I’ve been using Keurig for several years, but it’s time to switch back to grinding beans and brewing drip coffee. The reasons for this switch:
- Since retiring from the day job, I want 3 or more cups of coffee in the morning rather than two, so I could drink a full pot.
- I’m bored with the flavor I can get from commercial K-cups. They cost more and give you less flavor than buying good beans.
- Disposable K-cups create a lot of non-recyclable trash that I should feel guilty about.
- I want to explore our local coffee roasters and try different beans.
- I’ve been grinding beans and filling a refillable K-cup, but my old Keurig machine doesn’t always like how I filled it. It would be less work to use a traditional drip brewer.
I made another search for my old coffee brewer and found it was still in working order. It’s an old Starbucks-branded coffeemaker with a thermal carafe. It has a permanent gold filter basket so I don’t have to bother with paper filters.
I wish I lived in walking distance of a coffeehouse other than Starbucks (there are three of them within a 30 minute walk of my house). I am not hostile to Starbucks, in fact I love them as I use them often for restroom stops during my walks. I just hate waiting in line for coffee. The only independent coffee shop in walking distance makes only espresso, and I find their Americano to be astringent and not very pleasant.
But I am now free to buy beans at local roasters such as Compass Coffee in downtown Vancouver, or pick them up on my excursions at places such as Long Beach Coffee Roasters.