The Ultimate Buyer's Guide for Purchasing cake cup machine

No brand of pod coffee maker is more ubiquitous than Keurig, which accounts for 73 percent of all single-serve coffee makers purchased by CR members from through the first three-quarters of , according to our latest member survey. The whole category of single-serve brewers that use the Keurig-style pods is often referred to by the “K-Cup” moniker, even when the appliances are made by other brands.

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Despite Keurig’s popularity, our tests show that the best K-Cup coffee makers aren’t always made by that brand. Of our top K-Cup brewing machines listed below, most of them are not Keurig models: These other top-performing models hail from Bella, Cuisinart, and Instant. “Keurig models are a bit slower to brew the second cup of coffee compared to the top-rated pod coffee makers,” says Ginny Lui, who leads testing of coffee makers at CR.

Keep in mind that pod coffee makers don’t yield the best-tasting brew, despite their convenience. On top of that is the environmental cost of the pods themselves. Although Keurig’s pods are recyclable, billions have ended up in landfills over the years.

We looked for Keurig machines that could maximize on flavor without a jump in size or price. To that end, we primarily tested machines that had a setting or design that could result in better extraction from coffee pods and that wouldn’t take up much counter space. While testing, we focused on a few key criteria:

Flavor: We made (and tasted) coffee of each size with each machine and combined different strength or temperature settings where applicable.

Speed: We timed each brew, starting from the moment we pushed the button to the last few drops in the cup.

Temperature: We tested the temperature of the stream of coffee, as well as the final in-cup temperature.

Ease of use: We took notes at each step of using these machines, from the setup process, to inserting a pod, brewing, and cleaning.

To decide which pod to test with, we first tasted a few medium-blend K-Cups, brewing an 8-ounce regular cup with each. We settled on using the Brooklyn Roasting Company’s Java Mocha pods for our testing.

To test the efficacy of Keurig’s new multistream technology, we brewed one 8-ounce cup in the K-Classic, which uses the older single-stream technology, and one 8-ounce cup in the K-Slim. We also compared the 8-ounce cup from the K-Slim against the 8-ounce cup from the K-Express with strong brew.

We used the My K-Cup reusable pod with our top pick and filled it with Ninth Street Espresso’s Hot/Cold blend, which we ground with a Baratza Encore. We used the same coffee and grinder when brewing with the K-Duo Hot & Iced carafe, following the SCA’s golden coffee ratio of 1:18.

Top pick

This machine is space-saving, fast, and easy to use, with a strong brew function that improves the flavor of your coffee.

The K-Express is one of Keurig’s simpler machines, but it gets the job done. It has a Strong brew button that delivers better-tasting coffee than machines without it, a removable water tank, and a high-altitude option. We also appreciate its small size, which takes up much less countertop space than the Keurig machines of old.

The compact K-Express is visually unassuming. Less than 5 inches wide and nearly 13 inches long, it can snugly fit between appliances on your countertop or in an unused corner.

The removable water tank adds convenience. The water tank on the back of the machine lifts out for easy cleaning and refilling. It has a 42-ounce capacity, which means it can serve a small household before it needs to be refilled.

The labeling is clear. There are five buttons on the front of the machine, just to the right of where your cup sits. These include an on button, three buttons denoting cup size (8, 10, and 12 ounces), and the Strong brew button. Lights alert you when the water tank is low (the machine also won’t brew) and when the machine needs to be descaled.

The “strong” setting is key for better coffee. The Strong button increases the intensity of the brew, which helps counteract the typical wateriness of Keurig coffee. While we wouldn’t consider the resulting cup to be strong by most standards, it is fuller and bolder than a normal Keurig cup. We’ve found this function to be a necessity with a Keurig machine.

The price is right. The K-Express is one of the few Keurig machines that currently retails for less than $100. For a basic Keurig machine, we don’t see the need to pay more. We don’t expect the machines to last, and none of them have the quality feel of a machine worth investing more in.

It comes in other colors. The K-Express is available in black, white, and a few fun colors for those that like a bit of brightness in their kitchens. But we do worry about the legibility of the button labels on the lighter colors.

The K-Express is covered by a limited one-year warranty. Just keep in mind that any damage resulting while using non-Keurig branded pods and accessories may not be covered. Also, some online reviews claim that Keurig isn’t the best about honoring its warranty.

Flaws but not dealbreakers

The smallest serving size is 8 ounces. A larger Keurig serving is just adding more water to your cup, while using the same amount of coffee—whatever is in your Keurig pod. For this reason, we prefer the smaller servings on a Keurig machine. On the K-Express, that’s 8 ounces, rather than the 6 ounces that some other Keurig machines have. But we found that an 8-ounce cup brewed with the “strong” function still tasted better than a 6-ounce cup made without it on other machines.

The Instant Pot Dual Pod Plus Coffee Maker, made by the same company behind the Instant Pot, brews both K-Cups and Original line Nespresso capsules, making it a versatile machine for households with fans of both Keurig and Nespresso (as well as a handy way to outfit a vacation rental kitchen). The Dual Pod Plus isn’t particularly fancy and takes up a good chunk of space on a counter, but it beats having two separate machines.

It has a big removable water tank. The water tank on the Dual Pod Plus holds 68 ounces—plenty of water for the whole family to make their drinks and maybe a couple of guests, too. A large handle built into the top of the tank makes it easier to carry to and from the sink. But when full, it weighs nearly 5.5 pounds.

It makes fine espresso but needs a break between cups. We found the Dual Pod Plus’s espresso to be decent, though slightly weak compared with our Nespresso picks. Also unlike our other picks, the machine struggled to make espressos back-to-back, with each consecutive espresso more watery than the last. This isn’t a machine you can rely on for quickly whipping out drinks for a party.

It’s intuitive, but not easy, for everyone to use. The machine is user-friendly to beginners, with a grid of one-touch buttons on the top of the machine specific to each brew size. Still, although the touchscreen buttons are clearly labeled, they’re on the top of the machine, so you have to be tall enough to stand over the 13-inch-high machine to see what you’re pressing.

The lid is also difficult to open and feels likely to break—every one of our paid testers noted it as a problem.

The bold mode helps (a bit). Like the K-Express’s strong function, the bold mode supposedly brews the coffee or espresso for longer, allowing for a more intense flavor. We found it mostly added bitterness to still-watery K-Cup coffee, but it was preferable to a blander cup.

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It’s monstrously large. The Dual Pod Plus’s biggest downfall may be its size. With a footprint measuring 7 inches wide and 16 inches deep, the machine is approximately the size of a large stand mixer and sits on your counter like a drab, black tank. But it’s still a more space-efficient option than storing both a K-Cup machine and a Nespresso model.

The Dual Pod Plus has a one-year limited warranty that covers manufacturer defects.

The K-Duo is a Keurig and drip coffee machine in one. The right side of the machine has a typical Keurig brewer, similar in functionality to our top pick, the K-Express, whereas the left side has a 12-cup carafe for drip. This makes it a handy machine for households divided by coffee preference.

It brews a solid carafe, and pretty quickly. The K-Duo has a glass carafe that can make up to 12 cups of coffee (the minimum is six cups). A heating plate under the carafe automatically turns on after brewing, and will stay on for two hours unless shut off. Heating plates can scorch coffee, and our carafe did taste slightly burnt after those two hours, so we’d recommend turning it off and gently re-heating your coffee instead.

The machine uses generic flat-bottomed paper filters and brewed a 6-cup carafe in a little over six minutes. We found that the coffee tasted surprisingly good—not quite as flavorful as coffee from the picks in our drip coffee maker guide, but like that from a decent, midrange drip machine.

It has a pause and pour function. If you’re feeling itchy for a cup of coffee while the carafe is still brewing, you can pull the carafe out to pour one without worrying about spills—the machine automatically pauses the stream of coffee. We had no trouble pouring a cup mid-brew, but we would recommend being quick about it, as the manual states that a pause of over 20 seconds could risk overflow.

There’s a “strong” brew setting. Like our top pick, the K-Duo has a Strong button for single-serve use that adds a little more flavor to your cup, and we’ve found this setting is a must-have. The K-Duo can also make a 6-ounce cup, which helps concentrate flavor just a bit more (but don’t expect a miracle).

The filter basket is a little too small for 12 cups. The K-Duo states a maximum capacity of 15 tablespoons of coffee in the filter basket. But that’s a bit low for the carafe’s 12-cup capacity and wouldn’t accommodate the SCA’s golden coffee-to-water ratio of 1:18 (or even 1:20). You could probably push that limit a bit, but we’d recommend just making a slightly smaller pot instead, to ensure your coffee isn’t watery.

The K-Duo is covered by a limited one-year warranty. As with the K-Express, using non-Keurig branded pods or accessories can void that warranty.

If you want cold coffee: The K-Brew+Chill can make the same hot coffee as our top pick, but it can also make a cup of pleasantly cool coffee in the same amount of time. We found that the 6-ounce cold coffee from this machine was one of the best cups we’ve tasted from a Keurig machine—it’s less cloudy and retains more coffee flavor, though it’s still a bit watery.

But the K-Brew+Chill is essentially a small refrigerator on your counter, humming and venting hot air, as it needs to run constantly to enable the cold coffee function. You can make only four cold coffees in a row before the machine needs to cool down again, and that takes up to six hours (we imagine it’s longer in a hot kitchen). If you’re an avid cold coffee drinker and you’re not attached to the Keurig system, you may be better served by a cold-brew coffee maker (or even store-bought cold brew concentrate). It’s also currently incompatible with the My K-Cup Universal Reusable Filter.

Keurig has long been criticized for encouraging overconsumption, waste, and environmental damage—and not a lot has changed in that regard.

At the end of , Keurig switched the plastic in its pods from the non-recyclable number 7 plastic to number 5 plastic, and marketed its new pods as recyclable. But the Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Keurig Dr Pepper with misleading consumers over these claims, because number 5 plastic is not always recyclable. Two of the country’s largest recycling companies have expressed doubt over the new Keurig pod’s recyclability and stated they would not accept them. (Even plastic that is technically recyclable is likely to end up as trash.)

Keurig has since launched a mail-in pod recycling program similar to Nespresso’s. Customers order a Keurig recycling bag, put their used pods in it (after peeling off the foil and emptying the grounds), and ship the bag back to the company, which it claims will then recycle them. But unlike Nespresso, which doesn’t charge you for these bags, Keurig charges $10 per bag.

We tried the My K-Cup Universal Reusable Filter, which allows you to use your own coffee grounds instead of buying single-use pods. But we had to grind our coffee quite fine to get drinkable results, and even then they were excessively watery. Plus, filling a pod with coffee, emptying it, and cleaning it out—not to mention all the effort required to get the grind and ratios right—seems antithetical to the convenience of a Keurig machine in the first place (especially if the coffee doesn’t taste much better). But if you choose to go this route, we recommend using espresso grounds for the best results.

Keurig machines also have a reputation for breaking easily, and when they do, they’re usually irreparable. Even if you get your machine replaced, it’s likely to be landfill fodder within a few years.

We have to be honest—we don’t love the coffee that Keurig machines make. If you’re satisfied with Keurig coffee, then carry on. But if you’re on the fence about getting a Keurig machine, and you’re worried about the trade-off between flavor and convenience, then fear not—there are other options.

Instant coffee has come leaps and bounds in the past few years, with numerous specialty brands making coffee we’d be delighted to drink daily. One study also found it has a lower carbon footprint than either drip coffee or capsule espresso coffee (like Nespresso). But specialty instant coffee is significantly more expensive per cup than most K-Cups. Grocery store instant coffee is serviceable (and often half the price per cup of a K-Cup), but we found that it’s even less akin to coffee than Keurig coffee.

If you’re looking for a pod-based coffee machine, Nespresso machines are just as quick and convenient as a Keurig but produce much better results. What Nespresso machines do best is, of course, espresso, but there are models that make coffee in addition to espresso. The coffee made by these machines is oddly frothy, but it’s more palatable than the cups we’ve had from Keurig. Nespresso pods are made from aluminum, which is infinitely recyclable, but we don’t have data on how many are recycled. Nespresso machines and their pods are also more expensive than Keurig’s.

The Keurig K-Classic was our previous pick, but we now consider it a bit outdated compared with Keurig’s latest machines. It’s bulky, doesn’t have the strong brew function, and costs more than our top pick. We also found the coffee it brewed to be unpleasant.

The Keurig K-Slim looks similar to the K-Express—it’s also compact and offers the same range of cup sizes. But instead of the Strong brew button, the K-Slim has Keurig’s new “MultiStream Technology”—essentially, the grounds in your pod are hit with five streams of water instead of one—which the company claims extracts more flavor from the pod. But we found that the coffee from the K-Slim was indistinguishable from the K-Classic’s non-multistream coffee.

The Keurig K-Mini is Keurig’s smallest offering. You pour only as much water into the reservoir as you want coffee, which allows for more control over the size and dilution of your drink. But the water tank can’t be removed for refilling or cleaning, and we worry about mold and clogs.

We were excited to test the Keurig K-Supreme Smart, as it offers six strength and temperature settings, which the company says get as high as 206 °F. Most Keurig machines brew at 192 °F, which is below the Specialty Coffee Association’s recommended range of 194 to 205 °F. But we didn’t notice a substantive difference in temperature on the hottest setting, and the highest strength setting made a weaker cup of coffee than the K-Express’ “strong” setting.

In testing, we liked the Keurig K-Select because it offers the Strong brew button. But we couldn’t recommend it due to a worrying number of Amazon reviews that suggest a high rate of machine malfunctions. It’s also a bit bulkier than the K-Express.

The Keurig K-Elite boasts all the features of the K-Select along with an iced coffee setting that brews concentrated hot coffee over ice that Keurig claims will taste cold but not diluted. It also allows you to adjust the brew temperature anywhere from 187 to 192 °F (all below the National Coffee Association’s recommended 195 to 205 degrees). But we didn’t find any of its features remarkable enough for its $170 price tag to warrant testing.

This article was edited by Marilyn Ong and Marguerite Preston.

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