Keurig K-Duo Essentials Black Single-Serve K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker

The coffee maker came with an 18 pod box of Keurig Donut Shop coffee, an 18 pod box of Dark Magic coffee, and a 10oz bag of Colombian Select Medium Roast loose ground coffee. Too bad it didn't come with a small starter pack of carafe sized coffee filters. This model is what it says in the name, "Essentials." It does what it does very nicely, brew coffee. There are no bells and whistles, no strong brew feature, no temperature controls, no automatic brew start in the morning so the coffee is ready at 6:15am when you walk into the kitchen. I am happy with this model, I mean, how often do you use that other stuff anyway? If you WANT the automatic brew feature, see "BREW TIMES" below to help you decide if you really NEED it. While it doesn't come with many features, that's its strong point. Talk about ease of operation, you only need to push two buttons. No complicated instruction manual for features that you won't use because it's too much bother to learn them: 1) For Pod brewing, press the OZ (ounce) button, then press the 4, 8, or 12 button for ounces. 2) For Carafe brewing, press the CUP button and then the 4, 8, or 12 button for cups. 3) That's it. There is nothing else to know except to keep the reservoir full of water. "Smart Start": While I have used Keurigs before while out and about, this is my first Keurig device for my home. The first thing that really impressed me about this unit is the "Smart Start" feature. This is where you load the pod, press either the OZ or CUP power button, then immediately press the brew size button, and walk away. The unit will heat the water and then start brewing. No more turning the unit on, waiting for it to heat, and THEN going back and having to press the brew size to start the brew. "Smart Start" is a GREAT feature for ANY pod brewer. BREW TIMES: I set the unit up the evening before, so in the morning the reservoir water was at room temperature, the way that I normally use it. 1) POD BREW- In the morning I loaded the pod, pressed the OZ (ounce) power button, then immediately the 12 brew button (again, with "Smart Brew" it is not a two step process) then I walk away. The first 12 ounce cup was ready in only 2 minutes and 32 seconds. 8 and 10 ounce take less time. When the first cup was done brewing, I immediately made a second 12 oz cup of coffee that only took 1 minute and 10 seconds to brew. I was impressed with the speed of both. 2) CARAFE BREW- Pressing the CUPS button and then the 12 button to brew an entire pot, it took about 10 minutes, However, using the "Pause & Pour" feature, I was able to pour off a tall cup of coffee in only 3 minutes and 26 seconds, not bad. About an hour after brewing, the carafe temperature was holding at about 185 degrees F using my instant read kitchen thermometer. 3) With these relatively quick brew times, do you really need automatic timed brewing? I know I don't. COFFEE: Taste is a personal choice, but what I REALLY like is that you can drink the coffee right away. Have you ever gone to one of those "On The Run" type doughnut shops where the coffee is so HOT that you can't drink it without first driving for 10 miles? Not so here, the temperature of the POD BREWED coffee was 178 degrees F. With some refrigerated lightener I am immediately drinking hot coffee without BURNING MY MOUTH. COFFEE PODS: When using the coffee pods, there was ground coffee bits on top of the pod when done brewing. I then used the "High Altitude Brewing" instructions and there were less coffee bits on the pod top after brewing. I think that what is going on is this: the pods come sealed, if you are in a high altitude location, the differential pressure between the inside of the pod and outside is greater than when at sea level. When using the high altitude instructions the bottom of the cup is pierced first, thus relieving the internal pressure, BUT the internal paper filter is preventing the coffee from blowing past the hole and outside of the pod (see image). When the regular (non high altitude) method of loading the pod is used, the POD'S FOIL top is pierced first and as the internal pressure is released, ground coffee bits are ejected from the top pod hole and end up on the top of the pod. My elevation is only about 400 feet above sea level. Now this is higher than New York City, or the entire State of Florida, but I would NOT think that this qualifies as high altitude, like say Denver, CO at 5,000 feet above sea level. I think I will be using the High Altitude method for now on for less cleanup. Maybe others might find the printed instructions for "High Altitude Brewing" helpful too, high altitude or not. When sitting on the counter and pushed back against the back splash, there is 12 inches of counter space in front of it. Plenty room to be buttering your toast or making your sandwich for lunch.

After receiving this Duo coffee maker I don't know how I lived without it in my life. First off it makes a carafe of great coffee and brews so fast. I do think it brews faster than my old drip coffee maker. It was super easy to un box and run it through its clean cycle for the first time use. I literally had it out of the box and cleaned in 10 minutes flat and was ready to brew my coffee. The unit is pretty much self explanatory and very easy to operate. The instructions are very well written and easy to follow along. I have never had a K-Cup type coffee maker before, I see what I have been missing all this time. My husband gets up earlier than me and starts drinking coffee, sometimes I would need that third cup and of course I would have to make another pot cause he had already finished the pot. But with this duo unit its a no brainer, just pop in a K-Cup and you have a fresh cup of coffee with no long wait and no waist of a whole other pot of coffee. I am a big coffee drinker, drinking it through out the day, this makes it so nice. If I feel like a different type of coffee no problem pop in a K-Cup and your off and brewing without having to make a entire pot. I do however run another cycle through of just water if I am making a flavored coffee or tea just so that the next use won't have a off flavor. It does not say to do this but I just do it myself. I wouldn't want my Chai tea to have a little taste of Hot Chocolate or Vanilla Coffee. But I couldn't tell you if it even would have an off taste because I have never tried it without, it is just something that I thought of doing. Having a large easy to fill water reservoir on this unit makes it nice to not have to always fill it for that one cup brew or that half of pot. You can choose from a 8 cup, 10 cup or 12 cup pot of coffee and on the K-Cup you can do 12 oz, 10oz and 8oz on single brews. I really like this feature. It gives you a good range of options to suit your needs. The unit really is not that much bigger than my old drip machine so it doesn't take up a lot of space. The design is sleek and modern. I really love the simple use of this machine you push 2 buttons and you are off and brewing. I do wish that it had a timer function so that it was already brewed when we get up in the morning, but like I said it brews pretty fast and and my husband has gotten over that with in a day or two of using it. It really is that easy to use, and my husband is not into fancy machines that have a million buttons and functions to make his coffee. Since he likes it, I know that this is a easy machine, because he would not use it if it was difficult. Over all I really had no complaints from this machine. I would definitely buy this as a gift for someone who loves coffee and teas. So happy its in my kitchen and wont go without it.