While we all love our morning coffee, we want it made fast and easier. Keurig has been solving this problem for us for quite some time. However, with Keurig’s K-cups, Vue-cups, and coffee pods by other brands, consumers are often left confused as to what is the best option for them. So in this article, we are going to put Keurig Vue vs K cups and answer some of the most commonly asked questions.
What Is A Vue Pod?
Before we answer this, we want to tend to another confusion that arises in the minds of beginners and that is “what are pods?” Well, a coffee pod is coffee’s equivalent of a teabag. It’s made of paper filter into a cup-like shape and pre-portioned coffee inside. A coffee pod usually contains 6.7-7.5 grams of coffee, enough for a single serving.
Keurig is a pioneer in this industry and Its K-cup has been the frontrunner since it launched. Anyone could put a pod in their coffee maker and get their coffee ready with just the touch of a few buttons. However, there’s always room for improvement, and Keurig through Vue pods could fix some limitations of K cups.
Now back to our question, “What is a Vue pod?”, these are preportioned serving of coffee that came in eight different sizes. Keurig launched Vue pods in 2012 as an attempt to fix some limitations of K cups. Vue pods tended to all the problems K-cups had. It brewed stronger coffee, had better recycling options, and its machines offered temperature control. Coffee-addicts were relieved by this development, even though it cost a little more.
Keurig Vue machines offered brew size options ranging from 4 oz up to 18 oz. You might hear some coffee addicts complain about 18 oz not being enough for their needs but this is a significant improvement over K-cup’s 12 oz.
Moreover, Vue machines have a very nice color touch screen and sleek design overall. It can also brew tea, cappuccino, latte, hot chocolate, and other drinks on top of coffee. Although it did have some limitations, like needing more counter space and no compatibility with K cups, the pros outweigh the cons.
How Does A Vue Coffee Maker Work As Compared To A K-cup Coffee Maker?
K-cups, when placed into their allotted coffee chamber gets punctured by the machine in the foil lid seal on the top as well as on the bottom plastic casing. Hot water from the machine’s water reservoir is injected, and brewed coffee flows through the bottom of the cup..
Most of this process holds for Vue pods as well, except that these cups have a spouted design and use number 5 plastic. This plastic is easily recyclable as compared to other options.
However, you can go one step further and opt for reusable plastic cups, they can be reused once thoroughly washed and dried.
The only limitation here is that Vue coffee-makers do not work with K-cups. While this was Keurig’s plan to end the use of K-cups and force their customers to switch to the new system, it backfired.
Now, things like the K2V Cup are helping Vue machine owners in using K-cups. This has provided much-needed relief for several users.
So Why Are K-cups Still In The Market Despite Keurig Vue Cups?
One question, people, who are new to coffee brewing, ask “why are K-cups still in the market if Kuerig Vue offers so much more?”
Well, there are four reasons we could come up with for this.
- Other Brand’s K-cups
One reason for this is that other brands kept making their k-cups. Larger adoption of K cups and their resultant popularity gave them an edge over Vue pods. With the freedom to choose more options, consumers stayed on with K cups. As a result, Vue pods and machines didn’t see a wider consumer interest.
- Less Availability of Keurig Vue Cups
Either due to lousy promotion, marketing, or other reason, Kuerig Vue couldn’t create as big a fanbase and demand as K-cups did. Therefore, it hasn’t been available in local stores the way K-cups were and still are to this day.
- More Flavors
Since K-cups were made by other brands, they come in a lot of flavors. The same is not true for Keurig Vue cups and therefore it lagged far behind in the sheer varieties of flavors K-cups have.
- Less Expensive K-cups
Keurig had expected the market to demand their new products with more enthusiasm and therefore, they set their new products at a higher cost. Even though the higher price tag was justified with the color touch screen and other features, it became an obstacle for most consumers.
Since Keurig stopped making the original K-cups and machines in 2012, they had anticipated that the market would shift to Vue pods. That as we know it didn’t happen. Sure die-hard fans paid for the added benefits, as a whole Vue pods failed to convert the market.
Vue Cups Vs K-cups: Pros And Cons?
Let’s boil down everything we have discussed to simple pros and cons to get a better analysis.
Pros of Keurig Vue
- Latest brewing technology
- Provides control over the strength and temperature of the coffee so it brews stronger coffee
- Offers up to 8 size options
- Offers a larger cup size
- Colored touch programmable screen
- More user friendly
- Recyclable
Cons Of Keurig Vue
- A bit expensive
- Offers fewer flavors relatively
- Coffee-maker not compatible with K-cups
Pros of K Cups
- Comparably less expensive
- Easier to find
- More refill options
- Widely available and is unlikely to become obsolete in future
Cons of K Cups
- One size
- No temperature control option
- Not so strong coffee
- Non-reusable pods
K Cup Vs Vue: Who Wins?
With the discontinuation of Keurig Vue pods and machines, it’s evident that K-cups won. Due to Vue’s failure at taking over the market, Keurig decided to discontinue their Vue pods and coffee makers in 2014.
K cups got a convincing win and continued their march towards success. These massively popular cups continue with their success and have seen ever-increasing market penetration.