Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Savor your brew: The best K-Cup coffees for all tastes

K-Cup coffee for any occasion

Cup of coffee
Hans Vivek / Unsplash

Since 2004, when Keurig decided to expand its single-serving coffee brewing system to the home market, K-Cups have remained a staple of many households. Simple and easy, you can’t beat the convenience of K-Cup coffee, which features pre-ground coffee contained within a small capsule. Ideal for the solo coffee drinker or a quick cup of coffee, K-Cup coffee makes brewing a cup of coffee as simple as possible. With no clean-up and no need to buy coffee filters, it’s easy to see why nearly 40 million households use them.

The widespread popularity of K-Cup coffee also means there are endless varieties to choose from, with new brands frequently emerging. Which brand delivers the best brew for your personal coffee preferences? Below, we’ve narrowed down the best K-Cup of coffee available for every coffee preference. Here are a few of the best K-Cup coffees worth trying.

Recommended Videos

Best K-Cup coffee

Holding a cup of coffee
Kristina Paukshtite / Pexels

From classic K-Cups to flavored varieties to USDA-organic varieties, there’s a brand for everyone to try with these best K-Cup coffee brands. Check out three of our favorites.

Kahawa 1983 K-Cups: Best all-around classic K-Cup

Kahawa 1893
Kahawa 1893

Kahawa 1893 is a specialty coffee company founded and run by Margaret Nyamumbo, a third-generation coffee farmer from Kenya. Kahawa means “coffee” in Swahili, the primary language spoken there. You may have seen this brand on Shark Tank or in stores, as it has recently launched in Target. If you’re looking for an all-around solid cup of classic coffee, you cannot go wrong with any of Kahawa 1893’s roasts.

One of the brand’s most popular roasts, the Safari Roast, is the ideal balanced medium-roast coffee for almost any coffee lover. This classic coffee features an intrinsic sweetness and lively fruit flavors that characterize African coffees. Made from 100% Arabica coffee beans, the notes of milk chocolate and caramel in this blend are simply perfect for a quick cup of K-Cup coffee.

However, if you prefer a bolder coffee roast, look to the darker Kahawa 1983 Serengeti blend. This full-bodied, dark-roast coffee is bold without bitterness and tastes great either on its own or with a touch of milk or coffee creamer. This blend gets its name thanks to the world-famous Serengeti grasslands in East Africa.

Pros Cons
Classic, non-flavored coffee blends to keep it simple No light roast is available

Keurig K-Cup Pods Safari Blend

Keurig K-Cup Pods Serengeti Blend

Death Wish Coffee K-Cups: Best organic

Death Wish Triple Threat
Death Wish Coffee

When shopping for USDA-certified organic K-Cups, options are a bit more limited than non-organic options. Death Wish Coffee offers several roasts that are certified organic, producing a delicious and rich brew every time. While the brand does offer some flavors that are not organic, the selection of organic K-Cups is impressive. While there’s not currently a light roast available in K-Cups, the brand just launched its light roast coffee, which is available in bagged coffee, so the light roast may be available in K-Cups soon, too.

Some examples include the medium roast, the espresso roast, and the dark roast. If you want to try all these coffee roasts, the brand also features the “Triple Threat Single-Serve Bundle,” where you can try all three organic varieties.  Regardless of which variety you select, each Death Wish Coffee K-Cup pod features a bold, smooth taste worth the extra spend. It’s clear that the quality is there when you brew these K-Cups, and if you’re seeking a coffee grown without fertilizers and chemicals, Death Wish is a great choice.

Pros Cons
Rich, bold coffees, USDA-organic Cost higher than non-organic K-Cups, no light roast available

Green Mountain K-Cups: Best flavored

Green Mountain Coffee Chocolate Dipped Pistacho
Green Mountain Coffee

Green Mountain K-Cups are certainly the brand for you if you want to try new coffee flavors, including seasonal ones. Known as one of the first K-Cup coffee manufacturers, you can always count on Green Mountain to keep things interesting. With flavors like Cinnamon Sugar Cookie and Dark Chocolate Hazelnut, these K-Cups are the best option for variety. Other fun flavors include Chocolate Dipped Pistachio and Caramel Vanilla Cream.

Even though these coffee flavors sound super sweet, each K-Cup features just the essence of the flavor. As soon as you brew one of Green Mountain Coffee’s flavored K-Cups, your whole kitchen will have a perfectly roasted aroma. These K-Cups are available online but are also easy to find at plenty of retailers, such as Target.

Pros Cons
Fun, unique, and exciting seasonal coffee flavors, widely available Contains artificial flavorings

Emily Caldwell
Emily is a freelance journalist with a focus on food, travel, health, and fitness content. She loves to travel to new…
Purity Coffee unveils Brazilian cold brew for home brewing
A new clean coffee blend designed specific for cold brewing
Purity Coffee Cold Brew

Health-focused coffee company, Purity Coffee, has just released its latest innovation: Cold Brew. The new Cold Brew is a single-origin Brazilian coffee, specially crafted for cold brewing at home. Purity Coffee is known for its high-end, mold-free coffee—this blend, which uses beans rich in antioxidants and prebiotic compounds. The latest cold brew blend is designed explicitly with gut health in mind, setting a new standard in health-conscious coffee. Available in whole bean or ground coffee, the new Purity Coffee Cold Brew blend is a medium-roast coffee with tasting notes of cocoa nibs and peanut butter.

The Purity Coffee Cold Brew, now available online, can be easily used with any of your favorite at-home cold brew methods. Just steep for at least 6 to 7 hours to ensure maximum flavor extraction, as well as the extraction of caffeine and antioxidants. This coffee blend, along with all products by Purity Coffee, undergoes rigorous third-party testing for mycotoxins, impurities, and other contaminants, leading to the best-tasting cup of coffee. As health-conscious coffee consumption continues to rise, coffee drinkers are increasingly paying attention to potential toxins and mold that can be present in their coffee. As a regular cold brew drinker, I'm especially excited about this new release by Purity Coffee.

Read more
Surprising ways to use ground coffee beyond your morning brew
Everything you can use ground coffee for, beyond your morning cup of joe
Coffee grounds in a plant

Perfectly described by Chris Smith, co-owner and founder of Ground Ops Roastery + Bakehouse, "The day doesn't truly begin until that first sip of coffee." Yet, according to Smith, the story of coffee extends far beyond its role as just a drink. Coffee has so many uses both inside and outside of the kitchen -- that most of us coffee drinkers fail even to acknowledge. From cooking with coffee grounds, such as in tenderizing meat, to using them as fertilizer for plants, consider these surprising uses for ground coffee.

Ground coffee uses in cooking and baking

Read more
The Philips Baristina is the coffee maker everyone has their eye on
Sleek, efficient, and simple
Philips Baristina

As a coffee writer, I consider myself fairly up-to-date on the latest developments in the world of new coffee and espresso makers. Yet, I just now learned that Philips makes espresso machines, making them a strong competitor in a market with dozens of top-tier brands. The Philips Bartistina has been on the market since last July, yet it's trending now as one of the best espresso makers of 2025.

Suddenly, I've noticed advertisements for this sleek and slim espresso machine everywhere I turn. Offering one-swipe coffee perfection, the Philips Baristina is designed to create premium café-style espresso at home without the use of plastic pods. Suddenly, we've all got our eye on this powerful espresso machine -- especially with Prime Day quickly approaching. This powerful little espresso machine can automatically grind, tamp, and brew your espresso or lungo shot with ease and minimal effort.

Read more