I have owned some version of a Keurig for the totality of my coffee-drinking life. In college, it helped me get through late nights studying during the week and rally after a long day of tailgate day-drinking on the weekend. In my first apartment, my roommate and I would walk into our cramped kitchen to fill travel mugs before commuting to our first post-grad jobs on the subway. And even as I got a little older and managed to lock down a little more living space, my wife Erin insisted we keep some manner of K-Cup accessibility, opting for a combo brewer that could make a pot using coffee grounds as well as the single-serve pods.
But despite Keurig’s omnipresence, I admit I’ve always been somewhat ambivalent about Keurig coffee. I could never get excited about coffee from a K-Cup, and once I started embracing my inner coffee snob by testing out French presses and pour-over setups, purchasing beans from local coffee shops and stocking my pantry to make my own coffee, I began to recognize that Keurig just didn’t stack up. Unless I purchased darker roast K-Cups, I was left wanting in the flavor department with a brew that was at best mild and forgettable, and at worst watery and disappointing. I was also concerned by Keurig’s far-from-ideal previous environmental track record, even though it’s a space where the company has said it’s working to improve. But, at the end of the day, it was fast and easy and convenient, despite how I just didn’t think Keurig could compete with other superior brewing methods.
So when I was given the opportunity to test Keurig’s new K-Supreme Plus SMART Brewer, I was more than a bit skeptical. Could this brewer actually do anything to change my mind about Keurig? To my surprise, after a week of testing a variety of coffees and putting the machine through its paces, I realized it could. Here’s what impressed me most about the K-Supreme Plus SMART Brewer.
You finally have some real options in terms of customization.
If you love coffee, you understand that different roasts are better brewed at different temperatures and that the coffee-to-water ratio has a huge impact on strength and flavor. With previous K-Cup brewers, you were stuck with a one-size-fits-all experience for hundreds of different coffees. Beyond selecting a cup size and maybe pressing the “Bold” button, the coffee maker had little relationship to the coffee it was making, resulting in cups that were largely absent of nuance.
The KSPS features a new piece of technology called BrewID, which recognizes your individual K-Cup pod and customizes its brew settings to match those recommended by the roaster. Keurig worked directly with partners like Starbucks, Peet’s, Dunkin’, and more to fine-tune the brewing process for an optimized cup.
Plus, you can further tinker with those settings and save them as favorites for future brewing. No longer is it only “regular” or “bold”—there are now 5 strength settings you can choose from. The same goes for temperature, with 6 settings ranging from Warm to Max Hot. And if you’re accustomed to drinking larger cups of coffee, Keurig’s added a fifth brew size, meaning you can make cups from 4 oz. to 12 oz. (without sacrificing the strength of the cup).
It’s solid, sleek hardware.
I was worried a new brewer would take up a lot of space in an apartment with little space left to fill. Thankfully, despite having a 78 oz. removable water reservoir, the coffee maker takes up a small corner of the desk in my office. From a design perspective, it’s less clunky than some of my Keurigs of the past, elevated by a black, stainless steel metal wrap.
Of course, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts when it comes to making good coffee. What Keurig refers to as MultiStream Technology means the brewer now uses five streams of water instead of one, which more thoroughly saturates coffee grounds and extracts fuller flavor and aroma. If you were to make a pour-over coffee, you wouldn’t pour water directly down into the grounds—you’d swirl your gooseneck kettle around to distribute water evenly. It’s the same thinking behind Keurig’s tech, and it seems to make a difference when it comes to taste.
The Keurig app expands the brewer’s usefulness.
If there was one category where I can admit Keurig has thrived over the years, it’s convenience. However, their app takes things a step further, allowing you to connect your brewer to an auto-delivery service that can keep track of when you’re getting low on pods. You can also use the app for scheduling brews and managing your favorites, as well as get maintenance alerts that notify you when it’s time to descale or change the filter.
Will I be using the Keurig app a lot? Probably not. But it’s a nice added bonus that might extend the life of the brewer and make life just a little easier in terms of stocking the pantry.
I admit it may be difficult to convince diehard coffee fanatics to embrace a Keurig, and just because I’m impressed by the coffee maker’s leap forward in terms of quality doesn’t mean I’m going to choose K-Cups over anything else. That said, I used to think that making a Keurig coffee meant sacrificing good coffee for easy coffee, Keurig’s newest brewer has altered that thought. Now, I’m able to avail myself of the brand’s convenience while still drinking coffee that’s brewed to taste, well, like it’s meant to taste. There will be days I’m motivated to break out the gooseneck and make a proper pour-over or go for a fresh pot when I know I won’t be drinking it alone. However, if you’re in the market for an affordable, convenient single-serve brewer that consistently delivers solid coffee, it’s worth giving the K-Supreme Plus SMART Brewer a chance.
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