The relief is palpable...:p

;):D
 
I have a Keurig and love it. I use distilled water in mine. I also descale it every 3 months which is on the early side of their 3-6 month window.
 
Keurig is also the master of Excellent Service. Regardless of whether your Keurig is still within the warranty period, Keurig will replace it, if it fails. If that model is no longer sold, they send you one better. I admit that I do not use filtered water nor do I descale unless the machine demands it. I've had two Keurigs fail over the years (Not bad considering I've got seven in service right now, and use them very often.) and they replaced them without question. One was several years old!

I don't think you can go wrong with a Keurig.
 
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