Keurig was a subsidiary of Green Mountain from the start. All of this is just because the patent on k-cups ran out and their new patented machine (Vue) was a non-starter since it was even more expensive than old ones, let alone the flood of third party cups that appeared since licensing is no longer required.

Rogers Coffee (San Francisco Bay) actually produced a permanent clip-on "crack" for the 2.0 machines (though I think they've been having trouble getting them shipped), so folks with new machines can continue to use their products. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out if Green Mountain tries taking them to court.

Personally, I drink Green Mountain anyway; never had anything else (in the single-serve pre-ground category) that beats their Sumatran. So the only thing this all really does to me is that if my machine ever gives up the ghost (got six years so far, since it predates the big drop in reliability that came with the big retail push before the patent ran out) and Keurig weasels out of the lifetime warranty they claimed back when I bought it, I'll probably just buy a Cuisinart or other knockoff machine.

Keurig was founded in 1990.  Green Mountain bought 35% stake in 1996.  Didn't become wholly-owned subsidiary of GMCR until 2006.  Just FTR.

FWIW, my favorite coffee variety has been Green Mountain's Ethiopian Yirgacheffe but I've not found it available in K-cups; hard to find it at all past 8-10 years.

Fair enough (could have sworn that GMC claimed full credit for it years ago, my fault for not confirming), though it wasn't until after GMC had a major stake in it that they actually produced anything. There's never been a Keurig brewer in which GMC wasn't involved; it was just a VC startup looking for a buyer before that. The founders left before the first machine even came to market, so at that point it was just GMC and the VC folks (who don't tend to care so long as they are getting a good return). So the point stands that they've never been effectively independent, and the DRM fracas isn't attributable to a sudden change in ownership.

That, too, is fair enough.  And accurate.  I, too, should have confirmed that belief as I had been unaware of GMCR's ownership until the 2.0 units came out.  But I still think the DRM scheme was an attempt to increase sales of GMCR-produced & licensed K-cups by precluding the use of unlicensed, non-GMCR coffees.  I don't for a minute believe that it was based on technical issues or requirements, or that it would have ever happened absent ownership by a coffee company.

And just in case you missed my comments earlier in the thread, I've been a big fan of Keurig from the time of my first purchase years ago.  Customer service has been second to none in my experience.  Our first 2.0 unit crapped out after only a couple of months and they immediately shipped us a replacement no questions asked, no old unit return required.

My Keurig recently broke and after looking at various machines, I decided to go with a regular single-serve coffee maker.  With our Keurig we mostly used the refillable cups anyways, so it made to sense to pay for one of these machines.  

I picked this up and am pretty happy with it.  A Hamilton Beach single serve scoop coffee maker.

I too read about this limitation with the new Keurig 2.0 brewers, but didn't interpret that to mean that only GMC k-cups could be used.

I also use "generic" k-cups with my Keurig (1.0) and thought this new machine would only scan the k-cup surface for known brands.

But then, I bought the Keurig to quickly make single cups of coffee.  If I wanted to go back to brewing a "pot" of coffee each time, I'd dust off the old "Mr. Coffee" and use it.

Borg999

reply 13

Never had a problem with drip coffee machines. Cheap and reliable.

Anyone whose had issues with those machines...well I think it's what most tech support departments refer to as "user error".

Yes, I drip my coffee all the time.  Drips fine...     Oh, and tastes fine, too!

Mark -  the cups have to be either GMC or 'certified' (licensed) brands for the 'sensor' in the 2.0 unit to enable brewing.  Not sure what part of the K-cup top is scanned but I think it is the 'ring' or border.  In any event, the 'hack' works, enabling use of any cup and some fill-it-yourself baskets (some of the baskets may not fit the new design but mine happen to).

Keurig sounds cool...

-Swedish Generic cheap instant High-Caf 4 me and a Ciggie of course

I requested one of the free clip on devices from them because my mother in law is struggling with her Keurig 2.0.  She tried Green Mountain coffee that she previously bought and it gave the "oops" error.  Yes, Keurig/Green Mountain doesn't even like its own coffee. She has a crate of coffee and hot chocolate in one of her pantries that she can't use in her new machine.  I warned her about the possibility before she replaced her older Keurig machine, but she wanted the 2.0 for the carafe. 

I was pleasantly surprised today when I saw that Rogers Family Company put a free clip in each of the boxes of coffee that I ordered from them.  Now, I can hack 4 of the 2.0 machines and my mother in law will be able to have her coffee after my next trip into town.  

I don't plan to buy a 2.0 machine.  We have two of the older Keurigs that my wife loves.  My next coffee machine will be the Mr. Coffee 15 bar pump type espresso machine.  It was just under $200.00 a few months ago and I've now found it retail for as little as $80.00.  Like the Keurig and other pump driven machines, it's the controlled pressure that pulls the flavor out of the beans.  Being able to grind your own fresh and have the pump driven machine for under $100 is just the ticket.

WOM hates instant coffee, that's rot gut.

The reason I got the Keurig was so every cup would be fresh. I hate coffee that has been sitting on a hot plate for hours. It's burned, too strong and bitter. Gotta be freshly made for me to drink it!

I used to like my coffee a certain way till I was drafted and got my coffee out of a vat which cooked the coffee and had egg shells in it to keep the coffee grounds at the bottom.  That's also how I learned to drink it black.  Most of the time there wasn't any sugar or cream.

^ Can only be answered with - 

Pour a cup - place in fridge, and nuke when ready, eliminates the bitter, been warming too long taste.