San Francisco Bay Coffee

Back in January, I took advantage of some gift cards and cash Christmas present to purchase myself a Keurig coffee maker to replace my little Mr. Coffee 4-cup drip coffee maker.  I really do love the convenience of being able to pop a single K-cup into the brewer to make one cup at a time.  Each cup is brewed fresh, and there is none of that burnt taste that sometimes accompanies a cup of coffee that has been sitting on the heating element of my old Mr. Coffee machine.  Some of my favorite varieties are Tully's Kona Blend, Green Mountain Nantucket Blend, and Dunkin Donuts brand coffee.

The one thing that I do not like about the Keurig coffee maker is the cost of making a cup of coffee.  I usually go to Target to pick up my K-cups.  They have 18 count boxes that usually sell for around $11 or $12 per box.  So, a cup of coffee ends up costing me 60-65 cents per cup.  My local Giant grocery store sells 12 count boxes for around $9 per box, or 75 cents per cup.  So, you can see why I usually go to Target.  I am considering buying a box of 80 from BJ's Club Warehouse for $40 to get my cost down to 50 cents but that is just too much to lay out at one time.

As I mentioned on Sunday, my wife and I drove out to visit our son for a bit.  After our visit, we needed to stop at the grocery store to pick up our weekly groceries.  Since hitting the Giant was going to be much later than my usual grocery shopping trip, I did not want to make two stops by going to Target to pick up my coffee supplies.  I decided to bite the bullet and get a box at Giant by paying a bit more per cup for the convenience of making just one stop for shopping.

During my trip down the coffee aisle, I saw a variety of coffee that I had not seen before, San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser.  They had a 12 pack box for only $6.49, or a little more that 50 cents for a cup.  I figured it was a small price to pay to take a chance on something new for my coffee fix.  I brewed my first cup of it this morning for my commute into work.  I have to say I was quite satisfied.  It is a rich, deep brown brew with a full bodied taste.  Just the way I like it.

There was one other thing that I noticed about the San Francisco Bay coffee.  When I opened the box, I noticed that this was not your ordinary K-cup.  If you are not familiar with K-cups, they are a small shot sized plastic cup of ground coffee with a built in filter.  When you put it into the brewer, a hole is punctured in the top and and bottom.  Water is forced through the top hole and empties out through the bottom for your cup of coffee.

The San Francisco Bay coffee did not have the plastic cup.  Instead, it had the familiar lid and in place of a cup was a sealed filter pouch containing the coffee.  You can see the difference in the picture above.  Upon closer examination of the box, I noticed that the company, The Rogers Family, is very concerned about environmental issues.  They have listed on the box a number of their projects to help improve the environment when it comes to the making and processing of their coffee.

I do not go out of my way to purchase "environmentally friendly" products.  The reason is simple.  Those things usually end up being more expensive.  The San Francisco Bay coffee is an item that is both environmental friendly, and in this case is actually less expensive.  Plus it is a great cup of coffee.  It is going to be one brew that I will be buying on a regular basis.