Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This was my first Keurig coffee brewer, and it worked exceedingly well. The design and construction are both good and it never gave me a moment's trouble. If you are looking to produce a reasonably good cup of coffee really fast and with no fuss, I think you'll be pleased with the purchase. That said, I have stopped using this machine after one month and now make coffee using another method. Let me explain why because there are some limitations to the Keurig method of which you should be aware. The chief selling points of the Keurig method are speed and convenience, but the method's speed is, in fact, an Achilles heel. The hot water comes into contact with the coffee for a maximum of 30 seconds, and that simply isn't long enough to produce the rich mouthfeel and complex flavors of slower methods such as a French press or a Chemex, both of which allow the coffee flavors to be extracted over three to four minutes. (Espresso coffee tastes great despite its short contact time because of the extremely high pressures and very fine grind, neither of which are present in the Keurig method.) The first K-cups I used were the Folgers "Lively Colombian," and I don't think I have ever tasted a thinner, more flavorless cup of joe in my life. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give the coffee those pods produced a 3. Things improved markedly when I used Green Mountain Coffee Roasters "Nantucket Blend" and "Dark Magic," both of which I'd rate a 7, and which I recommend. The experience left me reconsidering what it was that I wanted out of coffee and I decided that, for me, taste was more important than speed and convenience. I have since replaced my Mr. Coffee Single Serve unit with a Kyocera Ceramic Coffee Grinder ($41.70), a Bodum Bistro 17-Ounce Mini Cordless Electric Water Kettle ($29.95), and a 3-Cup Chemex Glass Coffeemaker with Handle ($33.15). My new morning coffee ritual takes under ten minutes all told, from the grinding of the whole beans to the brewing of the coffee to the poured cup, and it allows me to start my day with a cup of coffee that rates a solid 10, with flavors a Keurig-method machine can only dream of. The entire setup cost me under $105 (not including shipping), and I am definitely saving money over time by avoiding the pricey K-cups. Bottom Line: With the right K-cups, this Mr. Coffee unit does an excellent job of producing good coffee. If speed and convenience are your top concerns, you'll probably be very happy with it. Just understand going into this that the speed and convenience come at a bit of a price in terms of the quality of the coffee produced. If you want excellent coffee--cups that rate a 9 or 10--you may want to look into other methods, such as Aeropress, Chemex, or French press.