My Morning Cup

The first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning (right after thinking about what I have to do and about the child that is already sitting on my head) is my morning cup of coffee. I used to be a social coffee drinker. Craig doesn't drink coffee and it was always just too much trouble to make a pot just for me (and lets face it - if you try to make just a couple of cups it never tastes right.) So I drank coffee when we had company or when I went out. That was until this little beauty came into my life.

Meet my Keurig. About 3 years ago Craig told me that he wanted to get this for our combined Christmas gift to each other, which was ironic since he doesn't drink coffee. However, there was one in the school office where he taught and he liked the hot chocolate cups. I protested. It was expensive. I liked my coffee pot (not really.) What if we had company? He finally convinced me and it was one of the best purchases we have ever made. I love it. I often have people ask me about it so I thought I'd blog about it a bit in case you may have considered one.

For me it is absolutely perfect because I am the only coffee drinker in the house and I am usually a one-cup-a-day kind of girl. Occasionally I have coffee in the afternoon or evening but that isn't typical. The K-cups are so convenient and make one, perfect, piping hot cup of coffee in less than a minute with no pot to clean or filter to deal with. They come in such a variety of fun flavors of coffee, tea, and other hot drinks (I just saw cider cups at Kroger yesterday!) Some people are concerned that they are expensive. If you drink multiple cups a day it could get a little pricey. Think coupons though! It is rare to see any coupons for the cups themselves but you can get them at Kohl's or Bed Bath and Beyond, even JCPenney...think of those 20% or 30% off coupons you get in the mail. I love the occasional $10 off any $10 purchase. I know that's free coffee! Also, coffee companies like Folders have started making the cups and they are somewhat cheaper than the designer brands and can be found at Walmart. In addition, Keurig made this great little alternative:

It is a filter cup that you can buy and with this you use regular coffee grounds and pay exactly what you're paying now...but less because you can make one good cup instead of making half a pot and dumping most of it down the drain! This costs $14.99 at most any store that sells Keurigs. I got it last Christmas and have uesd it quite often.

As you can tell, I love this coffee-maker. The sound of my coffee being brewed in the morning is music to my ears. When its done, I toss the k-cup and I'm finished with cleanup! Pair it with your favorite creamer (this is how I take my coffee) and you have an excellent cup of coffee!

My current favorite is Pumpkin Spice, of course. I will use this through the holidays. Other favorites of mine are Caramel flavors, and the Breve' Creams. I also like to use half and half sometimes to make a latte. Mmm...I think today will be an afternoon cup of coffee kind of day... What are your favorites? How do you take your morning cup?