Keurig B60 Special Edition Brewing System
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Keurig B60 Special Edition Brewing System
Customer Review: Many advantages over the Senseo!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had it a week now, bought after owning a Senseo for 2 years. I love the design/operating advantages:
(1) Once the cup is made, dripping stops almost immediately
(2) You can SEE the water reservoir, so you know when to refill
(3) You can refill the water just by lifting the top and pouring in a cupful of water, you don't have to take off the entire reservoir (although you can)
(4) You can make coffee in tall cups
(5) The noise comes after the coffee is brewed, not during
(6) You have a small range of coffee temperatures available to set from the control panel
(7) It stays on all the time (manufacturer's recommendation) so you can always make coffee instantly
(8) The K-cups are MUCH nicer to take out and throw away, rather than the soggy pods
(9) They have an excellent (Newman's) fair traded coffee, so I feel good about helping the coffee growers without sacrificing taste
(10) There is no chance of putting in the K-cup the wrong way (such as crooked). I hate it on the Senseo when I don't put in the pod perfectly, and my Senseo spills water all over because it leaks through the seal.
(11) The reservoir is larger, so a longer time between required refills. However (see above) it is so very convenient to refill, I tend to keep it topped off.
(12) The sealed K-cups seem to be built to keep the coffee fresh longer than the permeable pods, so I have lots of different brands/styles/flavors of coffee that I switch between all the time. Senseo has a half dozen or so nice flavors, but I have to find an airtight container to keep them all in (and separately, since the aren't labeled).
Advantages of the Senseo:
(1) You can make two cups at once if you change out the dispensing spout (easily done)
(2) The "froth" on the top of the coffee is a nice touch
(3) It takes up less room on the table top
See all the other helpful reviews telling you about the operation of the machine and the coffees, but I was struck at how significantly nicer this was to own and operate. I'll keep my Senseo (I have plenty of pods), because I love it, but this is much more convenient to operate. And it is just FUN to offer 20 different coffees in the attractive K-cups to guests.
Customer Review: Quick and good cup of coffee but much louder than it should be
Summary: 3 Stars
Overall I'm fairly happy with this brewing system. I live in a household in which I'm the only coffee drinker so making a whole pot anytime I want coffee would be both wasteful and messy. I love how quickly this coffee maker brews the cup particularly when the water in the reservoir is already hot. I also love that I can just throw away the old k-cup when it's done and occasionally fill the water reservoir and I'm done. The convenience factor is really what makes the k-cups great, although if you priced it out, even with amazon's great prices on k-cups it's definitely more expensive than the old standby of preground, or even whole bean coffee. The only catch with the coffee itself is something that I never really thought of before but is definitely apparent in the k-cup coffee makers. The larger the cup of coffee that you make the more likely you are to have it be a weak cup of coffee because the amount of grounds being used is always the same. This being said if you like a relatively bold cup of coffee (not even necessarily super strong) you have to start going to much bolder blends to get what I'd consider a medium (flavorwise) large (sizewise) cup of coffee. Coffee People make a few products which fulfill the need for stronger coffee quite well, such as their Coffee People, Donut Shop K-Cups for Keurig Brewers (Pack of 50) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging.
So if it makes a decent cup of coffee quickly and simply why give it only 3 stars? Quite simply, the noise. Between cups the coffee maker pumps water from the reservoir into the holding area where it heats the water. When it does this the maker vibrates LOUDLY, not just loudly for a kitchen appliance, I'm talking loudly for a washing machine. Even with a mouse pad under it to dampen the vibrations it's still way too loud for something that a cheap aquarium pump can do completely silently, and I've had the unit for about 6 months and I swear it's getting louder, initially it was just annoying now it's approaching unbearable. Some of the newer units have "quiet brew" technology which I would imagine eliminates this vibration and would make the unit just about perfect.
Customer Review: Is there a doomsday clock inside the machine?
Summary: 2 Stars
I received the Keurig B60 SE as a gift about 1.5 years ago. The machine worked great at first, then after about 6 months the display menu would go through cycles of each setting over and over until I had to power off and back on. This should have been the first sign that something was seriously wrong. I treated it as a basic computer glitch and decided to power off, unplug, wait a minute, plug in, turn on. Doing these steps from time to time did clear up the strange menu so I thought nothing of it since the machine still brewed normally and never leaked or overheated. Unfortunately my instinct of just a computer glitch was wrong. Today I turned the machine on since I don't need anything automated. When I turned the machine on it made the normal heat up noises after drawing water from the reservoir tank. After a minute or two it shut off completely - while still plugged in and wouldn't turn on again. I touched the top of the machine and it was ~HOT~ (hotter than normal) so I immediately unplugged the machine and removed the water reservoir to avoid leaking all over my kitchen.
I am upset that my coffee maker died. I'm also annoyed after reading other reviews on more than one model that this is more common than the average consumer knows. Let's face it, the machine isn't cheap nor are the K-cups and for such a short life this should last more than 1-2 years. I was hoping more like 4-6 but I see nothing is made well anymore... the saying "You get what you pay for" no longer applies to anything which is a shame. This reminds me of other devices listed to last a lifetime and die after a year or two (eh hem iPods!!!). I'm starting to think that company's have doomsday clocks inside so the warranty expires just before you can get it fixed. Also, a 1 year limited warranty on this device suits it... the company is up front about their product not being lifetime.
No more Keurig for me, my first impression is UN-IMPRESSED... but I will go back to the basic coffee pot that costs a nice $20 - if this dies after a year I won't care so much.
I would not recommend this EVER unless you get a great deal. The 2 stars are for my original enjoyment and how it brewed coffee, but I will not justify anything more than that.
Customer Review: How did we do without it
Summary: 5 Stars
This rates with the microwave, cell phone and MP3 player. How did we ever live without it? Have owned this one for 5 months now. Recently bought another for the office. This process is meant for the serious coffee drinker. My wife would always say how much she liked the smell of the coffee brewing in the morning. I drink caffiene so she would have orange juice. Since I bought this machine she now enjoys a cup of decaffinated coffee every morning. It is definitely more expensive than coffee by the pound, even factoring in what we all dumped out and "wasted". There is no waste here but the best price I can get is $.40 a cup unless it is on sale (careful as this usually means outdated!). So it's cheaper than Starbuck's (and as good as) but more costly than buying by the pound. The best price I have found is on line and if you buy enough the shipping is free. (hint - google K cup). The choices are endless and I have no trouble getting bold, strong, normal you name it. There are some very strong coffees available if that's what you like. The portions on the B60(buttons) are definitely smaller than what you are accustomed to. The travel mug button likely gives you the mug your accustomed to. I never push the "sissy" cup button.
As mentioned it is great for guests with different tastes in coffee. If your well stocked no one will be disappointed. Abundance of tea choices as well. You just need to find the right source. Try the sample boxes of 25 K cups and keep notes on your favorites. I like Green Mountain Sumatran Reserve (Bold) and their Nantucket Blend (a tad milder). You can adjust the water input to the strength of the coffee. I use Sumatran Reserve in my travel mug.
Many mention the noise. It's noisy. But unless it is in your bedroom it should'nt wake anyone up. The less expensive the Keurig the noisier they are. The B60 makes less noise than the B40 for example. Also the B 60 is a much sturdier machine. Go the extra $50. You can order them direct from Keurig for the same price and with free shipping.
My only con: This is for the K cups. We are filling landfills with K cups now. Think about it. Every cup sends one K cup to the landfill. They need to quickly come up with a K cup container that is recyclable!!
Customer Review: B60 or B70, that is the question
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had a B40 for over a year. The machine has operated flawlessly. I used it in my cigar store and it brewed at least 10 cups a day, that's a lot of use.
There is no better engineered single-serve coffemaker. My B40 has never let me down for over a year and it looks and works as good as the day I bought it (except for the calcium buildup on the inside of the water tank, but that's not the Keurig's fault). The K-cups cost about $.40 each through Amazon and they have a long shelf-life. The coffee will never be as good as fresh ground at home or Starbucks, but it's pretty, pretty, pretty, good (to quote Larry David).
Cleanup is as good as cleanup will ever get, this point is not emphasized enough, there's no mess whatsoever. Just remember to tilt the k-cup sideways when taking it out after brewing. "No runs, no drips, no errors."
I only buy "extra-bold" cups myself and I find them just right. Tully's French Roast is one of my favorites, the Timothy's extra bold are a close second. I've read complaints about the coffee not being strong enough, but I just don't buy that. It's plenty strong for me, I like strong coffee, and I drink my coffee black. It's not as strong as a coffee shop, but it's not stale either. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten an old cup at local coffee shops. My wife finds the extra bold too strong and I run a second cycle using the same K-cup, and create a nine or ten ounce cup for her.
As far as the noise, I'm confused by some of the comments I've read. It makes noise, but its not unbearable and its takes less than a minute. I've never had an issue with the noise or vibration. Yes it's fairly noisy, but that noise is the pump. What do these people expect? I've had a few manual pump-driven espresso machines and they're just as noisy, please disregard comments about noise.
Bottom line, best single-serve coffeemaker on the market by a landslide. Now the only question for me is B60 or B70. The B70 looks great, but the main difference seems to be an extra large cup selection and a larger water tank. I'm going to buy one of them for sure.
If Keurig ever designs an E.S.E. pod machine I'm buying one of those too. Do you hear me Keurig?