Keurig B60 Single K-Cup Coffee Maker

Purchased July 2009.  Replaced by a B70 in January 2011.

My Perfect Coffee:

Most workdays, I don’t have coffee until I get to my office (5 minutes from my Townhouse)  At my office, I make a perfect “first” cup of coffee every time.  I use a Krups Thermal Carafe coffee maker.  I fill the 10-cup carafe 3/4 full of water and dump it in the maker.  I fill my Krups Fast Touch Coffee Grinder with a 50/50 blend of Eight O'clock’s Vanilla & Hazlenut whole beans and grind the crap out of them before dumping them into a clean paper #4 filter already positioned in the maker. After positioning the carafe, I flip the power switch.
Into my black Contigo 16-Ounce Double Wall Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tumbler goes 1 Tablespoon of Members Mark Extra Creamy powdered non-dairy creamer and three single-packages of Splenda.
While the coffee brews, I complete the logon sequence and fill out my timecard.
With the water gauge showing about two cups left to go, I pull the carafe, loosen the top, and pour about 15 ounces into my 16 ounce tumbler.  When conditions are just right, and the stars are aligned, there is only 15 ounces in the carafe, and I get them all.  The first 15 ounces of the brew are so thick & strong you can see it as you pour.
Put the carafe back to get the seconds, screw the top onto the tumbler, tighten the top on the tumbler, give it a shake, look for leaks, and finding none get ready for 15 ounces of liquid Heaven.
We are too unpredictable at home to have a 10-cup pot.  Until our Keurig, we did have the same setup, but too much coffee got wasted. 

The Coffee

Green Mountain Coffee – Extra Bold – Espresso Blend -

I tried a lot of K-Cups to find the brand/variety that produced the strongest cup of coffee. I settled on GMCR’s Extra Bold Espresso Blend.  And since my wife & I also like Hazelnut, we’ve been getting GMCR’s Extra Bold Hazelnut Dark Roast, however GMCR discontinued it and now I have to go hunting & tasting again.  In general, if it’s not “Extra Bold” it’s not strong enough.

The Keurig B60

The stock B60 holds 48 oz. of water with serving sizes of 5.25, 7.25, and 9.25oz. If you use the big mugs and the 9.25 oz. cup selection, get the additional 73 oz. reservoir $25 from Keurig.  Otherwise you be filling the reservoir every 3rd cup (you can’t drain it completely).
It has a 2-hour automatic shut-off; programmable On and Off times; temperature setting (mine is set at the highest-192°); and a descale indicator.
The 2009 model had two major problems – Noise & short servings.  There wasn’t much you could do about the noise except put the whole thing on a folded dishtowel and live with it.  The good news is that today’s models have redesigned pumping systems and they’re so quiet you can hardly hear ‘em.

It Died at 18 Months

I had mine programmed to come on at 4:00 a.m., and shut off at 11:00 p.m.  Almost every day when I came home from work, the reservoir was low on water and the blue-light was flashing.  Until last December (2010), it had only “shorted” the servings a couple of times.  Running the de-scale procedure (run with straight white vinegar, let it sit & soak for 4 hours, purge & rinse cycle it until clear) – had fixed it.  But in December 2010, it started dying.  Sometimes you’d get not a drop.  Other times ½ a cup.  Run water through it without a K-Cup and it worked flawlessly.  Stick in a K-Cup and roll the dice.

Keurig Customer Support

Keurig has a great Customer Support department.  They are knowledgeable, professional, and courteous.  I had read the blogs and the K-Cup forums.  I’d already de-scaled, shoved a paperclip up the pierce-pipe, and even used a can of air to give it a reverse enema.  Sure, I got some crap out of it, and yes it immediately produced an exact 9.25 oz. cup.  But 3 cups later, all I got was 6 ounces.

The Warranty

I knew the warranty was only 12 months.  Mine was 6-months beyond that.  At Keurig, Customer Support can’t cut you a deal – only Technical Support can.  From family & friends, I know that if you’re anywhere close to the warranty period, Keurig will send a new coffee maker almost overnight.  I didn’t want something for nothing – I just wanted a discount – AND – I wanted to upgrade to the B70.  They gave me $40 off, I got the B70.

My Opinion on the Problem

All K-Cups are the same physical size.  Those that proclaim to be “BOLD” or “Extra-Bold” have finer-ground or more grounds (or both) in the same space as the “Regular” versions.  I think a year and a half of using only Extra Bold K-Cups caused too much pressure and stressed out the pump.

I think they’ve fixed the problem.  I’ll know in about 18 months!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contigo 16-Ounce Double Wall Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Tumbler