The high price of K-Cup coffee

K-Cups: Convenient but costly

Do you enjoy your morning cup of coffee at home as a way of saving money? Although you are likely still paying less than visiting the local coffee shop, the cost may be much higher than you realize.

Single-serve coffee makers and K-Cups are all the rage -- a trend Keurig started that led most brands to jump on board with their own versions of these home brewers. While it is easy to calculate the cost of an individual K-Cup capsule based on the price of the entire package, the actual cost of the coffee per pound is not quite as obvious.

How much does your K-Cups coffee really cost?

The New York Times recently reported that your daily cup of coffee could be costing as much as $51 per pound, which is much higher than most of the high-end beans on the market. While such a price is shocking, when thought of in terms of a daily habit, it likely comes out to less than $1.

Since Keurig sold 4 million brewers in the 13 weeks prior to Christmas last year, it is clear that consumers are willing to pay for the convenience offered by these single-serve coffee makers. It seems that they will therefore continue to purchase K-Cups, pricey or not, because at the push of a button, a perfect cup is brewed every time.

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The price of convenience

An alternative to spending a king's ransom on K-Cups is to buy a reusable K-Cup filter, which takes away some of the convenience, but cuts down on the cost. It's a tough call: How much is convenience worth?

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