On the morning of the last day of 2011, I found myself waiting for the doors to open at Office Despot next to Ward Shopping Center. While speaking to a clerk at the printing area, I noticed a Kurig single-serve coffee maker on the counter. It was a demo model and the coffee was free, so I indulged. It seems I had little choice in the matter. I had to try a cup from this machine, because earlier that very morning – before the sun came up – I had a vision of billions of those cups floating around the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, blowing around the streets, and clogging landfills around the world. I had to know if this single cup server is worth the environmental damage it is bound to cause.
Next to the machine was a carousel with several flavors of pre-ground coffee portions each in their own non-recyclable, non-compostable “K-cup” plastic pod sealed with a plastic coated foil lid. There were pods from Green Mountain roasters (unsurprisingly as they own Kurig), Tully’s, and surprisingly, Paul Newman’s Own. Coffee giants like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are jumping in the game as well.
Most of the pods had flavored coffee like macadamia nut or vanilla. I chose a Tully’s 10% Kona blend with 90% who knows what. At least it wasn’t flavored with a chemical concoction to cover the taste of stale coffee.
Having never used one of these machines before, I asked the clerk for assistance. Simple enough, open the lid, pop in the pod, close the lid, and choose the volume of water. The clerk recommended 8 ounces per pod. Ten seconds or so later, I had my very first pod coffee in a paper cup. All that was left to do was remove the plastic pod and throw it in the trash where it would be gone and forgotten – never to be seen again.
Now all I had to do was taste my freshly brewed coffee. And I love freshly brewed coffee! I raised the cup to my mouth and took a small sip. It wasn’t overly hot, so I took a bigger sip. I swirled the coffee in my mouth for a couple seconds, searching for the flavors and body that would reveal the character of the coffee. What I discovered was a drinkable, yet bland cup of coffee. The body was light. Mostly, I would say it was like coffee flavored tea.
Being in the specialty coffee industry, and spend most of my days talking to coffee drinkers of all kinds – coffee drinkers with sophisticated palates to those who just want a hot cup of caffeine – I understand that quality coffee is not a big deal for everyone. The coffee pod system caters more to the latter.
There are attractive benefits to the system. For one, it keeps the counter neat and clean from coffee grounds. It’s simply to use. The coffee is better than drip machines that use warmers that scorch the coffee remaining in the pot, and it’s fast.
On the other hand, there are the obvious costs. The Kurig machines could easily cost $125 or more. The pods cost about sixty cents each. Given that Kurig expects most profit from K-cup sales, one must consider the quality of the coffee. How good can a sixty cent coffee be, considering the added cost of the packaging alone? The “real” cost of K-cup sales are beyond calculation. The real cost is the price to be paid by living creature that depends on a clean environment.
The pollution from K-cups is a real danger to us all. As these cups find their way into the oceans, they slowly photo-degrade. The plastic particles already are in most food we eat from the sea. Take a teaspoon of sand on any beach in the world and you’ll find plastic pollutants. Plastic causes cancer and many other health problems when ingested.
It is nearly impossible to go through single day without having to create some waste. The coffee industry in general has waste issues along most every step of the way – from seed to cup. What bothers me more now than ever is the fact that we know that our disposable culture, with the K-cup among the most wasteful, is not only unsustainable, but actually dangerous to our health, as well as the health of most all life on the planet.

1. Ritch Says:
   April 12th, 2012 at 11:57 am

   You are SO right on the waste. When you look at American packaging, we seem to be begging for more pollution, more misuse of fossil fuel used to make the cups, and like you say, it’s just trendy vs tasty! (Not unlike all the mega SUVs running the roads of Oahu with one person in them. Hello, basically the island is 32 x 32!)

   Keep up the great quality and service you are providing…and it’s obviously becoming more “trendy” to be seen in your Cafe.

2. Steve Says:
   June 18th, 2012 at 11:53 am

   I read the article with interest. I completely agree about the K-cups. Not a good cup at all. We grind our beans almost daily and use our press almost exclusively. Now that makes a good cup! I find that true “coffee snobs” as we’ve been called before know the best way to find and brew a really good cup. It does take a little more work, buts it is oh so worth it.