The Lights Are Off

Shortly after we moved to Indiana, primarily to escape the dreadful, tar-like brew dispensed by the cafeteria’s “coffee” machine, we finally joined the ranks of civilized society and bought our first Keurig.

Being a tech guy and a fan of all things shiny and new, I skipped over the basic model and went straight for the Vue brewer—Keurig’s ambitious next-gen system. Similar in spirit to the original K-cup, the Vue pod was slightly larger and promised a more refined experience: temperature control, strength adjustment, and even a cappuccino mode. I was in my glory. In fact, I loved it so much, we bought one for the office and one for home.

Of course, the Vue had its quirks. For one, nobody sold the pods. Anywhere. But that’s what the internet and coffee clubs are for, right? We signed up for Keurig’s subscription service, got our monthly fix of Starbucks, Newman’s Own, and Green Mountain Roasters, and life was good. The Vue brewers served us well for six solid years, all while we racked up thousands of loyalty points that we never quite figured out how to spend.

But, as with many innovations that arrive a bit ahead of their time, Keurig quietly moved on. The Vue, much like the Betamax, faded into the shadows, replaced by the new Keurig 2.0—which, ironically, looks a lot more like the original K-cup system. The Vue never quite caught on with the mainstream, and with that, its future was sealed.

There’s nothing like that first cup of dark roast while sitting at a picnic table, watching the world wake up. So, naturally, we packed one of our trusty Vue machines to bring that ritual on the road.

Planning ahead, I bought what must’ve been the last remaining stock of Vue pods from Keurig. I wasn’t blind to the future. I knew the end was near. But I figured we had enough pods to enjoy a month or two of button-push coffee bliss.

And then it happened.

Faced with the inevitable obsolescence, we made the tough call. Keep lugging around a six-year-old brewer that weighed as much as a 30-pack of Budweiser (this thing was no K-cup Mini)… or move on.

Sadly, we moved on.

The Vue brewed us one final cup of coffee yesterday morning. It was a quiet moment. No ceremony. No solemn music. Just that familiar hum, one last pour, and then silence.

Well, we’re improvising. We still have about 30 days’ worth of Vue pods, so we’ve been slicing them open and dumping the contents into our trusty French Press. The results? Let’s just say they’re… adequate. It’s not the press’s fault—we still love the method—but the pod grind just doesn’t cooperate.

Soon we’ll move on to a proper bag of coarsely ground Verona, and the French Press will shine again. But deep down, we know we’ll miss the convenience and speed of the Keurig.

So yes, a Keurig Mini 2.0 might just be in our near future. Small enough for RV life, smart enough to keep us caffeinated, and a fitting next chapter in our ever-evolving coffee story.