KeurigK500 2.0 Brewing System (Discontinued)

Our first Keurig of the 2.0 series. While the DRM probably was a bad business decision and we had to buy new refillable containers the big plus is the carafe (buy the thermal one as the plastic one that comes with this is next to useless) mode/pods. This allows us to make a "pot" of coffee and both of us can get a cuppa coffee straight away without having to individually brew. As others have stated the pre-heat water mode should happen as part of the brew step and not separately. I just make sure when I get out of bed the first thing I do is hit the power button to start the pre-heat cycle. It does have a timer to brew a pot of coffee automatically in the morning and I've used that feature once and it is handy especially with the thermal carafe as we don't always get out of bed on time. The night light feature is a nice touch. The only oddity is that it wasn't like our mini where we dropped the pod in and closed it. This one you have to push the pod onto the needle so I messed up the first couple of pods I brewed as I didn't push it down right so the needle didn't pierce the pod properly. The pod holder is easy to remove, disassemble, clean and reassemble.

I bought this knowing full well the restriction issues with the Keurig 2.0 line. What I hadn't realized was how terrible the interface and feature set were going to be.My use cases are simple: I drink coffee, and I boil water. I don't have a kettle, because my previous Cuisinart SS-700 could brew K-Cups and output up to 12 oz of hot water in one go.I knew the K500 would be fine at the coffee part – I already had 2.0-compatible K-cups, so it was a no-brainer. The interface to brew a cup was horrendous, but I was willing to forgive that.When it came to the water part, that's where it got a bit silly. In order to boil water, you have to select the water setting, it will most likely tell you to open and close the top, hit the water setting again, and then sit there holding the brew button the ENTIRE TIME until a max of 6 oz of water comes out. And it's not quick. If you want more water than that (say, the standard 8 oz I use in a cup of tea?) you have to open the top and close it again, then choose the water setting, and then hold the brew button again until you have the desired amount of water (provided that amount is 12 oz or less).My common use case for when I need to reconstitute 4 cups of bouillon for cooking is just shot – That's 8 individual lift-the-top / tap 'hot water' / hold brew button cycles.Screw that. I returned it. Despite its pump problems, I'm just going to buy a new SS-700.

I am beyond satisfied with my new Keurig! I ordered this model in late 2014 to replace the first Keurig I got as a gift in 2010 that was nearing the end of its life. At first I was skeptical about buying the 2.0 models since I wouldn't have been able to use all of my old K-Cups in it that did not have that most recent new technology ring; however, the internet (see: YouTube) came to the rescue and showed me the easiest of hacks to use up the boxes of coffee K-Cups I still had.Overall, this brewer is AMAZING. I love the new brew size options. Having gone from a Keurig with 6.25, 8.25, and 9.25 oz. brewing to 6,8,10,14 oz. is simply fantastic. I cannot tell you how happy I am that they changed the brew oz. amounts. I am a bit disappointed though that I cannot change the brewing temperature, which I could on the older model. I typically have to add an ice cube or two if I want to drink my coffee within 15 minutes of brewing for my preference and to not burn my tongue. If I am taking my coffee to go with me though and have a little bit of a drive it works out great, my coffee will still be warm!I am in love with the "strong" option now available when brewing coffee on the Keurig. I sometimes find K-Cups to be weak for my liking and have to double brew to achieve what I want. So this strong option has proven to be very nice. It does actually make my coffee much more stronger in taste and I cannot imagine brewing my coffee without that option anymore! I love strong coffee!I do love the new touchscreen on this model. It is very simple and practically walks you through every step. I have found people seem to be able to figure out how to brew on their own with the touchscreen promopts more than when it was the older model just certain buttons. I suppose in this day and age people think things are only easy if their hand is held through the process, but regardless I really love the touchscreen. So simple and so many more options!The new carafe K-Cups are pretty great. If I have company and we all like the coffee I am brewing then I only need to brew 1 packet, which is nice. Granted, the convenience of everyone still choosing their own coffee (medium, dark, etc; flavor or black; tea, hot coco, coffee, etc) is still a major advantage of the Keurig! The new hot water only option is also pretty nice. You can get up to 6 oz. of hot water at the touch of a button. Granted you could do this on the old model by just brewing without a cup, but the convenience of it on this model is nice. I tend to do a hot water only after every 2-3 cups (1-2 hot water only cycles) to rinse out the housing and make sure to get all the coffee grinds/tea grinds out and be getting clean water/correct tasting coffee/tea brews.One final thing I really like: The reservoir. The lid has a part that opens like a lid. I just pull that small part up to open it and pour in my water. I do not have to remove the entire lid. This is actually more handy then you can think in a home like mine. I have two cats, which means there is cat fur literally EVERYWHERE no matter how much I clean. So having a smaller opening is nice to me so that I can limit how much cat fur may or may not be getting in my water tank.So overall, I highly recommend this Keurig model. I have absolutely loved it since the day I plugged it in. I have found very little drawbacks yet beyonfd having to hack to use all my previous K-Cups.Thanks, Keurig, for the free packs for this review.!!!!

If you like Keurig's you will probably like this. I just got into drinking coffee and haven't been able to find a k-cup that I like. I ended up using the reusable filters and putting my own coffee in it. This kind of defeats the purpose of these and even then I didn't like the coffee as much as I did from an old fashioned drip coffee maker.