However, for a richer taste, you can use cream or half-and-half. When sampling a variety of plain medium roast coffee pods from brands such as Green Mountain, Dunkin’, Starbucks, and more, results covered the spectrum. At best, we got mediocre diner-style coffee, and at worst we got warm brown water with next to no flavor at all. We tried every style of coffee and café drink we could think of to see how this machine performs. Single serve coffees came out too thin for our tester, though he said the carafe drip coffee had a very rich mouthfeel. “When using the carafe and following the instructions , the coffee comes out to be some of the better coffee that has been produced in these tests,” he says.
You can control the strength and style of your coffee by choosing standard brew, rich brew, over ice, cold brew, or specialty brew. The Ninja can make coffee and tea, and it uses ground coffee so it costs less to make the coffee with this machine. For cappuccinos and lattes, there’s a Shot button that makes 2 ounces of concentrated brew. You’ll also have a Strong option you can use to make your coffee stronger. Regularly cleaning your Keurig device is the best way to ensure consistent long-term performance. Lack of upkeep can cause everything from grounds ending up in your cup to the water not getting hot enough to the machine dispensing too much or too little coffee.
Keep reading for the best Keurig coffee makers that PEOPLE tested. Hi, I’m Scott, and I’ve traveled extensively through North America and Europe, exploring food and drink pairings around the world. My Love of coffee began during my teen years when a friend’s family introduced me to the glories of the classic Italian Moka pot. That technology got me through too many early-morning final exams in college and eventually led to a manual espresso machine after graduation. You want a Keurig model that has a better extraction process – The Keurig K-Supreme is equipped with the brand’s new MultiStream Technology, which allows the machine to extract coffee better.
Once Keurig’s most feature-rich brewer, the K79 Platinum Plus brews 4-12 oz coffees with a huge 72 oz reservoir and Temp Control. For comparison, the K-Cafe’s frother has two additional modes for more aerated cappuccino foam and cold foam for iced beverages. With the K-Café, you can brew a shot of coffee, adjust the brew strength, and use travel mugs up to 7.2 inches tall. There’s a two-hour auto-off program and a brewer maintenance reminder, so you won’t have to keep track of descaling schedules.
To make a regular cup of coffee, insert one regular k cup, push the coffee button, choose desired cup size and press the K button to brew. If you want, you can also select the Strong option for a stronger cup of coffee. The Keurig K Cafe has a built-in milk frother that makes hot and cold froth. Along keurig coffee with the Shot button, K Cafe makes it easy to make milk-based coffee drinks at home. Choose from hundreds of delicious varieties of K-Cup® pods or brew your own ground coffee with the Universal My K-Cup® Reusable Coffee Filter . The K-Supreme™ coffee maker is travel mug-friendly and the 66-oz.
The milk frother attachments are also dishwasher safe, a rarity for the mostly hand-wash-only Keurig line. The K-Café’s drip tray is removable to fit a tall to-go cup, and its 60-ounce reservoir is enough to make five extra-large coffees without needing to refill. The K-Café is slightly more involved than keurig coffee that, but only slightly. It has lots of intuitive controls, including a choice of coffee or latte and cappuccino brewing, four cup sizes, and a strong option. When we tested this model, we found the coffee flavor quite good, and the espresso shots — though not actually espresso — were strong and rich.
At-home espresso machines range in price from several hundred to several thousands of dollars—which is why we love the price on this latte and cappuccino maker. Using K-Cup pods, this Keurig can brew both drip coffee and espresso-based beverages. Simply choose between keurig coffee four sizes—6, 8, 10 and 12 ounces—and customize the strength of the coffee. And unlike some Keurigs, this one heats and brews in one fell swoop (in other words, you don’t have to wait for the water to heat up before selecting your cup size or strength).