When the K-cup trend began, many coffee drinkers wondered why. Why would you use a coffee maker that could only produce a single cup of coffee at a time? Until that time, the trend had been to create larger and larger coffee makers.
A Quick History of Coffee Makers
Initially, people made coffee in small metal carafes over a campfire. Once people began to use gas ovens and electric stoves, they continued to brew coffee in metal pots, some of which plugged in. Called percolators, these machines make four to six cups of coffee at a time.
As time passed, more people in households drank coffee and the coffee makers grew in size. Mr. Coffee came out with an eight to 12-cup model coffee maker. Other manufacturers made coffee makers that could brew up to 24 cups at a time.
Starbucks Changes Everything
The advent of Starbucks changed this. The Millennial generation grew up grabbing coffee at Starbucks. The serving size plummeted from drinking three or four cups per person to a single cup.
The type of coffee changed, too. Starbucks popularized barista-crafted drinks. These dessert coffees require four or more ingredients and an espresso maker with a frother to make. Older generations still enjoyed regular coffee and wanted to brew grounds.
A company named Keurig created a coffee maker that lets craft coffee lovers make their single cup of coffee at home. The K-cup makers brew the single cup of coffee that Millennials grew to love for about a sixth the cost of a cup of Starbucks coffee. You can purchase K-cups that provide a fancy cup of coffee for just $.50, a whopping savings over the $3.50 to $4 for a Starbucks mocha or macchiato. The K-cups combine all of the ingredients necessary for the fancy, hand-crafted drink in the cup or pod, as they’re also called.
Other coffee maker companies followed suit, making competing coffee makers. Now, coffee lovers can purchase a single machine that brews regular coffee, K-cups, and pods. These machines include design features that let individuals who enjoy drinking two or three cups of coffee in the morning brew that larger-sized coffee in the same machine that can produce a shot of espresso.
You can still purchase a standard multi-cup brewing machine, but if you want to be able to brew any choice – regular grounds, K-cups, or pods – you can choose a multi-function K-cup machine.
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