Keurig Refills - What good is a coffee maker or brewer if you can not use it many time over with a refill packet. What makes the Keurig machines much better than the rest is the high quality brewer made to use a number of refills from other coffee makers.
But how do you replace or refill those expensive K-Cups without having to spend money on a new brewer. The cool thing about these coffee refills is that they allow you to have fresh coffee, tea, chocolate, or concentrated milk, all sealed to protect the flavours inside.
I have been very impressed with the ekobrew Cup as part of my overall strategy for keeping Keurig-brewed coffee affordable. We buy regular K-Cups when they are on sale. For the past two years, I've been making my own K-Cups with the used original K-Cups (an approach that has its problems but is very cost-friendly, fairly quick and easy, and allows for "batch" manufacturing of new cups).
The ekobrew is an excellent third option -- with its own strengths and weaknesses. It makes a fine cup of coffee and is quite easy to clean. You have to be careful to "feel" it into position before you close the Keurig lid, and a careless or inexperienced user might damage either the ekobrew or the Keurig's feeder pin. You need the same feel to use my homemade cups, although there the danger is punching a second hole in the cup (because it already has a hole from the first time it was used), and not a danger to the pin. The only serious "problem" with the ekobrew comes when filling it. You have to be very careful not to tip it over -- and if you are holding the bag or can of coffee in one hand, and the measuring spoon in the other -- well, no third hand to hold the ekobrew.
And it is a bit unstable becaue the lid puts more weight on one side and the bottom is narrow. In addition, the lid does not open all the way on its own, and you will be reluctant to force it back for fear of breaking it off. You have to hold it away from the cup mouth a bit to get the coffee in. So you have proceed carefully or risk getting grounds all over the surface you're working on. This is not a big deal -- you just have to take your time -- but in the morning, when you're in a hurry, and still a bit groggy-clumsy, it is an issue. On those occasions, I still prefer a fresh K-Cup or one of my pre-filled homemades.
Cleaning the ekobrew is easy -- but you will deposit a fair amount of grounds in the sink because the ekobrew has to be vigorously flushed out. Again, not a big deal, but just part of the package. With the price of K-Cups rising steadily, and so many interesting coffees on the market that are not available in regular K-Cup form, the ekobrew is a tool well worth having.
Sure, it's a bit pricey -- but it's well made and does a great job. I recommend it for yourself and as a gift for those Keurig-owner friends going broke buying 60+-cent K-Cups.
