Caffeine Kicks: Keurig Unboxing and First Cup!

My husband and I love coffee. He pretty much can't function without it, and he would be such a grump in the morning if he can't have his regular cup of joe. He almost always has a cup of coffee beside him whenever he works, whether he's in the office or at home. I, on the other hand, live on chocolate and not coffee, but I love it as much as tea. To me it's a comforting drink, made for long conversations with friends, intimate talks with my husband, or introspective alone time.

That is why when we got married, we really wanted a nice coffeemaker. We wanted a Keurig Brewer specifically, because we have tried it several times at A's aunt and uncle's place (who are big coffee lovers too) and we loved the taste of the coffee. We liked the sleek look of the machine too, as well as the large variety of fun K-cup flavors. I have also encountered it in several YouTube videos (which I had A watch), and these further made us want one.

 

Keurig Demo by Ingrid (MissGlamorazzi) and Luke (LukeConard) | DIY: At Home Coffee and Tea Bar by Blair Fowler (juicystar07) 

The Keurig is a single-cup brewing system that brews your coffee or tea or hot cocoa for you in under a minute. That's about 3 minutes (rough estimate) including the time to heat up the water. You load pods called K-Cups into it, it punches a hole in the pods, and then you have a fresh beverage. With it, you don't have to deal with the mess of filters and pots and such. You just fill up the water tank, push some buttons, put a mug on the drip tray, and that's it. Also, it makes coffee, tea, and hot cocoa, as well as iced coffee or tea. For iced, you just need a cup filled with ice and an iced coffee/tea K-Cup and you're good to go.

The problem was that Keurig isn't available here, but A's aunt and uncle, who were also principal sponsors at our wedding, offered to buy it in the States for us as a wedding gift. Of course we said yes! So they went, and they got back from the US a while ago, but they shipped their stuff to the Philippines and the box took some time to get here. (Thank you Mama Punk and Papa Choity!)

It eventually did, but we had to find a place for it in our apartment. We also needed a cart for it, plus a power transformer. Last night, we finally put our Keurig together! I'm usually a nerd when it comes to these things, so I did a full unboxing, like I do with gadgets I love. I'm not going to do this for microwaves and other appliances, but if we get a juicer or something like a Blendtec one day, you can bet I'll unbox it!

First brew!

Before I get to that though, let me tell you about our first cup! We chose a flavored K-Cup for our first time -- the Timothy's Kahlua Original from the variety pack that came with the machine. A and I chose to share a medium mug because it was midnight when we finished reworking the apartment. As expected, it was excellent. It had the sweet, distinct Kahlua flavor of rum, caramel, vanilla, and coffee.

The thing is, this particular coffee was supposed to have a sort of light roast only, but it had me feeling wired the entire night and aggravated my insomnia. I fell asleep at 5am! Coffee usually has an adverse effect on me -- it makes me sleepy -- but last night it was the opposite. No more late-night Keurig sessions for me. The husband, however, who pretty much has coffee running in his veins and is probably immune to it, had a good, sound sleep. Okay, let's backtrack to the unboxing!  

The box

Box Side 1: Features

Box Side 2: General instructions

Box Side 3: Beverage types

Box Top 1: K-Cup Brands

Box Top 2: Accessories

Box Top 3: Brands again

Box Top 4: Useful unpacking instructions!

Finally, it's open!

Nice packet containing super clear set-up and first brew instructions, owner's manual, and a shopping guide for the different K-Cups and accessories 

The free 12 K-Cup Variety Pack, containing a variety of roasts, blends, and flavors.

The optional water filter

Hello, machine.

There it is!

Yep. 120 volts, 1500 watts

We also got a Donut House Sweet & Creamy Iced Coffee 12 K-Cup box from A's aunt and uncle! It says "Mushing & Julls Happy Wedding!" Aaaw. 

A coffee-lover's dream! Here's a rundown:

Caribou Coffee Caribou Blend (Medium Roast)

Timothy's Kahlua Original (Flavored Light Roast)

Emeril's (Lagasse) Big, Easy, Bold  (Dark Roast Extra Bold)

Green Mountain Coffee Nantucket Blend (Medium Roast)

Donut Shop (Medium Roast Extra Bold)

Green Mountain Coffee Breakfast Blend (Light Roast)

Barista Prima Coffeehouse Italian Roast (Dark Roast)

Newman's Own Newman's Special Blend (Medium Roast Extra Bold)

Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Herbal Tea

Tully's Coffee French Roast (Dark Roast Extra Bold)

Van Houtte French Vanilla (Flavored Light Roast)

Timothy's Decaffeinated Colombian (Medium Roast)

12 K-cups of iced coffee goodness

Ready to brew! Hello, Star Trek mug.

That's it! We're now hunting for K-Cup sellers online, for when our stash runs out. We're also still kind of reorganizing the cart and maybe making it a tea and coffee cart. I will no doubt be posting more Keurig sessions here, for the love of coffee!