Keurig Shopping

Over the years, my taste in coffee has diverged from my wonderful wife's taste in coffee.  I prefer more dark, bold, strong coffee (Starbucks Kenya for example) and espresso, and she prefers more regular brews like Dunkin Donuts.

We decided when we moved here to Washington that we should buy a Keurig coffee maker so we could each make our own preferred kind of coffee.  In case you aren't familiar with them, a Keurig uses a small pre-packaged cup of coffee grounds and makes individual cups of coffee instead of a full pot (with the accompanying mess of coffee grounds and filters).

So there I was...

Standing in the aisle at the Navy Exchange examining the different models of Keurig coffee makers.

Decisions, Decisions...

It was a hard choice.  An old shipmate of mine happened by just then, and he and his wife recommended the smaller model (in the left on the picture) that doesn't have a reservoir.  You just pour in one cup of water at the top, push start, and it makes the coffee.  They warned me the ones with the reservoir have to pre-heat the water before it will make a cup.  I regret that I didn't fully understand what they were trying to tell me.  I did some quick research of user reviews on my Droid phone, and some people who bought the smaller one wrote that they wished they bought the bigger model with the reservoir, so I bought the second model from the left - the first one with a reservoir.

Now I understand what my friends were trying to tell me about pre-heating the water.

If I had to go back and make the decision again knowing what I know now, then I would have bought either one more model up from what I got or the smallest one that my shipmate recommended.

Here's the problem.

I wake up in the morning.  I stumble out to the kitchen wiping the sleep from my eyes.  I wince as my bare feet hit the cold kitchen tile.  I push the power button on the Keurig, and I quick-step stagger back to the living room carpet so the angry voices in my feet will stop yelling at me, "ow, ow, ow, it's COLD!"

I wait.

Eventually, the light comes on the Keurig, signaling the water is warm and ready to begin brewing.  My feet say, "No, no, no, no, nooooooo!" as I step back onto the cold tile and push the start button for it to start brewing my coffee.  Then I go get in the shower and get ready for work, and the coffee is ready for me when I am ready to leave for work.

It doesn't take long to brew.  It's just frustrating that it takes 2 button presses and there is a wait in between. 

I now see the value of having the next model up that actually has a timer in it, so you can set it to start at a given time in the morning - NO button pushing NOR waiting NOR any angry cold feet.

My feet would be much happier if I had bought the next model up.

Okay, okay, so maybe I should wear socks.