Need some Keurig help!

[maslex]

I'd like to get a Keurig and I don't know where to start. I know both my sons drink coffee from time to time. DH and I do not. But we would use it for the hot chocolate. I've also seen you can do other drink in the Keurig too (apple cider, etc)

Aside from coffee and hot chocolate, what other "drinks" can you get in the pods?

Any particular model # to get for the machine? Something simple, don't really need anything top notch. Any suggestions?

 

[Albort]

As long as it doesnt say 2.0 on it, i think you should be fine...

 

[Christine]

Kohl's is carrying the Limited Edition Anniversary or something like that. I ended up getting it a few weeks ago at $107.00 x 30% off and had $20 Kohl's cash so it was a real bargain. My mom ended up getting it a few weeks later but it was a little bit higher.

Key is, it's not the 2.0 so take the regular pods. It's an older model and it works well. You might check out Kohls right now. You could at least get some Kohl's cash out of it even if it wasn't significantly marked down right now.

I don't drink coffee so I don't use it. I find it just as easy to make my own tea and hot chocolate with my tea kettle. But there are a lot of other things, as you've seen, that you can make with it. You can now do instant, flavored oatmeal (they have the K-cups for that now).

 

[mandy200587]

Here's a list of what we have for the keurig:

Coffee
Hot Tea
Cold Tea
Hot Cocoa
Lemonade
Apple Cider
Sweet Ice Tea


We also use it for hot water cup when we need a tea that's not in the keurig.

 

[SirDuff]

For those of you who use the system for multiple things, do you find that there is any residual coffee taste when you make tea or just get hot water?

I don't drink coffee, but my office has a Keuring machine (you need to bring your own K-cups). I'd get some hot chocolate ones, but I've always been worried that my drink would taste of coffee.

 

[mandy200587]

For those of you who use the system for multiple things, do you find that there is any residual coffee taste when you make tea or just get hot water?

I don't drink coffee, but my office has a Keuring machine (you need to bring your own K-cups). I'd get some hot chocolate ones, but I've always been worried that my drink would taste of coffee.

The only time I've had that issue is when my sister used actual coffee grounds that you can get a special k-cup for otherwise nope!

 

[kathie859]

I'd like to get a Keurig and I don't know where to start. I know both my sons drink coffee from time to time. DH and I do not. But we would use it for the hot chocolate. I've also seen you can do other drink in the Keurig too (apple cider, etc)

Aside from coffee and hot chocolate, what other "drinks" can you get in the pods?

Any particular model # to get for the machine? Something simple, don't really need anything top notch. Any suggestions?

I love my Keurig (I'm on my second one) but frankly, hot chocolate and tea is much better prepared the conventional way. I find the apple cider cloyingly sweet, too. OTOH, I use a refillable Kcup (cheaper and less waste in the landfill) and use a variety of coffees. If you're buying a Keurig for occasional use, I'd buy a smaller unit and not one that has big water reservoir.

 

[OceanAnnie]

For those of you who use the system for multiple things, do you find that there is any residual coffee taste when you make tea or just get hot water?

I don't drink coffee, but my office has a Keuring machine (you need to bring your own K-cups). I'd get some hot chocolate ones, but I've always been worried that my drink would taste of coffee.

I have a Keurig and mostly just use it for hot water and hot cocoa. I do have K-cups for guests. I haven't had any residual coffee flavor in my drinks. The main thing is to check and make sure the person before you actually took out the used K-cup! I have forgotten before (it was the same day).

The K-cup is self contained so you shouldn't get any residual after taste. The hot water and coffee comes out of the bottom of the K-cup. If someone used a different kind of cup (permeable-- I have one, forget what it's called) then it could be a problem. If you are worried about it just run a cup of hot water through first and you should be fine.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my tea doesn't taste like coffee at all. I make 2 or 3 cups of coffee each day and only make tea occasionally. There's not even a hint of coffee in it.

 

[trip]

My DD is not a coffee drinker and says she can taste coffee when she uses my machine to make hot chocolate. She just runs water through the machine once and dumps it out and then makes her chocolate.

 

[Christine]

If you're buying a Keurig for occasional use, I'd buy a smaller unit and not one that has big water reservoir.

A couple of people who have bought the mini-Keurigs have said that the coffee doesn't come out as well. I don't know if they don't get as hot or what, but it's a common complaint I've heard.

 

[low-key]

Keurigs are just cool

 

[MomofKatie]

Honestly, if you aren't coffee drinkers and you just want to make hot chocolate or hot tea, it will be much less expensive and better tasting to just heat water in a kettle or in the microwave and make it that way. K cups for hot cocoa are not very good tasting, and they cost a lot compared to Swiss Miss packets. The tea K cups are good tasting, but are very, very expensive compared to tea bags.

If you still decide to get a Keurig, go for the "old" style, not a 2.0 machine. You can find them at Kohl's, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Costco, or other stores for less than $100 with a coupon or sale. They will take any K cups, even the store brand coffees or bargain ones found on Amazon or at Costco. The 2.0 will only take official Keurig-approved K cups.

 

[DebbieB]

I bought a K45 at Bed Bath & Beyond about a month ago, I had a 20% coupon. I don't drink coffee but it was kind of embarrassing that my aunt brought her coffee pot with her when she stayed with me when I had my gallbladder out this summer. A friend at work told me she uses it for chai tea, which I like. I was disappointed in the chai tea I bought, it was kind of weak compared to Starbucks. I haven't tried hot chocolate yet. My brother made a cup of dark roast coffee on Thanksgiving, he said it was good (it came with a 12 sample Kcups). Since I don't use it often, I run an empty cup first.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

We have a small Keurig. Received it 2 Christmases back and it is still running like a champ. No water reservoir so each time you make a cup, you have to fill it. I don't drink coffee, but do use it for the hot water and Snapple Half and Half tea.

The Half and Half did have a coffee taste the first time. We ran 2 cycles of water through and then tried it again. Problem solved.

Same thing occurs if we do milk chocolate after a super dark roast. Again just rinse it next time.

There are a few of the teas that I find to come out more tongue biting than I prefer. The Snapple did seem more strong at first, but then I bought a bottle at the store and it was the same. Sugar is included in the pod so another good time to run a water cycle after.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I have 2 of them. I have the regular one. I am not sure of the model, it is just that one that is the most common that everybody seems to have. I also have the mini.

If it isn't going to get much use, probably the mini is the best choice. It is definitely a "1 cup at a time" thing. I like to use the little 8-10oz water bottles that can be found at Walmart, Dollar General, or supermarkets. One of those + a pod couldn't be easier. I keep the Mini in my bedroom. That way in the morning I can do my thing and not disturb anybody.

If it will get used a lot in one day, the regular one is the best choice. The reservoir is handy because you don't have to keep filling it up for every cup. However, if it is going to just sit there, I would worry about the reservoir growing things and becoming gross. I only use the big one on days I know there is going to be a lot of traffic in the kitchen and it is going to be used quite a bit.

I've tried the hot cider, it is good. They also make tea for them. I've tried it, seems good to me. Of course they also have hot chocolate. Everything has tasted fine that I have tried. Half the fun of those things when you first get them is trying different types of KCups and discovering what you like.

 

[auntfrannie]

I've tried the keurig for tea and hot chocolate and didn't care for either of them. I prefer my tea using boiled water. The only thing I like to use my keurig for is coffee.

 

[turkey1031]

I have the one with the reservoir on the side and three size cup options. My coffee consumption went up 100%. My boyfriend and I like different roasts so the Kerrigan works perfect. I have also used it just to get a cup of hot water for cooking when a recipe called for it or hot water for a Swiss miss hot chocolate. I haven't used the k cup hot chocolate yet. I've also used it for hot water for tea. I thought it did the job well. I wasn't someone who boiled their water for tea in the first place so maybe it's just my taste. I'd suggest the mini if you might not be using it everyday.

 

[MIGrandma]

Love our Keurig. It's a regular one, reservoir on the side, 3 cup sizes. We've had it just over a year and it gets used every single day when we're home. I thought we might put it away for summer, as we generally don't drink coffee in the summer except for a pot in the morning but we used it just as much in the summer as we did last winter.

We have tried hot chocolate, but didn't care for it. We use it just for coffee and have several different flavors. We just bought 4 boxes of Archer Farms "Candy Cane" at Target, and I think we should buy a couple more next trip.

 

[HeatherC]

Love my Keurig! But...if I didn't drink coffee, I would get an electric kettle instead. My SIL is a huge tea drinker and has one. It boils the water in pretty much the sme amount of time for the Keurig to heat up.

She keeps it plugged in and the water is alway pretty much ready all day long.

May be worth checking out to see if it is something that may work better for your needs.