Consumer Reports: Cheap K-Cup Alternatives - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

It's no surprise single-serve coffeemakers are still growing in popularity — their convenience is tough to beat. However, the cost of those disposable pods are pricey. The average owner uses more than a thousand K-Cups per year. Consumer Reports just checked out some alternatives to traditional K-Cups.

Single-Serve coffeemakers are quick, fast, and convenient, but the cost of pods can add up.

Alternatives to the traditional K-Cup or pod promise to reduce costs. Consumer Reports just checked out three that let you use your own coffee.

Desiree Ferenczi/Consumer Reports: "To compare we looked at how much it would cost to brew one cup of coffee per day for a year. And with K-Cups that's about $220 - $275."

In addition to costs, testers also looked at convenience, brew time, and taste. First up — Simple Cups, which claims its "a fraction of what a K-Cup will cost." $14 will buy you a pack of 50 disposable cups, filters, and lids.

Desiree Ferenczi: "When you add in the price of coffee it is less — about 185 per year."

But testers found the cups are hard to close, and brew time was a little longer than the traditional K-cup.

Next, the reusable EZ-Cup for $13, plus about eight dollars for 50 of its biodegradable filters. With coffee it works out to about $135 a year.

But the EZ-Cup wasn't much easier to use than the Simple Cups. So how did the coffee taste? In tests, using the same coffee, all three delivered similar results.

In the end, My K-Cup — Keurig's K-Cup adapter — was the clear winner. Testers found it was the easiest to use. And once you purchase the reusable My K-Cup for $18, your only expense is coffee — an estimated $80 a year. That's a big money saver.

Another plus with Keurig's My K-Cups — they're a lot easier on the environment than the original K-Cup and other pods.

If all this has you longing for a single-serve coffee machine that can use the alternative My K-Cups, consider the Cuisinart SS-300 Compact Single Serve for $130. In Consumer Reports tests it delivered a speedy first cup of coffee and is very easy to use.