[dropshadowbox align=”left” effect=”lifted-both” width=”150px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ][/dropshadowbox]Last year we bought a Keurig single cup coffee machine. It so happened to have a built in filter assembly in the reservoir. There were very specific directions to change the filter in your Keurig on a regular basis. DH and I did not think that this would be necessary or an issue for continuous replacement since we use bottled RO water from his brother-in-laws store. Eventually we are going to install our own home RO system, but that is a subject for another post.
A couple weeks ago DH bought a Keurig machine for his office. I happened to be there this weekend and he made me a cup of coffee while I worked on fixing his computer. I noticed that the coffee actually tasted better than what I made at home. It dawned on me that we had not changed the filter in the reservoir since we purchased the machine. You could see that the filter “wool” looked clean, but maybe the carbon in the filter did catch something that was now altering the flavor of the water as it brews.
Since we have to buy water for drinking there are times when we run out and if DH has the car that I am capable of driving (I can’t drive a stick-shift car) then I have to wait for him to go to the sore and get more. Well, that did happen a time or two and I had to use tap water in the Keurig – don’t tell DH. Not only was this because I wanted a cup of coffee, but out of necessity to help clean the sediment from the water so I could drink it. What drinking water we had left I was saving for my daughters.
But I digress. .. This morning I decided to change the filter since I did have an extra that came with the machine. I made sure to clean the cup holding assembly just to make sure that none of the coffee flavor or grounds that may have fallen from the K-cups would interfere with the brewing of a clean cup of water. This was an experiment after all ;). I had to remove the filter from the package and soak it in cool water for 5 minutes to prime the filter. Then I removed the cartridge holder from the reservoir, removed the old filter and replaced it with the new one. I noticed there was some scum in the inside of the reservoir and that totally grossed me out so I made sure to clean it thoroughly with warm soapy water and a soft washcloth and completely rinsed and re-rinsed to make sure there was no soap residue left. Last I set the date on the filter holder (yes there are letters on a small dial from January to December and you can set it to the month that you need to replace the filter cartridge again) replaced the filter holder with the new filter installed and filled the reservoir with clean water. When I brewed the coffee after changing the filter I could tell the difference right away. The aroma was brighter and something was much more pleasing about it. I do feel that a cup of coffee made with the Keurig is much tastier than one brewed in a regular coffee machine; this was even better.
When I tasted the coffee – prepared exactly as my first cup of coffee had been the mouth feel was even different. It felt softer in my mouth; I do feel strongly that the filter does improve the taste and mouth feel of the coffee even further. So now I am going to be much more diligent about changing the filters and will be looking for a good price on extras today. Keurig’s recommendation is to change the filter once every 2 months or every 60 reservoir refills. With the way we drink coffee and tea we definitely change it within 2 months.
Firstly, I’m a mom and wife. Professionally, IT consulting is my job and blogging is the outlet for my passions. I write about things that affect the everyday life of a stay-at-home parent or any parent for that matter such as parenting, relationships, discipline, the media, product reviews, giveaways, social media, food, cooking, gardening and anything else that might come my way.
