Turning my Kuerig Green

 On January 29th of last year I wrote a blog entitled "But I love my Keurig".  In it I confronted the horrible truth of this marvelous coffee maker - it dumps tons of plastic into our landfills. But there were tricks that I didn't know back then.  

To start, you have to understand that I was a coffee snob.  I didn't use a coffee make before my Keurig.  I had a ceramic funnel with a gold filter into which I put an unbleached filter with freshly ground coffee that was weighed, not measured.  My carefully measured water was heated to a boil and then allowed to stand for exactly 11 seconds before I started slowly pouring the water through the grounds.  This process provided great coffee and was a labor of love. Then I learned that I could get a good cup of coffee - perhaps not quite as good - but a very good cup of coffee with this new machine called a Keurig.  Even though we have a small Keurig for Willy (our 16' camper home) I still carry the ceramic funnel with me.

Again today I was confronted by the reality of the wastefulness of the Keurig when someone posted the cartoon to the right. This time, however, I knew what had to be done.  I had to share with you a trick that I learned to use the "Keurig Gourmet Single Cup Home Brewing System My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter Box" and still get a good cup of coffee.

Let me tell you about what I learned about their reusable filters.  I don't know if they did it on purpose, but there is no way that the reusable filter is going to make a descent cup of coffee as it comes out of the box.  If you look down through the tubular portion you will notice a large opening at the bottom. If you look in a k-cup you will notice a pin hole. That's the difference. The water goes through the grounds too quickly with the reusable filter.  Here's how to correct that.

Step 1.  Take a used k-cup (be sure it's been used) and remove the foil top and dump as much of the grounds as possible. You don't have to worry about getting it empty. This is just to make the next step easier.
Step 2.  Cut off the top rim with a pair of kitchen shears and remove the filter and any remaining grounds. Discard the filter material and grounds. Rinse the remaining plastic cup.

Notice the large opening

Step 3.  Put the plastic cup inside the grey tubular portion of your new reusable filter system and make sure that it seats as far down as possible.

You are now ready to make coffee.

STEP 1

Step 4.  Remove the k-cup holder.  You may find it necessary to push up from the bottom but be careful. There is a sharp pin inside this holder.
Step 5.  Put 2 rounded tablespoons of coffee in the reusable filter basket. When you tap the side of the filter the coffee grounds will come up to about 1/4 inch of the top.   We like our coffee bold. We also use French roast.

I prefer a large mug which holds both a Keurig large and medium brew. I can do a large brew, leave the same grounds in the machine, and then do a medium brew, and still have a very good cup of coffee.

By not using the k-cup you do your part in keeping a tremendous amount of plastic out of our landfills and you can still have an excellent cup of coffee. A secondary benefit is that there are no limits on the type of coffee you use.  Make your Keurig green!

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

 

Reusable filter in place