"Keurig K45 Elite Brewing System...Review-Purchase Received 3/5/15 Over the past 11 years I have owned 4 very inexpensive coffee makers...a Proctor Silex, Mr. Coffee, Black and Decker, and another Mr. Coffee. The last Mr. Coffee made a good cup of coffee...I have my special 70% acid-free-hazelnut coffee. It is reported that the acid is not removed from the coffee; rather the beans they harvest are already 70% acid free, just passing along for your information, should anyone be interested. After about 3 years, the burner on which the carafe is placed rusted out, leaving burnt crust on bottom of carafe, which I had to clean off every day. This obviously didn t affect the taste of the coffee, but I simply do not wish to do this every day. The other issue with Mr. Coffee as well as the other ones I purchased is this: The filter basket where you put your grounds is a royal pain to clean out...takes lengthy rinsing. So I used paper filters. This also is not something I wish to deal with each day, as sometimes the filter folds over during brewing, gets wet, and therefore I had coffee grounds in the filter basket or even worse in the coffee. I hate grounds in my coffee!!!! This resulted in the paper filter being difficult to get out of the basket without coming apart, leaving you with a yucky mess!!. For about the past three months I have searched for a new coffee maker. Have looked at many coffee makers, including stove-top and electric percolators, dripolators, Keurigs, as well as other brands operating the same as Keurig. I have spent hours and hours of reading reviews. Actually, in one review I read one comment about Keurig company that really bashed them, saying that they once had a good product, but have now let things slide...no longer making a good product, and that in the future they would be selling Keurigs for the same price as the inexpensive dripolators. I followed a link on this comment and read many other responses, which were pretty much in agreement with the original comment. At this point, I had no clue what I wanted to buy. So, as the old adage says, when in doubt, don t. And so I waited and waited, with ongoing research. Both my daughters have Keurigs, and they love them. One daughter kept giving me positive comments about Keurig and encouraging me to get one. Here is the thing: I make one large mug (10 oz.) every day for myself. My husband will occasionally have a cup with me. So did I want to pay this much for a coffee maker which would be used mostly for myself? I finally said yes...bought the Keurig K45...began using March 4, 2015. Here is my take on it so far. Pros: Makes a really good-flavored cup of coffee and definitely hot Nice to pop in a K-Cup and not mess with grounds Having an array of coffee pods at your disposal and choosing the types and flavors of coffee without buying a whole can of coffee. The following information has been taken from the Keurig instruction manual. I have no issues with either, but since each is a time-consuming task, I would like to pass along, hoping that it may be of help for a potential customer. Purging the Brewer: This should be done once a week. This involves filling the reservoir, turn brewer on, without inserting a K-Cup, place a mug or cup on the drip tray plate and then press brew button. Repeat this 3 more times to completely purge water from tank. So you re going through this process just for water, not coffee. Cleaning external parts: Should be done once a week. This includes the K-Cup pack holder assembly, the funnel, the exit needle, water reservoir and water reservoir lid. Keurig is relatively easy to clean with a damp, soapy, non-abrasive cloth. Descaling Brewer: You will need descale solution, which can be purchased on Amazon. The mineral content of your water will determine how often you do this. Calcium deposits or scale may build up in your brewer. Scale is non-toxic, but left unattended can hinder brewer performance. Regularly descaling every 3-6 months is recommended. Descaling involves pouring entire bottle of Keurig Descaling Solution into water reservoir, then fill the empty bottle with water and pour into water reservoir. Press power button on. Place a large mug on the drip tray plate and run a cleansing brew using the largest brew size. Then pour contents of mug into sink. Repeat this process until add water is indicated. Let brewer stand for at least 30 minutes while still on. After 30 minutes, discard any residual solution and rinse the water reservoir thoroughly. Now the rinse cycle...fill the water reservoir. Place a large mug on drip tray plate and run a cleaning brew using the largest brew size. Pour contents of the mug into sink. Repeat brew process until you have completed at least 12 brews using the largest brew size. You may need to refill the water reservoir at least one time during this process. If the red Descale light is still illuminated after completing the procedure, repeat the descaling procedure. Turn off and unplug the brewer. If there is Keurig Descaling solution in the water reservoir, discard the contents, rinse the water reservoir thoroughly and refill with water. Plug the brewer back in, power on, and repeat the fresh water rinse cycle. This would be a biggie for me, but since I do have a water filtration system, would not concern me . Thoughts in general: To my knowledge, most coffee makers are made of cheap plastic and made in China...so what else is new? The Keurig K-45 is a nice looking coffee maker...not too large, looks nice on my counter and fits well under my cabinets. Takes about 4 min. for initial-water fill of the reservoir to heat up. Provides a very good-flavored, hot cup of coffee quickly. The key to a really good cup of coffee depends largely on the quality of coffee used. The K-Cups work well...insertion and removal easy. I do love herb teas, but have not tried any as yet, so cannot make comment at this time. I find absolutely no negatives with the Keurig K45. So far, everything is running smoothly, and I feel really happy about my purchase. The Keurig K-45 is a nice looking coffee maker...not too large, looks nice on my counter and fits well under my cabinets. Right now I am totally in love with this Keurig k45, giving it a 5 star rating. Should my opinions change at a later time, I will definitely post an update."
Keurig K45 Elite Brewing System, Black (Compare Deals from $134.95)
"This is the fourth Keurig I've purchased and with each purchase the quality of the machine has deteriorated. I first bought one in 2007 for my small NYC office. About 15 people used it several times a day and it worked beautifully! We loved the ability for each of us to have the kind of coffee or tea, or even hot chocolate, that we preferred. When that machine wore out after about 4 years I felt that I had gotten more than my money's worth from it. In 2008 I bought a similar machine for my home. It was as great as the one I had in my office. That one was used by the family, also several times a day, for about three years. When it broke I bought another just like the one we had. At that point, around 2010, I noticed that this third machine was not as well made as the first two. It had more plastic parts and splashed a lot of coffee outside of the cup as it filled. And it actually had a note in the box that said something like, "There will be splashing as your cup fills and that's normal." In other words, this is a design flaw and customers should just deal with it. (This problem did not happen with the previous machine.) That pot broke and I just tossed it and started to use my old, reliable Melitta Grind and Brew, which I've had forever and it works great. But I have to brew a whole pot of coffee when I often just want one cup. So a few weeks ago I ordered another Keurig, more or less the same model I always had, from Amazon. Well, the product is even more cheaply made -- and for no reduction in price. This one broke yesterday after just a couple of weeks of use. And I should say that there are only two of us in the household now, so it didn't get heavy use and it was properly cared for. Of course, I had just thrown out the box that it came in a couple of days previous, so now I have to come up with a box, pack the thing and return it. It's still under warranty, but the hassle of dealing with the return is just not worth all the trouble. I suspect that Keurig got popular, then got greedy, and started making its coffee machines more cheaply in order to increase profits. So sad, because it really was an incredibly great coffee system. But I will not be buying another."
"I am the only coffee drinker in my house, and so I usually bought coffee from the coffee kiosk in town every morning. If I was entertaining or my kids came to visit, I had my old reliable drip machine to make coffee for everyone. When my drip maker finally bit the dust though, I decided to finally buy a Keurig. A lot of my family and friends have one, but my drip maker worked just fine for me, so I never bothered before. Anyway, now that I have it, I love it!! Another reason I held off buying one was because of the waste associated with all the little plastic cups, but after thinking it through, I realized I generated more waste by going to the coffee kiosk, ie.. foam cup, plastic lid, plastic stirrer, insulating sleeve, and the gas used to drive there and back. Plus, once I got one, I found out I can reuse the cups by filling them with my own coffee and putting a small piece of foil over the top of it. For Christmas I got one of the Keurig My K-Cup Reusable color Brown Coffee Filter for B30 B31 B40 B50 B60 B70 K10 K45 K65 K75 , and now I use that for brewing my coffee, unless I want a specialty or flavored coffee. Anyway, back to the review... The K45 seems well built and sturdy. It heats the water for a cup of coffee in under 2 minutes. I like the fact that it has three different cup sizes to choose from, 6, 8, or 10oz., and that the drip tray can be removed so I can fit my travel mug under it. The water reservoir is removable for easy cleaning, comes with a charcoal filter (which I don't use as my water is already filtered), and holds enough water for several cups of coffee (a friend of mine had a coffee maker by another manufacturer that used the K-Cups, but had to fill the reservoir after every other cup). The K-Cup holder comes out for ease of cleaning and to insert the My K-Cup filter into the machine. I'm glad I finally decided to jump on the bandwagon!!!"
"The Keurig K45 is a simple coffee and tea maker. You load the top with a container of dry powered "mix" water into the side and--bang! You have your coffee/tea within a few minutes. You can easily set the size of the coffee/tea at the top (there's three buttons for cup size) depending on how big a jolt you need in the morning. The Keurig is designed so you can add more than one cup of water to the device(so if you want to make more than one cup of coffee or tea you can) but you'll need to add a packet of the flavoring for each cup you want to make. Edit: The Improvement over the previous model that I can see is that you can load it with more than enough water at a time to make multiple cups. The only disadvantage is thst the single serving syrup is designed as just that and you can't put in a large container (not sure if they even make them but it would be nice and a bit more economical). I noticed a couple of reviews complaining how watery it is for coffee. Again, this is according to my wife but based on the cup size you select it'll taste stronger. The disadvantage is that if you want a big cup that is stronger there's no way to truly adjust that as a setting. This might be something to work on for the next version. You could just make two smaller cups and combine them though. So far it appears pretty reliable but time will tell and I will update this review in a couple of months once I have an idea about that aspect. My wife likes the coffee (she has indicated that it's delicious) and i like the tea and this creates a tea (when using the appropriate--to taste--packet) that is delicious. For those looking for a true chai tea latte experience the only drawback is that you can't use milk (at least in my experience) with the device. Cleaning the Keurig is fairly simple in my experience so far. I'd recommend this single cup brewing system as it can cater to all needs (coffee, tea)."
"I'm definitely a Keurig fan. I got my very first Keurig for mother's day after months of dropping absurdly obvious and tasteless hints. There are some great things about the Keurig that will carry it for awhile. There are some things about the Keurig that may make a competitor the next must have brand name. I love that Keurig can work with refillable filters. I like the coffee I drink and I don't want to switch just so I can get a specific brand of coffee maker. I love that I will never have to tolerate another cup of reheated coffee. Coffee shouldn't ever be placed in a microwave but leaving it on the heating pad doesn't make the most of a not so cheap drink either. I love it's simplicity...it really is plug and play. I've never heard anyone complain that the Keurig is too hard to master or clean. I love the look but not enough to buy name brand just for that. I hate that it doesn't measure each cup consistently. Nothing is more annoying than looking forward to 10 oz of awesome coffee and ending up with 6 oz or 4 oz. If the buttons are representing a number, that should be the number they represent. Otherwise, they need to label the button "close enough" and folks like me won't bum out. I hate that a normal coffee cup is so short that the coffee splashes up the side of my really classy white cup but when I figure, "oh well, at least it will accommodate my travel mug.", it doesn't. Even after I spend 14 dollars on a new one because I'm sure I bought the wrong mug and the right coffee maker. I hate that the reservoir is just small enough to create family competition getting to the coffee in the morning because last one to the pot gets the "Add Water" light. I get it, the water takes a lot of space but it does in a twelve pot brewer too and a Keurig is bigger. I hate that the "clean light" comes on right after it clogs up. It's like singing the praises of a prophet that never mentioned his visions until after he saw them in the newspaper...yeah, right. Remove the light and make the water reservoir bigger. There is definitely good and bad in the Keurig design but I still find the bad less irritating than the I find the good rewarding. For now, that makes it a good purchase but the Keurig, as much as I like the concept, is one crummy design flaw away from not being worth a hundred bucks."
"We have a Keurig on my job and I have had Keurig envy for awhile now. I decided to buy a Keurig as my Christmas present to myself. The K45 is the perfect size for me. Before ordering it, I was deciding between this model, the K65 and the K10 mini. Ultimately I ordered this one because I don't need a programmable unit and I thought the mini would be too small. This is a good size, doesn't take up a lot of valuable counter space, and holds sufficient water for me to brew a couple of cups of tea, cocoa or coffee daily without having to refill the 48 ounce water reservoir. This model also offers an auto-off power saving option (after 2 hours) that you only have to set once to keep in memory. The removable drip tray is a nice feature if you want to fill a tall cup or a travel cup. The water reservoir is easy to clean. It was very easy to set up and it comes with a nice variety box of k-cups which is great since they are so expensive. I have also used my K45 when a recipe calls for hot water or when adding hot water to a mug containing my homemade cocoa mix. In addition to the K45, I also purchased the Ekobrew refillable stainless steel k-cups that I use for brewing my own tea bags, loose leaf teas and my own coffee. The K45 actually offers and brews a choice of 3 cup sizes to accommodate any size cup or mug: Small - 6 ounce, Medium - 8 ounce, and Large - 10 ounce (amazon's product description is incorrect - it says the K45 offers 2 cup size choices). The K45 is quick, easy, convenient and gives a great brew. I'm pleased."
"My older Keurig bit the dust recently -- the pump went out after 5 years of daily use -- and the cost to repair made getting a new machine a reasonable choice. Looking around and reading the reviews, I settled on this K45 system. It's not a "fancy" as my old one but has enough of the features that I've grown to love after 5 yrs of use. I've had it a few months now, so I've had a chance to put it through its paces. It's easy to operate: fill the reservoir with water, hit the "on" button, load a cup into the receptacle, and wait for the "cup" lights to blink. I've learned over the years that for me, the middle setting (~8-oz cup) works best and gives me the best flavor. After a brief pause, out comes freshly brewed coffee. I usually use a large mug, so I brew 2-3 "cups" to fill my mug, and the "brief pause" can stretch longer since the water has to heat. Watch the lights, and you'll see what's going on. Just don't expect coffee to be dispensed immediately after hitting the "cup" button (that always seems to throw visiting guests who are using a Keurig for the first time ... ). It's not perfect -- I wish it had a slightly larger heated water capacity so it didn't have to pause as long between cups -- but that's really a small quibble. Overall, this is a solid machine, working great so far. I'll update this review if I notice any problems."
Keurig K45 Elite Brewing System, Black (Compare Deals from $134.95)
