Coffee lovers simmering over Keurig K-cup controversy

A growing number of people are unhappy with the new Keurig 2.0 coffeemakers, because they won’t accept the older K-cups, third party coffee pods, or pods that allow your own coffee.

But thanks to the internet, there may be a simple fix.

Old Pods No Longer Work

Linda Bell is among thousands of people upset with their new Keurig 2.0 coffeemakers, taking to Facebook and other sites to express their displeasure with the new limitations on how they can be used.

The new 2.0 models, which were big sellers over the holiday season, use a computer chip known as DRM, which means “Digital Rights Management.”

In layman’s terms, it means Keurig controls the rights to the pods used in its machines, which means you must use official Keurig K-cups, nothing else.

“We tried it with two different kinds of these things, and it doesn’t work,” Bell said.

Cannot Use Reloadable Pods

On her old first-generation Keurig, Linda had been putting store bought coffee into a reloadable pod, making her morning cup of Joe for just a nickel a cup, a fraction of the cost of an “official” K-cup.

“It’s a do-it-yourself cup,” she said, showing reusable pod she has had for a couple of years. “You are supposed to put this in the machine, and push down.”

But the new machine won’t read the reusable pod, and gave her just a watery mess, with coffee grounds spilling out everywhere.

Worse, she says, is that she can’t use any of the boxes of old K-cups from third party companies she still has in her pantry.

A ‘Hack’ to Fix it

But all hope is not lost, coffee lovers. YouTube is filling up with videos of Keuring 2.0 “hacks.”

If your browser won’t link, you can search YouTube for “Keurig hack.”

Most of the demonstrations involve cutting the label off a new cup, then placing it over your own pod, so that the scanner reads it.

One company is preparing to sell a plastic device called a “Freedom Clip” that it says does the same thing.

But a Keurig spokeswoman said changes are designed to make a better cup of coffee. If you have the older pods, she said, you can call the company for free replacement K-cups that will work in 2.0 models (see full statement below).

Linda Bell, though, is still not sold, wondering why it now has to be so tough to use her own ground coffee in what had been her favorite coffee maker.

“I don’t like it,” she said. “If I would have known it was this difficult to make coffee, I would have not have gotten the machine. I’d have gotten a regular coffeemaker.”

But she will take a look at some of the suggested hacks, as she has always liked Keurig. And that way you don’t waste your money.

Full Keurig/Green Mountain Statement:

Keurig 2.0 is a complete brewing system. The brewer was designed to work in tandem with our portfolio of K-Cup and K-Carafe beverages to provide the best possible experience for the consumer, whether they are looking for a single cup or now with Keurig 2.0, a four-cup carafe of coffee.

In order for us to deliver the best experience within our most advanced system to date, Keurig 2.0 features smart technology that reads the pack lid and recognizes the type of beverage pack that has been inserted.

This technology offers distinct consumer benefits of automatic adjustment of brew temperature and size control depending on if a K-Cup pack or K-Carafe pack is inserted, which ensures a quality brewing experience and allows for the same one-touch simplicity consumers love about Keurig. Every K-Cup pack beverage option and brand that was available for previous Keurig® brewers — and many new additions – is available for the new Keurig 2.0 system.

Since earlier this year, we’ve been transitioning all of our K-Cup pack inventory to include the new interactive technology on each lid of the pack. We anticipated that some consumers who purchased a Keurig 2.0 brewer may have older, non-transitioned K-Cup pack stock in their pantry.

We planned accordingly and provide explicit instructions and a phone number on the brewer touch screen to immediately assist consumers in getting in touch with our Consumer Care team, who will quickly replace outdated pantry stock for new Keurig 2.0 consumers free of charge.

With more than 400 varieties available from 60 brands, including all of the top ten best-selling coffee brands in America, our Keurig system offers the broadest portfolio of coffee and beverage brands united in one in-home beverage system anywhere in the world, and we’re confident we have a wide range of beverage choices that will suit every taste.

Read More: K-Cup Packing Machine