Keurig B70 Gourmet System: Review

The Keurig B70 is 1500-watt appliance that can brew up a fresh cup of gourmet coffee, tea, or cocoa in less than a minute. Like all Keurig machines, you simply open the lid, insert a K-Cup, close the lid, and select a cup size.

The machine is very well designed, simple to operate, looks good, and most importantly, brews an excellent cup of coffee.

The B70 includes four brew-size options: a 5-1/4-ounce robust cup, a 7-1/4-ounce regular cup, a 9-1/4-ounce large mug, and an 11-1/4-ounce extra-large mug. It should be noted that, although taste is highly subjective, the 11 ounce size can often lead to weak coffee depending on the brews being used. Of course weak for one person is perfect for another, so YMMV. The Extra Bold k-cup varieties are your best shot for getting a large, strong brew - but feedback so far indicates that the largest size is not necessary the strongest. This may be worth considering if the 11 oz brew size is one of your deciding factors in this purchase.

Has it improved over the B60? One of the largest improvements over the earlier Keurig is the greatly reduced brewing noise. The B70 features Keurigs new "Quiet Brew technology", and it is noticeably quieter than a B60 when it pumps water to make coffee. The B70 also holds more water than the B60, so that means less trips to the tap to fill the reservoir - and we all love improved convenience. After all, thats what single serve coffee machines are all about! Aesthetically the B70 is also an improvement of the already good-looking Keurig B60.

The B70 makes it really easy to remove used k-cups, which along with the removable drip tray is about all the cleanup that is needed. The unit has a rear mounted on/off switch which really isn't an issue; it is far more practical to make use of the programmable timer. You can set it to turn itself on in the morning, then set it to turn itself off up to 9 hours later or whenever you have finished drinking coffee.

Like most things, its best to follow the directions when your B70 arrives: be sure to rinse and clean the reservoir with warm soapy water - this will prevent your earlier brews being tainted by the new plastic reservoir.

Other features include a 24-hour digital clock. Size wise, the Keurig B70 measures 13-1/4 x 10 x 13 inches and carries a one-year limited warranty.

The best part of owning any Keurig, or most any single shot coffee machine, is the ease of use: no measuring, nothing to clean up, no cleaning filters. The B70 Gourmet Home Brewing System is an excellent machine and if you are in the market for a single cup of brew, this will be a fantastic addition to your kitchen.