Keurig coffee makers are as simple as simple gets but the pod coffee machines have always been knocked for causing a certain amount of plastic waste. Today, Keurig unveiled a prototype for fully compostable plant-based K-Rounds, a more sustainable single-serve pod to be used in the brand’s new Keurig Alta, also unveiled today. Both the Alta and K-Rounds will begin beta testing later this year for a potential consumer launch in 2025.
I got to see, touch and smell the new K-Rounds alongside the Keurig Alta at a press preview in New York. The new K-Rounds are essentially pressed coffee grounds wrapped in a mostly invisible cellulose coating. While the company is still waiting for its application to move through the system, Keurig Chairman and CEO Bob Gamgort told those in attendance that they expect the K-Rounds to be 100% certified compostable before they come to market.
The K-Rounds will be available in various sizes and grinds to brew espresso, regular coffee and iced coffee drinks.
K-Rounds allow for more customized brewing
The K-Rounds aren’t just intended to be more sustainable, the proprietary pressed coffee pucks will be more versatile with pods available in specialty grinds and sizes to brew espresso, regular coffee and even iced coffee beverages. K-Rounds will be marked with a code that the brewer recognizes and uses to determine a proper extraction profile and pressure to get optimal flavor.
K-Rounds will work much like K-Cups, without the waste
Pods are fed into a top chamber of the soon-to-be-relased Keurig Alta much like you would load an existing K-Cup. The new Alta brewer also brews plastic K-Cups via a separate chamber so as not to alienate existing users who use the old pods. Each compostable K-Round will be marked with a unique code that tells the brewer how to brew it depending on the roast and coffee type.
The Keurig Alta will brew both the new compostable K-Round as well as existing plastic K-Cups.
You’ll need a new Keurig to brew the new pods
The one big catch is no existing Keurig pod machines will brew the new K-Round pods, so consumers will need to buy a new machine, in addition to the more expensive, eco-friendly K-Round pods.
Pricing was not yet available for the Alta or K-Rounds but we’re told the plastic-free pods will be sold at a premium when they launch later this year. They’re also shelf-stable for up to 6 months. Once a package of pods is opened, the pods are counter-stable for just 30 days before quality begins to deteriorate.
K-Rounds are pressed coffee grounds housed in a compostable casing.
So when will the plastic-free Keurig pods be available?
Here’s what a compostable K-Round looks like after it’s been brewed.
Probably not until the latter part of 2024. Keurig Alta and its line of plant-based K-Rounds pods are set to start beta testing this fall as they gather feedback and insights from retailer and coffee brand partners to refine and optimize the system before launching to the public.
In a statement released on Wednesday, CEO Bob Gamgort said, “Thirty years ago, Keurig changed the way consumers brewed coffee, with the introduction of the K-Cup pod single-serve coffee system. Today, we are applying all our expertise to create a revolutionary new system that will redefine how consumers will brew coffee for decades to come.”
Keurigs new K-Round pods will be available in four sizes to accommodate various types of coffee.
