Tuesday - October 18, 2011

Unpaid Product Endorsement

Oh happy day, the mailman delivered our stuff. My wife bought a Kindle, one of the cheaper models, and she’s been antsy for a week waiting for it to be delivered, checking it’s progress several times online. It’s here, so I’d better get busy and reactivate the wireless router before she gets home.

I’ve written before about the Keurig coffee machine we picked up for free. It’s very convenient, but the little coffee pills it uses - called K-cups - can only be considered inexpensive if you usually buy your coffee at Starbuck’s or Dunkin’ Donuts. Lucky for us that her sister works for an office supply company, so we’ve been able to get the K-cups in bulk at a better price than you’ll find at Staples or Walmart. But they still aren’t close to cheap, so shortly after I revived the “broken” Keurig machine she bought one of those My K-Cup devices. This lets you put your own coffee in a washable holder, and gets the price down to pennies a cup where it ought to be. The $15 they charge you for a couple little bits of plastic and some steel mesh quickly pay for themselves, and you’re in the black in less than a month. The problem with the device is that it can’t brew a large strong cup of coffee. Maybe that’s my problem, because most folks don’t drink coffee strong enough to be NASA grade rocket fuel. I do. Ever since we took a trip to St. Kitts more than a decade ago, I’ve been hooked on the Caribe brand coffee. It’s a Caribbean style espresso, which means it’s damn strong regular coffee but pretty weak and lightly roasted as far as real espresso is concerned. It’s also the cheapest coffee available in the stores, which pleases my inner Scotsman.

The Keurig machine that came to us is one of the deluxe models, and it produces 3 cup sizes of coffee. Too small, small, and one standard mugful. While the “extra bold” real k-cups can produce a robust “small” cup (the Newman’s brand tastes the best), none of them can produce a rich mug’s worth. Nor can the My K-cup, no matter how much Caribe I pack into it. I looked into getting a French Press coffee pot, but while those things will make the most flavorful cup of Joe, they’re kind of a mess to use and the glass ones are very fragile. And they require you to buy your coffee as whole beans and grind your own. I’m not a coffee snob, nor a coffee junkie, so that’s too much effort for me. Just give me a way to make my morning cups nice and strong. Better yet, give me a method that’s repeatable and reliable that I can handle before the brain cells start firing.

A bit more online research showed me another DIY k-cup replacement gizmo called the Solofill. $15 online plus $5 shipping, or buy 2 and the shipping is free. Or visit your local Bed Bath and Beyond and get them for $12.99 plus tax. I ordered a pair online, and they came today. Open the box, give the thing a quick wash and a rinse, load it up and let it brew. Unlike the My K-cup, the Solofill fits in the regular K-cup holder on the machine. Filled up with Caribe it takes nearly twice as long to brew a mug as a commercial k-cup does, and the output flow tends to be a little bit splashy. So just lift your cup up and hold it close until the brew is half done. After that it flowed smoothly.

It took just one mug to convince me that the Solofill is a superior product. I filled it up to the Max line, dropped it in the machine and pressed the “giant travel mug” button. And it gave me a 12oz mug full of really strong coffee. Strong enough so that I’m almost buzzing here at 4:30 in the afternoon. It uses less coffee than a My K-cup and the coffee comes out far stronger. What’s not to love? Oh, and the pissy part (which may have been caused by either the thing being brand new or by my filling it to the brim with espresso) can be easily cured, because the Solofill gizmo fits neatly into the My K-cup holder (don’t use the lid) and gives things enough room so that the output flows nice and smooth. I am a happy camper. A happy speeding camper.

Posted by Drew458     on 10/18/2011 at 02:54 PM   
Filed Under: • Daily Life • Neat Inventions •  
• Comments (2) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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