Top Ten Questions about Keurig Coffee

These are the questions we’re asked most often about K-Cups and Keurig coffee.

1. I love my Keurig coffee maker.  What’s new?
2. Where’s the best place to buy Keurig coffee?
3. Who produces K-Cups to make Keurig-brewed coffee, tea and hot chocolate?
4. How many different K-Cups are available?
5. What’s the difference between regular and extra bold K-Cups?
6. Which K-Cup is best?
7. How can I neatly store my K-Cups?
8. What exactly is a K-Cup?
9. How do K-Cups work?
10. Why are K-Cups so popular?

1: I love my Keurig coffee maker. What’s new?

(1/5/09) It’s January in Vermont and Green Mountain has brought back two K-Cup coffees that will give you a glow even on gloomy winter days:

Fair Trade Golden French Toast
French toast is a favorite weekend treat. Now, for a limited time, all the flavors and aroma of this breakfast favorite is yours in a flavored coffee. It’s all here: the maple aroma, the buttery golden flavor, and a warm touch of cinnamon.

Fair Trade Wicked Winter ™ Blend
This delightful blend brings together the subtle earthiness of Indonesian coffee with the mellow brightness of Central and South American beans. The result is a toasty, subtly caramel cup with a chewy, chocolate body and just a hint of nutty sweetness in the finish.

They’re available at GreenMountainCoffee.com, or at GreatCoffee.com. But don’t wait to try them, because when spring comes, these K-Cups go.

• 11/24/08 – Season’s Greeting’s from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

(11/24/08) Season’s Greeting’s from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Three perennial holiday favorites are back again for a limited time. Fair Trade certified coffee is used in all of these K-Cups: Spicy Eggnog—Rich, smooth and creamy with just the right touch of cinnamon and nutmeg. Gingerbread—Fragrant, spicy and just a bit sweet. The aroma of this coffee will bring back memories of oven-baked gingerbread. Holiday Blend—A rich combination of light and dark roasted coffees. This intricate, balanced coffee is ideal for holiday festivities. Buy them at GreenMountainCoffee.com or GreatCoffee.com.

• 11/10/08 – Diedrich Coffee Has Introduced Three New K-Cups to Celebrate the Season

Santa The Christmas holidays are approaching and Diedrich Coffee has introduced three new K-Cups to celebrate the season. From their Gloria Jean’s brand, Ginger Snap (molasses cookie flavor) and Sleigh Ride (white chocolate mint) K-Cups are now available at gloriajeans.com. And the holiday brew from Diedrich’s Coffee People line is Santa’s Buzz. You can try this full-bodied blend at coffeepeople.com.

• 10/20/08 – Two New Emeril’s K-Cups are Available from Timothy’s World Coffee

Two new Emeril’s K-Cups are available from Timothy’s World Coffee: Vanilla Bean BAM! and Organic French Quarter Roast. Emeril says his new vanilla bean coffee is, “suhhweet and satisfying and the only one with enough vanilla BAM! for him.” He describes his new organic coffee as having “the bold, rich flavor that echos the lively French Quarter” of New Orleans. Emeril guarantees this new K-Cup will “please even the most discerning dark roast drinker.” Go to Timothys.com to try these new K-Cups.

• 10/6/08 – Van Houtte Introduces Apple Crumble K-Cups

Speaking of fall favorites, Van Houtte has introduced Apple Crumble K-Cups. This delightful medium roasted coffee has the flavor of baked apple with a touch of cinnamon and the sweetness of crumble topping. Visit VanHoutte.com to get more information.

• 9/15/08 – Three Autumn K-Cup Coffees from Green Mountain Coffee

Fall K-Cup Collection from Green Mountain Coffee Fall is in the air and the days are getting cooler. Greeting autumn is the return of three seasonal K-Cup coffees from Green Mountain Coffee: Autumn Harvest Blend—A rich blend of medium roasted Latin American coffees with a touch of hearty French Roast. Pumpkin Spice—A delicious coffee enhanced by the creamy spice flavors of autumn. A desert favorite. Pumpkin Spice Decaf—Now the delicious flavor of this fall favorite without the caffeine. To learn more about these seasonal K-Cups, visit: greenmountaincoffee.com. They are also available at GreatCoffee.com

2: Where’s the best place to buy Keurig coffee?

The good news is that you can find Keurig coffee in more and more places across America.  K-Cups are available from office coffee distributors, over the Internet, and in more and more retail stores.

The best place to buy Keurig coffee really depends on how many K-Cups you buy and how you want to balance convenience and purchase price.  For home users, the Internet is still the most popular place to buy K-Cups, although many supermarkets are beginning to sell Keurig coffee.

In most large offices, the convenience of having a local office coffee service (OCS) distributor, who makes sure you have everything for serving Keurig-brewed coffee, is commonly the best solution.  Small offices and businesses generally find the Internet or warehouse stores (like Costco) a great place to buy K-Cup coffee and tea.

K-Cups are sold in four different package sizes, so you’ll want to consider the number of K-Cups in each package as you compare prices.  The chart below shows how the typical price/K-Cup compares by package size:

* Some OCS distributors include use of a Keurig brewer as part of their K-Cup price.
** Stores like Macy’s, Target, or Bed, Bath & Beyond.  On their Internet sites, these companies sell K-Cups in 18-pack boxes.

Most Internet sites offer free shipping when you order 4-6 boxes of K-Cups.  Obviously, the price/K-Cup will be higher if you don’t order enough boxes to qualify for free shipping.

Buying K-Cups on the Internet
Four popular Internet sites that sell Keurig coffee are described below.  (You can find others by Googling the search term:  K-Cups.)

GreenMountainCoffee.com—Sign-up for Café Express and save $2.00 on each box of K-Cups you buy.  With Café Express, K-Cups are automatically shipped to you on your schedule so you never run out.  This program is extremely popular with home users.  Free shipping when you order four or more boxes.

Keurig.com—This site has the widest variety of K-Cups: over 200 different coffees and teas in K-Cups.  Join Keurig’s Coffee Club and save 10% on every box of K-Cups that you buy.  Free shipping when you order four or more boxes.

If you work in a large office (25 or more people), you can request a free trial of the Keurig brewing system where you work.  Here’s the link: keurig.com/freetrial.


This web site sells K-Cups to small offices and businesses anywhere in the U.S.  Prices start at $9.99/box and shipping is free on all orders.  Minimum order size is six boxes. And we like this: GreatOfficeCoffee.com will upgrade your order to free two-day shipping when you buy 10 or more boxes of K-Cups.

A companion site, GreatCoffee.com, sells K-Cups for home users in smaller order quantities. This site is unique because it provides the “use by” date for each box of K-Cups on its K-Cup order page.   GreatCoffee.com calls this feature its “Fresh For Sure” guarentee.

3: Who produces K-Cups to make Keurig-brewed coffee, tea and hot chocolate?

Although 14 different brands of K-Cups are available, only six different companies manufacture K-Cups in North America.  They are:

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR)—Green Mountain K-Cups are the most popular brand of K-Cups. In fact, over 60% of all K-Cups enjoyed in the U.S and Canada are produced by this socially responsible Vermont company.

GMCR also produces Celestial Seasonings tea, Newman’s Own Organic coffee, and Caribou coffee in K-Cups under licensing agreements with the owners of those well-know brands.

Diedrich Coffee—Diedrich manufactures K-Cups under three brand names: Diedrich Coffee, Gloria Jeans Coffee & Tea, and Coffee People Coffee.  Diedrich Coffee is located in Irvine, California.

Van Houtte Coffee, based in Montreal, Canada, sells K-Cups under their own brand name and tea in K-Cups under a licensing agreement with Bigelow Tea.

Timothy’s Coffee sells Keurig coffee and tea under their own brand name and produces Emeril’s K-Cup under an agreement with the owner of that brand.  Toronto, Canada is the home of Timothy’s Coffee.

Twinings Tea, located in Clifton, New Jersey, makes five different teas in K-Cups for the Keurig Brewing System.

Tulley’s Coffee—This Seattle-based coffee company manufactures K-Cups using the Tully’s name for regular coffee and the Bellaccino brand name for flavored coffee.  In September, 2008, GMCR announced that they will be purchasing the Tully’s K-Cup business.  Tully’s Coffee will continue to operate their retail stores in the Northwest.

4: How many different K-Cups are available?

Over 200 different Keurig coffee, teas, and hot chocolates are available, and new varieties being introduced each month. Click on the links below to explore the K-Cups available from each manufacturer by type of K-Cup.

Coffees

5: What’s the difference between regular and extra bold K-Cups?

Simply stated, the difference is more coffee. However, many extra bold coffees are dark roasted, and this roasting profile also contributes to the bolder character of these coffees.

More coffee…how? The filter system used in extra bold K-Cups is different than the filter used in the regular K-Cup. Consequently, extra bold K-Cups can be packaged with about 9 grams of coffee versus 7 grams in regular K-Cups—a difference of about 20% more coffee.

6: Which K-Cup is best?

We can’t tell you which K-Cup is best.  Tastes differ.  The K-Cup coffee we like best might not be the one you prefer. That’s why Keurig coffee makers are so popular.  With the Keurig Brewing System, anyone can discover and choose the coffee or tea that they like best.

If you’re looking for favorites, though, we can give you some pointers.  Keurig keeps a list of the top selling K-Cups on its website.  The top choice varies from week to week, but usually it either Green Mountain Breakfast Blend or Green Mountain Nantucket Blend.  Green Mountain Cocoa is usually in the top three as well.  Here’s a link to Keurig’s top 10 list: www.keurig.com/KCupResults

Green Mountain
Breakfast Blend K-Cup

Green Mountain
Hot Cocoa K-Cup

Green Mountain
Nantucket Blend K-Cup

From time to time, Coffee Review, the world’s leading coffee buying guide, does blind taste tests of different K-Cup coffees.  If you’re interested in seeing what they have to say about different Keurig coffees, then the link below will take you to their reviews: http://www.coffeereview.com/

7: How can I neatly store my Keurig coffee?

A variety of racks can be purchased to organize and store your K-Cups.

One of our favorites is the stylish K-Cup basket available at GreenMountainCoffee.com.  This two-tier basket holds about two boxes (40-50) K-cups.

Several other storage options for home or for work are available.

Available at Green Mountain

Available at Keurig.com

Available at GreatCoffee.com

8: What exactly is a K-Cup?

Van Houtte K-Cup

K-Cups are individual portion packs of gourmet coffee, tea or hot chocolate. When a K-Cup is used in a Keurig coffee maker, a fresh, hot cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate is brewed in about 30 seconds.

9: How do K-Cups work?

The inside of a K-Cup

Each K-Cup contains a paper filter that is “welded” inside the cup.  In the production process, each cup is filled with coffee (or tea) and sealed airtight with a foil lid.

To make a hot beverage, the K-Cup is placed in a Keurig coffee maker and a mug is placed on a small platform below the brew head.  The brewer is then activated by pressing a start button.  During the brewing process, small holes are automatically punctured in the bottom and top of the K-Cup.  The brewer then forces hot water through the K-Cup and the Keurig-brewed beverage is dispensed into the mug.

10: Why are K-Cups so popular?

The Keurig system is the most popular single-cup brewing system in America.  Gourmet coffee and tea lovers, enjoy nearly 3 million Keurig-brewed beverages each day.  Consumers love Keurig for its variety, freshness and convenience.

Choose from over 200 different gourmet coffees and teas offered by a wide array of well-known premium brands.

Each cup is brewed fresh just for you.  Make you individual choice and enjoy a gourmet hot beverage in less than a minute.

Each K-Cup is self-contained.  With Keurig, there’s no messy grinding or other preparation.  And clean-up is easy, just toss the used K-Cup and you’re done.

It’s great coffee.  Made easy.