To be fair, coffee machines are pretty shit.
I had a cheap one from Target that I had on a smart switch die after about a year and a half.
Then I got a super clunky Mr. Coffee one (seriously I’ve owned a lot of “nice” ones but I bought it online and it was a huge pile of curves and brought me back to the 90’s).
My wife then wanted a $200 Keurig because they’re “so fancy” but she never used it, and it died during its cleaning cycle because apparently if you keep adding (too much) water it doesn’t stop you and overheats. I got a warranty replacement but then that one had super glitchy buttons that didn’t work and I got tired of fucking over the planet one Kroger K-Cup at a time.
Finally I ditched all that shit and got a pour-over coffee set and a grinder, and a really nice electric kettle with temperature control.
At some point the tech is simply too much and it’s the simplest option that’s best.
Are K-Cups bad for the planet?
A pour over wouldn’t work for things like a Latte. I don’t really believe in all the fancy pods and stuff though, I have a manual espresso pump machine.
Are K-Cups bad for the planet?
TL;DR: they don’t recycle all that well, if at all.
For me, I find the coffee selection for these things kind of bad and limited. There’s simply so much more out there and I profoundly dislike the idea of letting some corporation decide what will and will not brew in my kitchen. I suppose the re-usable k-cups are a good compromise though - I don’t know if Keurig’s have any kind of detection or lockout that prevents their use.
A cheapass drip coffee maker makes a decent coffee, is mechanically simple as fuck and easy to clean, I got one for like 30 euros and if I don’t use it for months I just don’t care.
We have a coffee machine at work for the lattes amd espressos or go out and drink one there if you want. Having an expensive coffee machine at home is a waste unless you are a serious caffeine addict, which to be fair, I would be if not for all the anxiety it causes me.
Yeah definitely, plus people give drip coffee a bad name because it’s not “posh” enough, as if it isn’t one of the best balances of coffee qualities you can achieve. It’s not like espresso coffee was invented because it’s “better”, it’s just very quick + semi-automated to produce a shot and hence economical for coffee shops and bakeries.
Plus drip coffee systems are, like you say, insanely simple. Which is a good thing!
Oh, I assure you they could design and build good shit if they wanted. Most things are designed like shit and then built to a price point.
They do design and build good shit, but with the prevalence of cheap options buying small kitchen appliances isn’t seen as a major purchase anymore.
But, there were absolutely garbage products in the old days. The whole, “they don’t build them like they used to,” bit is based on survivorship bias.
If you want to pay $500+ for a coffee maker that will last decades, you can absolutely still do so.