Morning Beverage

Some of us like to start the day with a fresh-brewed cup of coffee, some of us with tea. I can go either way, although I have to admit I don’t make very good coffee. Trader Joe’s has a nice breakfast tea that I enjoy, but I must admit having fallen into the habit of using something I never thought I would: one of those pod thingies. My across the hall neighbor gave me one that her mother sent her for Christmas, apparently having forgotten that she already had a nicer one. In one of my previous jobs we had one briefly with gratis pods until it became too popular and was cut as too frivolous an expense. I always turned my nose up to them as being horribly wasteful with those non-biodegradeable plastic pod corpses filling up our landfills and never degrading.

Then I had one.

No, it doesn’t replace my electric kettle (best purchase EVAH!) and tea bags. But it does make better coffee than I ever could and Amazon has these Chai pods that I have come to rely on as my morning beverage of choice. (my skills at making Chai make my coffee making skills look protean..) I do feel like I am clubbing a bunch of baby seals every time a toss one of those pods in the trash, but…

So what’s your favorite morning tipple? Recipes? Leave a comment..

Image: Amazon

  • Tom says:

    I will have to look for that..

  • Portia says:

    Hey Tom,
    I made Jin get rid of ours when the whole recycling problem arose. He was totally bummed when it was announced not even two months later that they were starting to sell $2 Postage Paid Recycle Bags. All he does if fill the bag up and it self seals, he gives it to me to drop into the post Office, and done.
    There isn’t one in our house anymore but he has one at work and all the guys use them.
    Portia xx

  • Tom says:

    I don’t think mine is actually a Keurig- I call it that in the same way I refer to all tissues as “kleenex.”

    Nothing wrong with a Mr. Coffee. I’m just a very rare coffee drinker. Coffee with real cream is divinely decadent. Well, for that matter, almost anything with real cream is, except perhaps veal..

  • rosarita says:

    We had a Keurig for a while and loved it, we used reusable pod cups with our regular coffee (I’m cheap more than environmentally responsible) but the machine died in less than a year so we’re back to our reliable Mr Coffee. I’ve been down to one morning cup of very strong coffee for a few years now but just can’t cross the line to no coffee at all. On lazy mornings, sometimes I’ll have an extra half cup with cream, tastes deliciously decadent.

  • AnnJune says:

    Hi Tom – I’m a tea drinker of numerous cups and glasses a day – hot, cold, black, green, herbal etc. etc. I’ve been thinking about getting an electric kettle for a while now – what brand is yours that you like so much? I’ve just started looking into them and would appreciate the input. Thanks!

    • Tom says:

      It was a Chef’s Choice, which I got on sale at Bed Bath and Etc on sale. It retails for $50 but I think I got it for less than half that with being on sale and with coupons. I know I wouldn’t have pasi that for it…

  • Kathleen says:

    I enjoy both coffee and tea and drink a lot of both. I have a Keurig at home and use the pods from a company called Intelligent Blends. They have so many different kinds of coffees, including organic which I’ve switched to. The pods are recyclable, and also have little filters in them. Just peel off the top, rinse out the grains, and into the recycle bin. I get a delivery everything two months of my favorite staples, and then I also order as needed when a sale is on (usually indulge in a flavored coffee pack). Surprisingly, their prices are very competitive and are cheaper than the boxes of 10 or 12 at the grocery store.

  • Dina C. says:

    I’m a fan of green tea, plain. My favorite is Tazo China Green Tips, and I’ve had many other good kinds too. We don’t have a pod machine since neither of us drink coffee, but it would be handy for guests.

    • Tom says:

      A French Press is probably easiest for guests. I found I made decent coffee out of one. Never could with a drip machine.

  • Queen Cupcake says:

    Tea or coffee, whatever my husband brings upstairs to me in the morning–I’m a lucky woman! We use the pods at work, and yes, I feel guilty about the non-recyclable things. As for the kind of coffee, I only like coffee in my coffee; no flavors, no syrup or sugar. Just a wee bit of 1/2 n 1/2.

    • Tom says:

      Completely agree. No flavored coffee for me! Just 1/2 & 1/2. No sugar. If I have to add sugar it’s bad coffee.

  • Brigitte says:

    Tea for me 🙂

    • Tom says:

      I still love my tea, which is why I think my electric kettle was such a great purchase. It seems to boil water so much faster than a kettle on the stove. Maybe because the heating element is in direct contact with the water rather than having to heat the kettle first.

  • matty says:

    Nespresso is a very nice coffee.

  • Shiva-woman says:

    I use Nespresso, and we recycle the pods. Best coffee, delicious, and quick.

  • Tom, many brands of those pods are totally recyclable and many manufacturers have programs set up to recycle them by sending the empties back to the company. Check with the company to see if they do.