While K-Cups can be appealing to coffee drinkers who value convenience at home or in the office, they’re not the right choice for everyone. Although it’s a fast and easy way to prepare a single cup of coffee, there are a few downsides to the system — namely that K-cup pods can be difficult to recycle (and while refillable pods exist, that depends on the user choosing that option, which isn’t always a given considering quick and convenient are two of the main appeals of the system). We interviewed Klatch Coffee’s expert roaster, Heather Perry, to learn more about the specialty roaster’s approach to single-serve coffee.
Klatch Coffee’s single-serve coffee alternatives
Klatch Coffee’s single-serving Bruvi pods make it easy to enjoy high-quality, specialty coffee wherever you are. The brand has partnered with a few select providers who share their vision, one of which is Bruvi.
“Bruvi is an improved pod coffee system with a couple of unique features,” Perry said. “First is taste and quality; the proprietary brewing system brews to the same high standards as specialty coffee roasters like Klatch Coffee, including adjusting the brewing parameters to match our brewing recipe. That’s why premium coffee from roasters like Klatch is offered on the Bruvi platform. Second, Bruvi’s B-Pods are enzyme-infused and designed to be tossed in the trash, making them guilt-free. B-Pods degrade faster in the landfill without leaving microplastics behind.”
It’s also worth noting that for coffee drinkers who only want a single cup at a time, single-serve brewing can be more efficient on resources like water, coffee, and energy. Pre-portioned coffee doesn’t spill, and machines only heat the water needed for a single cup. There’s no waste from discarding leftover coffee from a large pot.
What makes Klatch Coffee unique
Family-owned and run, Klatch Coffee is a unique coffee roaster based in Southern California. Distributed worldwide, the company sources, roasts, and brews its own coffee and applies a scientific method to accomplish a taste best described with expletives and exclamations. With over 30 years of experience with coffee brewing in Southern California’s Inland Empire, Klatch Coffee has a deep history of refining and perfecting its coffee roasts.
Roastmaster and founder Mike Perry makes many annual international trips to source coffee under a direct trade model — buying specialty coffee beans directly from the farmer, as opposed to importers or middlemen. International trips allow Klatch to better select partners that share in goals and values — like ethics, sustainability, and community. Additionally, it also helps Klatch compensate it with more than the industry standard pay rate as it works directly with its producers instead of a third party. With the direct trade model, the company returns to many of the same producers each year, building strong and long-lasting relationships.
The meaning of “crazy goat” coffee
One of Klatch Coffee’s featured roasts, known as “Crazy Goat” is one of the most popular coffees. But what’s behind this interesting name? Perry told us the name “Crazy Goat” was inspired by the origin story of coffee. Kaldi, a goat herder in Ethiopia, observed that his goats were jumping around energetically after eating red berries, thus deciding to try the berries himself. Those red berries turned out to be coffee cherries, which led to the discovery of everyone’s favorite caffeinated beverage.
Klatch’s Crazy Goat coffee blend is available in several different coffee bags, such as ground coffee, whole bean, and finely ground. You can also find this blend in Bruvi’s single-serve pods to use with the Bruvi single-serve coffee maker.
How the Bruvi coffee brewing system works
Bruvi’s unique coffee brewing system features innovative technology that uses a camera to scan the pod. The machine then knows which specialty roaster’s coffee is inside the pod and then automatically adjusts the brewing parameters to deliver the best possible brew for that exact coffee. This mesmerizing technology results in an excellent brew every time, and it gives you the flexibility to enjoy different varieties of coffee in a single-serve cup.
The scan label system of the Bruvi maker mimics how expert baristas create different pour-over recipes based on factors like a single-origin coffee’s region, roast level, varietal type, and even elevation and harvest season, bringing this professional-level specialty coffee experience right to your home. Klatch works with partners like Bruvi on specific recipes to ensure their coffees taste the way we intend.
Considering single-serve coffee alternatives
Although Keurig’s K-Cups are the most well-known and widely used type of single-serve coffee, this doesn’t mean they’re the only option. Perry recommends that coffee drinkers who want to prepare a single cup at a time look into the various alternatives that are available on the market. As coffee buyers become more aware of sustainable coffee options, there are likely to be even more innovations to come in future years.
Single-serve coffee pods
Some options include improved pod coffee like the Bruvi B-Pods or even innovations in flash-frozen coffee such as Comeeter . Comeeter provides a new way for coffee lovers to enjoy a single cup at a time through a unique brewing process. Once coffee is brewed, the coffee is immediately flash-frozen into individual capsules. From there, the coffee pods can be melted for single use. This option is another more eco-friendly and sustainable option compared to K-Cups, as the grounds are 100% composted to make the capsules, and they’re easy to recycle.
Bottled espresso concentrate
Another K-Cup alternative to consider is bottled espresso concentrate, an option that delivers shelf-stable espresso that coffee lovers can enjoy at home. This fall, Klatch Coffee will be debuting a new shelf-stable concentrated espresso that allows you to skip the brewing process entirely. Coffee drinkers can use the espresso concentrate to make high-quality hot or iced coffee drinks at home.
The coffee used to create espresso concentrate comes from specialty roasters, allowing you to enjoy the same cafe-level quality you want in a cup of coffee. Furthermore, the upcoming espresso concentrate product will come in glass bottles, which allow for easy rinsing and recycling. Bottles can also be repurposed and reused for home use, helping to reduce product waste.
Pour-over coffee
If you want to enjoy a great cup of coffee at home, you can also look to pour-over coffee instead of using a Keurig machine. In our interview, Perry noted, “Preparing pour-over coffee is actually much simpler and faster than you might think.” You’ll need to invest in a pour-over device as a small, one-time investment, along with an electric kettle, but then you’ll have it to use time and time again. Perry’s favorite pour-over devices are the April Brewer or Chemex Dripper.
Another thing to love about making pour-over coffee, according to Hearther, is that it “brings you closer to the coffee itself, helping you understand how your grinding and brewing choices impact the quality and characteristics of your finished cup. Once you’re done pouring, most coffee filters are made with paper and are thus easily compostable along with the coffee grounds. As for the vessel itself, just wash and reuse!”
April Brewer
Chemex Dripper
