Keurig B60: First Impressions

Jason Perlow · December 11, 2005

Having never had tasted the quality of the coffee coming out of a Keurig machine, I couldn't understand why people would even think about buying a proprietary coffee dispensing system like the K-Cup, with such a diversity and abundance of Pod coffee on the market.

Well, sometimes, proprietary standards also means higher quality and better technology -- and in terms of the quality of product the Keurig can produce, the proprietary system is totally justified. I just tasted the Timothy's Decaf Colombian coffee and Celestial Seasonings Breakfast Blend tea, and they were excellent.

The recycle/re-prime on the Keurig is very fast, and the water comes out at a nice 192 degrees (although you can manually step it down to 187 you want to go colder, such as if you wanted to flush pure water thru the system and brew a high quality loose-leaf Chinese tea in your mug, for example)

As far as i understand, the primary difference between the B50 and B60 is that the B60 has 3 pour sizes whereas the B50 has two, and the B60 has a lighted control panel and reservoir plus chrome effects. I'm not sure if it justifies the extra $50, but it definitely is one seriously cool looking coffee machine and you can easily tell how high the mechanical build quality of this thing is and how strong the electrical pump is.

In terms of ease of use nothing could possibly be easier -- the water tank is easy to pour into, the loader mechanism a child (or a senior citizen in assisted living) could master, and there is virtually no cleanup required. For a small office environment I'm not sure what could possibly beat the Keurig system if you were going the single-serve route.

So do I like the Keurig system and K-Cups? It may be premature, but I would say its a resounding "Hell Yes!". I'm really looking forward to more and more K-cups -- hopefully Keurig will make it easier for 3rd parties to produce the cups, or that they will be partner with more companies in the future.

DonnaMarieNJ · December 11, 2005

Someday I hope they make a K-cup for hot chocolate..... for now, I'm just going to have to make it the old way!!!!

I've had this machine for a while. I love it. I went way overboard on K-cups but I like most of them!!! I have a huge variety now for the holidays.

As you mentioned, I purchased this machine mostly because of my dad (age 90). He can use this machine easily and not get too confused with it.

The K-cups are expensive, but I buy from Coffeewhiz.com and they give you free shipping on orders over $50. They are located in New Jersey and give excellent service. Amazon gives you free shipping on orders over $25, but their selection is poor compared to Coffeewhiz. (I am not affiliated with Coffeewhiz in any way - I just like their prices and service.)

DonnaMarieNJ

Jason Perlow · December 11, 2005

Yep, I just ordered some pods and K-cups today from CoffeeWhiz, they really seem to have their act together. They were also very accomodating when I asked them to send some samples of other stuff in my order as well.

phaelon56 · December 11, 2005

the water comes out at a nice 192 degrees (although you can manually step it down to 187 you want to go colder, such as if you wanted to flush pure water thru the system and brew a high quality loose-leaf Chinese tea in your mug, for example)

I added the italics as I'm a bit concerned about that number. The digital read-out in your photo showed that as brew temp (vs. temp when the coffee exits into the cup - which will be lower). Ideal brewing temp for coffee is typically just a bit off the boil - about 200 - 203 degrees - sometimes as low as 198.

What's the high temperature limit on the Keurig?

And thanks for the great idea DonnMarieNJ - my dad is 83 and loves "real" coffee but my mom has only decaf Folger's in the house. He uses those little coffee bags to get his caffienated coffee when he wants some buty always raves about how good my coffee is when he comes here for dinner. I think he could use a machine like this.

DonnaMarieNJ · December 11, 2005

The best thing, besides being easy, is that both your mom and dad can have WHATEVER type/flavor of coffee they want. Within seconds of each other. Practically no wait time. My dad gets his regular and I get my decaf flavored. Very simple. I do not allow my dad to fill the tank - he cannot see well and will completely miss the tank and probably cause problems. I fill the tank when necessary. But he's very happy he can make his own fresh cup of coffee as often as he wants. And I don't have to worry about another pot of coffee being burnt down to nothing from sitting on a hot plate all day (he forgets to turn off the coffee). This is an expensive machine, but well worth the convenience and independence it gives my dad.

Jason Perlow · December 11, 2005

Owen -- the max I can crank the "brew temp" control on that machine is 192. I'm not sure if that means what tempature the liquid comes out of the spigot or if thats the actual temperature that is used when it is brewing. I can assure you though this stuff comes out piping hot and the coffee itself is properly brewed and has a good extraction. I know for sure I can hear the water boiling inside the machine during the re-prime process itself.

This is an expensive machine, but well worth the convenience and independence it gives my dad.

As I understand it, the essential guts of the B40, B50 and B60 are basically mechanically identical and produce the same quality of coffee -- the B40 can be had as low as $100 and the B50 for about $140-$150. The B60 may have an advantage for assisted living or sight impaired (or morning impaired like myself) because of the illuminated display, reservoir and buttons. The $100 B40 is limited to a regular 7.2oz pour, whereas the B50 can do a 7.2oz and 5.25 oz, and the B60 can do 7.2oz, 5.25 and 9.25oz pours, and has a larger 64oz reservoir as opposed to 48oz on the other two machines.

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jeffkarsondo · February 13, 2011

I'd have to agree. It's definitely a decent machine...if you use it correctly.

It can actually make pretty decent coffee, contrary to what some coffee

snobs say on the internet. The best part about it is if you use it in an

office then there will never be another line again.

Edited February 13, 2011 by jeffkarsondo (log)

karlos · February 14, 2011

Someday I hope they make a K-cup for hot chocolate..... for now, I'm just going to have to make it the old way!!!!
DonnaMarieNJ

Green Mountain Coffee makes K-cups with hot chocolate. My daughter loves them but I haven't tried it myself.

kbjesq · February 14, 2011

We finally got the hot chocolate k-kups for my daughter as well as some organic green, Twinnings breakfast and Earl Grey tea k-kups. The Keurig is a surprisingly good product. It's fun to use and fast. The refillable pod cartridge is a nice feature although we haven't figured out which grind is best for the pods. I'm liking the Kona Bold k-cups . . . helps get you going on a work day. :biggrin:

Chris Amirault · March 11, 2011

Looks like Starbucks is joining the K-Cup game.

In a long-expected move, and one that could net Starbucks Corp. as much as $200 million in incremental sales during year one, according to an analyst, the largest coffeehouse chain finalized its licensing deal for single-cup distribution.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. will partner with Seattle-based Starbucks Corp. to help the coffeehouse giant stake its claim in the $2 billion, single-cup premium coffee category.
Terms of the deal announced Thursday were not disclosed. The licensing relationship will allow for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of Starbucks and Tazo Tea brand K-Cup portion packs for use in Green Mountain’s Keurig Single-Cup brewing system.

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Keurig B60: First Impressions

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