Tuesday 22 February 2011

Adventures in Coffee: The K Cup Saga - Part 2 How-to, the Capsules & The Verdict


How to use a K-Cup machine:
Step by Step guide: 
1. Fill water into the water reservoir

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2. Once filled, Place Reservoir back into slot.
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3. Press power button to turn on machine (assuming main power is on and voltage transformer is also switched on) 
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4. Power light is green, Heating light is red indicating the water in the machine is being heated up.
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5. Once heated, the heating light goes off and the 2 cup size buttons start flashing in blue (left button for smaller cup, right button for bigger cup)
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6.Grip the grey handle and lift upwards to open the lid.
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7.Place the K-cup in the slot provided.
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8. Close the lid, place cup below the dispenser and press one of the flashing blue buttons
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9. The Coffee will then be dispensed into the cup within seconds. Just add sugar and milk to taste.
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Alternatively, you can check out the video below which shows how relatively easy and quickly I can get a cup of coffee in the morning with only basic motor & mental functions engaged *LOL*
The K-cups (Capsules)
The K cups comes in boxes of 22 like so (see below)
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Some of the brands offer samplers, boxes with different flavours (some examples are Butter Toffee, Swiss Chocolate Almond, Mudslide, Caramel Vanilla, Sumatran, Colombian Decaf, Italian, Kona Blend etc). Similar to Nespresso, they also offer seasonal (Limited Edition) flavours at certain times of the year: e.g. Egg Knog, Golden French Toast (see below)
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If you ship enough in bulk (4 to 6 boxes) even with the cost of shipping with the concierge service, the cost of each K cup works out to be about S$1 which is still acceptable to me. With the cost of living in Singapore on the rise, Coffee shops selling coffee close to $1, this doesn't look like a bad option.
The Backup Alternative 
People do ask me what happens if I run out of K-Cups? Well I did order the Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter (costs about US$10 to 15) which I can fill in with my own coffee powder should I ever run out of K Cups so I am still covered.
Overall Verdict
2 months in, despite the initial hiccup with the power, I am really happy with it so far. It has also unexpectedly become a great conversation piece to visitors to my house, especially with people who have the same passion for coffee.
Crossing my fingers that it lasts for a few years! 
Please feel free to leave comments, share your experiences or if you have any queries that you may have. Happy exploring !

Disclaimer: There is always inherent risk involved when importing these machines(or anything) to Singapore. 
There is a possibility that the what you import can be faulty due to damage in the course of shipping or if it already had a fault before it was shipped. 
These are not covered by international warranty so I am taking a risk when I import the machine. I would advise you not to try this if you are not prepared for these possibilities.

8 comments:

azurajohana said...

Hi, I just got mine delivered and the machine could not switch on. I didnt know what to do until I stumbled upon your blog. Your entry was a life saver! Am gonna purchase my power transformer tomorrow! Thank you!

gimj said...

Thank you for your kind words, it feels really good that my experience has helped others like yourself. Enjoy the Keurig :)

Rich102452 said...

I just brought one back from USA with me and had the same problem as you, I wish I saw your article first, I plugged it into a travel adapter like you and popped the breaker. I purchased a 1500 watt transformer and plugged in the coffee maker, nothing happened. I think something is burned up in the coffee maker someone said it could be an internal fuse. Do you know anyone who can take a look at it and fix it? I am going through coffee withdrawl. Thanks

linq1 said...

hi,
would like to ask where did you get your k cup coffee from? Amazon?
thanks again

gimj said...

Hi linq1,

I get my K Cups from Coffeecow.com

Amanda Lohiser said...

Hi! I'm an American expat living in Singapore. My dad sent me a Keurig as a surprise and I got the proper transformer (I think) from the awesome staff at the serviced apartment where I live. However, it always made a "buzzing" sound when I'd switch it on, and a week or so ago it made a POP and stopped working. The electrician proclaimed it dead, but I'm still holding out hope. Where would you recommend I take my Keurig to have it looked at? I'm thinking it might just be a blown fuse, and I'm also wondering if I need to get a different kind of transformer. Your advice on where I should go would be endlessly appreciated, from one coffee addict to another. I've been getting by by brewing K-cups in a tea pot and filtering the grounds through a k-cup whose bottom I've cut out with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors. I'm that desperate. Please help!

gimj said...

Hi Amanda, sorry to hear that. However, I have no idea where you could possibly get it repaired. Maybe you can try the yellow pages or classified ads and search for appliance repair? Sorry I can't be of more help.

Amanda Lohiser said...

Thanks for letting me know. I basically came to the conclusion that it would not be feasible to have it repaired in Singapore. I abandoned it before my flight home for the holidays, but plan to return to SG with a new Keurig - and a new transformer that I know is going to work with it! =D