SingleServeCoffee.com Forums

[MichFan]

I have had the Caribou Blend and Daybreak Blend. Just not enough to fairly rate/review. My wife loved the Daybreak, which means I'd probably give it a 6 or 7. I don't remember the Caribou Blend. Sorry! I primarily just buy extra bold KCups now, and was disappointed that Caribou didn't make all of their KCups this way.

[MichFan]

Added the 2 new Emerils:

French Quarter Roast -- I like this one, but only when black or with a touch of sugar. For me, milk/cream just doesn't taste good with it, not sure why. I noticed in another thread that people were disappointed with it. Maybe because they were expecting another Big Easy Bold. For what it is, it is a good medium-dark roast coffee that leans darker than others in this range (e.g., CP Donut Shop, Newmans, CP Cowboy Coffee).

Vanilla Bean Bam -- Jay's review nailed it. Big aroma creates great expectations, then disappointment as soon as it hits the lips. The vanilla flavor is too weak. The coffee they paired it with is weak and acidic. Not a good match. That said, my wife likes it and asked me to order more

[MichFan]

Hard to believe it's been 6 months since I've updated this, but new KCups have become a rare sighting...

Timothy's Donut Blend has certainly been the most highly anticipated KCup I can remember, and I'm going on 4 years with Keurig. With high anticipation comes high expectations. Unfortunately, this blend fails miserably. When I think donut shop coffee, I think of a smooth coffee with an inherent sweetness, medium roast and enough body to hold up to a hearty dose of cream and sugar. For starters, this KCup has a regular portion of coffee -- it is not extra bold. It is light roast coffee. At a normal/8oz. drop it looks like tea in a cup, is quite weak and has basically no character. At a small/6oz. drop there is still very little to enjoy about this KCup -- no character, little flavor and a bitterness on the backend that does not belong with a light roast coffee. It is passable with the addition of cream and sugar. The only two things I have good to say about this KCup are that the aroma is quite nice and the graphic design on the packaging is fantastic. My advice would be to stick with Coffee People's Donut Shop.

I have to admit that I am starting to get bored with Keurig. I still am a believer in the system, but the following nitpicks have continued on and I'm amazed that Keurig and their partners haven't addressed them over the years:

- Why hasn't Keurig changed the standard for all KCups to be the extra bold size? The brewers have grown from 8oz. to 10oz. to 12oz., yet roughly 60%-70% of the KCups available are only drinkable at the 6oz. drop. There are simply too many KCups that could be really good at EB strength, yet Keurig and their roasting partners seem content to live with mediocrity. To make matters worse, GMCR recently shut down Bellacino, which were some of the better flavored KCups available.

- What is going on with the KCup/distribution-side of the business? It seems as though the format is fracturing into four camps: GMCR/Tullys/Caribou; Diedrich/Coffe People/GJs; Timothy's; and Van Houtte. There are now 12-packs, 18-packs, 24-packs, 50-packs and 60-packs depending upon the roaster and supplier. On one hand -- I like the variety and think the differentiation among these camps may foster improved innovation. On the other hand -- in the last year we have seen many KCups eliminated, few added and I haven't noticed any benefit on the consumer side (please don't suggest that offering a 12-pack of GMCR KCups for $8 at a grocery store is a benefit to consumers). Additionally -- I can't end this section without complaining yet again that Van Houtte is still not widely available in the US.

- What is the future for the hardware side of Keurig? The brewer has been essentially the same core technology for years now (other than a changed needle design), is this as good as it gets? I've had a brewer for 4 years -- I never kept a drip brewer for that long. I simply can't justify going from a B60 to a B70 or Breville. What is going to excite me into buying another Keurig brewer? Is Keurig going to take on the espresso-based drink market or wait for a competitor like Tassimo and Dolce Gusto to finally succeed at coffee?

[MichFan]

Just to continue my rant a little further -- today's announcement is that GMCR is excited to let us know that we can now buy all four of their KCup brands at one checkout. Is this really something that the Keurig format (owned by GMCR) should be celebrating this many years into existence? You'd think places like Keurig.com and CoffeeWiz never existed.

And Jay, come on man ... calling this genius? I'll assume you were kidding, an emoticon might help there.

[NDJollyMon]

I'm hearing you ol' buddy!
You bring up some great points. I'm a little confused at what is going on myself.

Timothy's would have better off making a Donut Blend that was medium/drk and extra bold. No question about it. Maybe Tully's can put out a Donut Blend? I'm not totally in love with Tully's either though.

GM really needs to expand the Extra Bold lines. Not enough choices at all. Many of the EB's that are out there....I don't like. (IE....dark roasts) I'd love to see more SEASONAL offerings as well. (and not flavored Seasonals) GM's site is always the LAST to get new K-cups, or add lines that they own in the first place. WTH?
_________________
Pete (Jolly) -
Forum Moderator
____________
Keurig: B130 ~ (2) B-50's ~ (1) B-60 SE
Cuisinart SS-1
2-Handpresso Wild/Handpresso DomePod (Portable Espresso)
1-Fresh Roast Plus 8 Coffee Roaster
GSI JavaDrip
Bodum French Press

[jbviau]

Good post, Mich. I'd also like to see more single-origin k-cups (extra bold, of course). There are just too many blends. Van Houtte is something of an exception. Finally, a My K-cup that's actually the size of a k-cup, easy to clean, and doesn't require changing the k-cup holder would be wonderful. The proliferation of lids/caps/other gadgets for filling used k-cups with one's own coffee tells me that whoever meets this need will make a killing. You don't hear from too many people who reuse k-cups here, but in other groups it's all the rage.
_________________
Grindmaster OPOD, Keurig B40, Nespresso D90, Clever Coffee Dripper + Hario Skerton mill
Josh's Pod Guide, K-cup Line-up, and Nespresso Encapsulation

[MichFan]

Thanks, Jolly and jbviau. Re: selection of coffee roasts and single origins -- it makes me wonder if roasters believe in the quality of the format. GMCR tours the world to find high quality beans for their premium reserve program, but doesn't make them available in KCups. Roasters limit Kona blends to 10% Kona. No one has tested the market with a premium coffee KCup. I can only surmise that roasters find it a waste of good beans to package them in a KCup. I guess I'm just frustrated that, what was a high end brewer/format when I bought it, has become overly fixated on WalMart, Mr. Coffee and mediocrity.

[jbviau]

[NDJollyMon]

Maybe we should start pestering Green Mountain / Keurig with our thoughts...
_________________
Pete (Jolly) -
Forum Moderator
____________
Keurig: B130 ~ (2) B-50's ~ (1) B-60 SE
Cuisinart SS-1
2-Handpresso Wild/Handpresso DomePod (Portable Espresso)
1-Fresh Roast Plus 8 Coffee Roaster
GSI JavaDrip
Bodum French Press

[MichFan]

Timothy's Kahlua:

The aroma is very appealing as it brews. In the mug there is a bit of an off-odor that develops, not a problem and I have also noticed this with some other flavored coffees (e.g., GJ's Butter Toffee, Timothy's German Chocolate Cake).

The flavor is pleasing. It does not exactly match what I get when adding Kahlua to coffee -- it's a bit more caramelly/toffeeish, and less "warming" due to the lack of alcohol. It's still good though. Cream and sugar definitely bring out the most flavor.

I find it very unfortunate that they did not make this an extra bold coffee and pair it with more of a medium roast coffee. Like many flavored coffees with Keurig, this is all about the flavor and little about the coffee. I gave it an "8" as is. Timothy's could have a 10 on their hands if they came out a Kahlua Dark and Bold, similar to what GMCR did with Hazelnut.

[jbviau]

[MichFan]