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I have tried Tassimo, and owned the Senseo, and neither of them compare to the quality of the coffee, the simplicity of the system, or the sheer pleasure you get from the Keurig. As for the Keurig unit itself, it is SO easy. Even better, this Thanksgiving we had people over and three wanted regular coffee, two wanted decaf, and one asked if we had any hazelnut coffee. Best gift I *ever* received. Not a problem for any of them.If you want good coffee, and a fast way to make a single cup, the Keurig will serve you well. (Right now, for example, the Obama or McCain blends which are the "Donut Shop" k-cups, just repackaged, are $8.00 a box of 24, which comes to 33 cents a cup, and they qualify for free Amazon super saver shipping. I definitely consider it my favorite home appliance, and I even take it on weekend golf getaways so that I am not without my Keurig in the morning.
My favorite K-Cups are Newman's Special Bold, Newman's Decaf, and Caribou Colombian. Plus, there is something cool about having friends over and asking them if they want a cup of coffee, and then making one specific to their preferences, brewed in less than a minute at 192 degrees. I used to use a Krups coffee maker with a thermal carafe that made great coffee, but I have not been disappointed in the slightest with the Keurig's quality of coffee. I like the more dense flavors of coffee in general, but also enjoyed the "Donut Shop" blend and have had the other Caribou and Gloria Jean's flavors as well and enjoyed them too. My wife doesn't drink coffee, so I used to waste a lot, and I hated making a pot and then having to clean up the grounds and filter, or clean out the glass pot or metal carafe.
I have used my Keurig for almost a year now on a daily basis, and I love it. I fill it with water every other day or so, but there is virtually NO cleanup or maintenance necessary. That said, if you shop around for deals or buy in quantity, you can get Keurig coffee for 25 cents to 50 cents a cup in the flavors and blends you like. I like my coffee with cream (and occasionally with sugar) but can drink it black from the Keurig as well, since it's just really good coffee. Yes, the coffee can be a little expensive when you break it down by the cost per cup, compared to other home coffee makers.
Because I have all this coffee that will go to waste and when it works- I like it.4. I find this a bit of a problem for a coffee maker that costs $150 (B60 and 70). I grind it fine and can get a pretty strong cup- even at 15 ozs.2. Most people that use the brewer punch the medium followed by the small fill size to make a 15oz.
I spend approx $75 every three months. I've owned three of these brewers and a few friends also own one. I use the brewer at home in my home-based business and everyone that uses it- ends up buying one. See point #1.3. I've owned these brewers since early 2000 and I just bought another replacement with the same issue. Now I'm trying the Platinum.
Most seem to like the flavor, but I think it's a bit weak. Here's my humble opinion after several years of use:1. I buy all my coffee from Keurig and they did not give me a break. The problem starts: either it only fills half way (compared to what it should do) or it just does not fill at all when pressing the flashing fill button. The problem appears to be with some sort of sensor that fills the cup which seems to wear out quickly. I've had 3 different models- the most recent was a B60. why do I keep buying it. But, we've ALL had problems with the brewer.If it was more reliable, I would rate it a 5, but I'm rating it a 2 because of reliability issues.
I wish the Kcups were a bit larger so I could make stronger coffee at the larger size. MOST IMPORTANT: Every Keurig coffee maker that I own has failed. That is a bit disappointing.When I spoke with customer service on my last brewer- they told to expect 3 yrs from the maker. To get around it, I bought the cup that let's me fill with my own coffee. to Keurig's defense- they replace it with no questions AS LONG AS IT's UNDER the 1 yr WARRANTY. This seems very abnormal- even when we've bought ours years apart (it's not just a bad batch). cup. Even every one of my friends have all had their's fail.
Regular coffee, flavored coffee, decaf coffee -- I tried it all with the same results. There are lots of different brands of K-Cups out there to choose from, so the coffee choice is not limited, which was one of my fears when I purchased this brewer. I see why people like these Keurig brewers, and maybe someday I'll try one again to see if they've been improved. At Keurig's suggestion, I kept descaling and unplugging until one day, about a year and a half after purchase, it started brewing and spitting water and steam out the top, and nothing I could do would get it to stop. On top of that, being able to brew one cup at a time at a preferred size setting is incredibly convenient.However, there are enough negatives about this coffee maker that I just can't recommend it. And honestly, there IS a lot to like about it. Unfortunately, I think my old Hamilton Beach Brewstation did a better job at half the price. I had a huge mess all over my kitchen.
It's not bitter, which is good, but most of the K-Cups produce a less-than-flavorful blend. As someone who researches a product extensively before purchase, I thought I had found a winner in the Keurig B60 Special Edition brewing system. I know and fully accept that this happens sometimes with electronic devices. With all the other folks on here raving about this exact coffee maker, I wonder if I just got a bad one. Then it was back to its old tricks.
I called Keurig to get support and was told that 1) I probably needed to descale (run vinegar through it for a full cleaning); and 2) to unplug it for a few hours to let it "reset."I did both of these things, and lo and behold, the coffee maker worked like new again -- for about three weeks. And it would have been nice if Keurig customer service had seen fit to replace my coffee maker within the warranty period rather than simply telling me to descale and unplug.The Keurig brewers are expensive, and so I expected something very solid and exceptional. But for now, I think I'll replace this brewer with something completely different. Still, I have heard and read similar comments about the weakness of the brew these coffee makers produce. In desperation (because I am actually a light-to-medium roast fan), I tried the Extra Bold K-Cups that are out there with MUCH better results, but there aren't too many varieties of Extra Bold to choose from at this time. Or maybe I didn't descale enough in the first six months that I had it and that caused some kind of problem. No grinding or measuring of coffee is a HUGE plus.
Of course, this was after the warranty period had expired.I will admit that it's entirely possible I got a lemon. Then it did brew -- the entire contents of the reservoir. First, the coffee is weak, even on the smallest size setting. So I ended up with a limited coffee choice after all.The other issue I had with this brewer is that about six months after I purchased it, the display would say "ready to brew," but when I pushed the button, nothing happened for a few minutes.
If you don't like the first pod you try, chances are it's not because of the machine. So far, I've found good stockpiles and good varieties at Kohl, Wegman's Supermarkets, and Bed, Bath,& Beyond. For me, the single serve system makes great sense as it's usually overkill for me to brew a whole pot just for myself. The nice thing with the Keurig system though, is that there are a wide varieties of other pods available too. You just need to try a different one. As far as the pros and cons of the machine go:Pros:- Wide variety of coffee to choose from- Wide variety of tea to choose from- Instant hot water for hot chocolate, cooking, soups, etc.- Very aesthetically pleasing.
This is a great machine for coffee drinkers. And now that Winter has started to set in, hot chocolate is fast becoming a staple evening ritual over here. At first I was afraid that I would be limited to buying all my pods from Amazon. While it's true that the coffee may be "watered-down" a bit and not as strong if using the larger brew size option, frankly, if I'm on the go and won't be able to immediately make another cup, I'd rather have weaker coffee than less coffee.- It does make a bit of noise in between brews. This is one benefit that the B70 model has over this model by having the "Extra-large travel mug-size" as well. And in regards to hot chocolate, neither of us cared much for the hot chocolate pods that we've tried so far, but it's quite simple (and inexpensive) to use regular powder mix from the supermarket and just use the Keurig to provide us with instant hot water for it. I'm sure by the time you read this review, you've already read countless other reviews telling you that, and are pretty much set on getting it as long as the price is right. However, what other reviews might not tell you, is that this is also a great machine for tea drinkers as well.
I'm still going through the variety packs to settle on which I like best, and there are some that I really did not care for (I won't name which ones because we all have our own tastes). Not only is this convenient, but it sometimes leads to that impulse buy that you can immediately reap the benefits from (as soon as you get home). And while I do love Amazon and their prices are pretty much always the best, sometimes when you need a quick fix, you really don't want to wait for shipping (even if you're a Prime member). It's not a problem for us, but it might be if there's a light sleeper in the house, and they happen to be sleeping in relatively close proximity to the kitchen.Overall, we couldn't be happier. It's not as large as the B70s, but it's still not that bad.- Extremely simple to use.
And remember, not all coffee is created equal. With the variety available, I do believe there really is something for everyone with the Keurig system. Our B60 is used multiple times, all throughout the day and was definitely worth every penny to us. I'm the only coffee drinker in my household. So far one of my favorite varieties was an impulse buy that I just happened to come across while grocery shopping.Cons- The "Travel mug-size" isn't exactly enough for our travel mugs.
The hardest parts for us are still deciding which variety pod to try next and restraining ourselves from drinking more coffee or tea than is good for us.- Availability of pods not only online, but at retail stores as well. My girlfriend is a casual tea drinker (and by that I mean she enjoys a cup of tea.but is by no means a snob about it), and there are plenty of teas for her to choose from. Easily the best looking small appliance in our kitchen- Pretty good sized water reservoir.
They had a Keurig on their counter and we thoroughly enjoyed the variety of flavors available as well as the ease of use. Simple to use and to clean-up, plus we can offer multiple choices of coffee for every taste, any time. We used to a Krups 12-cup auto-maker and have used that for years.
We have groups of people over for evenings and they like it as well. We have bought two of the reusable coffee filter units that insert into the Keurig Brewer because the k-cup coffees are expensive by comparison. We use the Krups for decafe and the Keurig for regular since there are less people that want high test coffee after dinner these days.
This is a totally new way for us to make coffee. A good value product. That way we can get our coffee made in the brewer since it isn't available in the k-cup system as yet.
But as our coffee drinking has slowed, we started looking at options and found one after a weekend trip at a friend's home. So we bought a B60 model and absolutely love it.
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