When Keurig introduced their coffee machine in the early 1990’s, their idea was to provide coffee lovers with the chance to make a gourmet cup of coffee in their own home, which would rival what any barista could make.
The fact that the Keurig brewer is still takes pride of place in plenty of kitchens across the country and countless offices have a K-cup machine that dispenses a quick and easy coffee that actually tastes good, is testament to how popular these brewing machines are.
Easy coffee
The company patented a single-cup brewer that uses pressure-based brewing technology and this delivers just the right amount of temperature and water pressure to produce an excellent cup of coffee.
The beauty of a system like one offered by a Keurig machine is that you don’t need to grind any beans or insert a filter, or even measure any coffee out, to get a perfectly brewed beverage in your hand.
Tea and Hot chocolate all on the menu
You can also use the Keurig brewing system to make a variety of different teas that can be purchased in the K-cup format for ease of use.
In addition to being able to get all manner of different teas such as Earl Grey, Keurig Starbucks Green Tea and Chai Green Tea, you can also quickly create a hot chocolate or maybe a dark chocolate or mocha drink. You can also get some iced beverages such as Sweet Raspberry and Sweet Peach Perfect.
Cocktails on the menu?
Your Keurig machine is more than capable of handling all your beverage requests as you can see but if you are prepared to be a bit different and follow some sensible rules, you could actually make cocktails using your Keurig.
Before getting to the secret behind making Irish coffee or Peppermint Schnapps, there are some words of warning about how you use your machine for drink experimentation, so that you don’t put it out of service.
Your K-cup machine is only meant to be filled with water and anything else might harm it, so you should not put alcohol directly into the machine.
K-cup Irish coffee
Irish coffee is relatively easy to make and you will need water, some bourbon, a dark roast K-cup, some brown sugar and some Irish cream.
Pour two parts water to one part bourbon into the reservoir and work on a 2:1 ratio, which is just about the right strength. Insert the K-cup dark roast and select the 6 ounces (small cup) setting and then press the Brew button.
You should then be able to enjoy a satisfying Irish coffee when you add the brown sugar and Irish cream to taste.
Hot chocolate with a kick
You could also try adding some peppermint schnapps (about one ounce) and use a hot chocolate K-cup instead of coffee for a chocolate treat with an extra kick to it.
Gin Zinger
Use a lemon zinger K-cup and add some dry gin, working on the same 2:1 ratio for best results. Add some honey at the end and you will be pleasantly surprised how refreshing the hot cocktail is.
Most owners price their Keurig machine so treat it with respect, but that doesn’t mean you can try and have some fun with flavors and mixes, as long as you are careful.
Karen Mullins is a working girl who loves a great cup of coffee. An avid writer, she enjoys sharing her discoveries with others by posting online. Look for her interesting articles on a variety of websites and blogs.
A hot chocolate or mocha drink sounds delicious!