Thing Review: Solofill reusable, refillable K-cup alternative - December 22, 2010

When I wrote this review, the Solofill was out of stock both on the main Solofill website and on Amazon (where I got mine because I have free Amazon Prime through the Amazon mom program). However, it is now back in stock or will be soon. And now, my review of the Solofill "Reusable Single Coffee Filter for Keurig Brewers."

It's awesome. Really.

It's red, which is nice, because red kitchen utensils are always fabulous. My Vitamix is red. My microwave oven is red. I like that. I'm superficial that way - but I would've bought this thing if it had been black or blue or purple.

Part of the reason I coveted a Keurig was that I knew that somehow I'd be able to use it with my own coffee, whether with a K Kap or a My K Cup or an EZ Cup or reusing the K Cups with foil or press-and-seal or...something. Obsessive Googling and researching led me to the Solofill, which is still a newcomer on the market for reusable K Cups, but it looked impressive. The only true competition is the My K Cup, which is made by Keurig itself, but I've read many bad reviews of it and the coffee it produces. Plus you have to remove parts and pieces from the brewer to use it. Do you know what happens when I have to remove parts and pieces from something to use something? I break that something or lose the parts and/or pieces. The Solofill doesn't make you do that. (The EZ Cup seems like another valid choice, but it requires you to also buy and use proprietary paper filters, where the Solofill is the filter so there's nothing more to buy.)

Really, I see some people saying that it's hard to use. I don't understand. I take the red plastic cup thingie. I dump in coffee to the fill line. I stick it in the machine. I push the button. Coffee comes out. Yes, when I open the machine back up, there's a puddle of water on top of the Solofill. So I carefully pull it out and pour off that water. Yes, it's hot when I take it out of the machine - so I wait a few minutes or I deal with it. K Cups are hot when I take them out too. Big whoop.

Now that I have a Solofill, I'm hoping to cut back on my purchases of K Cups. And yet...K Cups are so much fun, so easy to use, come in so many flavors...so, yeah, I suppose it probably it won't change all that much. But at least now I can use my Dunkin Donuts pumpkin spice coffee in my Keurig and I can take advantage of the amazing coupon + sale prices on coffee that show up every so often. And yesterday I got a free sample of Starbucks Natural Fusions vanilla coffee, which - you guessed it - I plan to use with the Solofill. (Yep, I could also drag out the French Press for these, but I'm all about the convenience factor and the ease of making just one cup at a time!) And I'm thinking I can add a bit of extra coffee to make it stronger so I have my own version of the "Brew Over Ice" coffee K-cups. And I may try even more tricks with it - brewing pods in it, brewing tea in it, and so on, just for fun.

If you need a reusable and refillable K-cup alternative for your Keurig single-cup home coffee maker, I recommend the Solofill.

Note: A competitor to the Solofill, the Ekobrew, has appeared on the market. Check out my new (July 2011) review of it. 

As of March 2013, this post is no longer accepting new comments.

May 2013 update: I'm now playing around with the Keurig Vue V500 thanks to House Party. Check out my first impressions and learn how you can get your own for 40% off!

(This is my referral link. I get a small kickback if you click through and sign up for Amazon Prime.