The latest Keurig K-Cup machines have a dirty secret: built into the little ground coffee pods that so many know and love is a nefarious form of DRM. A special ink found only on real cups (and damaged by use) ensures that you can only use “real” K-Cups, thereby preventing you from making your own pirate cups.
But freedom’s just another word for sticking it to the man, and the Rogers Family Company, owners of Gourmet-Coffee.com, is fighting back with the Freedom Clip.
Their Freedom Clip fits inside of your Keurig and tricks the DRM sensor into thinking every cup is authorized. The family writes:
That’s why we have developed this easily installed “Freedom Clip” for Keurig 2.0® brewers. Just place the clip in your new brewer and it will see all k-cup type pods as “Authorized K-Cups®” . This clip is our gift to you. Now go forth and brew with freedom.
Brew with freedom! It’s silly for Keurig to force DRM on their machines and cracks like this are an obvious reaction to their decision to restrict users. The pods, which are immensely wasteful in the first place, have been a target for hackers for a few years now. Videos have appeared telling you how to refill your own cups and now tools like the Freedom Clip ensure that draconian coffee DRM shall not stand.
The K-Cup patent expired in 2012, leaving Keurig in a bind. Rather than embracing manufacturers and offering lower-priced licenses, the company decided to treat customers like criminals. This never works and it’s especially tough to implement when your customers are all jacked up on Starbucks. You can get your Freedom Clip for free from the folks at Gourmet-Coffee.com and, once again, stick it to the man.
