I Pod Now


I drink a lot of coffee. Caffeine is my drug of choice now, and my last remaining addiction. Just the thought of giving up my Joe gives me a headache.

Over the decades, my coffee tastes and preferences have evolved. I’ve been a devoted and loyal customer at different times for Maxwell House, Folgers, Chock Full o’ Nuts, and Eight O’Clock. I drink mine black. A cup of flavored coffee is okay now and then, but not a pot, so I never buy any.

I stepped up to whole beans eight or ten years ago. Freshly ground coffee smells wonderful, and tastes better too. Within a few weeks, I replaced my grinder and drip coffeemaker with a Grind N Brew from Cuisinart, of which I’ve been through two. After a huge price increase, I stepped down to a Mr. Coffee and a separate grinder. Sigh.

The problem with making coffee by the pot is never knowing ahead of time how much I’m really gong to want. I usually make a full pot in the morning, and maybe a bit more than half a pot in the afternoon. Sometimes I drink it all. More often, I don’t.

Coffee ain’t cheap. Pouring half a pot or more down the sink every few days adds up. Making less helped, but I still ended up tossing out a cup or two.

A Keurig coffeemaker sat in my garage for two months. I finally moved it inside and bought some pods. At first, I only used it for my afternoon coffee. About a month ago, I quit using my Mr. Coffee at all.

Is the Keurig cheaper? Hard to say. Figuring a cost-per-cup for my freshly ground coffee requires more math than Im willing or able to bring to the table. The pods run sixty to eighty cents a cup, which I suspect is a bit more than I pay for beans.

In terms of quality, the pods come out on top by a wide margin. Every cup is freshly brewed. I never have to drink stale, bitter, dregs either. I waste a lot less coffee too — a negligible amount left in the bottom of a cup now and then.

All in all, I’m a fan of the pods. My time is my own in a way it wasn’t when I made coffee by the pot. No more measuring and grinding. I can have a cup whenever I want, and all I need to do is insert a pod and push the button.