So I broke down and ordered an Ekobrew reusable filter. My friend did some research on the best reusable filter for a Keurig, and she found that it had the best reviews, especially compared to the My K-Cup. So far, it’s working out moderately well for me. It seems silly, but I have to discipline myself to use it because I’m so used to just popping in a K-Cup, and voilá–easy, easy.
Too Fine a Grind
The flavor is good, but it’s been a bit rocky getting started with the little gizmo. First, I’m getting some grounds in my coffee since the grind is fine, so next time I’ll be sure to get a coarser grind. That’s the trickiest part: it says on the instructions not to grind with your own grinder because it will be uneven. Maybe grinding at the store is the way to go. I’ve also read that using a regular grind rather than a drip grind will yield better results, even though drip is what the Ekobrew recommends. See what I mean? Tricky.
Recently when I used my Ekobrew, I hit the 8oz brew setting and only got about 4-6oz of coffee. I think this can be attributed to the grind being too fine and too compacted. My bad. I ended up adding some hot water so it wouldn’t be too strong.
Note: if you’re curious, I used a bag of Italian coffee called Caffé Macinato which my sister-in-law sent from Naples.
Bad Coffee Fiasco
Today, I tried using my parents’ canned Safeway coffee that they left at my house. It looked like a pretty coarse grind, so I thought I’d see what the Ekobrew could make of it. It was terrible. The coffee splattered out of the machine, missing the mug some of the time and shooting out onto my countertop. To top it off, there were grounds in my coffee and the coffee tasted…well, words can’t quite capture how bad. The main thing I learned from this is that the grind has to be right (this grind was a mixture of coarse and fine). And that the Ekobrew will not make bad coffee taste good.
Cost Savings
While I’m mostly pleased with the quality of the brewing, I have to say that the best thing about the Ekobrew for me is the cost savings. I only paid $10.97 at Amazon (it’s more now), and I figure that after about 22 uses, it will pay for itself. (This is estimating the cost of K-Cups at 60¢ each and ground coffee at 10¢ per serving.)
One thing that’s kept me from buying an Ekobrew or other reusable filter is that I haven’t been confident in getting through a whole bag of ground coffee before it gets stale. Maybe I’ll do an update on this later.
Messy but Grateful
Another benefit is that the Ekobrew makes me appreciate my K-Cups even more. After doing all that “hard work” of filling up the filter and cleaning out the grounds, not to mention more cleanup of my Keurig (tends to be a little messy–drips more at the end of the cycle and gets the cup holder dirtier), I am always extra-grateful the next time I use a regular K-Cup. Pathetic, but true.
Conclusion
If you’re interested in cost savings, reducing the number of used K-Cups you throw in the trash, or brewing your own coffee one delicious cup at a time, give the Ekobrew a try. Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the manual labor though.
Want to know more of the nitty gritty details, how it works, etc? Scroll down at the Amazon page.
Thanks for the review, MaryBeth. I have been considering buying something like this for our Keurig so that I can buy Peet’s or Illy coffee.
I’m really glad it was helpful. I’ve always been curious about Illy…may need to finally give it a try.
I am returning the eco brew because it splatters coffee no matter what the grind setting is. It splatters because there is no drainage hole at the BOTTOM of the filter cup. This is the same flaw the 4-pak sold for $9.99 on TV has.
You see, the coffee filter is open mesh for the bottom 3/8inch. Water/coffee is forced out about 3/4inch above the coffee carafe, and 1-2 inches above the coffee mug or cup. The k-cups don’t splatter because the single bottom drainage hole gravity-directs the coffee to fall in a straight column instead of spraying out in 360°
I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond and was getting more K-Cups and looked at various holders to put ground coffee in. My daughter has the Keurig version and was not happy with the cleanup of leftover grounds. I ended up purchasing EZ-Cup, that uses little coffee filters. The initial device cost me $13 and it came with 5 filters. My first set of 50 filters cost $5. So, the first 55 cups cost $.34 + $.10 (your estimate of coffee cost).
Unfortunately, BB&B decided to not carry the filters anymore, so I had to mail order more and got 300 for @$35. So these filters add $.12 to the $.10 (your estimate of coffee cost). I have used ground coffee and coffee that I grind myself and have not have a problem with grounds leaking through or not getting the amount of serving that I requested.
I don’t care for very strong coffee and this device lets me put slightly less coffee grounds in it.
I agree that you need to put a good coffee in the EZ-Cup or you will just end up throwing the coffee drink out.
Thanks for the info, Susan. It’s really nice to know what options are out there.
I gave up on the Keurig EZ cup in favor of an Ekobrew. I stuff a piece of coffee filter in the bottom and use any of my favorite coffees from Whole Foods or Deans Beans. My results are better than with the commercial K cups. Saving 70% on the coffee is not too hard to take.
amm
As a follow-up to this post, I wanted to mention that I think using the Ekobrew had a negative effect on my Keurig brewer. It seemed to clog it up, and it started not working as well. A friend of mine had similar problems after using the Ekobrew. It may not be worth the cost savings after all.
Mary Beth, I had a problem with my ekobrew squirting and spraying from the cup and i thought it was clogged too, but it wasn’t. See my post for the quick and easy fix for that problem.
I was bummed that my ekobrew leaked but I found a quick and easy fix on ebay for 3 bucks. It’s a small part that goes into the Keurig compartment that fixes the problem. Search “Stop Leaks Guaranteed” on ebay.
Pingback: Making the Most of Your EkoBrew or Refillable K-Cup December 21, 2012
[…] too finely and you’ll end up with grinds in your cup. Keep in mind that settings aren’t universal across grinders. You may need to use a regular […]
Great post, Mary! I linked to it in my post about the Ekobrew.
http://www.coffeekrave.com/tips-for-making-the-most-of-your-ekobrew-or-refillable-k-cup/
That’s great! Thanks, Daniel.
Good to know! Thanks
From a Canadian perspective…
I used my Eko Brew reusable K-cup in my Keurig coffee maker for the first time this morning. I had bought a 3-pack from Amazon for $35.00 and gave one to my mother and my sister.
I bought a small bag of Starbucks French Roast, regular grind. Not bad. I need to make it a little stronger next time.There were no grinds in my cup. Next time I am going to buy the Van Houtte French Roast drip grind to see if there is a difference. It was easy to clean up, too; rinse and you are done.
Typically a k-cup will run you $0.45 to $0.85 per cup depending where you buy, and how much you buy. The Eko Brew ought to reduce the waste AND reduce the cost per cup (since you are back to using beans or grounds).
On sale, the Starbucks coffee worked out to $3.55 per 100g of coffee (about $7.95 for a 220g bag). The Eko brew requires 14 grams of coffee. That works out to (drumroll)… $0.50 cents per cup! No savings here, just less waste. Van Houtte is about the same price.
The Keurig brews coffee very efficiently, which makes me wonder how much people are actually spending on making a full pot. Clearly, premium name-brand coffees are very expensive. I haven’t calculated the cost per cup for the whole beans I bought at the local Italian grocery yet.
Also, based on the experiment, I will not be purchasing my Venti Americano from Starbucks ever again. Its highway robbery. But you already knew that.
Cheaper coffee like PC Gourmet brand in the 930g tin (on sale for $8.97) works out to $0.14 per cup. Not bad. And the coffee is okay.
Don’t get on my ass about fair trade and organic yet. Give me time.
Thanks for the great comment! This is really helpful.
Pingback: Keurig reuasble filter problems-Help with EkoBrew March 5, 2013
[…] had a problem with the water shooting in different directions as well as the coffee tasting bad. I Like My Ekobrew…I Think – K-Cup Barista Here is another one. If you scroll down there is a part about troubleshooting the EckoBrew: […]
It’s nearly impossible to find educated people about this topic, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about!
Thanks
I have experienced everything you stated! Thanks for info. 🙂
Ok…I love strong coffee, whats the best way to make strong coffee from my Cusinart/Keurig? I did put a gasket on top of the rubber gasket at the needle…Is the Ekobrew basket larger then the My K cup?
Thanks
Troy
Keurig makes a refillable unite as well, works better than the EkoBrew, but the bottom isn’t flat, so you have to hold it as you fill it. Search amazon, it’ll come up, well worth the money, IMHO. I’ve only used about 5 diff. Kinds of kips, but none were satisfactory in my mind. I’m in Portland, Oregon, so we’re pretty snobby about coffee, I want my Stumptown!!
Hey Jim…I do have the fillable unit, but the amount of coffee you can put in it is pretty small…im going from a French Press to this single serve…I just cant get it strong like the French Press….
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I have concluded that the best way to get an excellent cuo of coffee with a Keurig machine is by not using it for brewing. I have a Cuisinart K-cup model, and as a bit of a.coffee snob, am convinced that there is no single or combination of tricks that will ever give me what I want. I have long preferred the results of the simple Aeropress manual coffee maker, the only downside being the time to nuke the water. So while my less demanding wife uses the K-cup rig as it is intended, I use it simply to deliver instant hot water info a measuring cup I use for filling the Aeropress. There are pluses on all sides: It is much easier and less fussy to load the coffee grounds into the Aeropress than into the little reusable K-cups. It is also much easier to get the strength you want since the capacity for loading the grounds is unlimited. Cleaning the Aeropress after use is a breeze — you just remove the bottom and push out the compressed little “hockey puck” and paper disk with the same plunger. Using the macine for heating the water is not only faster, but able to deliver the exact temperature prescribed for best results by Aeropress. This hardly involves more time than filling and rinsing the reusable cups, and the taste results are far superior.
My experience is a bit different than Susan’s. I like a strong cup of coffee and find the Keurig method labor intensive to achieve it. The larger setting makes a weak cup. The middle setting stronger however a half cup of coffee in the morning is not very satisfying. The obvious solution is to use (2) K cups, a very expensive proposition, especially if you are accustomed to more than one cup per day. Obviously this process doubles the time required as well as the cost and you can’t walk away to do something else. You need to wait to refill the second K-cup!
I’ve tried the refillable cups, another time commitment to be added, and find that the faster brewing process in the Keurig weakens the coffee as opposed to the drip method. On occasion I’ve looked to see if the water even reached the coffee at the bottom of the refillable cup? It seems drier than the coffee at the top. Among the benefits are that the larger setting can be used and I almost get a full cup. I can press the 2oz setting after reopening the brewer to add more water but this causes an over-fill and more clean-up is necessary. I’m frustrated by this process when I consider that my loving daughter provided the Keurig coffee maker to her coffee loving dad for Christmas and I would like to be able to use it without all the fuss. Seems to me that the people who engineered this contraption might have considered a method to adjust the water for those who preferred a cup of coffee slightly different that theirs? A final note: Don’t throw away your old coffee brewer which has the capacity to brew more than one cup at a time. Just in case your guests would like a cup at the same time you enjoying yours that is!