What a gift it would be if this little elf would use a reusable coffee filter with loose ground coffee in his Keurig! Not only could he add the used coffee grounds to his compost pile, or mix it into soil around his evergreens or roses, but he could also save himself money by buying ground coffee or beans in bulk, AND prevent more plastic waste at the same time! (Especially if he used a PAPER or stainless steel straw, instead of a plastic one.)
Keurigs, which are basically little on-demand water heaters, are a very energy efficient way to heat water for single serving hot drinks, more efficient than teapots or saucepans.
It is super convenient and fast to put a tea bag or a powdered hot chocolate mix right in your mug, and then, using the empty holder that would hold one of the single serving cups, tap the the “brew” button to get just the right amount of hot water you need to to fit the capacity of your mug.