Coffee Break Friday - Keurig Brewing System

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I’m taking a break from writing my novel today to make a confession.

I love coffee.

While I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise to you, I just felt I had to say it aloud. Coffee’s the one hot beverage I pursue with a fervor reserved for such things as politics, religion, crusades and reality TV. So imagine my great shame when I could not brew a pot of decent coffee to save my life.

Yes, I love coffee and yet how to produce a perfect cup via a home brewer eludes me.

But there is hope for me. Before my ancestors turned their backs on me in dishonor, I found coffee nirvana in the confines of a ridiculously expensive apartment complex leasing office: The Keurig Brewing System.

It was amazing. The coffee came in small salad dressing-like plastic cups with a foil top. All you had to do was to put the cup in the brewer, close the holder, hit a button for the amount of water you want to use, and throw the spent cup away. Presto! Instant perfect cup of coffee.

The best part is, unlike the limited selection, and sometimes lower quality, that comes with those other systems out there, the Keurig is made by a company that only sells the system, not coffee (well, not until they were acquired by Green Mountain Coffee, but I digress). With that in mind they have offerings from some of the best boutique brewers out there including Diedrich Coffee, Coffee People, Caribou Coffee, Green Mountain Coffee, and the list goes on. Oh and did I forget to mention a great selection of teas, too? (No Darjeeling, unfortunately)

“What about blends they don’t carry?” Ah, well they have that covered. You can get a My K-Cup which lets you put your own coffee in there and then brew it. Best of all there are lines inside the metal basket to ensure you get a consistent cup every time you brew.

Coffee perfection a cup at a time!

So now I can grind my own blends (combining single-origin coffees after running them through a burr grinder) and enjoy them whenever I want. I even made a Colombian/Guatemalan blend for my own wedding as a favor. A nice way to represent our own respective nationalities.

I know there are other single serve coffee systems out there. What sort of experiences have you had with them? I’m curious to hear some more perspectives, especially when it comes to other systems out there.