If there’s a single-serve coffee maker that sits at the throne of the convenience, it certainly comes from Keurig. Everything about these coffee makers screams convenience, and this mostly applies to the K-Cups used on them. You take a K-Cup, you put it inside the K-Cup chamber, press one button on the Keurig and that’s where the coffee-making story ends. Well, you do drink the coffee afterward, of course, but what we’re trying to point out to is how fast and easy it is to make coffee on a Keurig.
Another thing that makes Keurig machines convenient is the fact that the open you the doors to 60 different beverage brands. Again, all you have to do is purchase your favorite K-Cups and have a quick coffee fix whenever you want. But even though making coffee with a Keurig is fast enough, picking the right Keurig for you might not be something you should do fast. Sure, these machines might have many similarities, but trust us, you don’t want to end up saying, ‘Ugh, I wish my Keurig had this and that.’ That said, if you’ve made up your mind that you want a Keurig and if you’re often thinking to yourself, ‘Which Keurig should I buy?’, maybe you should let us guide you to that answer.
How to Choose the Best Keurig for You
So far, Keurig coffee makers belong to the Keurig 1.0 and 2.0 series. The two Keurig series might have simple and convenient coffee maker models, but that doesn’t mean that they’re all the same one coffee maker being remade over and over again. They are still all very simple, but they have different features, brew different cup sizes, and come with different programmable settings. Let’s see what different Keurigs differ on.
Some Keurigs Are More Compact Than Others
There is no shame in purchasing a larger Keurig and there is no shame in getting a smaller one. Having a Keurig in your home or office is all about convenience, after all, so why would you make things inconvenient for yourself by buying a coffee maker that is simply not the one you need? A coffee makers size should not be underestimated. You can have different reasons why you want a coffee maker of a particular size and that’s perfectly fine.
However, the size of your Keurig is not only about the height, width and depth of the coffee maker. In fact, before purchasing a coffee maker you should know how much clearance you need to open the lid of the K-Cup chamber, push the buttons on the Keurig and remove its water reservoir. Yes, there’s a little bit of math to do before you buy your coffee maker, but it’s necessary and easy to do.
If You Want a Coffee Maker That Brews Coffee Fast, Choose a Keurig
All Keurig coffee makers will brew you a cup of coffee in under a minute. Unless you enjoy in long coffee preparations, a Keurig could fit your lifestyle perfectly. With a Keurig, having a cup of coffee doesn’t have to really be planned; with these coffee makers you can have coffee whenever you want to if you, literally, give it a minute. Pretty convenient, ha?
What Can You Program on a Keurig?
Different Keurigs have different programmable settings. The K-Elite, for example, lets you control both the temperature of the water and the coffee strength, whereas other popular models like the K575, K-Mini Plus, K-Classic, K-Select, and K-Café give you the option of controlling the coffee strength only. Certain Keurigs like the K-Elite and the K-Classic can also be programmed to automatically turn on and brew your coffee when you want them too. Furthermore, some coffee makers like the K-Duo and the K-Select have programmable high altitude settings. The K-Duo is also one of the Keurigs that have the pause and pour feature, and so is the K-Duo Plus.
As you may notice, different Keurigs offer different programmable settings. Ultimately, when it comes to programmable settings, you will have to choose the Keurig that offers the combination of programmable options that you like the most.
A Keurig With or Without Frother
Milk goes well with coffee, but only for certain people. If you are one of those people who like to have the commodity of having lattes and cappuccinos in their home, you should take a look at the K-Café or K-Latte, for example. Both of these coffee makers come with milk frothers, and their frothers do make decent milk foam.
Different Kinds of Brew Sizes
Not only does the K-Café have a milk frother, but it is also one of the Keurigs that can brew you a coffee mug of up to 12 ounces. Other Keurigs that can brew 12-ounce coffee cups are the K-Mini, K-Select, and the K-Duo. All of these coffee makers can brew smaller cup seizes too, of course, but they do differ in how small they can go. On the other hand, there are also Keurigs that can brew up to 10 ounces of coffee at one take and ones that can brew you a carafe (K-Duo) or a travel mug (K-Café). So, are you going to drink your coffee directly from a cup or are you in a need of a carafe, what do you think?
Keurigs and Their Water Reservoir Capacities
Another thing that Keurigs differentiate at is the capacity of their water reservoirs. These capacities ranges from 36 to 90 ounces, so you’ll have a nice variety of choices when it comes tank size. Again, it is completely up to you and the people you’re going to use the Keurig with to decide upon which coffee maker you want to entrust your coffee with. Of course, a bigger tank means less refills, but then, if you aren’t going to drink a lot of coffee on a daily basis we’d suggest you get a Keurig with a smaller reservoir. You certainly want to avoid having stale water inside the reservoir and you want to have a reservoir that you’ll make good use of, after all.
Best Price on a Keurig Coffee Maker
When it comes to Keurig coffee makers, the price is something that should not worry you a lot. Most of these machines are pretty affordable and even finding one from under $100 is perfectly possible. We would not be able to tell you what the best price on a Keurig for you is. We can, however, tell you that you’re looking at prices that can go up to a few hundred bucks and down to under $100.
What really happens in a situation of buying a Keurig is that you notice that every Keurig brings good value for the money. The coffee makers are not too expensive, but they all have good features. If you, however want to know what the least expensive Keurig is, it is the K-Compact. The K50, K-Mini Plus, K-Latte and K-Slim are mid-priced when compared to the rest of the Keurigs, the K-Classic, K-Select, K-Elite, and K-Duo are a bit pricier, and the K-Duo Plus, K-Café, and K-155 are the highest priced Keurigs currently available on the market.
The Most Popular Keurig Coffee Makers on the Market
We thought that it might help you decide on which Keurig to get for you if we tell you a little bit more about the most popular Keurigs as of nowadays. Here’s the list:
#1 Keurig K-Classic
The K-Classic undoubtedly holds the number one position on this list. This coffee maker is the most popular one of all Keurigs and it makes great coffee and because it has great features. Among those features are its ability to brew multiple cup sizes (6, 8, and 10 ounces), the big 48-ounce water tank, and its ability to accommodate a travel mug. The K-Classic is also pretty simple to use and descale, both of which facts make it easier for this Keurig to find a sweet spot on someone’s counter.
#2 Keurig K-Café
The K-Café is very popular among people who enjoy making themselves hot milk-based coffees. The coffee maker has a milk frother, so you can count on some creamy foam. As far as where your coffee will be extracted, you can choose between some of your coffee cups or a 7.2’’ travel mug. Other features like auto-off and making your coffee stronger are also available, and the coffee maker’s reservoir has the capacity of 60 ounces. Use K-Cups or ground coffee in the My K-Cup – the choice is yours.
#3 Keurig K-Elite
Things can’t go wrong if you pick the K-Elite, especially not when the coffee maker is way too generous when it comes to its features. How would you feel if we told you that this is a coffee maker with a 75-ounce water reservoir? Or is it more impressive to you that the K-Elite will let you control the temperature and strength of your coffee? Or maybe you’ll find the auto-off and high altitude settings the features you love the most on this coffee maker? If you need some iced coffee to cool off after you’ve heard about all these amazing features, get the K-Elite and press the ‘Iced’ button.
#4 Keurig K155 Office Pro
With a 90-ounce water reservoir and four brew sizes, and with a few other features like an LCD touch screen and an auto on/off feature, the Keurig K155 is a coffee maker that has won the hearts of many. Remove the drip tray of this coffee maker and you’ll fit your travel mug underneath it without a problem. And if you’re looking for highly portable Keurigs, the drain and store feature of the K155 will surely help you make up your mind fast and get this coffee maker.
#5 Keurig K525C
The Keurig K525C is a pretty versatile coffee maker when it comes to what it can brew your coffee in. The coffee maker can brew five cup seizes, but it is also perfect for a travel mug, and, guess what – a carafe! Its reservoir is, furthermore, one of the largest reservoirs on the list with a capacity of 80 ounces. And as if that isn’t enough, the K525C also makes your coffee more or less strong at the touch of a button and lets you control the water temperature. Descaling is also easy since the coffee maker will alert you when it’s time to descale it. We hope that our attempt to alert you about the qualities of the K525C are as good as its precise descaling alerts.
#6 Keurig K-Mini Plus
If you need a smaller Keurig, the K-Mini Plus is the perfect one to start thinking about every time you want to have some coffee. This coffee maker is very compact, and if it was a little bit smaller, it would’ve fit inside your pocket. It, furthermore, looks gorgeous, and there’s certainly nothing ‘mini’ about it when it comes to its features. That said, the K-Mini Plus comes with a cord and K-Cup pod storage, a Strong button, and even a removable drip tray to fit 7-inch travel mugs if you want that.
#7 Keurig K575
Get your carafe or get your coffee cup – whichever you decide to get off of your kitchen shelf, that’s the one your Keurig K575 will extract the coffee in. With this coffee maker you’ll have the option for a strong brew and temperature control, and refills will be less of an issue since the reservoir of the coffee maker has a capacity of 80ounces. The coffee maker is very versatile when it comes to the coffee pods it works with, and it lets you choose between using a K-Cup, K-Mug, or a K-Carafe pod. Do you have a favorite coffee beverage? Great! With the K575 you’ll be able to make it whenever you want and reassure yourself that you’ve made the right decision to buy exactly this coffee maker.
#8 Keurig K250
There’s a chance that you’ve owned a Keurig Classic/K55 before. If so, you should know that the elegant Keurig K250 is very similar to the K55, and that’s why we decided to compare the two coffee makers in a separate article. This coffee maker is also very similar to the K575 in the sense that it has a lot of the features that the K575 has. The only difference is that, contrary to the K575, the K250 doesn’t have a temperature control option and it has a reservoir of 40 ounces. The K250 is also slimmer, so some people prefer it over the K575 because it is more compact. Everything else, including the coffee strength control setting, the option for specialty beverages, and the option to use K-Cups, K-Mugs, and K-Carafes, is available to you. This makes the K250 a versatile coffee maker ready to customize your drinks and make you happy.
Keurig and the Environment
A few years ago, Keurig was being sharply criticized by many people due to the company’s policies (or lack of policies, to be more precise) on the recyclability of the K-Cups. The public raised a legitimate concern about the K-Cups piling on landfills and polluting the planet and urged Keurig to fix the problem they’ve created.
Keurig took the criticism seriously and started working on developing K-Cups that could be easily recycled. That said, the company has managed to make a full transition from hardly recyclable to recyclable K-Cups in Canada and they have estimated that this will also happen in the USA by the end of 2020.
The company worked hard to keep its promise about making fully recyclable K-Cups the only K-Cups available on the market by 2020, and, it seems like it will keep it. That said, we think that there’s no reason for you to not feel comfortable buying K-Cups and K-Cup gift baskets since the company seems to be paying attention to the environmental factor.
Conclusion
There’s nothing left to say about the Keurig coffee makers, but, in our modest opinion, there are a few things you could do to make up your mind on which Keurig you should buy.
We recommend you do some more research on the Keurig coffee makers and read about their features. We also recommend you read a few reviews on your favorite Keurig coffee makers before you go and buy one. Then, you can also take a look at our list of best Keurig coffee makers from 2019; we know it’s 2020, but the list is still worth checking.
After you’ve done this and you feel ready to buy your new Keurig, you can do so. Whichever Keurig that might be, we wish you a happy coffee experience and a lot of delicious cups of coffee!