Keurig K-Elite: Specs
Tank capacity: 75 ounces
Size: 13.1 x 9.9 x 12.7 inches
Brewing sizes: 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 oz cups
Removable water tank: Yes
Milk frother: NO
Strength settings: Yes
Temperature control: Yes
Iced coffee: Yes
Automatic shutdown: Yes
Whether you love K-Cups or hate them, one thing is for sure: The K-Elite is the ultimate Keurig experience. It’s Keurig in its definitive form, with a range of serving sizes—4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 ounces—ice coffee brewing capabilities, a sizzling water dispenser, a forceful brew option, temperature settings, a clock, a timer, an auto-shutoff feature, and a 75-ounce water reservoir. This coffee maker takes the technology pioneered by other Keurig models and combines them into one convenient package, as you’ll see in our Keurig K-Elite review.
With so many Keurig coffee makers available on the market, it’s difficult to say which one is best for you and your lifestyle. If you’re looking for a capsule coffee maker that gives you the coffee shop experience at home and you don’t mind the lack of frothed milk, the K-Elite is best Keurig coffee maker you can buy.
Keurig K-Elite Review: Price and Availability
The K-Elite currently costs $149 on Amazon, but the original list price is $189. That’s about $40 more than the standard K-Classic. However, it often goes on sale and hovers around $150 at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, the official Keurig store, and Walmart.
This is one of the most costly Keurig coffee machines, the most similar in price to the K-Cafe model. It has an attached milk frothing station and the ability to brew espresso-flavored coffee.
Like all Keurigs, the K-Elite can only exploit K-Cup pods to brew coffee, tea, and sizzling cocoa, which can cost anywhere from $7 to $14 for a 12-pack, depending on the brand. That works out to about 60 cents to $1.15 per pod. The K-Elite is compatible with reusable K-Cup pods, though, which can save you a bit of money if you already have ground coffee at home.
Keurig K-Elite Review: Features
The K-Elite has a ton of bells and whistles that put other Keurig models to shame. It has the largest selection of single-serve sizes, can brew 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-ounce cups, can dispense sizzling water for sizzling cocoa and tea, and has an iced coffee option that brews coffee at a higher strength so you can dilute it with ice without losing any flavor.
There’s also a timer included, which is a surprisingly gigantic plus for the usually screenless Keurig. This lets you program the K-Elite to turn on before you wake up—just make a K-Cup the night before, and the machine will heat up, ready to brew, at the specified time. It can’t start the brewing function using the timer, though, which means you still have to get up and press a button. The machine also has an auto-shutoff feature that turns the K-Elite off two hours after the last brew to save energy.
The K-Elite also comes with a Keurig branded filter holder and water filter to purify the water in the tank. The only other Keurig device that comes with it is the K-Select. These water filters should be replaced every two months.
Finally, the K-Elite has a “forceful” brewing function that deeply infuses K-Cups with a slower brewing process in exchange for a bolder K-Cup flavor. This, combined with the machine’s temperature control option — which lets you set the temperature between 187 and 192 degrees Fahrenheit — can make for a tasty cup of coffee.
Keurig K-Elite Review: Design
The K-Elite is about the same size as the K-Classic and has a similar design to the Gru with Wicked me — curved at the top, tapering slightly at the waist. It is 13 inches lofty, 10 inches wide, and just under 13 inches deep. It has a brushed silver textured exterior, a plastic body, and a basic, perforated stainless steel drip tray.
The K-Elite also has a ton of buttons to press, and while it offers a lot more than a regular Keurig control panel, it’s still just as effortless to exploit. Indicator lights let you know when to descale the machine and when the water tank needs to be refilled. Selecting cup size and strength is a matter of pressing a few buttons.
The biggest design flaw of the K-Elite is the drip tray, which is flimsy and too effortless to remove. It quickly slips out of place because it is not secured in any way, and it is almost impossible to move the device without it falling out.
Keurig K-Elite Review: Performance
The Keurig K-Elite is one of the most impressive Keurig coffee machines you can buy, simply because of the flavor it delivers. While I’m not usually a fan of K-Cup coffee, the K-Elite’s “forceful” brewing feature is capable of delivering a forceful cup of coffee that rivals my Hamilton Beach coffee machine. Pressing this forceful button before selecting a serving size provides a slower drip—usually an extra minute—of brewing, but it’s worth the wait. The result is a more flavorful cup that will impress even the most skeptical of capsule coffee.
Once you turn it on, the coffee maker starts heating up immediately and takes less than two minutes to heat up to brewing speed. The K-Elite can brew 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, and 12-ounce cups in less than a minute. Without this powerful feature, you can brew a 10-ounce sizzling cup of coffee in about 40 seconds. The longest I’ve waited for a single serving was 55 seconds for a 12-ounce pour. That’s impressive.
But these quicker brews aren’t as tasty—at least not to me. One reason Keurig machines can’t make espresso-quality coffee is their lack of crema. Keurig machines can’t produce crema, the caramel-like layer of foam that sits on top of the coffee. This is a result of both the heat and pressure that build up during the brewing process, and it’s what coffee snobs believe gives espresso and coffee their intricate flavors. That’s why Nespresso machines win over so many people.
According to National Coffee AssociationThe optimal brewing temperature for coffee is between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, and the K-Elite can’t heat the water high enough to deliver that flavor. Even when I set the machine’s temperature to 198 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest I recorded after brewing was 182 degrees. This may be a disappointment for those who want an intense coffee or prefer to drink their coffee sizzling.
If you like iced coffee, the K-Elite may intrigue you, though I’ll warn you that the iced coffee feature doesn’t taste too far off from the “forceful” option. To make iced coffee, the K-Elite simply runs a longer brew cycle, similar to a forceful brew. Keurig recommends filling the cup with ice and leaving it under the spout while you pour. After trying it, I honestly think the iced coffee feature makes the already lackluster K-Cup coffee experience even weaker—too watery and flat. If you’re a K-Cup fan, however, your feelings may differ.
Fortunately, the K-Elite doesn’t require a lot of energy to operate. During 25 minutes of exploit, the machine used only about 115 kWh, making it the best low-power Keurig behind the compact K-Mini. It’s also tranquil while brewing, with a top noise reading of 67 dB. The K-Elite and K-Select are the quietest Keurig machines we’ve tested.
Keurig K-Elite Review: Ease of Apply
The K-Elite packs a lot of buttons into its control panel, but it’s still incredibly effortless to exploit. You turn it on and, while you wait for the machine to heat up, you insert a K-Cup capsule into the capsule compartment. Then all you have to do is choose what size of coffee you want. If the water reservoir gets low—which at 75 ounces will be infrequent—a lithe will illuminate to let you know you need to add more. There’s also an indicator that shows when the K-Elite needs to be descaled. Any button that needs your attention will glow dazzling blue.
You can adjust the temperature and set the clock by flipping through the options menu, which is as effortless as pressing the options button and using the arrows. Shutting down is also easier thanks to the auto shut-off function, which turns the machine off after two hours of inactivity.
Keurig K-Elite Review: The Verdict
The K-Elite is without a doubt one of the best Keurig coffee machines money can buy. It’s tranquil, speedy, capable, and has the ability to make a tasty cup of coffee — with a few specialty features for the machine. The wide range of serving sizes, along with the iced coffee option, make it one of the most versatile Keurig coffee machines on the market. Its only potential drawback is the lack of a milk frother, which can be purchased separately directly from the company.
If you’re already a K-Cup user, the K-Elite is a no-brainer investment. It’s packed with features that’ll make you want to ditch your run-of-the-mill Keurig, and it’s quieter than other machines in the line. If you’re not a fan of K-Cups, I’m sure the K-Elite might at least pique your interest with its ability to brew a bolder, stronger cup. We’ve ranked it right behind our top Keurig coffee maker, the K-Cafe, for its extensive coffee-making range.
