Some Good Espresso K Cups

While espresso purists shudder at the thought of using a single serve coffee maker to make espresso, there are some very good options available using k cups.  Espresso is actually the process used to make the coffee, not the coffee itself.  There is no espresso coffee as a brand or a bean.  A conventional espresso machine will use very finely ground coffee beans that are packed tightly into the filter holder.  This holder is then placed under the spout where steamed water is forced through ground coffee, giving you a one or two ounce cup of espresso.

Single serve coffee makers brew their coffee in a similar manner.  The pods contain finely ground coffee and hot water is forced through them, giving you the cup of coffee that you are familiar with.  This process is not exactly the same as espresso brewing, but because these coffee makers use pressure and steam, they can reproduce an espresso experience.

The Quality Of The K Cup Matters

Obviously you won’t get a cup of espresso by using a k cup from Dunkin Donuts.  While DD Coffee is great, it is not packed into the cup properly to give you an espresso.  You need to look at k cups that are meant to be espresso, they will have coffee that is very finely ground, then packed tightly into to the pod.   The coffee maker will then force hot water through those tightly packed grounds and you will have espresso.

Here are a few k cups for espresso that we have tried and liked.  While a k cup will never completely create the espresso you get at a coffee shop, it can give you a rich coffee drink that will be the next best thing,

Cafe Bustelo Dark Roast Espresso

Don’t let the name fool you, this is actually a company owned by Smuckers.  That said, it is a surprisingly good espresso k cup.  The blend is very dark and the flavor is very rich.  For a k cup espresso, this is very good.

SF Bay Espresso K Cups

This k cup has two great things going for it.  Not only do you end up with a very good cup of espresso but you have a pod that is biodegradable.  K cups are notorious for being wasteful but this pod will break down easily in nature.

Peets Espresso K Cups

Peet’s is now one of the largest coffee chains in the world.  They are part of the company that owns Caribou and Krispy Kreme, meaning that the sell a lot of coffee everyday.  This assortment is fun, it gives you the options of having flavors added to your espresso.

Don’t dismiss k cups if you want a quick espresso.  They can’t recreated exactly an espresso from your coffee shop, but they can quickly give you a decent espresso with minimal fuss.