With all the articles on how to score some great, but sometimes pricey coffee from Starbucks coupled with the fact that 99% of my tea consumption is from home, I thought I would look into writing about home coffee brewing alternatives. My search immediately pulled up a variety of articles on Starbucks products (maybe I should remove Starbucks from the search next time) and Keurig’s K-Cup.
Keurig K-Cup, What Is It?
In short, it is a prepackaged single-serving beverage brewing system. Each cup contains both filter and product necessary to make one cup. The entire system was created to create a consistent beverage in a convenient manner.
From there, things took a horrible turn.
Innovation vs. Sustainability
I was interested in these little cups, but my education took a turn while diving a little deeper. I found a few recent articles on Keurig that were not what I expected. This article from CNET and this one from The Motley Fool piqued my interest. Apparently all that convenience is turning into a multiple single servings of regret from the inventor, John Sylvan.
“I feel bad sometimes that I ever did it, it’s like a cigarette for coffee, a single-serve delivery mechanism for an addictive substance.”“No matter what they say about recycling, those things will never be recyclable. The plastic is a specialized plastic made of four different layers.”
John Sylvan speaking to The Atlantic
Ouch. Quickly after reading that, I stopped doing my research for my article. Just grab a pot, a filter (made of recycled content if possible) and run some hot water over it. Now I wonder how sustainable are all those little tea bags…time to pull out the infuser.
Lighten up your non-sustainable, containerized coffee mood with a little entertainment.
Photo Credit: Breakfvst