Buy Low Price From Here Now
Elite - Single serve coffee system, makes single cup of coffee or tea in 40 seconds, no measuring, no mess , no clean up. Removable water tank, brews coffee and tea @ 195 degrees. Gourmet coffee and tea offering with over 100 selections. Makes an 8 once cup of fresh, hot and consistent coffee and tea using Keurig's patented K-Cups. Removable drip tray to accommodate most travel mugs
Readmore
Technical Details
- 1500-watt single-serve brewing system for gourmet coffee or tea- Uses patented K-Cups; no messy grinding or clean up
- Removable 48-ounce water reservoir; removable drip tray
- 2 brew-size options; 2-hour automatic shut-off; descale indicator
- Measures 13-1/4 by 10 by 13 inches; 1-year limited warranty
See more technical details
By R. Curtis
A few detailed thoughts on issues raised by others as well as a few of my own.
LOUDNESS: This unit is pretty loud, though the rigidity of the countertop makes a difference. If you have it on granite it's a bit quieter than on formica. Formerly on granite, mine now sits on formica right next to my toaster oven and the thing vibrates so much that it rattles the toaster & it's rack. The effect is jarring, though I've gotten used to it. The noise seems more objectionable in the quiet early morning hours than in the evening. Keurig needs to address the loudness with internal damping and better feet on the machine.
COFFEE QUALITY: The coffee produced from K-cups is superb. Coffee I've made from my favorite bulk beans using the (optional) reuseable filter is excellent as well, though it ALWAYS has a slight scum/foam around the edge that stirs into the coffee but ends up as a very fine silt in the bottom of the cup. This happens no matter how fine or coarse the grind. I don't find this particularly objectionable, just a little unpleasant. The coffee still tastes very good.
If you tear open a used K-cup you see that it incorporates a paper filter, whereas the reuseable filter is steel mesh in a plastic cage which, I think, explains the silt. Shame someone doesn't manufacture an add-in paper filter for the screen filter. That may seem redundant, but the screen would serve as a good support for a paper filter and the coffee is otherwise slightly silty.
COFFEE STRENGTH: With the K-cups the coffee is stronger than with the reuseable filter. This is due to the paper filter in the K-cup slowing water flow enough to create a brew slurry whereas the mesh reuseable filter allows the water to rush through. With the reuseable filter, toward the end of the brew the outflow into the cup is almost as pale as water. And when you look at the spent coffee in the mesh filter, it has a vertical tunnel bored through it by the water flow - the coffee doesn't mix well or evenly with the water.
Their engineers would probably argue that, because the bottom of the reuseable filter is solid and the walls are mesh, the water has to flow horizontally through the grounds. The evidence is that the bulk of the water actually tunnels vertically down through the core of the grounds and horizontally along the bottom until it flows out the mesh at the bottom. Again, an add-in paper filter would be useful.
EXPENSE OF USE: K-cups, purchased online, cost about twice the price of fine bulk coffee. I use the optional reuseable filter with bulk coffee for my own morning cup and keep K-cups on hand for guests.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: The K-cups I've used have a recycle symbol on the bottom, though you have to tear off the foil top (also recycleable) and tear away the paper filter. Non of this is particularly laborious and the flip side is there's none of the cleanup that you have with a traditional coffee maker.
A bigger issue is the amount of electricity it will use if left turned on. It's fast because it keeps a small internal reservoir partially heated, then boosts temp when it comes time to brew with a 1500-watt heating element. The energy efficiency paradigm with this coffee maker will be similar to that of on-demand water heaters, though this unit is probably built to lesser standards than water heaters. A partial solution is to not leave the unit turned on.
DURABILITY: I can't comment on longevity - I've only had mine for a few months. However this thing is built like a tank and weighs nearly as much. The plastic parts seem reasonably sturdy. RE the commenter who had a fire with hers, her description ('pop' sound, location of flames, damaged outlet) sounds like she had a problem with her house wiring/outlet. She may not previously have put enough load on the bad outlet to challenge it until she plugged this coffee maker into it (it's 1500-watts).
FINAL TAKE ON IT: This coffee maker makes quick, excellent single cups of coffee, which is great for small households and for offering guests variety of choice. In my opinion the convenience is worth the noise and I make accommodations to address the expense-of-use and environmental issues. Let's hope Keurig reads these reviews and fixes the issues.
By Carrie A. Deschak
I received this coffee maker as a gift at Christmas 08. It was great at first. The coffee had a great, fresh taste and hot. After several cleanings, going by the instructions provided, the coffee doesn't taste good. It is also colder. Most of the time, I have to heated it up in the microwave. Then, the cost of the coffee. It is so expensive for a big coffee drinker. It is not worth it!
I bought a 4-cup Mr. Coffeemaker to save on cost. I enjoy it alot better then the Keurig Elite single-cup.
By Robert J. Lanier (Two Dot Montana)
KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid.
Packaged one cup coffee makers.
$100 to create landfill in used $$$ K-cups? A tiny cup of coffee. One size coffee only?
I enjoy gadjets. Example: Commercial salmon fisherman for a season. I have managed a bakery coffee shop with toys for boys. The Hobart 32 quart mixer is a blast. Espresso machines are fun to operate yet a mess to clean. Fun to have free Double Mochas.
On the other spectrum i was a river raft guide. We heated water in a porcelain pot. Added coffee. Let it sit four minutes. Swung the pot around about ten times to settle the grinds. Added a bit of cold water to unsuspend the last grinds. Poured carefully. The idea fit in with the trip.
I looked at Keurig, Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) as an investment. Most likely as a Short sale. I planned on buying one only for a test until I read Amazon reviews. No need to bother buying and returning it.
The five star? "It does not taste like instant coffee." At $100 and buying the $$$$ cups i hope not.
The one star. It rattles, makes noise, gets mold and breaks after a year.
OKAY make this a short sale. Other reviews wrote the K-cup was not watered fully.
Starbucks will tell you the best coffee is from a French Press. I had tried this years ago with failure. The beans must be ground very coarse. The filtering is the same as the metal drip filters. Meaning grind it at the store not with a home grinder unless you pay $100 for a good model.
A press is $20 to $45. Bodum makes the best. Starbucks contracted with Bodum to make the Art Deco model. Stailess steel with crafted cutouts. Clear Lucite handle and top.
A press is the smallest coffee maker. Also the simplest while offering complete control. No electricity required. You can use it camping and during power outs if you have a gas stove. Visiting friends and family i take it along.
At home you can move it off the counter to free space.
Simple action:
Boil water in a pan. Add coffee to the Press. Add the water. Stir. (A bamboo chopstick works best.) Steep four minutes. Press it. Pour the cup and the remainder into a caraf.
If the few small grinds bother you then pour into a caraf first and decant it. If the coffee is bitter then reduce the steeping time.
You control the amount of water, coffee and brewing time. Easy to make a half cup. No cost in filters.
A press also makes a milk frother. I use a Mexican Molinino $4.50 or a separate frother press i got at Goodwill $2.25. I use my smallest press an Rx drug rep present for draining Sauerkraut for Ruben sandwiches.
(Yes i have a tortilla press also and every simple gadget made.)
Cleaning a press is simple. Pull out the glass caraf and press. Wash the glass container. Rinse the press part. Either a quick rinse or a simple spin and the filter parts come about. Without separating them do a rinse and screw it back together loosely.
Hold the shaft and spin the filter. Wash, then reverse in one continous motion.
No cost even for filters. The full oils are present. Coffee is used most efficiently. No trash of filters or K-cups.
There are a few powdered "grinds" in the botton of the your cup. Decanting solves this or separate your fresh coffee by size. Use the small particles for Espresso or drip.
A hint on retail coffee drinking. At Starbucks two large Venti are $1.95 x 2 = $3.90. You can order a pressed coffee eight cup equivalent for $3.50. Employees appreciating you know your coffee will give you ceramic cups.
The best part is you choose any coffee at the same price. SBUX will open a for sale pack. I get the $16 a pound which would cost about $2.50 to $3.00 if i bought the pound of coffee. Each time i can get a different coffee. Most important as Starbucks is pushing that horrid Pike Place Market brew. It tastes the way the Seattle Pike Market smelled in 1967.
By Mariposa (Los Angeles, CA USA)
I have been using it six month now with reusable filter for my favorite coffee grain. I could give five stars if it don't make irritating noise.
I put a rubber pad underneath to mediate the noise. I wish it'd be a little taller for thermo bottle.
By Peace Frog (Bakersfield, CA)
I read every single Amazon.com review for this item. And then read them again. I went to the Keurig website and researched the B40. Came back to Amazon and read the reviews one more time. If I was going to pay $100 for a coffee machine, I wanted to be sure I knew as much as possible about it. I finally purchased the B40, and after getting it today and having brewed four cups of coffee so far, I offer the following review (from a BLACK COFFEE drinker, no milk, no sugar):
I think the people who claim this machine is too loud and complain that it vibrates too much are your normal "Mr. Coffee" people. Yes, the machine makes noise. It's pumping pressurized hot water into the K-Cups. Of course it's gonna make noise. I counted each time the noise was made. It lasts five seconds each time, at most. And it's MUCH quieter than my Melitta Mill & Brew, which grinds the coffee beans with a high shrill. This machine also vibrates. But again, it's well worth the minor noise and moderate vibration. You shouldn't be shelling out this much money for a coffee machine if you expect a Mr. Coffee coffee maker. You are buying a "gourmet" coffee machine, and it has some cool features that require hot pressurized water to be pumped through the machine. Not a big deal!
I think a lot of the negative reviews that I read, and maybe all of them, referred to an older version of the B40 that only had one cup size setting. Indeed, when I purchased this machine at Target today, the display model for the B40 had only one cup size. I had to triple-check the box to make sure I was getting the B40 with the TWO cup sizes (and I was). So maybe they have improved the machine since that version.
I read negative reviews about this machine making weak coffee. I was so freaked out about those reviews, I wanted to brew every K-Cup (even the Extra Bold) on the small cup setting. As I was brewing the third cup, I put in a "regular" K-Cup and hit the "large" cup setting. I immediately went into Panic Mode, worried that I just wasted a K-Cup, because my coffee would be too weak to drink. Not true at all! Yes, the coffee was not quite as strong as I would normally like, but it was a very decent cup of coffee. I will not worry if I ever hit the large size on a regular pod again. Although I plan on buying all Extra Bold cups, so that I can brew a bigger cup.
I am extremely pleased with this coffee machine. So much so that I plan to buy two of this same model (or the B60 if it's on sale) as Christmas gifts for my mom and uncle.
As a former coffee house Assistant Manager and an avid fan of "gourmet" coffee, I highly recommend this coffee machine. Probably the best $100 I have spent in at least five years. One of my biggest concerns was that the beans had NO TIME to brew properly in such a short amount of time. But I was completely wrong. This machine brews a nice, bold, rich cup of coffee. Slightly less bold and rich if you brew the regular pods on the larger cup setting; but still very drinkable. I was also concerned that the pods would leak after removing them from the machine, but they are almost dry. I haven't had a single one drip on the way to the trash can, and I remove them seconds after brewing. I'm extremely pleased with the ease and cleanliness of using this machine. No filters to deal with, no messy coffee grounds, no dirty coffee pots to wash (and filter baskets). The convenience of the machine alone is well worth the minor noise and vibration.
I highly recommend this machine. Just do your research and make sure this is the coffee machine you are looking for. It takes time to research, but it pays off in the end. I couldn't be happier with the B40, and don't see why anyone else wouldn't be just as pleased.
Time for me to make another cup.
Images Product
Buy Keurig B40 Elite Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System Now
No comments:
Post a Comment