Single Serve K-Cup Coffee Is Wildly Expensive

Single serve coffee: really, really bad for the environment and maybe a total waste of money? It depends on how you think about it. New York Times coffeeman Oliver Strand crunches some numbers on single-serve coffee brands like K-Cups and Nespresso Arpeggio, and finds that while the prices seem cheap compared to individual cups of coffee purchased at a coffee shop, they're actually really expensive when you price the coffee per pound.

How expensive? According to Strand's math, the coffee in Nespresso Arpeggio espresso capsules costs about $51 per per pound, and Folgers Black Silk blend K-Cups costs over $50 per pound. For comparison, Strand says "most high-end coffees cost less than $20 a pound."

Add in the fact that single-serve coffee makers start at about $80 and can cost as much as $250, and you're talking about a pretty steep price for convenience. If you're truly addicted to the single-serve lifestyle, though, Keurig does make a reusable coffee filter that allows you to use whatever coffee you want in your machine.

· With Coffee, the Price of Individualism Can Be High [NYT]
· All K-Cup Coverage on Eater [-E-]