# [2011] K-Cup mild coffee?



## Elan (Dec 30, 2011)

I got my mom a Keurig single serve for Christmas.  She seems to like it, but she doesn't like strong coffee, which is what she's had from it so far (included sampler plus some stuff my nephew bought her).  Can someone please recommend a good mild roast coffee (unflavored) in K-Cup?


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## stmartinfan (Dec 30, 2011)

I generally like the Caribou coffee one, if it's available in your area. I can't remember the specific name, but they have a basic blend that's not overly roasted.

 In general, though, she may be having an issue with the fact that these use more coffee per cup than she's probably used to using in a regular brew pot.  I know my mother-in-law always thinks our brewed coffee is too strong - and we use a mild columbian blend.  She's just used to "church basement" style coffee.

If that's the issue, doesn't Keurig make an insert that allows you to put in your own coffee instead of using the prepared pods?  That way she could adjust the amount of coffee being used to brew a cup.


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## chellej (Dec 30, 2011)

Yes they do....I have one of the reusable - there are several syles and you can adjust it to where you like it


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## Elan (Dec 30, 2011)

stmartinfan said:


> I generally like the Caribou coffee one, if it's available in your area. I can't remember the specific name, but they have a basic blend that's not overly roasted.
> 
> In general, though, she may be having an issue with the fact that these use more coffee per cup than she's probably used to using in a regular brew pot.  I know my mother-in-law always thinks our brewed coffee is too strong - and we use a mild columbian blend.  She's just used to "church basement" style coffee.
> 
> If that's the issue, doesn't Keurig make an insert that allows you to put in your own coffee instead of using the prepared pods?  That way she could adjust the amount of coffee being used to brew a cup.



  Yes, she's definitely "old school" when it comes to coffee.  My parents drank Folgers from the 3lb can most of their lives -- first percolated and then dripped.  

  I'm aware of the "fill your own" option.  But I'd prefer to let her try a few of the milder pre-packaged blends before she goes that route.  After all, one of the primary attractions of these type of machines is ease of use.


  And thanks for the Caribou rec.  I just read the Amazon reviews of a couple of their blends and they sound like they might be a good choice.


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## ace2000 (Dec 30, 2011)

I found the k-cups too strong also for me.  I just run the water through the same k-cup two times.  That does it.  I also stay away from all the bold flavors.


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## ricoba (Dec 30, 2011)

I just tried some Caribou Nantucket blend and Tullys House blend.  Both were pretty mild.

There are lots of user reviews on the Keurig site for all the blends/roasts.


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## tompalm (Dec 30, 2011)

Some of the machines have a switch where you can select mild, med, strong.  All that switch does is add 8, 10, or 12 oz of water.  That might work for you.


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## MommaBear (Dec 30, 2011)

Green Mountain Roasters Breakfast Blend and Nantucket blends..


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## Elan (Dec 30, 2011)

Thanks for the additional responses.  

  I told her, when she opened the present, that she could always add more hot water if she found the coffee too strong.  But that solution still doesn't necessarily address the bitterness inherent in some of the bolder blends.   

  I'm pretty sure her machine only brews an 8oz cup.


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## SDKath (Dec 30, 2011)

Our work keurig brews a small cup, medium cup and large cup (8, 10 and 12oz).  That seems to make more and more watery coffee as you go up in size.  Would you consider exchanging it to one of those type of keurigs for her?  

Also, the green mountain coffees are pretty weak (I know because I like mine BOLD so I really don't like the green mtn ones, LOL).

Katherine


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## gnorth16 (Dec 30, 2011)

Timothy's Breakfast blend is mild.  

Might just be in Canada, not really sure ???


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## learnalot (Dec 30, 2011)

Green Mountain Coffee's Breakfast Blend is pretty smooth and mild.  Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohls and Macys all stock a pretty decent selection of flavors.  I think they started making Folgers K cups as well - those you will find at a grocery store.


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## ricoba (Dec 31, 2011)

Anybody try the new Starbucks K cups?


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## isisdave (Dec 31, 2011)

At work we have about 12 kinds, and I like Donut House. It's a pretty typical American roast and comes in regular and decaf. There's also a "Cinnamon Roll" variant, which is tasty, but it's a light roast and I find it hard to convince myself that it is in fact coffee.


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## ampaholic (Dec 31, 2011)

If you just open the k-cup holder and close it again on the same k-cup and put another coffee cup under it - it will come out weaker than the first cup and you can mix them together for the strength you like


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Dec 31, 2011)

ricoba said:


> Anybody try the new Starbucks K cups?


My sister has a Keurig and I got some of the Starbucks K-cups when I was visiting her earlier this month.  I got the bold Sumatra.  

Now, I normally brew Starbucks Sumatra in a drip maker at home - grind the beans and the brew the coffee.  So after using my sister's Keurig with the Starbucks K-cups I could make some direct comparisons.  And these were my reactions.

- there is a significant loss of flavor with the K-cup.

- the cost of the K-cups as compared with buying the same coffee is atrocious.  For the same price I paid for a 10-pack of the K-cups I could buy 12 oz. of the same bulk coffee, which would yield close to 100 cups of my regular brewed coffee.  And I brew it pretty strong.

- to get something I thought was decent I took to using the small coffee cup setting of the Keurig, and brewing two packs into a mug.  Of course that made the economics of the K-cup even worse.

- My sister had one of the "make your own" inserts. I went to Caribou and bought one of their extra bold roasts and used that in the insert.  I was still using the small cup setting with a fully loaded insert. The improvement in quality was evident.

- Drinking two large mugs of coffee in the morning, emptying, cleaning, and reloading the insert for each cup of coffee took a lot more time than it would have taken to make the same amount of coffee with a drip maker.  Since the point of the Keurig is convenience, it doesn't make sense to buy a Keurig if you're going to use the insert all of the time while drinking a couple of mugs of coffee in the morning.  Less convenient and lower quality.​
Obviously, a Keurig is not for me.  But Santa brought me a Zojirushi 10-cup drip maker that brews directly into a thermal carafe.  Vastly easier than using the Keurig for my purposes, better quality, and the coffee in the carafe stays hot for hours.  So my feeling is that the Keurig is OK for one or two cups of coffee if you're just looking an OK cup of Joe.  If you drink more and want great coffee stick with the drip or go to a press.  The press is particularly nice if you only want one or two cups, which many drip makers do not do very well on.  And the press and the coffee will be cheaper as well.


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## tompalm (Dec 31, 2011)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> - the cost of the K-cups as compared with buying the same coffee is atrocious.  For the same price I paid for a 10-pack of the K-cups I could buy 12 oz. of the same bulk coffee, which would yield close to 100 cups of my regular brewed coffee.  And I brew it pretty strong.
> 
> - to get something I thought was decent I took to using the small coffee cup setting of the Keurig, and brewing two packs into a mug.  Of course that made the economics of the K-cup even worse.



Good info.  I just bought a bag of Dunkin Donuts coffee at Costco and tried it in my drip coffee maker and it was excellent.  Consumer Reports gives it the highest rating.  I was wondering if the K-cups would make it better, but it sounds like it is better to brew your own.  Thanks for all the good info.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Dec 31, 2011)

tompalm said:


> I was wondering if the K-cups would make it better, but it sounds like it is better to brew your own.  Thanks for all the good info.



My opinion is that the K-cups do not make it better. With K-cups you are trading convenience for quality, and paying a handsome price for the convenience.


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## LUVourMarriotts (Jan 1, 2012)

I received a Keurig for Christmas this year.  I also found the coffee to be strong.  Here's what I do.  I have the model that has 3 different sizes (5.25, 7.25 and 9.25 oz) .  I put the K-cup in and pour 9.25oz.  I then pour that into a larger travel cup.  I then open and close the K-cup holder (without removing the K-cup).  Then I pour another 5.25oz into my cup, again, pouring that into the larger travel cup.  I then add cream/sugar and it is a very good cup of coffee, although large.  On a few mornings, when I didn't want that much, I just split it into a few cups, one for a later time.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Jan 1, 2012)

LUVourMarriotts said:


> I received a Keurig for Christmas this year.  I also found the coffee to be strong.



Interesting comment. I found the K-cup to be less potent (as well as less flavorful) than what I make with my drip coffee maker. For reference I use on tbsp. beans per 6 oz. cup of water added to the coffee maker.


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## bogey21 (May 8, 2016)

Too complicated for me.  I just load up my Mr Coffee before I go to bed at night and set it to start brewing at 6:45 am.   When I get up a little after 6:45 my coffee is ready to drink just like I like it.

George


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## Ron98GT (May 8, 2016)

I don't like strong coffee either.  I find the flavored coffees more to my liking:  French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Vanilla Cream Puff, Cinnamon/bun Roll, etc.

Also, what I do is use the strong button, that gives you less coffee, but I use the same K-Cup twice for that cup (you just have to lift the handle and put it back down.  That will give you more coffee/liquid in the cup, which over all will not be as strong.


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## dioxide45 (May 8, 2016)

Realize that this thread is from 2011/12 and was brought back to life by a spam post that has since been deleted.


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## Passepartout (May 8, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> Realize that this thread is from 2011/12 and was brought back to life by a spam post that has since been deleted.



True, but the basic premise is unchanged. Keurig is convenient, but at a high price. And if you want your coffee other than what THEY provide in the little pod, the convenience factor goes away too.

Jim


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## Ron98GT (May 8, 2016)

dioxide45 said:


> Realize that this thread is from 2011/12 and was brought back to life by a spam post that has since been deleted.





No I didn't, but a lot of things have changed over the last 4 years, which include the Keurig machines, prices, patents that have expired, reusable K-cups, and all of the flavored coffees that are now available, along with availability at the grocery stores. And don't forget the big price drop for K-Cups: under 33 cents/cup now.


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## donnaval (May 8, 2016)

Love my Keurig but never buy the k-cups.  I use one of the refillable ones.  Since I drink only one cup most days, it works out perfectly.  I was surprised to realize on my recent trip while using the timeshare's Mr. Coffee style coffee maker, how much MORE coffee is required to make a cup or two in a regular pot versus my refillable k-cup.  Plus, it was difficult to make only one cup in that pot, so I made two every morning and ended up wasting the second cup most days.  I mix up my own blend of coffee that I love, and really enjoy my one cup a day - wouldn't go back to that old-style pot for anything.


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## easyrider (May 12, 2016)

We liked our Seattle Best k cups but not too long ago, at one of our timeshares, we used the Mr Coffee and Folgers. Folgers was my coffee for 35 + years. I could tell we both really missed it so we switched back. Had to buy a new Mr Coffee which is actually pretty nice. I can brew time it to start before I wake. Sometimes, especially when my parts ache, the best part of waking up is Folgers in my cup, and some aleve. 

Bill


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## Sugarcubesea (May 13, 2016)

If you have an Aldi near you, they have a light roast blend for $4.99 for 12 K-Cups and this blend is perfect for me... I also do not like strong coffee...


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## bogey21 (May 13, 2016)

easyrider said:


> Had to buy a new Mr Coffee which is actually pretty nice. I can brew time it to start before I wake. Sometimes, especially when my parts ache, the best part of waking up is Folgers in my cup, and some aleve.



I'm with you on the waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee using my Mr Coffee.   Rather than Folgers I use a strong Columbian coffee.  I love the smell, the taste and the instant gratification by using my Mr Coffee.

George


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