Keurig Elite B40 Coffee Maker

The single serving coffee maker is one of the greatest inventions of recent times, and this (the Keurig B40) is a very good unit. It allows any number of people (say 2-4) to have whatever flavor of coffee they want without having to fight over the coffee maker and what gets brewed.

I researched many units in this category. Just like many other things, you can't look only at the device, you have to consider the consumables as well. So this included the pods, the K-cups, and the Tassimo cartridges. One of the things that finally won me over was the Keurig filter unit that allows use of my own ground coffee. It's only $15 and was available at Target as well, where I purchased my B40. So this took the heat off of the need for readily available K-cups locally. Although I did find that these K-cups were available at my local Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Linens & Things, and who knows where else now.


Build Quality:
This unit seems to be built very well. It is large but seems to be reasonably stout. The lever for opening the filter area is pretty thick plastic and feels good. While most all parts are plastic, they do not feel flimsy. I expect this unit to last for a while.


Features:
One of the things that I really liked about this unit (over the others, including the Tassimo) is the water compartment on the side. This allows a quick look to see if the water level in adequate, instead of having to lean around to see the back of the unit like with the Tassimo. You can remove this side compartment for filling up at the faucet or just pour water directly into it, which is what I do. The cover is easily removable so it's easy to refill.

Cartridge insertion and removal is a breeze. The lever is easy to pull up to open the compartment. You just drop a K-cup into the filter/coffee holder and then push the lever back down. It has plenty of leverage so it closes easily and is fool-proof. Removal is just as easy as there are two indentations on the sides of the compartment that allow easy grasping of the sides of the K-cup. You just pull it out and into the trash.

Cleanliness is amazing. Removal of a used K-cup doesn't leave anything behind. No coffee grounds to wipe or rinse or throw away, just the little easily removable cartridge (K-cup). I only put filtered water in mine so I'm guessing I won't have much build-up of sediments either.

Brewing is quick. After turning the unit on, there is only about a one minute wait while it heats up the water. Then a push of the brew button starts the process of the hot water running through the cartridge. You coffee is ready to drink in less than a minute if the machine is already warm. Then you're ready to brew another cup.

Taste:
That is just dependent on what you're drinking. There are many different flavors out there so it's up to you to find what you like. I've tried a few and have enjoyed everything so far. Many flavors of coffee and also tea are available. The unit came with a variety pack that included:

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Coffee People- Organic
Van Houtte Cafe- Melange Eclipse, Dark Roast
Van Houtte Cafe- Kenya Kilimandjaro, Dark Roast
Van Houtte Cafe- French Vanilla
Green Mountain- Dark Magic, Extra Bold
Green Mountain- Sumatran Reserve, Extra Bold
Green Mountain- Nantucket Blend
Tully's- French Roast (x2)
Tully's- Kona Blend
Deidrich- French Roast
Timothy's- Decaf Colombian
Timothy's- Colombian La Vereda
Timothy's- Italian Blend
Gloria Jean's- Hazelnut

Tea
Celestial Seasonings- Devonshire English Breakfast Black Tea
Bigelow- Green Tea
Twining's- English Breakfast Tea

Cocoa
Ghiradelli- Premium Hot Cocoa
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So you've got plenty of stuff there to get your feet wet, so to speak, and figure out what you like.


And just remember, there's also the filter unit that allows you to grind and brew your own favorite beans. I suppose you could even get some of those pods and empty then into this thing, so you can drink just about anything you want to.