Traditional Keurig coffee makers dispense enough brew to fill six-ounce, eight-ounce, and 10-ounce cups. For many java lovers used to 12 ounces and up, that’s amateur hour. Now K-Cup fans can take more of coffee to go with Keurig Green Mountain’s K-Mug pods. Compatible with the company’s 2.0 single-serve hot brewer, which debuted last fall, the product delivers larger travel-sizes — 12-, 14-, and 16-ounce cups — without skimping on the flavor.
Also compatible with Keurig’s Vue brewing system, the pods operate off of the company’s scanning technology, which the company says ensures a perfect cup of coffee but also locks out competitors’ K-Cups.
Notably, K-Mug pods are also partially recyclable, as the plastic cups are constructed from polypropylene #5 (which isn’t recyclable in all areas); users still have to remove the lid and filter, though. Keurig has pledged to make all its K-Cup pod recyclable by 2020.
Right now, just five percent of its K-Cups are made out of recyclable plastic. Even K-Cups’ inventor, John Sylvan, went on record to say he regrets hatching the idea. And 2020 is too far away for many consumers. Competitors such as Canterbury Coffee, OneCoffee, and Ekobrew have been making biodegradable and reusable off-brand K-Cups for years, less expensively, too.
However, the 2.0 model won’t steep non-Keurig products, thwarting the use of rival products until recently. The Roger’s Family Company, owner of GourmetCoffee.com, and manufacturer of off-brand K-Cup pods, began offering a device free of charge that tricks up Keurig’s 2.0 machine. Dubbed The Freedom Clip, the gadget simply snaps on and fools its sensor into thinking every pod is a Keurig-brand K-Cup.
Looks like the battle of the brew systems is just getting started.
