Adventures in Coffee: The K Cup Saga - Part 1 The Journey

If you are like me and like your coffee freshly brewed (3 in 1 instant coffee sachets are a last resort for me) in the morning, with no muss and no fuss and hate estimating how many scoops of coffee powder you need, dealing with coffee grounds or filter paper, especially when you haven't gained consciousness for the most part, then this post is for you. 
For me, I recently moved into a new place and started my search for a coffee maker that would meet my needs. 


OPTIONS AVAILABLE:
I checked out the various options available locally:

1. Nespresso capsule machines: Really nice capsule machines but also expensive. The models range anywhere from a basic set which costs about S$398 all the way to the advanced machines costing thousands of dollars. 
2. Easy Serving Espresso (ESE) machines: These are manual expresso machines, which you have to operate like how a Barista does it at Starbucks. The Easy Serving Espresso pads look a bit like small doughnuts with the Coffee powder sealed with Filter paper.  Cheapest Delonghi model was S$155.
3. Automatic Grinder & Brewer espresso machines (Brands include Krups, Saeco, Delonghi, Juras): These take in whole coffee beans, and grind and brew a cup of coffee at the touch of a button. Cheapest one I saw cost S$799 *ouch*  

Option 3 was rejected because of the exhorbitant prices of the machines. Way out of my budget but if you have that kind of money to splurge, go ahead. I would if I could. But do note, there is still regular maintenance to be done: 

1. you still have to clear the sump (with the used coffee powder)

2. Clean the dripping tray

3. Clean the frother (if the machine has this option for frothing milk to make lattes etc) so it is not choked

4. Descale the machine

Remember also not to load in too many coffee beans into the machine if your usage is low as those beans even if left unused would lose their freshness.

Option 2 was rejected although it was cheap and coffee is good because it was too much of a hassle for regular daily use. This is the closest to the filter coffee maker except the coffee already comes in ESE pads which makes it easier to dispose. Do check this option out if you are looking for a cheap machine that makes great coffee and don't mind the hassle of brewing it.


Option 1 was my favoured option but I was put off by 
1. The price of the machines
2. The lack of flavours due to the proprietary system (locally they have made available 16 regularly available flavours of which only 4 are strong) and I like my coffee strong. 


NEW OPTION: I started searching for options online and discovered Keurig K-Cup brewers. Similar to Nespresso machines in that they are using proprietary capsules but they have the advantage of a large variety of flavours as quite a few companies (Tully's, Gloria Jean, Timothy's Coffee, Wolfgang Puck to name a few) produce coffee in this format. They also have Tea and Cocoa options.


DECISION, SHIPPING & ACQUISITION : 
I could not find a local (Singapore) distributor for Keurig and emailed Keurig in the US. They replied that they do not ship their machines out of the US. So late last year I decided to take the plunge and import a Keurig B40 Elite Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing Machine and a few boxes of capsules to Singapore from the US.



As most US sites do not ship directly to Singapore, I had to use a Shipping Middleman / Concierge Service to get it shipped to me. The concept is simple, with this service, you would ship the items to a US based address as given by the company you choose and they will charge you the shipping charges for forwarding the package back to your address in Singapore. Some sites which offer this service are: 

• Vpost: Offered by Singapore post but the rates are no longer competitive and I personally find the service really lacking( but that is another story)
• Borderlinx:Offered to Citibank card members, they use DHL to ship the stuff back to you in Singapore. 
• Hop-shop-go / Comgateway.com: Hop-shop-go is a Comgateway account  that uses Paypal as the mode of payment. Paypal users currently get 10% off the shipping price

Shipping tip: Please take note that Singapore Customs (ICA) charges a 7% GST charge on all imported items if the combined value of the imported item and shipping cost (The actual term is Cost, Insurance and Freight or CIF for short) is S$400 and above. Sometimes it may be more worth your while splitting up a shipment then trying to send it all at once.


Unforeseen issue:Transformers - More than meets the Eye
When the package arrived, I was excited to try it out so I hooked it up to an electrical socket with my usual voltage transformer adapter (to step down the 240 volts socket to 110 volts for the machine)  I had used previously.
Bad, bad move as a few minutes into heating up the water in the machine, it shorted out with a loud pop, (there was a little smoke and a burnt smell) and tripped the circuit breaker in my home. Needless to say my Dad was not pleased. I then did a quick check on the internet and found out that I needed a 1500W step down voltage transformer to work the machine. These are square or rectangular shaped metal boxes (they resemble Computer power supplies).


I didn't have the time to shop around in Sim Lim Tower (a place to find electrical components in Singapore ) so I bought my 1500w voltage transformer from Home-Fix hardware store in Ang Mo Kio Hub shopping centre. It set me back S$180. My advice is especially for heating devices, don't be penny-wise pound-foolish and buy a cheap travel adapter that claims to do the same thing which may end up causing an electrical fire. 


Purchase tip:  Please check the wattage (and voltage) of the appliance that you are importing from another country before you plug in your power voltage transformer.


Finally it's working ....
Once I plugged in the voltage transformer with the machine, I could finally prime the machine (MUST DO before 1st use). It's similar to the way you would brew the coffee with this machine but without inserting the coffee capsule. After that, I tried it out with my first coffee capsule. Needless to say how happy I was, I was doing fist pumps!! haha 


To be continued - Part 2 How-to, the Flavours and The Verdict