K-Cup Coffee Costs Far More Than Pricey Artisanal Beans, 'Times' Finds

If you use a Keurig single-serve coffee maker, or one of its many rivals, to brew your morning joe, you're being gouged. According to a report yesterday from New York Times java expert Oliver Strand, the coffee in the machine's capsules comes out to a whopping $51 dollars a pound. That's more, he writes, than all but the highest-end beans produced by artisanal roasters like Stumptown and Intelligentsia -- let alone Folgers.

Time magazine notes that prices are a little lower if you buy the pods in bulk through a vendor like Amazon. But they're still much more expensive than even high-end beans.

The reason people -- especially young people -- are willing to pay that much is that single-serve makers are very convenient, and are often still cheaper than getting your fix at a coffee shop. They let you brew coffee extremely quickly and with no annoying cleanup afterwards.

Champion barista James Hoffman took to his blog to defend the single-serve coffee makers' pricing strategy. "I don't think we should be angry about how much they charge, unless we're directing this at our own failures to reach that price point despite having better product," he writes. "One could infer that Nespresso's success implies we're way too cheap."

The past few years have seen virtually every major coffee company rush to get a piece of the rapidly-growing single-serve coffee maker market. Anyone not marketing its own machine -- as Nespresso and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf are -- is probably making capsules for use in the market leader Keurig. Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks, for example, both signed on in August.

UPDATE: Since publication, some concerned readers have written in to note that one way you can make Keurig coffee using normal-priced beans by using a product called "My K-Cup." It costs $17.95 on the Keurig website and is indefinitely reusable. That makes it good for the thrifty and the eco-conscious. But it's also worth noting that a big part of the reason people use a single-serve coffee machine is that it lets them avoid having to deal with the mess of wet coffee grounds.

Comments

[HeyYinzGuyz]

04:18 PM on 04/12/2013

Nothing can compare to a Nice French Pressed cup of coffee. No waste and no plastic just goodness

[TomInJax]

04:21 PM on 02/14/2012

51 bucks a pound? You can get free trade Jamaica Blue Mountain cheaper than that. I try to tell everyone they are wasting their money on the K cups, but they turn up their noses.

[SteveC 1979]

12:48 PM on 02/14/2012

I love my Keurig. However...the large amount of landfill waste it creates plus the high cost of the K-Cups started to bother me so I got one of the reusable filters and just fill it for each use. Takes a minute to clean out the filter afterwards, but I feel better about it (environmentally and cost-wise).

[Food Review 101 Web-Site]

08:25 PM on 02/13/2012

But it's oh so conveinent

[isleptwithjoeyramone]

01:04 PM on 02/13/2012

I'm feeling a bit ambivilent towards Keurig and their K-cups these days. I thought the Keurig was perfect for me because I'm the only one in our house who drinks coffee, and I only drink one cup per day. I'm now on my 3rd Keurig coffee maker, becuase it's had to be replaced twice. I find the K-cups too expensive, so I use the 'my K-cup' that came with my machine. I get to use my own coffee, which does save money. But using the 'my K-cup' every day causes the machine to clog up, no matter how often I clean it and go through the de-scaling process. Keurig customer service has been great about free replacements, but when this one dies, I'll move on to a different brewer.

[BelleNic19]

11:23 AM on 02/13/2012

My sister and I received a Tassimo coffee maker for Christmas a couple of years ago. Yes, it's a rip off per cup of coffee, but neither one of us drink much coffee. So, it's perfect for us. If I drank coffee every day then I'm sure we'd use a standard coffee maker, but we don't. I've seen these coffee makers in waiting rooms lately. I think it makes sense in these situations. Would you rather have a cup of four-hour old coffee or something that you quickly make yourself while waiting for the mechanic to put new tires on your car?

[Slenderella Newman]

11:22 AM on 02/13/2012

These articles don't take into account actual cost: amount of the pot tossed out everyday in favor of "fresh", filters, water (tossed out and used to wash/clean), etc. The ability to switch to decaf or flavored or strength of the brew decreases waste,etc. It's not just households, but offices, dorms, barracks, etc. that use these machines. In a multi-person environment, there's also minimal clean up of the area where the coffee is made, so less paper and cleaning product are used. Not to mention, in a place of business there's the labor/productivity costs involved in the making of and cleaning up of more traditional brewing. The cost of the coffee per pound, while a simple comparison, is not really a very good one.

[edejan]

11:18 AM on 02/13/2012

"I don't think we should be angry about how much they charge, unless we're directing this at our own failures to reach that price point despite having better product," he writes. "One could infer that Nespresso's success implies we're way too cheap."

Oh, really? So you've discovered a new and better way to gouge customers. Thanks, but no thanks.

[trumbull desi]

10:44 AM on 02/13/2012

We use a K-Cup machine because I don't drink caffeine and my husband must have full throttle coffee. We treat ourselves to the K-Cups on occasion for special flavors, but mostly we grind our own beans and make our individual cups of coffee. Nothing gets wasted and we each get what we want. And grinding your own is way cheaper than the rip-off prices of the K-cups.

[flyinghigh0905]

10:36 AM on 02/13/2012

"They let you brew coffee extremely quickly and with no annoying cleanup afterwards."

Are people that lazy nowadays? That's what coffee filters are for. Last night, when I cleaned up my coffee maker, it took me 30 seconds to empty the remaining coffee and rise the pot, and another 15 seconds to take out the filter and throw it away.

Though I will admit that those K-cup things offer some pretty cool flavors that you can't get by way of coffee beans, like french toast coffee. Yum.

[LeoChild]

11:20 PM on 02/12/2012

I heard on HLN that Walmart is coming out with their own keurig type machine.

[c-tom]

08:03 PM on 02/12/2012

Not a trade-off I'd go for but if you're really rushed in the morning it might be worthwhile.
If I'm going to visit my mom (about a 2 hour drive) rather than making coffee I stop at the gas station/Subway and get the 27oz cup for $1.30 which is still cheaper than a single cup from this machine.

[bookreader451]

06:13 PM on 02/12/2012

Weak flavorless coffee at a premium price. Sumatra whole bean from Trader Joe's $5.99

[undrgrndgirl]

03:04 PM on 10/11/2012

i use a my kcup with italian roast from world market...$5.99 while trader joes has gone to almost 7.

[bookreader451]

06:01 PM on 10/11/2012

I don't use kcups.  I grind it by pot.  I find kcups too weak for me.  I drink them at work but I prefer darker coffee.....all a matter of preference.  I also would go broke buying kcups for our house.

[DavidMG]

12:17 PM on 02/12/2012

Those little cups are an environmental nightmare. Get a reuasable gold filter. They cost less than $10 and last for years.

[flyinghigh0905]

10:37 AM on 02/13/2012

I agree with you about the environmental nightmare. I never checked to see if they are recyclable. But then, heaven forbid, you'd have to clean out wet coffee grounds. OH NOOOO!

[DavidMG]

11:36 AM on 02/13/2012

You are too busy :)

[SteveC 1979]

12:51 PM on 02/14/2012

They are not currently recyclable, and there are millions of them tossed into landfills everday.

[twystd69]

06:39 AM on 02/12/2012

In terms of finanacial frugality, Keurig is a rip off. But the Keurig was designed for those with disposable income. Too bad, in america, it is all about the Jones's.