Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System
by Keurig
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Keurig B-70 B70 Platinum Single-Cup Home Brewing System
Customer Review: A bargain--really
Summary: 5 Stars
When my wife needed to start drinking decaf, it was time to buy a single-cup brewer. The K-cup system seemed superior due to the wide variety of coffees offered and ease-of-use. We finally settled on the Keurig B-70 and have been happy with our purchase.
The Keurig system is technically an espresso maker since it pumps hot water through the grounds, rather than use gravity. Nevertheless, it is a low pressure system so it doesn't make true espresso. For regular coffee, its convenience, speed, and versatility are unbeatable
Styling: Sleek and modern. The blue LEDs illuminate the LCD screen and water tank, which is quite visible and easy to refill. Some might not like its asymmetry.
Functionality: Set up is simple, clean-up nonexistent. Programming is intuitive and simple; even the buttons flash to prompt you. It took far longer to try and understand the rather obtuse programming instructions in the booklet than it did to simply program it. Useful features include settable on and off times and programmable auto shut-off. I don't know if the programmed off time or auto off feature takes precedence if a conflict exists. The on-off switch is located in the rear since it is assumed that you will rather use the programmed on-off feature.
Noise: I have read some who object to the noise. The Keurig will make a buzz for a few seconds when the tank refills. It is about as noisy as a small, good-quality electric espresso maker, and far quieter than a coffee grinder.
Taste: The taste of any coffee is dependent on the beans, roast, grind, water temperature, freshness, and water/coffee. With freshness a given, ideal temperature, and full extraction, these variables are optimized. I would experiment until you find the coffee that you like. Many websites have detailed reviews of each variety. Also important is the volume of water used. The B-70 has 4 volume settings that should suit any taste. For those who want a large mug of strong coffee, it might be necessary to use 2 K-cups. The permanent filter is also an option for those who want to use their own coffee, although it does entail some clean-up.
Green features: Avoiding waste is a desirable feature, since you only brew the amount of coffee that you will drink. Commonly, with pot style makers, there is left over coffee that spoils. The K-cups themselves can be recycled by ripping off the foil lid, dumping the grounds, and tearing out the filter. This is a bit messy but if you compost the grounds and filter will produce less waste than buying coffee in typical airtight laminate plastic bags.
Competition: The Breville 600 appears to have identical features and functionality as the B-70. It has a well-designed recess for the permanent filter (which is included) and a scoop, and its plastic body is cased in a thin layer of stainless. It also has a carbon filter. I'm sure it works fine but I don't know if it worth the extra $85 unless you have an all-stainless kitchen.
Economy: K-cups cost 40¢ each at Amazon, and have no tax or shipping. A typical pound of premium coffee is $10, which is good for 30-40 cups. Although the cost/cup is higher with the Keurig, it comes out about the same since you waste less. If you go to Stabucks every day, you will save much more, although you cannot get your half-soy 136 degree 1.5 pump no sugar caramel half-caf lattiato.
Conclusion: The Keurig B-70, a bit pricy at $199 (20% less at BB&B) is unbeatable for functionality, speed, convenience, and variety. It is on the high-end for conventional coffee makers (my grandfather boiled the grounds and strained them through an old sock) but it is worth the price.
Customer Review: Convenience well-worth the price
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok... I was not only skeptical but infuriated when I discovered we added yet ANOTHER coffee maker to our "coffee altar." You know what I mean - an entire buffet table dedicated to coffees, flavorings, creamers, and an espresso maker, Senseo(tm) pod-coffee maker, and 12-cup Thermos(tm) coffee maker. We pray to this altar religiously. <grin>
So, when this coffee maker arrived I was to say the least, dubious.
I am completely changed... and not just because I've been juiced on caffeine for a week trying all the coffees! (Wonder if there's a 28-day program...)
If you are NOT new to Keurig makers, skip this paragraph: The concept here is simple--hermetically seal fresh-roasted and ground coffee in single serving, disposable coffee filters about the size of a very large creamer cup. Drop the cup in the obvious orifice and close the maker. Two needles pierce the top and bottom of the cup, and the top needle sends in water heated to precisely the correct temperature (which you can change if you are feeling adventurous). The coffee drip-filters through the disposable Keurig-cup (K-cup) via the lower needle and into your coffee mug. (The properly cultured male will remember to open the maker and discard the spent cup, keeping at bay frustrations of the spouse.)
Every cup of coffee comes out fresh and perfect. Heating/prep time is about 30 seconds; brewing the same. A box of 25 samples accompanies the maker. True, I didn't like all the samples, but they were fresh and perfectly brewed just the same. And I discovered that premium (single-source, as opposed to blended) really is much better coffee.
It is extremely easy to use. It power up and down at a preset times, cannot poke you with the needles, and cannot be operated when low on water or without a k-cup in the holder. The only negative is that there is only one size of k-cup. Larger volume serving selections (e.g., auto-tumbler size on this model or humungous mug on the larger model) will produce a weak coffee if a lightly toasted brand is selected. With the Senseo you can double-up the pods, but unlike the pods, K-cups never go stale. Thus, there is no advantage to the extra large sized system with its large water resevoir or the extra-extra large cup.
You pay for convenience: K-cup coffees are 4-5x more expensive than 12-cup makers by volume, but we tend to waste 30-50% of the coffee in the thermos anyway. K-cups are ready in 30-60 seconds instead of 20 minutes for a properly brewed pot. On the other hand, I'm not cleaning up coffee grounds from the grinder every evening.
There is a smaller system with 2 serving sizes and smaller resevoir. The small cup serving is less effective unless you want to brew teas (the smallest serving setting).
At 16x cost per volume compared to tea bags, I found the convenience factor insufficient to justify the use of K-cup teas. However, the samples were scrumptious.
Bottom line: We haven't dismantled the altar, but it is less cluttered. The Senseo has been sent to the office, but I don't use it there because my cubicle neighbor has a Keurig The 12-cup is in the cupboard over the fridge for guests. You'll have to pry the expresso maker from my cold, dead fingers. Only a decent espresso maker makes a real espresso. Nevertheless, Keurig is going to revolutionize home and office coffee addiction -- you coffee suppliers better get moving on k-cup packaging!
Customer Review: Well worth the money
Summary: 5 Stars
I was almost put off by the price of this unit, but I took the plunge and bought it and I'm glad I did. It makes perfect coffe every time, and has the flexibility to produce exactly the cup of coffee you want at any given time. Those who say the coffee is too weak don't understand how to use the machine [see my recommendations below] and those who say it's too noisy haven't placed it properly. The pump does make a bit of sound but if you isolate the unit from hard surfaces, with underpadding for example, the noise is tamed considerably.
About the strength of the coffee: It helps to understand that the K-cups themselves are portioned for a standard 6-oz coffee cup. Most people do not actually use 6-oz cups and have never made a standard measure cup of coffee. I hadn't either until I got this machine. Now I understand. If you use a 12-oz cup, you need 2 K-cups and two shots of water at 6 ounces each. Not cheap, but sure is good. You can adjust strength for taste by adjusting the amount of water.
One of my sisters likes it a little weaker than standard, so she uses a single 10-oz shot of water. Comes out perfect for her. My son likes it strong, so he uses bold K-cups, one with a 6-oz shot and one with an 8-oz shot of water to make his morning coffee. I like mine kind of medium, so I use two regular K-cups (not bold), one full-caf with 6 oz and one decaf with 6 oz and I'm all set. Great coffee. You can make it any way you want from standard coffee cup to travel mug. Don't try to make a full travel mug with one K-cup unless you like it weak. One friend of mine likes it that way, though, so there really is a recipe for everyone.
Let's face it, K-cups are not cheap coffee for home brew, though it is more than competitive with barista-served boutique coffee and every bit as good. But for those who can't get past the price of the K-cups, there's is a very clever little contraption, easy to use, that lets you use whatever coffee in whatever portion you like! What could be more flexible? Even with the little contraption, making coffee with this machine is much easier and tidier than using any kind of coffee pot, and the results are fantastic.
I agree with the spring water recommendation unless you are lucky to live in a place where the water is additive free with no taste of its own. I buy store brand spring water by the case. It's worth it for the quality of the final product. If you care about good coffee, go the extra distance. If you use the little brew contraption that lets you use your own coffee, then the little extra cost for spring water, which you should be using anyway, isn't really a burden. If you pony up for this appliance, you probably don't care all that much about the price of coffee per cup. Besides, if you buy coffee out, this is less expensive even with two K-cups per serving and spring water. All that doesn't come to $1.39, so there's really nothing to complain about.
This is not to say the machine is perfect in every way. Probably no machine is perfect in every way. It could be quieter. The reservoir could be larger. The control panel could have more buttons and adjustments, although I don't see how that really would be an improvement. You can adjust the water temp and the shot size, so what else do you really need? Get it, brew up some fine coffee and enjoy. It's quick and easy and very neat and clean. If you love coffee, you won't be sorry you got this machine. Enough said.
Customer Review: Made a coffee drinker out of me
Summary: 5 Stars
I've long been a tea fanatic and had more or less given up coffee drinking once I finished up my college days. I had an addiction to expensive lattes and though I have a nice espresso machine, cleanup was such a pain that I was usually happier to run out to my nearest coffee shop and spend $4 a cup. Not any longer.
I admittedly bought this machine on something of a whim. When I did drink coffee at home, I used a French press but this wasn't effective for entertaining so when I bought a house, I wanted a regular coffee maker. I looked at a few different models but couldn't settle on anything. What initially sold me on this machine was its ability to make iced beverages and the fact that it could purportedly make not only coffee, but tea and hot chocolate as well.
I've only owned the machine for a few weeks but, since then, I have been drinking at least two cups of coffee a day, something I never did before I owned it. I simply love the iced drink feature and I enjoy my iced coffees so much that I've stopped making trips to the coffee shop. While the K-cups aren't exactly economical, they are definitely a lot less expensive than a cup of your typical coffee shop coffee so I know that, in the long run, the machine will save me money.
My favorite things about this machine are the ease of using the K-cups and the wide variety of coffees available. I like to have a lot of different flavors and blends and my variety of K-cups takes up less space than buying bags of coffee would. I also really like the idea that when I have company, I can set out my K-cup carousel (yes, I like my machine so much that I'm purchasing accessories for it) and they can select their own flavor and type of coffee. I am also admittedly a coffee-making idiot and I never can seem to get the proportions right when I measure out ground coffee so I like that the machine takes that guesswork away.
As for tea, I've so far only tried the Bigelow organic green and it was decent but not a fabulous cup. I'll have to try some other tea varieties but I suspect that I will likely use the machine only when I'm in a hurry and desperate for a cup of tea. Otherwise, I'll likely stick to loose leaves and my adjustable water heater as this makes for a much better cup of tea. On the hot chocolate front, I was a bit disappointed as well. I initially tried using the second largest setting and this made for a very watery cup. The taste is better on the smallest cup setting but the hot chocolate still needs to be stirred pretty vigorously so I'm not sure that making it in the Keurig is all that much more convenient than simply adding hot water to a packet.
I have to say that I've also noticed a sort of plastic tang to my water. It wasn't as strong with the tea but was definitely noticeable with the hot chocolate and with hot coffee. With the iced coffee, I don't notice it. I'll probably try running the reservoir through my dishwasher (as the unit says that it is top-rack safe) and see if this solves that problem.
Overall, though, I am truly love this machine. It was considerably more expensive than the other machines I was looking at but I feel it was money well-spent.
Customer Review: Plenty strong coffee!
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got the B70 for Christmas and I am VERY happy with it. I use the second largest cup setting for all roasts. Jo Annes special blend and the coffee, although not extremely strong, is strong enough for me. I tried the same setting with two of the very dark roasted coffees, Newman's Own and Timothy's Midnight Magic, and it is PLENTY strong! Timothy's Midnight Magic is not only strong, it is one of the BEST tasting coffees I have ever tried... PERIOD, no bitterness, just rich taste!
As far as the noise is concerned, it is fairly quiet when priming for the next cup. Overall, I am now able to have the best tasting coffee I have ever had at home... and I have always bought whole coffee beans from Starbucks and Trader Joe's... to grind at home with my burr grinder and the same at work. But the coffee I've tried so far with THIS machine all but blows away what I grind myself!
I am using nothing but distilled water, so descaling should never be an issue for me. Yes, it does add roughly 5 or 6 cents to the cost per cup, but I don't mind. Even home filtered water WILL leave mineral deposits behind that can damage the heating element... and descaling does NOT remove all mineral deposits.
I also use a piece of terrycloth towel between the cup and the chrome baseplate, which protects the baseplate from scratches and eliminates any noise caused by the machine vibrating against my coffee mug.
Soon I'll have the reusable coffee filter for this machine and I am anxious to taste the results!
UPDATE January 17th, 2008
I have had my B70 for almost a month now and am very happy with the brewed coffee. I did have one problem which occured this morning. The machine only brewed half a normal cup this morning and there were a lot of coffee grounds in the cup. The outlet needle got clogged. If you attempt to brew a cup of coffee and your machine only gives you a small amount... check to see if you have coffee grounds in your coffee. What happens is that when the bottom needle clogs, it forces the cup to overflow and the machine pump turns off. Clean the hole next to the needle at the bottom of your k-cup holder with a regular paper clip. It works! I think that on rare occassions, the paper filter breaks inside the k-cup, thus releasing coffee grounds into the outlet needle. I still think this is the best single cup coffee server on the market!!
Update January 13, 2010
Two years with no problems... still love it!
Final update January 8th 2010
Got home last night from overseas vacation over the Holidays. Found the brewer broken. The pump would suck in the water, but put none out. Now my mother stays with us in our home and does use the machine, but she has problems with anything that has more than an off and on switch! It t she may have done something wrong with it. In any case 3 years is pretty good for any coffee brewer nowadays, so I will be replacing it withh either the another B70, or getting the newest stainless steel model.
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