Keurig Coffee Reviews

Celebrities love Keurigs!

2012-02-01T23:35:00.000-08:00

Given its sleek modern design and quick delicious coffee, its no surprise to find Keurig in the kitchens of many celebrities.

Keurigs were also given in the gift bags to 2009 Golden Globe nominees and presenters. The Keurig Platinum gourmet single cup brewer was gifted to participating celebrities in their exclusive gift suite leading up to the Globe ceremony. Recipients included Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Pierce Brosnan, Sandra Bullock and Sean Combs and dozens more. Keurig provided its gourmet B70 Platinum brewing system.

Possibly the biggest celeb to use and endorse Keurig is Oprah herself. She did a large piece on her show about Keurig and how her company Harpo cut right back on plastic cup use in the office. You can see the clip below:

Other celebs using Keurigs include Michael Emerson of “Lost” who upgraded his family's coffee maker after tiring of his old maker leaving “such a mess”. Kate Walsh of “Private Practice” also upgraded to a Keurig for a similar reason, saying her previous maker was too noisy & messy. Holly Robinson-Peete of “Celebrity Apprentice” loves that she doesn’t need to brew a whole pot. Neil Patrick Harris shared “we gave a Keurig Platinum Single Cup Coffee System to my partner David’s dad as a gift so he doesn’t have to make a whole pot, he loved it!”

Van Houtte's Chocolate Raspberry Truffle

2010-05-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

The roaster describes this as "Rich coffee enhanced with chocolate and juicy raspberry flavors", and thats exactly what you get. This K-cup is dessert in a cup. The coffee smells fantastic while brewing, its aroma delivers what the label promises: chocolate and raspberry!

The first sip is chocolate and raspberry dancing across the stage set by a bright coffee. As it cools the chocolate and raspberry flavors continue to abound. VH's Truffle K-Cup is rich and strong with more of a raspberry balance than chocolate; a superb flavoured coffee, and is quite possibly one of the best dessert / after-dinner K-Cups on the market.

Green Mountain also make a raspberry K-Cup, "Raspberry Rhapsody". In contrast to Raspberry Rhapsody, Van Houtte’s Chocolate Raspberry Truffle is darker, richer, and perhaps a bit more sophisticated. It definitely doesn’t have the light summertime feel of the Green Mountain. Instead it feels more like a dessert espresso; the perfect complement to a rich chocolate dessert perhaps. The Green Mountain is also a seasonal brew, whereas Van Houttes offering is available year round.

It should go without saying that cream and sugar give Van Houtte’s Raspberry Chocolate Truffle a lighter, sweeter feel, so balance can be added if you are in the mood for something less robust.

This K-Cup brewed at the 7.25oz drop is smooth and velvety and just what chocolate and raspberry lovers should look for.

Differences Between Keurig and Manual Drip Makers.

2010-05-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

In my opinion if you are new to coffee you won't go wrong with a Keurig; they are easy to use and have a great variety of coffees available, at a large number of retailers. But are they better than using a manual drip coffee maker? After all, you can pick up a drip coffee maker for as cheap as $10... Is the saving justified?

The greatest concern when using a manual drip brewer is the quality of the coffee that you start with. Will you use good quality beans that are freshly ground for each pot? Will you quickly (under 45 minutes?) drink all the coffee that you have brewed? If not, the end result that goes in your mug will suffer.

This is an area where single serve machines shine, offering great convenience and a greater selection of coffees, with much less cleaning afterwards.

Which Keurig coffee maker is right for you? That's a hard answer to give but these are my thoughts. The B30 mini is being replaced by the Mini Plus, which makes a good solution if you are short on space. The B70 is great for any kitchen with a touch more benchtop space, and its large water tank means brewing is lightning fast.

Ultimately, the difference between a Keurig and a manual drip coffee makers comes down to hard work. Can you make better coffee by other means? Certainly. If you have time, money, patience, and the know-how. Most people won't take the time at 6am - they want to pop in a K-cup, hit the button, and drink a great cup of really fresh coffee in a few seconds.

Investing in Keurig: GMCR growth

2010-05-03T15:57:00.001-07:00

If you are a Keurig owner, it may be a good time to consider investing in it parent company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. They make a fantastic product in the Keurig and their own single cup coffee blends; why not own a slice of such a great company whose products is enjoyed by so many? And now may be a good time to invest.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (Nasdaq: GMCR) are one of the market's recession-bucking growth stocks. They declared stock splits late last week (late Apr 2010). GMCR is opting for a 3-for-1 exchange to get the Keurig specialist's shares back into $20s.

Wikipedia says "A stock split is a decision by the company's board of directors to increase the number of shares that are outstanding by issuing more shares to current shareholders."

A stock split is usually done by companies that have seen their share price increase to levels that are either too high or are beyond the price levels of similar companies in their sector. The primary motive is to make shares seem more affordable to small investors even though the underlying value of the company has not changed.

The bottom line is a stock split is used primarily by companies that have seen their share prices increase substantially and although the number of outstanding shares increases and price per share decreases, the value of the company does not change.

Green Mountain has certainly seen recent growth, with K-Cup shipments soaring 82% in the previous quarter. This underlines the popularity of Keurigs great single cup coffee brewers, driven by the popularity of their large range of great coffee varieties. Keurigs singel serve coffee machines are expert in providing delicious coffee conveniently quick and with no mess or cleaning up, substantially cheaper than Starbucks or other coffee shops.

Their products are popular and growth is expected to continue. If you are interested in investing in the stock market and are a Keurig fan, GMCR make a good choice. Its kind of like everytime you drink a coffee from a Keurig, you are driving growth in your own company!

Gloria Jean’s Butter Toffee K-Cup Review

2010-02-18T16:07:00.000-08:00

Gloria Jean’s Butter Toffee K-Cup uses "slow-roasted Arabica beans and provides a medium blend with a creamy taste and a caramel toffee accent". Does it achieve this? We bought some to put together this K-Cups review to find out.

If you like coffee with a smooth taste and not as much coffee 'bite', this is an excellent choice. The smell and flavor are delicious, particularly when this K-cup is brewing, and although it is quite a light roast, the smell and taste make this a very tasty beverage.

It smells delicious when it's brewing, and although the actual flavor when you drink it is more mild, it's simply perfect. It's got notes of caramel, nuts and vanilla, yet is not so overwhelming that you can't drink it as your every day coffee.

A great quote about this K-Cup from around the web says "Good stuff if you feel like drinking a Werther's Original candy instead of sucking on one!" and this is pretty much as accurate a statement as you will find. It's not too weak or strong, and the flavor is exactly what you would expect - smooth, rich and not too indulgent, like butter toffee candy. It certainly is not a bold cup nor is it going to make your eyes pop out from your head; it is more of a "happy" k-Cup than a "explosive" coffee.

Again, this is quite a light roast with a smooth and mild flavour, and if you want your coffee so thick you have to chew it, don't buy this. Because its not a strong brew, we recommend using the 8 oz. setting, rather than the larger sizes, for the best flavor (of course, you milage may vary!). However it has a fantastic aroma when brewing and a very pleasing mild smooth flavour. If this sounds appealing to you, it is a flavoured K-Cup that is worth trying.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Colombian Fair-Trade Select K-Cup Review

2010-02-16T14:56:00.000-08:00

Fair Trade is a third-party certification that guarantees peasant farmers will receive a "fair" or economically sustainable price for the farmers' coffees, plus a premium to benefit their community. In the coffee sector, only farmers who are members of a democratically run cooperative were eligible to apply for Fair Trade certification. There can be a challenge in producing excellent Fair Trade coffee simply due to inherent challenges of production by cooperatives; a handful of farmers who pick too much unripe fruit or who fail to cover their drying coffee when it rains can mess things up for the hundred other farmers who do things right.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is one of the country's leading specialty roasters, offering a particularly wide-ranging variety of origins and roast styles. The Green Mountain website describes this K-Cup as "Tastes like a late-summer Saturday morning. Our Fair Trade Colombian is a sunny, warming cup with aromas that recall Gramma’s homemade apricot jam." This isn't far from the truth, and it makes a very nice cup of coffee - somewhat citrusey and orange mixed with a caramel / milk chocolate aspect. Very tasty for a medium roast with a really nice caramel aroma, it is rich and very smooth. Keurig owners who like a balanced cup with elements of chocolate and citrus will enjoy this blend.

Keurig vs Tassimo: Which Coffee Machine Is Better?

2010-02-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

Both Keurig and Tassimo make great coffee machines, and which one suits you best will probably come down to which of cost per cup vs ability to uses your own coffee grounds vs ability to make lattes and cappuccinos is most attractive to you.

The Tassimo features its water reservoir on the back of the unit so you may need to move it forward to add water each time depending on where you place it on the counter. The Keurig's water reserviour is located on the side of its unit, so access to fill it up is easier. The Tassimo unit does slide up and out, however, so its not all doom and gloom.

Speed-wise, the Tassimo is slower to complete its cup of coffee. The machine is also slightly louder (but both are much quieter than your average Starbucks!) Taste is a much more subjective thing, and there are certainly many happy customers of both coffee makers so clearly both are doing things right in the taste department. The Tassimo features T-Discs from Seattle's Best and Starbucks. Keurig has Coffee People and Gloria Jeans, as well as the versatile K-Cup coffee filter accessory which allows people to use their own ground coffee in a Keurig brewer. This can substantially lower the cost of every cup, and provides great flexibility of coffee variety.

The Tassimo has a few tricks of its own in the versatility department. It has the ability to mix creamer disks with your coffee T-disks, and in doing so can make some great lattes and cappuccino, all at the touch of a button. To make a latte in a Keurig, you need to add the milk seperately.

Another thing to consider is cost of the single servings. Keurig K-cups tend to be somewhat less expensive on average than the T-discs. K-cups can get really cheap if you order certain doubled up packages from Amazon (50 cups at a time). Your Tassimo latte/cappucino can run well over a dollar for the cup with the 2-3 discs you may be using to make it, but again, it has that versatility of making those things whereas the Keurig does not.

Both machines are very capable and make excellent cups of coffee very quickly. The Keurig is quieter, slightly quicker and allows you to use your own coffee grounds with the My K-Cup accessory. The Tassimo can mix up a latte or cappuccino via its creamer disks, and has the Starbucks brand of T-Disk exclusively.

Single Serve Coffee Machines: The Ideal Solution

2010-02-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

The convenience of a single serve coffee maker is incredibly hard to beat. Gone are the days of grinding beans, measuring messy grounds and cleaning up before you leave for work - with the push of one button you get a hot cup of excellent coffee in under a minute. With one single K-Cup and in one short minute, you will have a delicious and perfectly brewed cup of coffee!

Just as a single-serve coffee machine, like a Keurig B70, can speed up your morning routine, so to can it make entertaining a breeze. A single serve machine is great for having guests over because the variety of K-Cups are endless. Now you can offer your friends a range of roasts, decaf, tea or hot chocolate without any more effort than simply inserting a new K-Cup and pressing start.

With a single serve coffee system, you don't need to go to the effort of making a pot of coffee to enjoy your favorite fresh brew. If you have ever poured wasted coffee down the sink, you will love the beauty and simplicity of the single serving system.

Just the savings alone on wasted coffee can make this a very cost-effective method; if used with the My K-Cup accessory and your own coffee grounds, a Keurig make each cup of joe very cheap. When you put the convenience of a hot cup of coffee delivered in less than a minute and with practically no clean-up, and combine it with the low cost of each cup of coffee, a single serve coffee machine is a kitchen appliance you will wonder how you got by without one!

Timothy's White Hot Chocolate K-Cup

2010-02-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

Making a delicious single serve hot chocolate seems to be very hit and miss depending on who you ask. Opinions are largely mixed about the taste of the different hot chocolate K-Cups, possibly even more so than the coffees! Some people love them while others just can't stand them.

One of the most popular selling hot chocolate K-Cups is Timothy's White Hot Chocolate K-Cups, and this single serve K-Cup is one of the most popular cold-weather K-Cups.

This K-Cup is unique in that it is white chocolate rather than a milk or dark drinking chocolate. This means it is produced from the cocoa butter rather than actual cocoa, which produces a creamier, sweeter taste than a milk or dark chocolate drink. And it certainly is sweet, and looks like hot whipped milk. The aroma is very much of a cocoa butter, and its not subtle. Everyone else in the room will know what you are drinking.

This is a great K-Cup to experiment with mixing into other drinks, as its sweetness brings interesting variety to a host of other K-Cups and beverages. Be sure to give it a quick stir as all the flavor can somtimes settle. Add a little espresso or coffee mixed half and half to give it a bit of bite and make a 'barista style' white mocha. Or try it with two parts Kahlua, or some Baileys Irish Cream. Other good recipes include mixing it with Gloria Jean's Sleigh Ride at half and half, or adding this brew to a instant hot cocoa.

If you are a big fan of white chocolate, you should definately give this K-Cup a chance. It is very sweet, although some people find it a little watery. As with all coffee, it is probably best to start with a smaller sample before committing to, say, a 48 pack.

Timothys have achieved a unique white chocolate K-Cup that makes a very sweet, creamy white hot chocolate. If you are in the market for a milk chocolate, you should definately give it a go.

Keurig B60 Coffee Maker Review

2010-02-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

The Keurig B60 Special Single Cup Coffee Maker is a great machine, capable of brewing 3 different sizes of coffee: 5.25, 7.25, and 9.25 oz. The bottom of the cup holder is removable to fit even a 15 oz travel mug. The B60 is an express coffee machine, and will a cup of coffee in 40 seconds, and then be ready for the next cup of coffee in 20 seconds.

The wide range of different coffee means your guests will love choosing their favorite flavor. With over 200 different flavours, you should try several different K-Cups before settling on a favorite. Start with the most popular top sellers, check out reviews of other K-Cups, and expand out from there.

Its a great thing to have a fresh cup of coffee ready to go at the push of a button seconds. If you drink tea you can have it 3X faster than a microwave and 20X faster than a teapot.

Like all Keurig K-Cups, compared to coffee purchased from a coffee shop the price of each cup will be around 42c per cup. Using the Keurig B60, like all other Keurig coffee machines, couldn't be easier: simply insert a K-cup, close the lid and press a button.

The Keurigs have won a Good Design award, and with features like an LED light display and clean modern lines, it is easy to see why. Combined with the ease of clean-up, which is as simple as thoughtfully discarding the spent K-Cup, it is easy to see why they Keurig B60 is such a popular coffee maker.

The B60 retails for around $40 - $60 cheaper than the latest Keurig B70 coffee machine, and if you shop around (and watch for deals) you can pick up some good bargains.

Keurig Coffee Latte Recipe

2010-01-30T11:33:00.000-08:00

Can you make a latte with a Keurig coffee maker? Well, not directly as the Keurig machines do one thing- make a single serve coffee - and do it incredibly well. However, it is not hard to transform your favorite cup of Keurig into a nice latte using this simple trick.

A caffè latte is typically prepared with approximately 1/3 espresso and 2/3 steamed milk, with a layer of foamed milk topping the drink. It is easy to create a latte with your Keurig coffee maker, particularly if you have the Keurig Milk Frother (but still simple if you dont!)

First, brew up one K-cup of dark-roast coffee - both Caribou Coffee's Mahogany Roast or Sumatra Roast work well, as does Green Mountain's espresso blend. Pour 4 oz. of the brewed coffee into a mug.

Next, heat 6 oz. of low-fat milk in a saucepan on the stove. Reserve 2 oz. of the heated milk to pour into your blender. This creates the foamy froth for the top of the latte. As we saw in our Keurig Milk Frother review, if you have the fantastic Keurig Frother this part is a cinch. The Milk Frother may be around $80 from Amazon, but it will save in the long run as you will not be hitting the local Starbucks anywhere near as often. The machine quickly steams and froths milk, and looks impressive while it does it.

Finally, pour 4 oz. of heated milk into your coffee cup and stir. Blend 2 oz. of milk in the blender until it's nice and frothy. Pour the foam on top of the latte.

Sweeten and dress your latte as you like; a sprinkling of cinnamon, nutmeg or cocoa powder on top makes the best latte.

Who Wants A Free Keurig B70?

2010-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

Another opportunity to win a free Keurig Gourmet Brewing System is on the web, this time over at Leite's Culinaria. Simply enter your name and email address, and you are in the draw. You can enter as many as three times per email address per day, so if you make the most of these rules you could end up with a lot of entries, and a very good chance at winning this great Keurig coffee maker!

The deadline on entries for this competition is 8am EDT, 3/21/2010. Get over to the site via the link below and enter, enter, enter. The only thing better than buying a Keurig B70 System is getting a free Keurig B70 System!

http://leitesculinaria.com/27687/giveaways-keurig-home-brewing-system.html

How Blade Grinders Work

2010-01-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

Though coffee lovers are eager to spend tons of money on a huge variety of expensive coffee machines, they often forget to buy themselves a good coffee bean grinder. How many breakfasts are ruined until the day that the grinder is purchased later? It is completely tragic to think that people will spend so much money buying fresh coffee beans from exotic locales, newly roasted on the very day of their purchase, and yet have these deluxe imports ground down at a nearby micro-roastery, simply because they never got a decent coffee grinder at their homes. Of course, we are not denying that dependable brewing machines and good quality beans are an absolute necessity for making a great espresso! However, unless the beans are ground properly and freshly, you should realize that you are missing out on your coffee’s easily achieved potential.

Blade grinders consist of small, barrel-shaped grinding chambers. They contain sharp metal blades that spin at a very fast and very consistent rate of speed. This tears up and otherwise pulverizes coffee beans repeatedly, running until a desired consistency is achieved. The size of the grounds, called the fineness of the grind, is determined how long the cutting blades are allowed to chop up the beans. Blade grinders are found in just about every American department store, kitchen boutiques and kitchen equipment shop, as well as in most large supermarkets.

One of the best benefits of a blade grinder is its low purchase price. The biggest disadvantage they have is a lack of uniformity in the grinds they produce. As blade grinders continue to chop up beans, they create a coffee powder. The fragments of beans will take on irregular shapes. When the blades are turned off, powder can be spotted around the edges of the pile of grounds, and chunks of many sizes will collect at the center. If you are brewing coffee with a French press or espresso machine, this poses a big problem, because the filters on these machines let very fine grinds through and produce a grainy cup. For this reason, blade grinders are far more frequently used in drip coffee makers, which have paper filters to prevent tiny grinds and particles of powder from reaching the cup.

Despite this considerable drawback, blade grinders provide better coffee than store-bought coffee grounds prepared at a factory. These mass produced articles probably sit on store shelves for long stretches of time, whereas freshly ground beans from your blade grinder will have a far stronger, richer and intense flavor. For those budgets that find the expense of a burr grinder prohibitive, try a blade grinder as a stopgap measure in your ongoing pursuit of quality coffee.

B30 Mini vs B40 Elite: Single Serve Comparison

2010-01-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

As we have seen before, the B30 is an ideal way to make great single serves of K-Cup goodness without sacrificing much benchtop space. The Keurig B30's smaller form factor means its easier to carry on travels, be it in a college dorm, a boat or an RV. Brewing options are few and there is only one cup size, but the Mini B30 is the only Keurig to come in a range of colors - black, white or red - and its portability and small footprint gives it great versatility.

Weighing in at twelve pounds, the Keurig Elite Brewer B40 is designed to stay on your benchtop. The Keurig B40 is the entry-level K-Cup brewer and is slightly larger than the B30 but offers more options, such as the choice of an 8 oz or 10 oz cup of coffee. It also has a large water reservoir, so there is always hot water ready to go. By comparison, the B30 holds only enough water for one coffee at a time.

Ultimately the decision between the two should probably come down to use. For portability you really cant beat the B30, but the B40's larger water reservoir means you dont need to wait 3 minutes for the water to boil. Prices between these two models are very similar now, particularly if you shop around or purchase at sales. There is no difference in the resulting brews from these single serve machines: with the right K-Cup, the coffee will taste great from either machine.

How To Remove The Odor And Plastic Smell From Keurig Coffee Machines

2010-01-12T14:13:00.000-08:00

It is a fairly common complaint amongst new Keurig coffee machine owners that their machines and coffee have a strong plastic taste. Typically this residual smell & taste is temporary and it is because the reservoir in the coffee maker is brand new; for some reason a lot of coffee makers (not only Keurig) are using a plastic or manufacturing process that can sometimes leave a heavy plastic odor on the machine. This can then be passed to your coffee.

The first cause to eliminate is water from the faucet. If the water tastes bad, any coffee made with it was just as bad. For most people this should not be the problem, but if it is try using a water filter to fix this problem, use bottled water to make your coffee, or boil the water in a jug before putting into your coffee machine.

A call to Keurig Customer Services will typically suggest running a cycle with around two tablespoons of white vinegar in the water tank. This is a good technique but we also suggest giving the reservoir a good cleaning with hot soapy water. Run the vinegar through the machine, then run 2 tank fulls of hot water to clear the vinegar.

If these steps dont work, get in touch with the Keurig customer services and get the water reservoir replaced. They are normally very good about this process, the Keurig customer service reps are generally very helpful.

Amazon's "Subscribe And Save" K-Cup Deal

2010-01-10T01:22:00.000-08:00

Until January 31 2010, Amazon are bringing in a 15% discount on their "Subscribe & Save" program. Subscribe & Save offers the 15% off as well as free shipping.

When you join the program you can choose what period you want the subscription to be filled: every one, two, three, or six months. This coupon also stacks with other Amazon K-Cup coupons which are typically around the 10% mark, so by joining the program you can save upto 25%.

One of the best parts is that there is no commitment. You can change your delivery schedule or cancel at any time, meaning if you want a one-off saving, you can use this deal for the purchase, then cancel straight away.

A typical deal may look like the Coffee People Donut Shop K-Cups, that we recently reviewed. With Amazon's free shipping and the ability to use this deal with other coupons, its well worth looking into.

Coffee People Donut Shop Coffee K-Cups: Best in Dec 2009

2010-01-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

A lot of the sales figures are back now for the 2009 Christmas holiday period, and there is one clear winner: Coffee People Donut Shop Coffee K-Cups.

At Amazon.com, two of the top three selling Grocery items at Amazon.com over the 2009 holiday period were the "Coffee People Donut Shop K-Cups for Keurig Brewers" and "Coffee People K-Cup Santa's Buzz for Keurig Brewers".

Meanwhile at Coffeewizz.com, the Coffee People Donut Shop K-Cups were the top placed seller for December. These were followed by two Green Mountain blends: the Breakfast Blend K-Cup and the Nantucket Blend K-Cup.

The Coffee People Donut Shop K-Cup is consistently among the most popular K-Cups on the market today, which given its great taste comes as no surprise. This K-Cup is a very good medium-bold roast cup of coffee, not as dense and heavy as Extra Bold varieties of K-Cup. It has a rich and mild flavour profile rather than strong, and is reminiscent of a local donut shop brew (hence the k-cup's name). This K-Cup is simple, but it’s really, really good.

Amazon has a great deal on K-Cup coffee & tea from Coffee People, Diedrich, and Gloria Jean starting at $21 for pack of 50. Choose "subscribe and save", and apply coupon code KCUP93O6 to save an additional 10% making them from as low as $15.50 with free shipping. This brings the cost per cup as low as 36 cents. Thats a great price for a VERY popular K-Cup. You can cancel the subscription straight after placing the order.

Similarly the Keurig site has a Buy 2 Get 2 free deal at the moment, applicable to the 24 pack of K-Cups. Use the code WARRANTY before you checkout. This code requires you to register your brewer with Keurig.com first; the serial number is typically on the bottom of the machine or for the B60 and B70 can be found behind the drip tray.

These are both great chances to pick up the top selling Coffee People Donut Shop Coffee K-Cups and save!

Another Giveaway For A Free Keurig Platinum B70

2010-01-06T11:44:00.000-08:00

http://www.jleighdesignz.com/2010/01/keurig-premium-coffee-systems-platinum.html

It seems Keurig givesaways are all the rage at the moment, because here is another one you can enter for free. Like the two giveaways we covered previously, J Leigh Designz is having draw to win a Keurig B70. Visit her site and leave a comment stating which brand and flavor of Kcups you would get for one entry; you can have upto 11 entries by following her on Twitter, Facebook, etc etc.

The contest ends Feb 15th 2010 at midnight, so pop over there and enter. At the time of writing there was around 650 entries, so if you complete 10 entries thats about a 1 in 66 chance to win a free platinum Keurig single serve machine. Those are some great odds, much better than the lottery!

Our Keurig Platinum B70 review found this is one great single serve coffee machine, so head on over and enter the giveaway. Good luck!

Keurig Café Milk Frother

2009-12-28T18:26:00.000-08:00

The great thing about single serve k-cup machines are the excellent coffee they brew up in no time flat. The downside is that Keurig machines don't do milk frothing for your espresso or cappuccino. The solution is to froth the milk yourself and add it to the top of your coffee; Keurig's answer to this comes in the form of the Keurig Café Milk Frother.

The Keurig Milk Frother has two levels marked on the inside of the milk reservoir. The lower level is 150ml, for froth, and the top 250ml mark is for hot milk. Simply fill the milk container to the desired level, put the container on the base, and push the start button. Its as easy as you would expect from any Keurig device - heating or frothing your milk is a one button process. Cleanup is also easy as the Keurig Frother has a non-stick coating.

Heating time takes under 90 seconds and provides wonderful fluffy clouds of whipped milk. It is important to use good skim milk, as the fat content is important when making froth. If you use a milk with a higher fat content you will only get whipped hot milk, as a higher fat content prevents frothing.

As the volume marks indicate, the Café Milk Frother makes either 150ml or 250 ml. This can be more than you need for a single cup, so if you are only brewing one cup at a time then you may have leftover milk. If, however, your machine makes more than one cup at a time then the frother can't be beaten. It also comes into its own when you have guests; 90 seconds to froth the milk while the 2 serves of K-Cup are being prepared makes it seem like you have a private Starbucks hidden in the pantry.

The price tag can be a little daunting. The Café Milk Frother currently retails for around the $90 mark, although deals are out there and can be found online and in department stores during seasonal and other sales. The beauty of this machine is that there is just no guess work involved in getting great milk froth, every time. Like their coffee machines, the Keurig really is as simple as adding the milk and pressing a button to get a consistently brilliant result.

Not only does the froth let you finally use your Keurig to brew up lattes and cappaccinos, but the magic of a dollop of froth also makes your coffee look far sexier. Use your Keurig to brew a cup of your favorite roast blend, add a scoop of milk froth and sprinkle with a light dusting of cinnamon. Or make a layered mocha - pour the froth on the bottom of the cup, add chocolate syrup and pour your coffee over that.

The Keurig Milk Frother does a fantastic job, and if you get some gift vouchers for Christmas, or find the machine on sale after the holiday, then it is definately worth purchasing. There is just no quicker, easier way to froth milk for your single serve coffee.

Another Keurig Platinum Giveaway...

2009-12-22T00:20:00.000-08:00

It seems every other blog (except ours!) has a Keurig Platinum brewing system to give away at the moment. But we love Keurig brewers, and we love competitions, so these giveaways are not bad things! And you can never have too many chances to win a free Keurig, right?

Angela over at MommyPR MommyPR states "Winner will receive the Keurig Platinum with 12 K-Cups." Just head over to the site, read her review (she loves the Keurig Platinum) and leave a comment.

If you like your competitions the same way as you like your coffee - simple - then these giveaways are well worth your time!

The Mommy PR Platinum giveaway closes Jan 4th 2010. Get in there while the going is good.

Win a Keurig Platinum Brewing System

2009-12-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

Frugal Rhode Island Mama is giving away a Keurig Platinum Brewing System. Head over to her site, leave a comment to let her know you want to win, and then cross those fingers.... this fine piece of coffee machinery is well worth a quick comment! Sweepstake closes on Dec 31st 2009.

Keurig B30 Mini Brewers

2009-12-20T17:35:00.001-08:00

Designed for compact kitchens, the Keurig B30 Mini Brewer features a stylish, space-saving footprint that turns out the delicious, high quality coffee you expect from a K-Cup product. Keurig brewers are always good looking, and the B30 Mini is certainly no exception - except this time the petite 11-1/2 x 10 x 13-1/4 inches form factor means you can have a Keurig in the much smaller spaces than the more sizable models. What are the pros and cons that Keurig have traded off to accomodate the small size? Lets take a look.

The biggest difference from the larger sized Keurig models is that the B30 Mini only makes one cup size, at 8 ounces. The Keurig B30 keeps its size down by only holding enough water in its reservoir for one cup, meaning you need to fill it for each coffee you brew. Compared to the larger machines like the B70, the B30 Mini has a longer brewing time - around 2 minutes. If you are a household of more than one person and require multiple cups of coffee to be brewed seconds apart, then this machine may not be for you. Still, 2 minutes isn't bad, and is much faster than a trip down the road to grab a coffee from the coffee house!

Smaller does not mean lesser when it comes to the taste of each coffee brewed; B30 Mini cups are just as good as those whipped up by the larger K-Cup brewers. In some cases the smaller water volume means darker roasts have a bit more punch. There is no question that the B30 makes coffee just as well as my full-sized machine.

The much smaller size of the Keurig B30 makes it great to use as a personal brewer in the office. If your office coffee is anything like the Jo at our workplace, its rubbish. The Mini fits nicely on even the smallest of desks; its small size is also great for RVs, studio apartments, college dorms, etc.

Like all Keurig coffee brewers, the B30 Mini delivers a coffee that comes out fast, hot, and tasty.

A new B30 Mini Brewer should have its first two brewing cycles run with 2 tablespoons of vinegar mixed in 8 ozs. of water, then run plain water through for two cycles to clear out the vinegar. This ensures that there is no 'plastic' odor from the new unit.

In all, the Keurig B30 is an excellent piece of kitchen hardware - its small size is great and the coffee is always up to Keurig's high standards. If you are need many cups brewed in under 2 minutes then this may not suit your needs, but otherwise it is an excellent single shot coffee maker.

Keurig B70 Gourmet System: Review

2009-12-15T20:24:00.000-08:00

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.