K-Cups. They might save you a grand total of a minute over loose grounds and a disposable paper filter, but they’re more costly per cup and create more waste.
Used coffee grounds have many more uses than the plastic k-cups. Recycling the cups is difficult and usually doesn’t happen. They do make eco-friendly cups but they still contain dyes for the labels and require more energy to mass produce than simple paper filters and a bag of grounds (or beans if you grind your own).
Not hard to find single cup brewers for loose grounds (I own one) and they’re cheaper because they don’t have to work with Keurig for licensing and compatibility.
Just to illustrate for anyone reading this that brewing coffee can be very easy and quick: I use one of these to very easily brew exactly one cup of coffee every morning in about 2-3 minutes - https://kalitausa.com/products/kalita-style-102-ceramic-coffee-dripper-white (mine is in the beautiful brown color, but I linked the white one because it’s much cheaper and has many more reviews)
It says 2-4 cups but I think it’s really only for 1-2 cups. It takes #2 filters that you can find at any grocery store. If you want to be even more environment-friendly, you can buy reusable cloth #2 filters online.
Procedure:
Measure one cup of filtered water, transfer it to a pan or kettle, and start to boil it
Set up the cone and filter on top of the cup and put one heaping tablespoon of coffee grounds in the filter
Pour the boiling water in the filter (with a small open pan on the stove top, it takes me about 1-2 minutes to boil one cup of water)
Optionally, flavor the coffee to taste
When I first decided that I wanted to start drinking coffee I way overthought it, spending all kinds of time and energy researching all kinds of different brewing methods, grinders, etc. It’s easy to get lost in the wilderness when it comes to coffee. But I ended up choosing the easiest option available and have been happy with it for years. Hot, fresh, easy, just about any variety and strength of coffee, and no added microplastics from sending boiling water through plastics.
You can fine tune your process but the most basic is a funnel (I.e. V60, chemex, kalita) with a paper filter on top with grounds on it that you just pour hot water on top and wait for it to filter down. Coffee machines do all this but they generally produce worse coffee outside of shops because no one cleans them as often as they should
K-Cups. They might save you a grand total of a minute over loose grounds and a disposable paper filter, but they’re more costly per cup and create more waste.
I use the k cups and brewer with a reusable washable pod. You put little paper filters in them.
Those aren’t bad but the container is too small for my liking. Keurig brewers are a pain to clean too.
Is this really true tho? because i heard they are more enviromental friendly because less coffee is wasted?
Used coffee grounds have many more uses than the plastic k-cups. Recycling the cups is difficult and usually doesn’t happen. They do make eco-friendly cups but they still contain dyes for the labels and require more energy to mass produce than simple paper filters and a bag of grounds (or beans if you grind your own).
Might be less coffee but it’s not just the coffee that’s the waste; it’s all the extra plastic that each one of those K-cups uses.
Plastic often lasts centuries (at least) to biodegrade and even then animals try to eat the waste and then die horribly.
They’re great for single people who want 1 cup before leaving for work though.
Aeropress
Not hard to find single cup brewers for loose grounds (I own one) and they’re cheaper because they don’t have to work with Keurig for licensing and compatibility.
Just to illustrate for anyone reading this that brewing coffee can be very easy and quick: I use one of these to very easily brew exactly one cup of coffee every morning in about 2-3 minutes - https://kalitausa.com/products/kalita-style-102-ceramic-coffee-dripper-white (mine is in the beautiful brown color, but I linked the white one because it’s much cheaper and has many more reviews)
It says 2-4 cups but I think it’s really only for 1-2 cups. It takes #2 filters that you can find at any grocery store. If you want to be even more environment-friendly, you can buy reusable cloth #2 filters online.
Procedure:
When I first decided that I wanted to start drinking coffee I way overthought it, spending all kinds of time and energy researching all kinds of different brewing methods, grinders, etc. It’s easy to get lost in the wilderness when it comes to coffee. But I ended up choosing the easiest option available and have been happy with it for years. Hot, fresh, easy, just about any variety and strength of coffee, and no added microplastics from sending boiling water through plastics.
Aeropress does this for me, and way better quality. Less waste too
You can do the same with a manual coffee brewer though- just use less coffee and water
Can I leave it to pour a single measure whilst I throw on my shoes and jacket?
You can fine tune your process but the most basic is a funnel (I.e. V60, chemex, kalita) with a paper filter on top with grounds on it that you just pour hot water on top and wait for it to filter down. Coffee machines do all this but they generally produce worse coffee outside of shops because no one cleans them as often as they should
That’s exactly what I do with my chemex yeah.
French presses are great for quick 1 or 2 cups