Buckle up! I’m taking you on a mystical journey of magic beans. No, not Jack’s beans.
Java lovers will know that the real magic is in the coffee beans.
Specifically, I’ll be looking at the popular K-Cup coffee pods, and what exactly is in them.
So, sit back, relax, and let me grind and spill the beans for you; how much coffee is in a K-Cup really? Is it cheaper than ground coffee? These are just some of the questions I’ll get to.
How Much Coffee Does Keurig Put in a K-Cup?
Truth is, the amount of coffee in a Keurig K-cup varies. Depending on the brand and blend, a single K-Cup pod has 9-12 grams of coffee.
Let me put this into perspective.
Coffee experts, specifically the Speciality Coffee Association of America, recommend the coffee to water ratio to be 10 grams of coffee to 6 ounces of water on average.
You may wonder then, how many cups of coffee can a K-Cup pod make? To answer this, first, let me ask you a question; what kind of coffee drinker are you? Do you like it full-bodied? Or do you prefer it on the lighter side?
If you’re the former, then you definitely can’t make more than one cup of coffee. You may even need more than one pod for a regular-sized cup of coffee, around 12 ounces. However, if you’re the latter, then maybe you can go for two small-sized cups per coffee pod.
There are many brand offerings for the K-Cup pods. You can pick and choose from different strengths, blends, and flavors. From the Caribou Coffee Daybreak Morning K-Cup Coffee to Illy’s Medium Roast pods, you’ll find many favorites.
How many grams of coffee are in each pod?
Although each pod has different amounts of coffee, there are about 9 to 12 grams in each or 0.3 to 0.4 ounces. Breakfast blends usually have 9 to 9.5 grams, and medium roasts have 10 to 11 grams. “Extra bold” K-Cup pods have 30% (1 to 2 grams) more coffee than the others, and have 11 to 12 grams but can have as much as 14 grams.
Overall, the average pod contains 11 grams of coffee and costs about $0.75. So, if you want a pound of coffee, you should first know that a pound is 453 grams. So for one pound of coffee, you’ll need 41 KCups, and it would cost around $30.75.
Do Bold Blends Have More Coffee Grounds in the K-Cup?
Yes, they do. Bolder blends have roughly 30% more coffee than regular ones.
Generally, light roasts and breakfast blends have the least amount of coffee; 9-9.5 grams per cup.
Second, comes the medium roast blend at around 10-11 grams per cup.
You’ll find the most coffee in the dark roast blends at 12 grams per cup, with some brands having up to 14 grams per cup.
How much does a K-Cup weigh?
The coffee that is in the pod is encased by packaging to keep it fresh. The packaging also allows it to fulfill its purpose of being a unique way to make your coffee.
However, it also adds weight to the whole pod. The outside packaging alone weighs about 3 to 4 grams. The coffee that is in each pod varies, but it usually weighs around 8 to 12 grams. So, overall, each K-Cup pod weighs anywhere from 12 to 16 grams or 0.4 to 0.6 ounces.
How Much Caffeine is in a K-Cup?
It’s hard to determine for sure the amount of caffeine is a K-Cup. Because of the many brands that produce these pods, there’s no specific standard.
In general, though, a K-Cup pod has roughly 2 tablespoons of coffee in it. This translates to about 100-140 milligrams of caffeine per 2 ounce pod.
That being said, an 8-ounce cup of K-Cup coffee has about 100-140 milligrams of caffeine. This is compared to 120 milligrams of caffeine that’s in a regular 8-ounce cup of coffee.
There are also decaffeinated options for you lot that love the taste but can do without the caffeine.
Which is Cheaper, K-Cups or Ground Coffee?
To answer this question, we need to compare apples to apples. This means comparing the prices of K-Cup pods vs. ground coffee of the same brand. Doing this, you’ll find that K-Cup pods can cost up to 4 times more than the ground coffee option.
For example, Illy medium roast pods cost $9.84 per 4.1 ounces, while the ground coffee version costs $12.05 per 8.8 ounces. If you compare price per ounce, you’ll find the pods cost $2.40 per ounce vs. $1.37 for the ground coffee.
Using the small pods are so much more convenient than using coffee grounds to make your morning beverage. However, it could be costing you unnecessary money. New York Times mathematicians say that one pound of K-Cup coffee costs, on average, $50. Alone, this might not look that bad, but the best and most expensive coffee beans usually are less than $20 for each pound.
By drinking a regular-sized cup of coffee each day, you would use about eight bags of coffee grounds each year. If you would use Starbucks grounds, you would probably spend $95 a year on coffee. However, if you use K-Cups to make regular-sized cups of coffee every day for a year, you could spend anywhere from $190 to $800 each year. So, even though using K-Cups will shorten the process of making your coffee, it will cost you much more money than just using coffee grounds.
Convenience has a price. If you do not drink a lot of coffee and you like the convenience of a K-Cup Keurig brewer then, by all means, use it as your only coffee maker. However, if you drink a few mugs of Joe a day then using ground coffee ends up being a lot cheaper than brewing with the pods.
The Reusable Keurig My K-Cup
This interesting little gadget allows you to brew ground coffee in your machine; any kind of ground coffee. You simply fill it up with your blend of choice, pop it into the coffee machine, and voillà!
How Full Should I Fill the Reusable Keurig My K-Cup?
Making a cup of coffee is, some would say, a work of art. And the reusable Keurig My K-Cup gives you a blank canvas to work with.
Not only do you get to choose how much coffee you put in the K-Cup, but you also get to choose the blend. Maybe experiment a bit and mix two or more blends together. I’d definitely do it!
You should note, though, that when using the reusable K-Cup, you should fill your coffee below either of the designated lines on the cup.
If you’re going with a smaller cup of coffee, say, less than 10 ounces, then it’s recommended to go below the first line.
On the other hand, if you’ll be going for more than 10 ounces, then you can fill it up to the second line.
However, you should note that the performance of the My K-Cup is best when you use it to brew no more than 6-8 ounces of ground coffee.
Reusable K-Cup
Usually, reusing a K-Cup would make your coffee taste bad and watery. You also cannot clean out a standard pod and then try to reuse it. There’s no way to make standard Keurig pods reusable. As convenient as that would be, unfortunately, there’s no method to make K-Cups reusable.
There are specifically designed reusable Keurig containers that match the Green Mountain Coffee makers. But by using the reusable Keurig pods, you’ll be able to do this and still get good K-Cup coffee. To make coffee using these pods you will need ground coffee to start the process. The pods are able to hold 14.5 to 16 grams of coffee at the maximum.
The reusable pods are made of two main parts. A miniature gold filter basket is where you put the coffee grounds. This filter fits perfectly into the filter holder, which has a lid to resemble the plastic covering on the normal Keurig KCups.
To use these pods, you’ll first need to fill the filter basket with your coffee grounds. Once it has been filled just below the plastic rim, you should put the filter into the filter holder and put the lid onto it. In your Keurig brewer, you will need to take out the assembly, then put the holder assembly into the brewer. All you will need to do after this is to press the brew button and wait for your coffee to be ready.
Environmental Impact
Apart from giving you more freedom to experiment with your cup of coffee, the reusable K-Cup has another substantial advantage. By using it, you cut back on the single-use material contributing to the plastic waste problem.
So, when you use the reusable cup, not only will you be adding your unique flavor to the coffee, but you’ll also be doing your part in taking care of the environment. Win-win if you ask me!
Tips for Using the K-Cup
These tricks will heighten your brewed coffee experience. Whether you go for the single-use or reusable K-Cup, you’ll thank me for these!
Run an Empty Cycle
Running a brew cycle with just water has 2 distinct advantages.
You warm up your machine, so when you come to brew your coffee, it’s actually better. Also, if you use your coffee cup to collect the water, it’ll become warm as well. Try it; it makes for a more wholesome experience.
The second benefit is that you’ll inadvertently be cleaning your machine when you run a water-only cycle, which is better for the smooth running of the machine in the long run.
Poke a Hole
This one is if you’re using single-use K-Cups. Puncture the K-Cup before closing the machine by pressing down on the pod once it’s in the coffee machine’s slot.
This helps you avoid both getting ground coffee in your brew and clogging your brew basket.
Don’t Pack It
The following tip is for the reusable my K-Cup. I can’t stress this enough; your coffee needs to breathe. If you pack the cup too tightly, the water won’t flow through. This makes your coffee weak and watery!
Final Thoughts
The K-Cup pods are definitely useful in certain situations and places. They’re disposable, which makes them great for office use or to set up in waiting areas. You can enjoy a quality hassle-free cup of coffee.
On the other hand, you also have the option of a more permanent coffee companion. The reusable K-Cup is just as functional with the added benefit of being eco-friendly. So you can enjoy your cuppa joe guilt-free!
