Introduction

This is one in a series of money-saving tips. For more information, please visit my home page.

Keurig Coffee Maker

I got a Keurig single-cup coffee maker as a Christmas present from my daughter and son-in-law. My wife doesn't drink coffee so a single-cup machine is perfect for me as I only have a cup or two on days when I'm home.


coffee machine The machine works great. It has a tank on the side that you fill with water that makes 4-5 cups of coffee (or tea). The coffee comes in little cups called K-Cups. You pop one in, press a button and in less than a minute you have a fresh-brewed cup of coffee. About the only complaint I have with it is that just before and just after brewing a cup it runs a pump for 10 or 15 seconds that moves some of the water from the tank to an inner chamber and the pump is a bit noisy.


What's really nice is when you have company over and you're able to make a different blend for each person. The K-Cups are sold in boxes of variety packs as well as single flavors. I like the vanilla-flavored K-Cups myself but I also keep a variety pack on hand.


The K-Cups, however, are not as readily available as other forms of coffee. I haven't seen them in any of our local supermarkets yet. They are available at some of the stores that sell the Keurig coffee machines but aren't as cheap as you can find at some online sites. The best price I saw in a store was $9.99 (plus tax) for a box of 18 K-Cups.


Online, however, it is fairly easy to find K-Cups for about $10 for a box of 24 or 25. And, if you buy enough at one time, you can avoid shipping charges. That works out to about $.40 a cup. The Keurig coffee machine comes in several different models. The basic one is called the B40 (which is the one I have) and it can be had for about $100 if you buy it online (glad mine was a gift!).


K-Cups come in a wide variety of blends from several different providers including Gloria Jeans, Caribou, Green Mountain, Timothy's and Ghirardelli. You can get both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, tea, and hot chocolate K-Cups. They can be found at amazon.com, coffeeforless.com, greatcoffee.com, coffeewhiz.com and other sites. Look for the best deal.

Related Links