Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System
|
List Price: Our Price: $164.00 You Save: $65.99 (29%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $90.00 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
|---|
Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System
Customer Review: I bought it because of the reviews. BAD IDEA!
Summary: 1 Stars
UPDATE 07/25/10 - The Keurig died after only a couple of months, however I rarely used it so it was like a few day's normal use. I got a replacement. It broke after a couple of weeks. I got a different brand (Cuisinart) and that one broke. I'm now on my fourth Keurig style brewer and this one seems to work well. The problem I encountered was that the amount of water dispensed would vary wildly. I'd have it set to make a 12oz cup and only 4oz would come out. Then it would stop working altogether. Maybe I'm the only person who has had this much trouble, but I'm not terribly impressed. It's been the SAME problem with ALL of them. Very sad. The Cuisinart I have now works great and I'm just as happy now as I was when I wrote the review below.
The Keurig B70 "Platinum" is the best coffee maker I've ever tried, and I've tried em all! I am a single guy who basically stopped drinking coffee because you can't make less than 4 cups using a standard drip coffee maker and the "single serving" makers were disappointing. I recently tried the Senseo coffee pod system and it wasn't any good. I needed to use two pods to get the coffee strong enough and then I had to wash the pod holder. With the B70, you pop in a K Cup, hit brew and in a few seconds you've got a piping hot, perfectly brewed cup of coffee.
It's so good that I'd like to see someone do a blind taste test comparing K Cup coffee to the $4.00 a cup places. My money would be on the K Cups.
I was surprised at how good the tea tastes! Tea is supposed to require a couple of minutes of steeping to properly release the flavors. Once again, in just a few seconds you are drinking piping hot, perfectly brewed tea. I only got one of the K Cup Hot Cocoa and it was very good. I'd like to play with the amount of water that gets added, but it was very good.
Finally, I chose this Keurig machine because it has an Iced Coffee setting. This only puts 4oz of water through the machine resulting in a concentrated but small cup of hot beverage. The smaller amount of hot liquid gets diluted to the perfect strength when you add it to ice. I haven't tried making iced tea using this method, but I'm sure it would work beautifully.
I read more than 150 reviews before buying this machine. If I didn't drink coffee, I still would have bought one of these. Never have I seen a product get such rave reviews. After using the machine for a couple of days, I totally agree. This is an amazing coffee maker.
MYTH BUSTED - It's LOUD! I have gone through YouTube and watched videos of other Keurig machines and they do sound like their compressors make a loud buzzing sound for a few seconds. My machine is almost whisper quiet. I can hear the compressor come on when I push the "Brew" button, but it's very, very quiet. Maybe if the machine is defective it might make more noise, but mine wouldn't wake up someone sleeping in the same room.
Buy this coffee maker. You will end up buying them for everyone you know.
Customer Review: So good, I am buying a second one for home. NOT WEAK COFFEE
Summary: 5 Stars
I urge you not to listen to those "coffee aficionados" that are writing about the weakness of the coffee. I have had my coffee maker for a week now, and have tried 8 different blends of coffee, from the light breakfast blends to the the more robust blends. I am using the highest water volume setting, 11.25 ounces. The coffee that comes from this excellent coffee maker is not weak, even at those settings. In fact, everyone who has tried coffee from my maker has commented that the coffee, if anything, is a little strong even at the highest setting. My wife's company with an office of 25 uses the Keurig machine, at hundreds of cups per month. Many of the guys like the strongest blends, like Dark Magic. Even the ones who like a real strong cup of coffee add a little water to their cups to weaken it. So don't be hesitant just because of a few picky critics.
Regarding the maker itself, I have to say that it is a thing of beauty to look at. The blue hue with the lights makes it look great, if not a bit gaudy.
It heats up quickly for the next cup. I use the highest temperature setting of 192 degrees F, and that is one hot cup of coffee. Much hotter than I got out of my regular coffee maker. I like the ability to just get hot water out of the machine. You can change the default temperature of the water if you don't like such a hot cup of coffee that you have to wait to drink.
I love the timer settings. It has an auto off feature that will automatically turn off the maker as early as 1 hour from non-use. It also has a timer to allow you to turn on the coffee maker in the morning and off later in the day. I have mine set for 8 am to go on, and 4 pm to go off.
You can get over 100 types of coffees, including teas and hot chocolate. Also, I recommend getting the optional filter basket/cup where you can use your own coffee to make a cup. It should have been included, but of course they are making all of their money on the coffee. I found two places online where I get the coffee at 40 cents per cup by buying a quantity of about 7 boxes or a 75 buck order. That actually isn't too much coffee to buy as you will find yourself drawn to the coffee machine to make a quick cup whereas in the past you didn't want to bother because of the time and mess. Speaking of mess, I have been using mine for a week and I still do not have a single drop of mess, and there is nothing to clean. just pull the used cup and throw it in the garbage. The used cups are well drained when a cup of coffee is made, and there is no leakage.
The only thing I cannot comment on is the durability of the unit. It seems well built, but only time will tell. It sounds like Keuring will stand behind their product if something goes wrong, based upon other reviews.
I just bought a second one of these for home. I went with the top of the line unit because I can get a large cup of coffee from it.
Customer Review: We love our Keurig - AND it's saved us money!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought my Keurig B70 from Amazon 6 months ago and my hubby and I simply LOVE it! When we remodeled our kitchen, we searched for the best coffeemaker and ended up with a great one with a thermal carafe. However, we rarely used it! Hubby feels it's a real pain to clean up (well, it is!), and we don't agree on what kind of coffee we like. He likes extra-strong and I like it milder and flavored. So we ended up at Starbucks more often than I'd like to admit. He would stop on the way to work, and I'd stop for my Iced Venti Nonfat Caramel Macchiato a few times a week. We had seen a Keurig in action in an office setting and couldn't believe it! When I suggested getting one, he obviously had been thinking the same thing, and as they say, the rest is history!
The other, very nice coffeemaker is stored and now our Keurig lives on our counter and is used MANY times per day. Some people might wonder if you really need the 4 drip sizes, but we enjoy having these options. Especially for making those specialty drinks I loved getting from Starbucks! I use the smallest drip size and a strong K-cup, add Splenda and Mrs Richardson's Butterscotch Caramel (so it can melt and disperse). Then I pour it over a tall glass of ice, and add a couple of ounces of milk and it's positively heavenly! If you like, you could drizzle the caramel on afterwards, like Starbucks does, but I prefer it mixed throughout.
We've had NO trouble with our Keurig - we use filtered water from the fridge, and we leave the water canister in place for filling. We buy K-cups from Amazon, but have found that our favorites aren't always in stock, so we go to Big Cat Coffees, where they have ALL the kinds at all times! You can even buy an assortment pack from Big Cat - you choose 5 different varieties and you get 5 K-cups of each. That's how we found out that for the strong brew that my husband prefers, Tully's Kona and Green Mountain Extra Bold Dark Magic are the two favorites. I use those to make my Caramel Macchiatos, but if I drink it hot, I prefer the flavored varieties.
Your Keurig will become a conversation piece the first time you have company over! They will love being able to choose their own kind of coffee! We're in a church small group that meets in the evening and most of those people prefer decaf at that hour - no problem! We have an assortment of decaf as well as flavored coffees, bold, medium and mild blends, and you can also get Hot Cocoa K-cups for the kids, and K-cup teas!
We rarely go to Starbucks anymore, and we know that our Keurig has more than paid for itself already! K-cups might be 40 cents or so each, but everyone gets what they want and there's NO waste like there is with a pot of coffee that you have to dump out!
Don't have a Keurig yet? What are you waiting for? Get one today from Amazon - you won't know how you ever lived without it!
Customer Review: Considering a second one for work.
Summary: 4 Stars
Pros: Makes a superior cup of coffee. Offers a wide variety of coffees and teas. Clean, quick, and convenient. I like the variable cup sizes and the cold beverage option on this model.
Cons: The per cup price is pretty high. (See below for tips to reduce the cost of the cups.) The whole setup is certainly not eco-friendly (I do feel a little guilty pitching those cups.) While the coffee is great, I've been less than impressed by the hot chocolate and mocha (I haven't tried the tea yet.)
Competition: I've never tried the Tassimo. So I can't really compare them, but the reason I went with Keurig was the availability of the My K-Cup reusable filter assembly. I couldn't find anything Tassimo had that would allow you to fill-it-yourself. The one thing I suspect the Tassimo might really excel at is making drinks like lattes and capuccinos. So if that's more your focus you might take a closer look at Tassimo. (Although the discs certainly seem to be more expensive than the k-cups.) The only other reason I would consider Tassimo is the availability of a particular brand of coffee. But I've been very happy with the selection with Keurig even though I wasn't familiar with many of the brands before I got the machine.
Tips: So far I've found the k-cups in 3 stores locally: Kohls, Target, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The best price and selection was at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. (55 cents a cup. Plus they frequently run 20% off coupons. Taking it to 44 cents a cup.) I think the prices at Target were comparable, but the selection was about a quarter of what B, B, & B had. Kohl's was priced ridiculously high. Online the Keurig store has the best selection and generally runs about 58 cents a piece, but has a rewards program that takes 10-15% off of that depending on how often you buy, and free shipping on orders over $45. The real prize that I've found so far is definitely amazon. I bought a case (50) of the Black Tiger cups for $21.00 (42 cents a piece.) They're also running a special though taking 10% off of certain brands of k-cups, and there is a 15% discount if you sign up for a subscription of the type you buy (free shipping included.) This takes the cost to 31.5 cents per cup. The only way I've found to get it down lower is to use the reusable filter, which I've purchased, but haven't tried yet. Regarding hot chocolate and mocha, they're really just powdered mixes in the cups so to my mind you're better off just buying the mix and using the Keurig to measure and heat your water.
Overall: I've been very happy with my machine. I make my first cup of the day at home on my Keurig and then come to work where we have a pot of Folgers. I think the quality of the coffee from the Keurig and the selection of coffees has spoiled me for that. I may have to buy a Keurig for work.
Customer Review: My second Keurig and I love it more than the first
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought a Keurig B40 a few years ago when it was being demoed in a local department store. I was impressed by the coffee and bought it on the spot. My B40 has worked flawlessly for several years but I wanted choices in brew sizes and I wanted something that didn't shake the house apart when it ran.
Because I buy my coffee direct from Keurig's website, I was offered a deal that I couldn't pass up - $100 off the price of the B70 Elite. I started using it Christmas Eve and I can't give a better recommendation.
1. You have a choice of cup size. My mother prefers her coffee to be a little weaker so I brew hers on the large cup size - Perfect! My cup is larger so I brew and Extra Bold on the extra large cup size - a little weak but still VERY GOOD. Flavored coffees tend to be too weak so I brew them on the small cup size.
2. QUIET - I always knew when the coffee was ready in the mornings from the sounds of the B40 groaning and all the dishes in the cupboard rattling. Luckily, I never had a broken dish from the shaking but it was a little unnerving. The B70 is very quiet. When it starts the brew cycle you hear a slight hum followed by the sound of coffee running into your cup. It ends with a quiet hum and is ready to brew the next cup.
3. Power on/off settings - I've set my B70 to come on around 6:30am and go off at 8am. When I'm ready for breakfast, I don't have to wait for the water to heat in the Keurig. I also don't have to leave it on 24 hours a day for that luxury. With the B40, my morning ritual included turning on the Keurig and going about my business cooking and getting ready for the day. Finally the water would be hot and I could make a cup of coffee. Now I walk into the kitchen, select my coffee and voila! I have a steaming cup of coffee with no waiting.
4. Selection! This is no different from other Keurig coffee makers - you have a huge selection of coffees to suit every taste. In my home, we have 3-4 coffee drinkers. I like flavored coffees; another family member only drinks decaf; my daughter likes the bold coffees and my son wants flavored decaf most of the time but occasionally wants a mild blended coffee. I can't speak for the other brands of single cup brewers, but Keurig has a huge selection of coffees. I purchase K-cups directly from Keurig and get a discount as well as free shipping but I also buy from Amazon as they frequently have good deals on some of my favorite flavors.
CONS? Only two things come to mind - I wish the reservoir was bigger so I didn't have to fill it as frequently as I do and coffee cost. My coffee costs slightly less than 50 cents per cup which is cheaper than buying coffee out but more expensive than buying in bulk and using a drip coffee maker. Of course, I don't have any waste so it evens out.