Keurig and Senseo single serve coffee machine reviews: Keurig B60, Keurig B70, and other recommendations

Single serve coffee machines, those that brew one cup at a time, offer several advantages over multiple-cup coffee makers. First of all, each person can choose exactly the type of coffee he/she likes. Imagine having exactly the cup of coffee you want every time… you will never have to settle on a less-than-perfect cup of coffee because it’s what everyone can agree on.  The second advantage they offer is speed:  The high-quality machines can brew a fresh cup for you in seconds. Third, they hold an advantage in cost per cup: If you drive through Starbucks every morning and pay several dollars for a cup of coffee that is uniquely to your taste, now you’ll be able to brew something you love just as much at home for much less.  Finally, single-serve coffee makers are a great conversation piece: When you have friends over, they’ll look forward to trying it for themselves.

While our research indicated that Senseo single serve coffee systems were the most popular, we found that Keurig single serve coffee makers were the most highly rated. Keurig makes several different systems, from the B40, a basic model, to the more advanced B60, all the way up to the Keurig B70, loaded with bells and whistles.  All the Keurig coffee makers use “K-cups,” or “pods,” which are specially made to work with the Keurig coffee systems.  One of the reasons Keurig enjoys such great reviews is that many gourmet coffee, tea, and cocoa manufacturers support its products. You can get K-cups from Green Mountain, Celestial Seasonings, Ghirardelli’s, Diedrich, Timothy’s, Newman’s Own, and many more suppliers of fine coffee.  The K-cups are widely available where consumers shop for fine coffee.

The entry-level Keurig single serve system is the Keurig B40 coffee maker. You can can insert a K-cup into the B40 and select one of two sizes, a 7 1/4 ounce cup size, or a larger 9 1/4 ounce mug, and your coffee will be ready in seconds.  A 48 ounce water reservoir allows you to brew multiple cups of coffee without having to refill the B40.  One reviewer complimented the B40 on “no mess and fuss,” and points out that you can find a wide selection of K-cups online at very reasonable prices.  She and her husband like to have friends over to try the coffee maker, and “our guests are always impressed that they can choose their own blend and flavor.”  Several reviewers gave or received the B40 as a gift, expecting it to find its way into the closet soon after; but instead, they have loved it so much that they ended up using it every day to brew coffee.  “So easy,” wrote one reviewer who is the only coffee drinker in her house.

The Keurig B60 coffee maker offers an additional cup size (a 5 1/4 oz. cup), and also gives you more control over the brewing temperature and time. One Keurig B60 owner points out that you also get “beautiful blue LEDs behind the display and water tank, as well as a polished chrome handle and a polished chrome outer ring to the display.”  Another pointed out that after finishing one cup, the B60 was ready to brew another in only 30 seconds.  Another reviewer went into more detail about the temperature control:  It can be adjusted between 192 degrees and a cooler 187 degrees Fahrenheit in 1-degree increments.  “My kids loved using it for hot chocolate,” wrote the author of another Keurig B60 review.  Another owner notes that you can find the K-cups just about anywhere – “Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears, Macy’s, and even some supermarkets.” Or, if you don’t want to buy K-cups, you can purchase the Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter to use any gourmet coffee with the Keurig B60.

The Keurig B70 Coffee Maker offers the most convenience, cup sizes, and brewing options. It adds a 9 1/4 ounced cup and an 11 1/4 ounce sized mug to the options the Keurig B60 offers. The blue backlit 60-ounce reservoir, larger than the other Keurig coffee makers’ 48-ounce reservoir, allows you to brew additional cups of coffee without a refill.  It has an Iced Coffee setting, piping 4 oz. of brew through for an especially strong iced beverage. “The smaller amount of hot liquid gets diluted to exactly the right strength when you add it to ice,” a reviewer wrote.

Another reviewer uses his B70 coffee maker every morning, and estimates his K-cups cost about 60 cents apiece, compared to the $1.93/cup he used to spend every morning at Dunkin’ Donuts. Other reviewers loved the fact that the B70 is programmable.  You can schedule the Keurig B70 to power up and heat the water shortly before everyone wakes up, and schedule it to power down at a later time, after everyone will have had their coffee for the day. As with all the Keurig units, reviewers loved the large number of options available in K-cups, including “a yummy white hot chocolate” and Timothy’s Lemon Blueberry tea among the many options for the non-coffee drinkers in the house.

Amazon carries a large selection of K-cup coffee, tea, and cocoa as well as the Keurig coffee makers themselves.

The Senseo coffee maker uses “pods,” similar to K-cups, to brew single-serve cups of coffee. The Senseo appears to be more popular than the Keurig models, based on the number of reviews written on Amazon and on Google search results; however, the Senseo coffee maker is not quite as highly rated, although still very well liked. In addition to the mild, medium, dark, and decaffeinated pods, specialty pods are available including Paris Vanilla Bistro, Killarney Irish Creamery, Vienna Hazelnut Waltz, Senseo Sumatra, and Senseo Cappuccino. The cappuccino pod is specially designed with the creamer in a separate “honeycomb,” so that it blends with the coffee easily, producing an extra-luxurious drink.  There are also non-Senseo pods available, and several reviewers thought those were much better than the Senseo-brand pods.

A couple of others you may want to consider:

• Bunn MCP My Cafe Professional-Grade Single-Serve Coffee/Tea Machine
• Flavia J10NBK Fusion Drinks Station

Whichever model you choose, you’ll be able to brew exactly the cup of coffee you want, for far less than you would pay at Starbucks or other major coffee chain stores.  Happy drinking!