Keurig 2.0 K550 Brewing System: Reviewed

We drink a lot of coffee and tea in this house. It is mainly my husband who drinks the coffee (an average of 2-3 cups per day) but I like to make a coffee blended with ice and other goodies for myself. We have used the Keurig Platinum for the past 2 or 3 years and have loved it. We have used it daily and love the hot water only function as well--this is how we make a quick hot cereal fro our 3 1/2 year old. We just put a sturdy glass or ceramic bowl under the brewing spout, fill with some oatmeal or cream of wheat, and then put a small amount of hot water in it mixed with milk and whatever add in's we select. I was recently given the opportunity to review the new K550 Keurig 2.0 brewer, gratis from Influenster and Keurig. This brewer allows you to brew a 4-cup carafe or a single-serve cup. The though of this thrilled us as we could make a pot of coffee for him once per day.

The 2.0 (ours of the top model which is the K550) has a 80 ounce water reservoir, 2.8 inch color touch display, programmable clock, an auto brew option, strength control setting for brewing bolder coffee, light option in the water reservoir (filter in water) with a few different colors, 6 oz. of hot water on demand, fully customizable LED controls, and more. The starter set that came in our box had a generous sampling of Kcups and Carafe cups to get the user started. A black plastic carafe is included.

I was able to set this up on my kitchen counter without any problem, it is a bit bigger than my Platinum, but I was able to fit it just fine in our small kitchen. I set it up while my husband was at work and with 2 little ones in the same room, I did not need to do much reading of the instructions. My 3 1/2 year old daughter enjoyed sitting in the large box blasting off into space, so I as able to get this set up faster than normal. The only thing that caused me difficulty to set up, was taking the water filter apart. Mine seemed to really be stuck in there and it took a lot of gentle muscle (I was worried I would cracked it before even using it), patience and a good 15 minutes for me. I hope that the 2 month changes are not this difficult.

These refill cartridges are designed for use with the in-brewer filtration unit. You are supposed to replace the cartridge when the brewer alerts you approximately every 2 months or when you have used it a certain amount of cycles. I do worry about the added cost of this, as our water is already filtered in the fridge with a Brita pitcher, and the Keurig filters are $8.99 for a set of 2, but shipping is added on. Keurig shipping is only free on orders $45 or more. (Which might be fine if we are ordering a large amount of coffee, but what if we need only filters?

I like the brewer, there are just some things that make me not LOVE it. The 2.0 only allows you to dispense only 6oz of hot water and it requires holding the button down the whole time. With a 5 month old and a 3 1/2 year old at home with me all the time, I need to be able to press a button and multitask away from the machine. My previous brewer, the Platinum, allowed a press of a button and I did not have to hold it down. I also could selected whatever amount of hot water I wanted (from the several sizes on the screen). Only 6 oz at a time is a bit frustrating.

Another thing you should note is if you have a previously large stash of Kcups that you purchased at Kroger or a grocery store, you cannot use them with the 2.0 brewer as they are not specially marked with the Keurig registration and white circle label. This brewer scans kcups before brewing and will give an error on the screen. (This was our problem, we had just bought a bunch of Kcups, and some were previously bought from Keurig.) One thing we loved with our Platinum is the reusable Kcup which allows for freshly ground coffee to be filled. With the new 2.0, you can't use this special mesh strainer kcup. We love using ground coffee and this has been a problem for us.

I am happy they included a carafe, however I would have liked it to include a stainless steel one as I feel that the deluxe brewer package should come with it. I think the other versions of 2.0 should have the plastic option. It is a fun aspect that you can change the screen wallpapers. They are rather simple, but when we used the lime green wallpaper with the green water reservoir light it looks quite nice in our pink, green and white kitchen. :)

We do like this system, however do not LOVE it. If we could be able to use our refillable Kcup strainer or purchase one specifically for this 2.0, and could brew various sizes of hot water without holding the button down, we would LOVE this. I do understand how Keurig wants to use only specially branded ones, however, there were Kcups with the Keurig brand on them that we are unable to use as they do not have the special white circle around the top.

I was happy that I got to try this from Influenster and Keurig. It is a nice brewer, just needs a few adjustments to make it absolute love.

To find out more about this brewer: Keurig.com