Keurig VS Coffee Makers: Which is Cheaper?

[MEM]

You can buy a filter cup for the Keurig so you can use ground coffee.

This is what I do and there is no waste. I stock up on Starbuck's when it goes on sale and I have a coupon - I'm able to buy each bag for about $4.50 plus you can take the empty bag to a Starbuck's and get a free cup of coffee.
I store the coffee in the freezer.

I have also been able to buy New England coffee for about $1 a bag (on sale and with a coupon) but since I don't care for it, I donate it to a food bank.

If you decide to stay with the 10 cup coffeemaker you can freeze some of the coffee in ice cube trays and use it when you have iced coffee.

 

[MEM]

I think why I want a Keurig machine so much is because I hear you can also make tea and hot chocolate with it...are the teas and hot chocolate pretty good??

In my personal experience, the teas and hot chocolate are not a good use of the Keurig nor are they a good value. We have 2 Keurigs at my office and our budget person orders the decaf green tea and the hot chocolate in addition to a range of coffees. I don't like the taste of the hot chocolate - it has palm oil in it or something equally off-tasting. I prefer to bring Swiss Miss to work and either add it to my coffee or make it in the microwave. The green tea is good but I pop out the K-cup holder first and rinse it out otherwise my tea tastes like coffee. I can buy Celestial Seasonings decaf green tea for $1 a box after coupons and sales which is a lot cheaper than
40 cents for a single K-cup.

You'll just have to try it and see.

 

[maggiew]

No question that it's cheaper to make a pot of coffee than to use those one cup machines. I make a "pot" of coffee everyday...it says it's "6 cups", but it really fills my large mug twice. I drink one cup. Then refrigerate the other, and reheat it the next day. Still tastes just fine to me. We pay $14 for a three pound bag of coffee at Costco, and we EASILY get 30 pots of coffee from that. So, less than 50 cents a pot for very strong coffee, or for the cup I drink, less than a quarter. I had one of those cup things, and the coffee was way too weak for my taste. If I made the 5 ounce version it *almost* was strong enough, but the 5 ounce size was less than 1/2 the amount of coffee I wanted to drink. It was costing me more than twice as much to drink coffee that wasn't as good. I gave the machine away, and went back to brewing a pot every other day.

We have found that you really need to play around with the brand of K-cups you buy to find one you like. They vary from light roast to dark roast and bold/extra-bold, etc. My family likes a weaker coffee, so we buy the light roast kind. I think I finally found one that my mom and DD can enjoy. They are so very different! You need to spend some time trying different kinds (variety pack works great for this) and also on various settings (cup sizes).

Personally, I like Twinings English Breakfast tea. But I find the tea made with that brand of K-cups is pretty strong. So I drink the first cup even though its stronger than I like, then I run the machine through the same cup for my second cup, and that is better. So I get two cups out of one K-cup. Which is about what I drink at work.

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

So my Starbucks coffee stash is down from 20lbs to 6lbs

I'm trying to figure out which will be cheaper for us. For 2 people, we go through a pound of coffee in about 1 week and a few days. But sometimes with every pot we make, there is always enough left over for 2 cups at least.

Which is cheaper: The Keruig or the Coffee Maker???

If you drink a lot of coffee, the regular coffee maker will be cheaper. Even with Amazon subscribe and save, it is pretty expensive. I think where the Keurig is cheaper is when people drink little coffee (one cup per day) or who would normally go to Starbucks. It is also good for families who like DIFFERENT types of coffee. My DH only drinks decaf due to his blood pressure, but no one else wants decaf. So with the regular pot, we would make one regular pot. DH would either have to drink that or we would have to dump it and make him a pot of decaf (small pots, of course). But with the Keurig, DH can have his decaf, DD can have her vanilla latte type coffee and my mom regular. I use the Keurig for tea. At home I just use it to make the hot water and then use a regular tea bag. At work I use a tea k-cup because its not as messy with the wet tea bag.

Maggie

 

[DisneyDizzy]

I'm sure making a pot of coffee is way cheaper. However, I LOVE my Kuerig! LOVE IT! I'm the only one in the house that drinks coffee. I like the Breakfast Blend and the Italian Blend by Timothy's. My husband, if the baby has been up all night, likes the Caribou. My favorite is the English Breakfast tea which I also find a bit strong so I just use my giant Mickey mug and run it twice. I've never thought it tasted like coffee.

My mother-in-law didn't like any of the flavors I had here so she used the refillable K-Cup with her beloved Maxwell house when she was visiting and loved it.

But, economical it is not.

 

[QVCshopper]

This is what I do and there is no waste. I stock up on Starbuck's when it goes on sale and I have a coupon - I'm able to buy each bag for about $4.50 plus you can take the empty bag to a Starbuck's and get a free cup of coffee.
I store the coffee in the freezer.

You sound like me. I buy Starbucks on sale since you can get the free coffee at the store and I love the ground coffee. The Keurig is amazing, especially for those people home a lot, like SAHMs. It has been such a wonderful treat to my life. The new Keurig even makes iced coffee. So tempted, but my 3 year old one still works great. The My K-Cup is super cheap with your own coffee. Of course, I have a few K-cups when I'm in a rush. I can get a pack of 18 for $6-7 with my work discount.

 

[DiznyDi]

Keurig will send you a replacement if under a year. I've had ours at the office replaced just need to send back the Kcup holder.

I've also had one replaced when under a year. I have also had a $100.00 credit toward a new unit for one that was over a year old. We keep 2 active, working units in our home. Can't be without our Keurig!

 

[MyDizneyBoyz]

From a strictly financial standpoint, the cost per cup is cheaper with a regular coffee pot. So it all depends on how you guys consume coffee in your house.

If you regularly fill up thermoses, then a single-cup maker is going to drive you bonkers.

If you enjoy a single cup at a time and like having a variety to choose from, then a single cup maker is the way to go.

We have a Keurig and love it as we all have different tastes in our house. It's also a lot of fun when we have company as they can pick and choose whatever they'd like, plain or flavored.

Have fun deciding!

 

[TiggerStac]

You can buy a filter cup for the Keurig so you can use ground cofffee.

Why not just brew 10 cups of coffee so you don't throw any away?

Do you have one of the filters?? if so how do you like it and how much coffee do you put in it??

I want to get one so I can get my starbucks fix everyso often and probalby to get dunkin donuts for hubby, so he'll stop spending $250/day for his coffee, but I don't know anyone who has it.

On the topic..Keurig worked for us. We were always making more coffee than we would drink. Love the convience of kcups and the fact that I make a fresh one if I make a 2nd. I'm a big ice coffee drinker, what I've been doing lately is making it night before and putting in fridge for the am. I make 2 kcups worth and its the perfect amount for me. Best price I found was this past week kohls had 9.99 onsale, then 1.00 off keurig, so 8.99, then 20% off coupon....7.19. I normally get the large box of newmans at bjs, I will buy from amazon when they have sales. But I need to stop doing this, cuz I tend to get bored w/flavor quickly. I'm done w/butter toffee, and probably have 1.25 boxes from a sale...

 

[Leshaface]

You guys have given me so much information that I didn't know about this marvelous-sounding machine!

What it sounds like, from the way we drink our coffee, the Keurig may not be so economical for us.

However, there are times when I go home for lunch or after dinner with dessert, that I want a nice cup of coffee...this is where I think the Keurig might come in handy! Perhaps if money allows, I'll ask for it for Christmas.

I heard that there was a swap thread on the Budget board, where you can trade cups for different flavors?? Is that still going on?

 

[perdidochas]

I LOVED my Keurig. I woke up every morning and told it good morning, I mean it when I say I LOVED it... until it died less then a year after buying it. We kept up with the cleaning and filter changing. That was a lot of money to pay for something that went up so quickly. I am not saying that this will happen to anyone else, but I did want to pass along what happened to us.

We are back on the coffee maker.

Sorry about the resurrection of this thread, but I just had the above happen. She should have called Keurig. I had mine a little more than a year (when the warranty should expire), and Keurig replaced it for free.

 

[perdidochas]

Did you check with Keurig? I know a couple of people who have gotten new ones under the warranty.

I, personally, love my Keurig! It is expensive, but I've only been to Caribou once since I bought it. I did keep my old coffee maker for company and such. My only gripe is storing the k-cups....my house is small with a tiny kitchen, I just don't have a ton of room for them.

I got a new one at 13 months after purchase, even though the warranty expired at a year. While it disturbed me that such an expensive machine died so soon, I can't say enough about Keurig service. I called them Friday AM, and had my new Keurig Tuesday PM.

 

[ceecee]

I have a 4 cup coffee maker, and it's definately cheaper! I make what I want and never have any waste.

 

[Leshaface]

Sorry about the resurrection of this thread, but I just had the above happen. She should have called Keurig. I had mine a little more than a year (when the warranty should expire), and Keurig replaced it for free.

It's SO FUNNY that this thread came back to life...

JUST last night, for my Valentine's day present, my hubby bought me a Keurig!!!

I'm super excited to try out all the different flavors that are offered!!

 

[gr8tdame]

I got a new one at 13 months after purchase, even though the warranty expired at a year. While it disturbed me that such an expensive machine died so soon, I can't say enough about Keurig service. I called them Friday AM, and had my new Keurig Tuesday PM.

Ditto. They just asked me to send them the cup holder.