Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System
Customer Review: Keurig won me over!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using the Senseo pod machine for several years and made my own pods by just placing two scoops of ground coffee in a small basket filter and putting it in the large pod holder. It was my husband that wanted something different as the coffee wasn't strong enough for him. We decided to try the Keurig B60. I wasn't keen on having to buy the Kcups which are plastic but because it does have its own Kcup for my own coffee, I agreed to getting it.
I have to admit that the Keurig choice of coffees is awesome as well as very good. The coffee from any pods I've tried was horrible! As my husband likes his coffee strong, he is still experimenting with the various bold ones to find his favorite.
The secret to getting good coffee from the Kcup when you use your own ground coffee, is in the grinding. Either grind the coffee beans as fine as your coffee grinder will go or buy expresso coffee. It's like a powder essentially. Wow, the coffee was so strong on the large setting I couldn't drink it. Of course I don't like my coffee really strong.
Also I like the fact that it's a wonderful hot water dispenser for my own tea bags. I won't pay what Keurig asks for their tea Kcups but I have to admit that their teas are good. A tea bag in my hot water works for me.
One of the things that I like the most is that with the B60, I can now use any of the mugs I have. That was so frustrating with the Senseo. A lot of my mugs were too tall to use in it. The B60 even takes my travel mug which measures 7 inches tall without the lid. To make enough for a large mug, you can do as many ounces as you want by simply opening the lid and closing it again so the numbers flash and start brewing again without changing the Kcup. It might get too weak by putting water through one Kcup more than once but you can do it. With just dispensing water, you can definitely repeat as much as you want by simply opening the lid and closing it again so the numbers flash. I can even fill a teapot if it lines up with the dispenser.
We are pleased with our Keurig B60. Yes, it is relatively expensive but as always, you do get what you pay for. Any good coffee maker is going to cost more. I have the Technivorm Moccamaster for when we want a pot of coffee and it is the best one ever! It took me 25 years to give in to paying the price to get one but I should have done it long ago. For all the coffee makers we've gone through in that time, I could have had one really good one!
The Keurig B60 (I deliberatly measured) delivers an exact if not a smidgen more 6, 8, and 10 oz amount on the various settings. I don't know what the 5.25, 7.25, and 9.25 oz are all about. Now that is with dispensing water. Perhaps after the water goes through the coffee, it does lose a little volume.
We have no complaints so far with the Keurig B60. The price for Kcups on Amazon with auto delivery is the best around. We also like the variety pack we found at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and use the 20% off coupon.
Customer Review: Good single cup coffeemaker
Summary: 4 Stars
I turned to a single cup coffeemaker when I discovered the grind-as-you-go coffeemaker was out of my price range ($1k-3k). I went with Keurig after much research on pods vs kcup machine, including the availability of coffee, company's history and reviews. Once picking Keurig I had to decide between a B50, B60 or B70. I chose the B60 because I wanted 3 cup sizes and the 48 oz water reservoir seemed adequate as I am the only coffee drinker in the household at 1 cup every 1-2 days. Some report the Keurig as noisy. There is some noise when the water loads into the machine but that's only for 30 seconds. Using the machine in the morning does not awaken the household and my house is not big. Also, I am not a fan of the super strong coffee house type coffee so the complaints that Keurig serves weak coffee is not an issue with me although some Kcup brands are definitely better than others. I do use bold varieties when making a 9oz cup as the flavor is better. The B70 offers an 11oz cup but I don't see how 1 kcup can adequately make an 11 oz coffee without getting watered down. Remember,kcups have basically the same amount of grounds (unless it's of the bold variety) whether 5oz or 11oz is brewed. The B70 offers an 11oz size. I don't travel with my coffee but I imagine 2 kcups (9oz and 5 oz cup options) are needed to fill a travel mug with good tasting coffee so coffee commuters might as well buy a B60 then brew a 9 oz and 5oz into the travel mug. The B60 allows me to program the machine to start however starting and warming is so simple and fast (3 mins max) that I don't use that option. I can also adjust the water temp but find the company default temp of 192 is fine. Shop around to get the best price on Kcups. I consider $.48 cents each is a bargain. Consider I used to waste coffee by making 5 cups of drip machine coffee then throwing out 3-4 cups. Also some grocery stores now stock kcups. Unfortunately there aren't many variety packs available so to get a good deal I'm buying a 25 pack of each variety then having to find the room to store them all. The B60 has a 48oz reservoir that I thought would be fine. But if I have 1 cup in the AM, 1 cup in PM and 1-2 household members have a cup of tea or hot chocolate then the reservoir must be refilled because the Refill alert goes on before all 48oz water is used. Not a biggie but seems inconvenient if 6 guests want coffee. Now I wish the B60 came with the larger 72 oz reservoir. I'm still not sure the B70's 72 oz reservoir is worth the extra $50-60. The Keurig does heat up quickly between cups. No problem with cleanup. There is the consumer waste of the kcup itself that I'm not pleased about. I rationalize by putting the kcup grounds in the compost pile before I pitch the kcup itself. I do have a kcup filter but frankly the thought of packing, dumping, and washing the filter is not attractive. Keurig is so convenient and easy I use it more than I expected. Overall I am very pleased with my purchase.Customer Review: A Simple But Thundering Cup of Brew
Summary: 4 Stars
I was given the Keurig B60 as a Christmas gift and I personally have to say it's pretty darn awesome. Simply insert one of those k-cups, close the lid, place your preferred cup on the drip tray, put in your ear plugs, remove anything breakable that can vibrate off the kitchen counter while the coffeemaker is operating, call your neighbors to tell them the large rumble they're about to hear is not a bomb but your new coffeemaker, and in under a minute you have yourself a cup of fine hot liquid.
PROS:
Easy setup (priming), simple to use, virtually no mess, brews 3 different cup sizes.
Being able to quickly brew a cup of coffee or whatever anytime can be addictive -- I've increased my daily caffeine intake from about three cups to about seven.
Many gadgets out there can be overly complicated and frustrating to setup and operate. It's nice you only need to hit one button on this machine to get what you want, especially first thing on a cloudy-headed morning.
Teas. Hmmmmmmm, let's see here, I could wait for some water to boil or I can just push a button on this coffeemaker. No brainer for me.
CONS:
As others have mentioned and I alluded to in the first paragraph: this thing is loud. The loudness will bother some more than others depending on who you are and your situation. For my situation it isn't a big thing because I'll just deal with it since it probably won't ever bother anyone, but if I still lived in an apartment or if I was a college student and my parents hooked me up with a nice coffeemaker over Christmas for my dorm and now my roommate throws stuff at me every morning in that somewhat violent aggression we feel when awakened in the early morning hours, then I can see where the loudness will be an issue.
The coffee in those k-cups doesn't really taste all that bad, IMO, but it does have a bit of that -- for lack of a better descriptive -- watery hotel coffee taste.
Other reviewers mentioned the strength of the coffee in those k-cups. If you like your coffee to kick your butt awake, then you'll probably have to make your own k-cup of your own coffee with the supplied filters or order some of the stronger k-cups that are available.
You really need to depress the buttons to get the brew cycle started(minor inconvenience for me).
Overall, I would recommend this product. I've been using it for a week now and I'm very happy with it. I deducted a star based on the loudness of the machine; I think it's deal-breaker for many people. Also, the strength and quality of the coffee in the k-cups could use some improving (Granted I have yet to try all the k-cup offerings). If there was anything that I wish the coffeemaker had it would be another reservoir for milk. Hot cocoa just tastes better, IMO, when made with milk rather than water.
Customer Review: Here's hoping it works for a long time!
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this 11/10, mainly for the novelty of something new & for the convenience.
Pro's:
My husband & I can easily switch between flavored & non-flavored coffee w/out affecting the taste of the next cup brewed (w/our old coffee maker I couldn't switch back & forth w/out affecting the taste of the non-flavored coffee...it always picked up a hint of flavor which my husband did not like)
No leftovers - you brew exactly what you need.
Fresh cup each time (well as fresh as it can be w/a pre-packaged pod)
A large variety of prepacked kcups to choose from.
Con's:
Expensive machine.
Pods/prepackaged coffee averages $.50/pod
What you need to know:
If you prefer your own ground coffee, your real decision, once you've decided to buy a Keurig maker, is what reusable coffee filter should you buy?
Three choices:
My K-Cup $15- I personally did not like this one....coffee was too weak (grounds did not get completely wet) & hard to tap the grounds out from the wire mesh filter.
Ez-Cup $15+- Makes a great cup of coffee using my favorite coffee brand. Downside is the paper filters are expensive ($5 for 50 & shipping can add another $5). Also, once in awhile one of the paper filters will tear causing grounds in your cup.
Solofill Cup $15 - No paper filters, so it's a one-time cost and the design is superior to My K-Cup. All the grounds get wet, so you get a much better tasting cup of coffee and I find it much easier to tap the grounds out of this cup than the My K-Cup filter.
Another nice design that the last two mentioned has over My K-Cup is that you don't have to remove the cup holder in the machine to insert them. Why Keurig could not design their own reusable filter that way baffles me.
Important Note:
Anyone having issues w/water leaking out the top of their reusable filters causing a mess and grounds to get in their coffee....all you need to do is pull the rubber gasket that sits around the needle, down just a little. After multiple uses, the rubber gasket gets very tight up against the machine, so you just need to pull it down slightly. Don't prick your finger while doing this! Just do it cautiously. I only had to do this while using the My K-cup, but since I've purchased all three options and have settled on the Solofill for me, and the Ez-Cup for my husband (he doesn't like to take the time to bang out the filter), we don't need to pull down the gasket, it was just a My K-Cup issue.
Confession: I broke down and pulled out my Krups Moka Brew from storage to use on weekends (when I have more time to make coffee). There is no other coffee maker that I am aware of that makes a better tasking cup of coffee...it's a steam system that extracts flavors from ground coffee that you just can't get from a drip machine.
Customer Review: Keurig vs Tassimo - Or I Wish I'd Read the Reviews About Keurig First
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Tassimo machine in December, 2008. I loved it, especially the fact that I could order Starbucks coffee for it. Then, I began to experience a little disappointment, since I was limited in coffee selections. Lots of good coffees, but not many flavored coffees. I love tea, but Tassimo doesn't have that great a selection of teas.
Then, I started reading about the Keurig. Bad move. I began to lust for the Keurig in my heart. I read about all the selection of flavored coffees and teas, and rationalized that I needed both machines. (Okay, we know I don't need both machines.) An unexpected refund from Uncle Sam came in the mail, and I decided that the Keurig was mine. Oh, how I wish I'd bought this unit first.
1. The Keurig comes with 18 samples. The Tassimo comes with a brochure that shows you how to order free samples.
2. The Keurig is so easy to get started - easier than the Tassimo.
3. The Keurig doesn't keep dripping after the coffee is brewed. Unfortunately, the Tassimo does.
4. The Keurig brews wonderful tea - I got the lemon blueberry and it's scrumptuous. Tassimo doesn't have herbal teas.
5. The Tassimo water reservoir has a handle and is easier to carry and fill. The Keurig unit is a pain. I use a pitcher now to fill it.
6. The Keurig is a prettier machine. Cute little blue lights. The Keurig unit is bigger. Tassimo is more compact.
7. The Keurig has to warm for about 3 minutes before the first cup. The Tassimo has an instant on that requires no wait time.
8. The Keurig K-Cups are smaller to store. The Tassimo T-Discs are cumbersome. The Starbucks coffees come in a square cardboard box of four t-disks, with three cardboard packages per package. Lots of packaging.
9. The Keurig unit allows you to choose what size cup you want. The Tassimo reads the bar code of the disc and selects the appropriate cup size. I like to select my own size, so this is a pain. The Tassimo allows you to add more water to the cup, however, which the Keurig does not.
10. The Keurig unit does not come with a water filter. The Tassimo does. However, I have filtered water, so I don't use it.
Altogether, each unit has strengths and weaknesses. I really don't like the water reservoir on the Keurig. I don't like the wait time. But everything else is perfect or superlative.
Edited to add: I've now had my Keurig for a year and it's been superlative. I keep it on all the time, so it's ready in an instant.
I do have one addition to my comparison. If you're into coffees with a milk layer, the Tassimo offers several coffees that come with an additional, separate milk brewing pod.
For me? I'm still sold on the Keurig.