A couple months ago, my sister gave me a used Keurig® brand
coffee maker. These coffee machines have intrigued me for years but three things kept me from investing in one.
First and most importantly, I have committed to drink
only Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center certified Bird-friendly® coffee whenever
I can.
Bird-friendly coffee is shade-grown coffee that has earned certification by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center because the manner in which it is grown helps protect and preserve the winter
habitats of many migratory birds. My
bird-friendly coffee of choice is Birds & Beans™ coffee, which we sell at Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs NY. I love the
Chestnut-sided Warbler roast, but it is not available in a K-cup, nor is any
other certified Bird-friendly coffee that I'm aware of.
My second reason for avoiding the Keurig system is the tremendous
waste involved.
Every single cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate brewed
using a K-cup in a Keurig machine adds a plastic cup, liner, and foil cover to the landfill. The cups are NOT recyclable plastic and are
not biodegradable.
Back in 2010, a
NY Times article stated that Keurig "expects to sell nearly three billion K-Cups, the plastic and tinfoil
pods that are made to be thrown away — filter, grounds and all — after one
use." That's 3,000,000,000 little cups going into landfills each year,
and I bet that number is growing as the popularity of the machines grow!
The Third reason is cost
Each cup of coffee using a K-cup costs over 83 cents (48-pack at Kohl's). Even on sale, it is nearly 73 cents per
cup. Sure, it's cheaper than a cup at the corner shop, but read on...
The Keurig "My K-CUP®" Saves the Day!

There is an accessory you can purchase for your Keurig maker (except the new Vue model) that lets you "use your own gourmet coffee" in your Keurig machine. It's a 3-piece unit composing of a filter, holder, and lid.
To use it, you remove the filter basket of the machine (the part with the needle that punctures the cup) and insert the My K-cup that has been filled with (preferably) Bird-friendly coffee. Brew as regular.


When done, you're able to compost the grounds, then wash the unit before the next use. I have two of them at home so one is always clean.
The Benefits of Using the My K-Cup
If you love your Keurig machine, by switching to a My
K-Cup and drinking certified Bird-friendly coffee, you will:
- Save money
The cost of a cup of Bird-friendly Birds & Beans coffee using the My K-Cup is just 37 cents per cup. You get almost 2 full cups of delicious shade-grown coffee for every 1 cup made from a pre-filled plastic cartridge.
- Create less waste
Don't add to the THREE BILLION cups being added to the landfill each year!!
- Compost the grounds
Though you can compost the grounds in a pre-filled K-cup, most people do not.
- Help migratory birds
Drinking certified Bird-friendly coffee in your machine will help preserve the habitat of many migratory birds.
Look for The My K-cup accessory where you buy Keurig
machines. Right now at Wild Birds
Unlimited - Saratoga Springs, we have a limited number available for
purchase.
And next spring, when you see the brilliant orange &
black of the Baltimore Oriole or hear the ethereal song of the Wood Thrush you
can be proud that you have taken a step to help their survival.
Please take a moment and think about this and join me in brewing Birds & Beans coffee
using a My K-cup accessory in your Keurig brewer.
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