Customer Reviews

Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter

5 star:		(342)
4 star:		(167)
3 star:		(113)
2 star:		(106)
1 star:		(233)

 

 

Being frugal (all right, cheap) by nature, I held off on buying a single-serve coffeemaker until I could find one I liked that offered a reusable filter. When Keurig came out with the B-40 Elite, a handsome, reasonably priced unit, and announced that it would be releasing its "My K-Cup" reusable filter for separate sale early in 2006, I was primed. As soon as I saw this product on Keurig's website, I was ready to buy my new coffeemaker from Amazon.com and the filter from Keurig's web site. My only wish was that Amazon.com would stock the reusable filter so buyers could purchase the coffeemaker and filter in one fell swoop, and here my wish is about to come to pass!

I have had my Keurig B-40 Elite for about a month now, and I've had great success with it. Bear in mind that if you're using the reusable filter, you must first remove the black plastic K-Cup holder from the unit's filter assembly (instructions on how to do this are included with "My K-Cup"; the black piece in the coffeemaker's filter basket doesn't act like it's supposed to come out, but it is, and it does).

Also, I've read elsewhere that some people don't like having to remove the reusable filter and clean it out after every use. However, I've found it to be a relatively simple affair: the reusable filter doesn't drip when you remove it, and takes about 30 seconds to rinse out after each use. You can use it again right away to brew successive cups.

One caveat is that the output splashes a bit when using the My K-Cup filter, so I always have a damp paper towel at the ready when I brew a cup. That having been said, I'm really happy to be using my own coffee and saving lots of money in the process. Those who are, like me, loathe to shell out 55 cents a cup for K-Cups will probably really like the new My K-Cup.

After reading many reviews about the problems with the My K-Cup and experimenting on my own, I have found an easy solution to the problem of weak coffee using this filter. As others have noted, the water goes through the My K-Cup way too fast as compared to the K-Cups. My solution was to take apart a K-Cup and use the outer plastic shell with the My K-Cup filter. Here's all you need to do:

Take a used K-Cup and cut the top foil off of a K-Cup. Cut the paper filter out of the K-Cup. It's okay not to cut it all the way off of the rim of the K-Cup because you will need to cut the top of the K-Cup (where it gets wider at the top). You need to cut the top of the K-Cup off because you need to fit the K-Cup shell into the My K-Cup holder. Once you slide the bottom shell of the K-Cup into the holder, you can add your coffee into the My K-Cup (tapping or gently pressing the coffee so that it is not loose inside the filter). Then place the My K-Cup filter into the holder and cover as normal. When brewing, the K-Cup shell surrounds the My K-Cup filter and slows down the water by making it pass through the punctured hole that the prepackaged K-Cup normally uses.

The great thing about this is that you can re-use the K-Cup shell that you cut apart over and over so once you have cut one apart you don't have to worry about it again- use the My K-Cup as you normally would.

I'm hoping Keurig will have figured this out in the near future and add a premade piece that is included the My K-Cup, but until then, I have found that this solves the problem of weak coffee.

So I bought this filter, installed it, and when I made my first cup of coffee water splashed everywhere and I got a ton of coffee grounds in my coffee. After playing with it for a while and wasting almost 10 cups of coffee, I finally figured out how to fix it.

There is a needle on the top that, when the handle is closed, inserts into the hole in the reusable filter. Surrounding this needle is a rubber gasket. Gently pull this gasket down a little bit. Be careful, not to pull it off completely. Once I did that no more mess and better tasting coffee.

Let me start out by saying that I love my Keurig brewer. It brews a great cup of coffee (GMCR Dark Magic is my fav) and the convenience can't be beat. However, I've always felt a little guilty every time I throw out a used K-Cup. It seems like they're not only completely UNrecycleable, but totally UNbiodegradeable as well.

Enter the My K-Cup reuseable filter. Yes, it takes a little practice to fill up the mesh filter with grounds without making a total mess, and sure it takes a few seconds of rinsing when finished. But the result is a great cup of coffee and no guilt trip about filling the landfill with punched out K-Cups. And if you're feeling reckless, it's an easy switch back to those good ol' prefab cups.

I'd recommend this to anyone with a compatible brewer. It's not that much more of a hassle to use, the results are excellent, and there's no waste. Oh yeah, it's also a whole lot cheaper to fill these with your favorite pre-ground GMCR blend (Dark Magic baby!) than to buy the equivalent number of cups.

The only negative that I've seen is a tendency for more "sludge" to get through to the bottom of your cup. Watch that last sip, it's a doosy!

I have gone through a few of these as have many other reviewers...but I think I see why these break so often: You must run your finger over the top of the basket to remove extra coffee grains so that the lid goes on easily. If you don't you can still get the top on, but it puts pressure on the plastic lips that hold it together. So a bit of care in keeping the basket top clean (a quick finger swipe is all you need) will save you from having to buy these often.

So I, like everyone else, bought the Keurig because it was the only unit on the market that offered the choice of either using the proprietary coffee pods or your own coffee. I am a heavy user (grad student) and would simply not be able to afford the actual k-cups all the time. I now keep them around for visiting friends or those days when I need to brew a quick cup before going somewhere (of course I splurge every now and then and have a couple of cups of Coffee People Jet Fuel or Black Tiger).

My K-Cup has saved me loads of cash and to date, it has lasted 6 months of heavy use (6 to 10 cups per day) I am not sure how folks are breaking theirs regularly. Below are some hints that I use for brewing a strong cup of coffee.

1. Best Cup of Coffee. First you must start with good coffee to brew good coffee. Max-house just isn't going to do the trick. The strongest mass-market brand I have found is Folgers Black Silk which may be good for those who like it semi-strong. I find, however, that purchasing premium coffee by the pound is still much cheaper than the branded k-cups. For real strong coffee you should experiment with "SB" Italian Roast, French Roast and Espresso Roast found in your local grocery store or here on Amazon. Not to mention if you read the coffee bag closely you will discover that an empty bag can be traded for free cup at your local SB store. I also find that if I buy the bag in whole bean and use the store's self-serve grinder to grind it down to the setting right between drip (course grind) and espresso (fine grind), I get a better brew out of the My K-cup. Be advised however, at the bottom of your coffee cup will likely have some very fine grinds in it (not at all like getting regular grounds in your coffee, these will be very fine and mostly noticeable by sight alone when all the coffee is gone).

2. Rapid Fire Use of a Single My K-cup. Now, everyone knows that when the big name coffee chain store makes your espresso, they do not wash out the little handle thing that the grounds go in. instead, they simply bang it in the trash and refill it with fresh grounds and then brew. So why would we insist on rinsing with water every time we want to make a successive cup of coffee. Instead, here is what I do: Take the filter basket over to your trash can and hold it upside down with two fingers. Now flick the plastic between the screens (all 4 of them) a time or two. Then give one final flick on the bottom and it should be clean enough to simply fill it back up again and brew another cup. For the first brew of the day, I usually do a full cleaning of My K-Cup. An additional hint is that I bought a nice stainless steel canister to hold my bulk bought coffee and I use a stainless steel teaspoon measuring spoon as my scooper. Using a teaspoon scooper allows me to get coffee into the filter basket without getting it all over the sides of My K-cup and the counter.

Unfortunately you really need one of these things to use your Keurig properly unless you are dedicated to spending lots of money and killing the environment with K-cups. These things last us about 2-3 months max. They are so poorly made that they seem designed to break after a certain time period. I have gone through three so far. The plastic latches that hold the top on just break off and crumble away, no matter how carefully you screw on the lid. Then your coffee spills over the sides when you brew it. However the cost of continuously replacing these things is likely offset by the savings of not using k-cups which are currently overpriced.

This makes a very weak cup of coffee. The design is completely different from a k-cup, with the water flowing practically straight through the device and picking up very little flavor from the coffee grounds. I just scanned through 30 pages of reviews on this item and managed to root out a few possible things to try before we give up on it(which I really don't want to do because I can't stand using all of that plastic that can't be recycled).

1 - Take a used, disposable K-Cup and cut it to size so that it can drop into the bottom of the My K-Cup. This was described by another reviewer as: removing the foil cover from the disposable K-Cup; empty it and cut out the paper filter (don't worry about it being perfect around the top); cut off the rim around the top so that it can drop into the reusable My K-Cup. Basically, this slows down the water's ability to leave the My K-Cup to the speed of an actual K-Cup, allowing for the water to actually pick up flavor from the coffee grounds.

2 - Use coffee that finely ground and somewhat packed into the filter (after having placed the cut piece of the disposable K-cup in the bottom).

Here's hoping it works! Either way, you shouldn't have to go through all this effort and work-arounds to get a brand new item to work properly.

*EDIT* We did try this method and my husband is pretty pleased with the results. It made a significant difference in the strength of the coffee flavor. I'm not sure he thinks it's as nice as the prepackaged containers but it's a cheaper, more environmentally sound solution that he's happy with.

I was excited to find this filter because I love Dunkin Donuts coffee, but also love the convenience of being able to make just one cup of coffee at a time in my Keurig coffee pot. I was sure that this was going to be the best of both worlds, but it wasn't. I'm not sure what the difference is in using the reusable filter and the pre-packaged K-Kups, but when using the reusable filter the coffee is very weak. It looks like dirty water, not coffee. Each time I used the filter I used more coffee, but the coffee was always as weak as dishwater. In looking into the filter after brewing, the majority of coffee was just pushed to the side, and the water flowed straight through the middle, leaving just a small hole in the coffee, while most of the coffee was untouched. I am very disappointed in this product.

I've had my Keurig for 2 years, and my re-usable K-cup for 1 year. It works perfectly just as it is, as long as you don't overfill it and follow the directions.

Oh, wait...mine didn't HAVE directions.

When I first got it, I won't lie...I screwed it all up. The blasted thing didn't have directions, so I thought the cute little basket went right into the K-cup part of the Keurig. I had not a clue that the black K-cup holder part with the needle that pokes the bottom of the K-cup had to come OUT of my Keurig to put the gray part in.

I made a huge mess.

So, here are the directions for everyone else, so you don't have to be a dummy like me:

1. That place in your Keurig where K-cups normally go? Yeah, it actually comes out of the machine. Really, it does. There are three little tabs you have to push on the rim of it to pull it out. Get that thing out of there. It's not difficult, so if you're being rough with it, stop. It comes out pretty easily. Be careful you don't gouge yourself with the stabby-thingies in the machine.

2. Open up your reusable gray K-cup filter, wash it, and put about a tablespoon of coffee in there. If you like it strong like me, I suggest a finer grind. If you use Folgers, put it on a smaller cup setting or you won't get it very strong. This little bugger is made for just one cup at a time (whereas I can usually get one big cup or two little cups out of a disposable K-cup).

3. PUT THE LID BACK ON (!!!) the gray K-cup filter and put it into the spot where the regular black one usually lives (amazing, it fits!). Close it up and let 'er rip.

4. If you got coffee everywhere, you did something wrong. I know, I know...I didn't want to believe it either. Maybe you didn't put the lid on, or put the cute little basket into the machine without the gray part. Whatever. Either way, it's not the product's fault that you're dumb like me. :o) Start over, figure out what you messed up, and enjoy your coffee when you finally have that forehead-slap moment.