Adventures in Coffee Part 4 : Realcup Single Serve Cup - A better K Cup alternative?

The truth is I stumbled across Realcup Single Serve Cups while looking around for cheaper Keurig K-Cups. The claim is they are 100% compatible with Keurig K-Cup machines. The other claim is that they deliver a better taste experience than the K-Cup brands licensed under Keurig. Intrigued by the claim and the affordable price, I had nothing to lose by giving it a try, so I did. 
Being in Singapore, I shipped it in using a 3rd Party shipper (i.e. Hopshopgo) from the US. Slightly over a week later, a DHL delivery man passed me the package.  

Packaging

As you can see, it was well packaged so the cartons inside were in great shape.

Below you can see, I ordered 8 boxes of Realcups. To enjoy economies of scale, it really isn't worth your while to import to Singapore unless you get at least 6 or more boxes of single serve coffee capsules.

The Loot!

I'm not a fan of light and mild coffee, so I made sure I ordered mostly bold and extra bold coffees. Below pic shows the brands that are under the Realcup umbrella: Martinson's, Brown Gold, Marley Coffee and Higgins & Burke (Tea).

Clockwise from top left: Higgins & Burke Earl Grey Tea, Martinson's Dark Roast, Brown Gold Brazilian, Brown Gold Ethiopian, Martinson's French Roast and Marley Coffee's Variety Pack 

The Realcup - the real deal?

The only way to find out is to taste the coffee. I decided to start with the Marley Coffee Variety Pack. A total of 36 single serve cups that gives you a mix of 3 flavours (as below):

"Hey Mon, No Caffeine No Cry"

If you are wondering why the name sounds familiar. Let me affirm the family connection. Marley Coffee is run by Bob Marley's son Rohan. I'm not sure how Reggae and Coffee go together but I'm not complaining :) As you can see on the lids of the cups above, they come with cool names: Lively Up! (Espresso Roast),One Love (Medium Roast) and Get Up, Stand up (Light Roast). Marley Coffee even offers a Blue Mountain Coffee in a RealCup but I didn't get it yet and it is priced higher than these.  

I fired up my trusty Keurig B40 machine and popped in the Lively Up! Realcup into the K Cup slot. After the water was ready, I proceeded as normal to dispense my cuppa. 

As the coffee was filling up the cup. I noticed the espresso was aromatic and the fragrance was welcoming. From the picture below, you can see it is quite a dark colour.

The taste was pretty good actually. Far from disappointing, I found it slightly bolder than some of the bold coffee K Cups I had in the past. Definitely doesn't taste bad like instant coffee. Great first impression so far!

If you notice the pictures showing where the Realcup is punctured below, it resembles a normal K-Cup. 

But my tongue isn't as sensitive when it comes to coffee so I'm not sure if the better taste claim is valid. Apparently, Realcup employs a patented filter technology that allows more natural oils to flow into your cup to give a more authentic coffee flavour.

It will take me some more time to try the other Realcup flavours but if it is anything like the first one, then I would be pretty content. My wife did try the Higgins & Burke Earl Grey Tea and is starting to like the taste. I will try to update when I taste more of them.

Verdict: Realcups are shaping up to be a great value for money coffee option for Keurig K-Cup Machines. There are currently 4 to 5 brands under their stable, here's hoping they expand on that with more choices for the consumer, which is always welcome.

For a greater variety of RealCup options available, you can check out Alternative Coffee Solutions. They are also available at Amazon US too but you have to search the Brand names because some of them are not labelled as Realcups. 

Do share with me your experiences, thoughts and comments if you have any. As always, thanks for reading ! :)