I love my Keurig coffee maker
and the convenience of making one cup of coffee at a time. My husband and I each drink one cup of coffee per day, and it’s nice to have a little variety in the K-cups. The thing about K-cups is that they can be expensive (especially hard to find flavors) and not every coffee company makes them. Off the top of my head, I would be missing out my favorite ground versions of Seattle’s Best, Community Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks, just to name a few, if I only used k cups made for the Keurig (that’s not even including some of the best local blends!).
I knew there had to be a cheaper way to make my own K cups versus buying the separate refillable K-Cup
.
After a few test runs, here is how I refill my used k-cups using regular ground coffee (Plus, this method is almost completely free!):
How to Refill K-Cups With Your Own Ground Coffee
1. Remove and discard the lid of a used k-cup; gently rinse out and dry completely—this is very important unless you are going to refill the k-cup right away. Store used cups in a gallon Ziploc bag.
2. Fill the K-cup to the top with the ground coffee of your choice. I am using Community Coffee Carnivale Cake
— yum!
3. Cut heavy duty tin foil
(or regular tin foil folded in half) into a circle. It should be slightly larger than the opening of the k-cup.
4. Place foil on top of k-cup and tuck into edges. As you cut more and more of these circles, you will get better at judging the size.
5. Since this K-cup was previously used, you will need to take note of the hole on the bottom. To match up, insert the K-cup and turn clockwise until it is inserted correctly.
6. Pour water into your Keurig unit and brew. You will have a perfect cup of coffee using your own grounds and a used K-cup. I personally only refill each K-cup one time after its first use. I have heard you can reuse the k-cups many times if you take good care of the filter.
If you don’t want to refill k-cups, consider buying a Refillable K Cup …it’s cheaper & a lot better for the environment!
Brandi @ Flip Flop Mama
What a neat idea, so very smart eco-friendly money saving idea!
jr911
While I don’t use a Keurig, I have several friends who do. I think they’ll be happy to read this article.
Shannon (@Cajun_Mama)
You know I love Community Coffee and so glad you found a way to try the Carnivale Cake. Did you love it?
Nichol
I had no idea! Thank you so much:) That cake coffee sounds amazing.
Tammy
Neat – I have a couple of commercially made products that allow me to use my own ground coffee in my keurig – I like being able to use my own Starbucks coffee. One thing to note about using things this way though is that it will void your warranty if your machine breaks – so I started using them after my warranty was up.
JIM
I got tired of cutting out the foil with scissors, so I purchased a 2 1/2″ dia. hole punch that is made for the Stamping Crafts. Purchased at Joan Fabrics of hobby Lobby. I then Cut the Heavy Duty foil into 3″ wide strips. I then put the strips in the hole punch. They fit perfectly over the K cups. THe Hvy Duty foil holds up better than the thinner foil. Hope this helps someone.
Kathy
Great idea! I’m going to try this.
Renee
i purchased the black plastic Coffee Caps Reuse And Refill The Keurig® K-Cup from eBay and they fit on the Keurig cup. You can use this forever.
Jill
I fold the foil over several times to cut them all at once and I have a cup that is the perfect size and I trace it and cut them all out at the same time.
krys
keurig makes a special filter so you can use your own grounds & not void your warranty
Jason
Awesome!
Thanks for the tip.
Frances Gresley
I once found a K cup that had a mesh bag instead of the plastic cup, but now I cannot find that. Can you tell me what brand that is and where to find it? It’s much better for the environment. Thank you.
Stefanie Fauquet
These are the ones I use that sound like what you’re describing https://amzn.to/2vYN6ZU
Mary
I like Cameron brand. No plastic cup, just the filter.
Kathy
I have purchased the refillable cups but I alsways get grounds in my coffee.
Anonymous
you could get small k cup filters fron amazon. they were just perfect