The Great Coffee Debate - Traditional vs. Keurig

   This morning, our beautiful red Kitchen Aid coffee maker that was a wedding present finally died. It gave us 4+ solid years of morning pick-me-up. Now that we must lay it to rest, the question is do we replace it with another traditional coffee pot, or the ever popular Keurig? After polling Facebook and getting a unanimous vote for the Keurig...I did some research. I know the K-cups are hella-expensive. But I just learned there is a reusable cup insert to put your every day brew in there. So we can keep buying the giant can of Folgers French or Columbian medium roast at Sam's Club for $9.88. Holler. I also believe this will cut down on waste because I brew more coffee than I drink, religiously, every day. Why I continue to scoop the same amount of grounds is beyond me. I only drink half of my Tervis tumbler full. Without fail. #wasteful The Keurig reusable cup holds .3 oz of grounds for one cup of coffee. I was using an entire ounce (2 tbs. scoops) for a Tervis of coffee. So lets say in the future I use .5 oz (1 scoop), so it's still strong but I'm only brewing the actual amount I drink. I would still be cutting down on the waste. It seems like a no brainer.

   Just for personal education, I crunched the numbers to share with fellow coffee lovers. Here they are:

Loose Grounds: Folgers 27.8 oz can at Publix runs around $11.99. You can score the 35 oz. can at Sam's Club for only $9.88 so I definitely recommend that steal. You can get the reusable cup insert at Bed Bath & Beyond for $12.99 and a double pack of reusable filters for $8.99 or a pack of 50 disposable filters for $4.99. Use a BBB coupon for additional savings :)

K-Cups: First of all, there are 100 different brands of K-cups and 150 different flavors and roasts. The average 18 pack of Folgers medium roast runs $11.50 at Publix. Starbucks 16 pack is $12.99. Occassionally you can find $4 off coupons in the paper for Starbucks. Wait for a sale on them and sweep in there like a ninja with all your coupons. Otherwise, I would just go run-of-the-mill coffee to save money. Again, Sam's has the better deal of 80 K-cups for $34.98.

Conclusion: The Keurig will cut down on waste, thus saving money. It's also very convenient if only one person wants coffee or if everyone in your house (or guests) like different brews and flavors. Doing your own scoops from a can of loose grounds using the insert will cost you about $.14 per cup of coffee. Purchasing maufactured K-cups even at the bargain price is still more expensive at $.44 per cup. If there are 2 people in your household drinking coffee every morning, you save $4.20/wk or $16.80/mo on coffee just by doing the reusable cup and packing it yourself.

**If you want a breakdown of brewing at home vs. buying a daily latte from a drive thru, check out my "Coffee Costing You Lots?" blog from when I first starting my savings project. http://rubbingpennies.blogspot.com/2012/01/coffee-costing-you-lots_09.html