Coffee Crazy

Coffee Nirvana

Okay, I admit it. I'm in love with a small appliance. It's my Keurig coffee maker. It just came into my life yesterday, but I'm already wondering how in the world I lived without it before. Now, I'm not one of those coffee people who has to drink at least 10 cups a day to be a functioning human being, nor do I need to have a cup in my hand as soon as I roll out of bed. And I'll also admit, I don't drop $4 a day for coffee at my local coffee house. 
That being said, I still appreciate a good cup of coffee and lately, my trusty old Mr. Coffee just wasn't cutting it, especially after I got a taste of the good coffee life after a night's stay at the Crowne Plaza in Portland, Ore. It was a beautiful hotel room on it's own, but what really put it over the top for me was the Keurig coffee maker on the beverage bar above the mini-fridge. I'd secretly coveted those Keurig's with their cute little K-cups in a multitude of different coffee brands but I just couldn't justify the cost. After all, how much does it really cost for a cup of coffee brewed at home? Not one for doing math this late in the day, I found a great coffee site called "Coffee and Conservation" (which provides information about the connection between coffee and the environment -- especially bird habitat) and found an article about what a cup of coffee really costs and it stated that your average cup of Folgers works out to about .20 per cup. Sure, it's cheap, but what does it really taste like? Especially after it's been sitting in the pot on the coffee maker burner for an hour or so. And if you're going to drink coffee, isn't it all about the taste?
But back to the Crowne Plaza and the Keurig in my room. I selected one of the Tully's K-Cups that was provided along with the coffee maker, slipped it into the K-cup holder, pressed the brew button and about 30 seconds later I was rewarded with a steaming hot cup of coffee that was brewed to perfection. I have to say, I was hooked. 
I came home from my business trip, determined that someday I would own a Keurig and experience coffee nirvana on a daily basis. I did my Internet research and found that I could buy a Keurig Classic at my local Bi-mart for just $99 (and no tax since it's in Oregon). I found the same machine at Wal-Mart for  $109 and $129 at another chain store in Boise so I headed to Bi-Mart with fingers crossed they'd have some in stock. I took it as a retail sign that there was only one left on the shelf so of course I had to make it mine. I bought a box of 12 Newman's Own organic dark roast coffee for $6.99 for the box (which works out to about .58 per cup, by the way) and headed home. 
My first cup of coffee tasted just as good as I remembered it from Portland. My husband, of course, has yet to be so impressed with my trusty Keurig. He doesn't like his coffee strong, despite having spent 20 years in the Army, drinking mess hall coffee. His ideal cup of coffee is weak and tan colored. I personally think he's a closeted tea drinker and he just hasn't figured it out yet. As excited as a kid at Christmas, I offered to brew him a cup of coffee but he declined, turning up his nose at my Newman's Own. I told him that I could get different strengths of coffee and, that I had even purchased one of the filters that allows you to use your own coffee, so he could make his own weak-tasting brew. He's still not convinced and don't get him started on the cost of the coffee maker itself. So, as a compromise, I haven't retired Mr. Coffee. He's still sitting on the counter, probably gazing in envy at my lovely Keurig. 
Keurig, by the way, is derived from the Dutch word for "excellence." Take that, Mr. Coffee.