Single Serve Coffee Forums

I've been lurking for a while and would like to know what people mean when they say they "used the wet method" of brewing a K Cup. In the review of some Kona pods, it was mentioned you should pre-wet the pod. If I'm using the Pod Holster, do I still want to do this? Do you just run some warm water over the pod before putting it in the holster? Do you do this with every pod?

Thanks for any help. I haven't even gotten a Pod Holster yet, but I'm thinking I want to try some 100% Kona, so it seems to be in my future...

That would work. On some of the Keurig machines you can also simply lift the handle to stop the process for 30 seconds or so, then close it and continue.

I'm sure that as with most things coffee, the importance of doing this is subjective, but i'm curious about the intent. Is the point just to make the coffee stronger, or do people do this with pods to extract better flavor? I'm asking because the Aloha pods are so expensive I'm being a little paranoid about brewing them wrong, especially since I'm using the Keurig/Pod Holster combo and don't have much experience with it. Many thanks for easing my paranoia

mrfett wrote:I'm sure that as with most things coffee, the importance of doing this is subjective, but i'm curious about the intent. Is the point just to make the coffee stronger, or do people do this with pods to extract better flavor? I'm asking because the Aloha pods are so expensive I'm being a little paranoid about brewing them wrong, especially since I'm using the Keurig/Pod Holster combo and don't have much experience with it. Many thanks for easing my paranoia

A few seem to says it extracts better in their machines. In my Senseo I have not noticed a difference, assuming the machine is pre-heated it gets about all that it can in one cycle, but it is one of the slower machines.

Jury is still out in my B40, mainly due to lack of time to mess with it at work. Tyr it, it will not hurt.

You could do a pre-wet with the Pod Holster. Just slightly lift the handle after water starts to flow, wait about 15-30 seconds, then push the handle back down. This will extract more flavor and make a bolder cup.

NOTE: This will not work with the B70, and likely will not work with the Breville.

Whenever I've tried to prewet using the Pod Holster, it results in some grounds being blown up and out through the hole after I put the handle back down. It makes a mess of the basket area.

My working theory is that prewetting works fine with a K-cup because the pierced foil remains snug against the needle when I put the handle back down. But with the Pod Holster, the hole is larger and pod fabric/paper does not retain its snug fit against the needle when the handle is raised and then lowered.

Then again, I might just be incompetent. I have a B40, old needle style, in case that makes a difference.

Ahh, thanks for the heads-up sweaner. I'll just try running some water over the pod before sticking it in the machine.

Essensia wrote:Whenever I've tried to prewet using the Pod Holster, it results in some grounds being blown up and out through the hole after I put the handle back down. It makes a mess of the basket area.

My working theory is that prewetting works fine with a K-cup because the pierced foil remains snug against the needle when I put the handle back down. But with the Pod Holster, the hole is larger and pod fabric/paper does not retain its snug fit against the needle when the handle is raised and then lowered.

Then again, I might just be incompetent. I have a B40, old needle style, in case that makes a difference.

Try raising the handle minimally, something like 1/2 inch at most. This should really not raise the actual needle much at all, and may work for you.

Thanks, Scott. That does work much better. A few grounds still escape, but they're relatively contained, and the extra cleanup is well worth the improved extraction.

Prewetting seems to make a much greater improvement (to me, anyway) when using the Pod Holster than a K-cup, I imagine because the machine is already optimized for K-cups but isn't intended for pods.

Just want to mention that the B40 handle wants to spring all the way up as soon as it's lifted even slightly, so you need to lift carefully and keep your hand on the handle so it only goes up a little bit.

I tried this pre-wetting method with my Keurig Platinum, and I ended up with coffee grounds all over the place. Now every time I brew a k-cup the normal way, I have coffee grounds in my cup. I poured water through the whole k-cup chamber housing and cleaned out the holder purging every coffee ground I could find, and I'm still finding grounds in my cup.

I hope I didn't mess up the seal or something.

sweaner wrote:NOTE: This will not work with the B70, and likely will not work with the Breville.

I posted this above, as apparently the B70 will reset when the handle is lifted. However, grounds should not have come out, unless your machine didn't stop brewing when you lifted the handle. The handle only needs to be lifted about 1/4" or so.

Just clean all of the parts to get the grinds out.

Hey, Sweaner. I must have lifted the handle too high. Anyway, the coffee ground issue seems to have resolved itself. I must have gotten them all when I thoroughly cleaned the holder and chamber. Thanks for your suggestions.

Hello all,

I have a Keurig Platinum (B70). I read in this thread that the "pre-wet" method will not work. I went ahead and gave it a try anyway because I've been looking for a way to get strong brews when using the My K-Cup. This method seemed to work as described, and I got a decent brew (slightly stronger but still pretty weak). Someone posted earlier in the thread that this method would not work because the B70 would "reset". I did not experience this. Is it possible that Keurig has modified this model since this thread was started?

I remember reading in my manual when I first got the unit that you could open the handle to stop the brew cycle. Every time I've tried that in the past, the brew has continued when the lid was then re-closed. I've never seen it "reset".

Can anyone else with a B70 comment?

Thanks!!!

If you have a model with a cup sensor, rather than opening the top after water starts to flow, could you instead remove the mug at that point?

I'm new to Keurigs and perhaps most models lack such a sensor, though based on my reading I thought this was the purpose of the cup sensor.

astro_girl, that's an interesting idea. I'd assumed the mug sensor established a condition on the *start* of brewing only, but I've never tested to see if it works mid-brew. My prediction is that it won't. Anyone know for sure?