Yet another question - Keurig coffee maker and K-cups

[mickeysgal]

Yes, that's right...another Kuerig and K-cup question. Bear with me.

I got a Keurig for Christmas. I like it, but I've had to learn what works and what doesn't work with it. I've learned that the cup settings are small...almost too small for the normal-sized coffee mugs we have here at home. For my larger mugs, I've had to run the machine twice...once on a larger setting, then again on a smallest setting to fill up the mug. This was a surprise to me to have to do this. I expected the settings to be more in tune with the standard coffee mugs used nowadays.

That said, when I use certain K-cups, some can withstand a double usage to fill up that mug, others can't...you can see it coming through weak, almost clear.

I've gone to different k-cup sites and many seem to be rated the same 4 - 4.5 - 5 stars without any mention of how they're best used to achieve that rating. For example, I just opened a box of Chocoate Glazed Donut (per recommendation here on the DIS!), and brewed it on the second smallest setting since it's labeled as a light roast, I felt that it may not handle a larger setting without running the risk of diluting it. It filled up my regular-sized mug only halfway. And after tasting it, (it's good) but I can't imagine running this k-cup on a higher setting. It would taste too thin, in my opinion. I understand it was labeled a light roast but I'd still want a full cup of that light roast, not an ultra-light taste. Hope that makes sense.

So, after all that, here is my question. What K-cups have you found work at their best at the lower cup settings, the higher cup settings, or when it needs to be used twice (to completely fill up the mug)? Certainly not just bold and extra bold flavors are the only ones that can withstand the higher mug settings (which just fill up the standard mug). Not everyone that wants a full cup of coffee are bold/extra bold fans. I guess I can buy upteen boxes of k-cups and experiment, and yes, I know taste is subjective, but so many of you have probably forged this path already, so I thought I'd ask.

 

[mrsv98]

My regular morning mug is large so I use Caribou blend k-cups and run it through on the medium cup size twice and it fills my cup perfectly. I also have some stronger Kona blend for when I want a really robust cup.

I agree that the sizes are not in keeping with normal American coffee cups but I find it a small inconvience for such a great coffee maker. BTW, I get my k-cups from bigcatcoffees(dot)com. Great selection, you can create "purr-fect" packs of your own choosing and free shipping over $50.

 

[Kae]

A great light roast is Green mountain Breakfast Blend. For me flavored ones are good on the Middle size which like 7.5. Extra bold means more coffee in the cup but most are dark roast. I enjoy the newmans own extra bold the it not to strong. That one I can brew on the next size up & still add a good amount of milk/cream. I also love the travel mug sizes for my soccer mom mornings. I have the B70 or Platumium

Kae

 

[dizluvah]

We ended just using multiple Kcups - I know that is costly but then I get the flavor I want - without worrying about it being diluted. Using 2 Kcups is roughly 90 cents - cheaper than going for coffee.....

But as another stated - the extra bold flavors will probably be best to hold up to running the same Kcup twice....

 

[Micca]

I hate weak coffee, so I just set it to the smallest setting and use smaller mugs. If I want more coffee, I just start with a fresh k-cup. If I ran the cycle in the same mug twice, the coffee would be cold before I could finish all of it. Quality coffee is expensive, there's really no way around it.

 

[IDoDis]

I got a Keurig for Christmas. After noticing the same thing, I opened up a k-cup after I used it. I noticed that most of the coffee was still very dry and only part of it was wet from the water going through the tiny hole punch.

So when I want a bigger cup or a refill, I just open the k-cup holder, take out the k-cup and put it back in so that the holes get punched in a different spot where the coffee inside didn't get brewed. I've only tried this with the French Vanilla since that is my favorite and it works like a charm.