There's a New Reusable K-Cup in Town - The Ekobrew - June 28, 2011

You already know how much I love and adore my Keurig, and I've written extensively about my love for the resusable K-cup called the Solofill - I even ran a giveaway for it because I love it so much! So I was very intrigued to find out (via the Single Serve Coffee forums - yes, there are forums devoted to the whole concept, and yes, there is a message board for anything you can think of) about the latest entry into the reusable, refillable single-serve K-cup market - the Ekobrew.

Here's what I know so far - the Ekobrew is a similar price and a similar idea to the Solofill, with a metal mesh filter surrounded by a plastic body that's the same size as a K-cup (so you don't have to do anything to your Keurig to use it - you just pop it in like a regular K-cup and brew). But this system has a flat bottom (I have to fiddle with the Solofill when I fill it - being able to put the Ekobrew down on the counter would be much nicer), a different way of dispersing the water into the coffee, and a few other tweaks.

Why do I say "so far"? Because I remembered what my mother always told me - "the worst thing they can say is no." I requested an Ekobrew to test out and review for my loyal readership (*waves* the things I do for you guys), and the company said yes. I hope to have it soon, and I will give you my honest thoughts and impressions both as it stands alone and side-by-side with the Solofill.

So there you have it. NEW GADGETY THINGIE! If nothing else, it's always nice to have options, and K-cup prices just went up again so it's always nice to have less-expensive options. And for whatever it's worth, I've found that using the Solofill takes about 30 seconds to a whole minute longer than using a K-cup, including filling and dumping. (Not including rummaging through my pantry to find the ground coffee, figuring out what flavor I want, finding a spoon....but still. When K-cups are 55 cents and up per cup, I'll spend the extra time.)

And while I'm rambling about my Keurig love, I also wanted to share that I won second prize in the Barista Prima contest on Facebook. I'll be getting a Keurig milk frother and a box of Barista Prima "House Blend" K-cups. Both of these things are too pricey for me to have ever bought on my own, so I'm really excited - I've been using a $3 Ikea milk frother that works just fine, so we'll see how much better a $75 machine is. Hooray for prizes!

And finally, I had a chance to try the Island Coconut limited-edition K-cups while I was on vacation and they. are. amazing. Delicious hot, and I bet they would make a yummy iced coffee or frappe too. So if you want to buy me a present...

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