Whether you’re looking to buy a new Keurig model or an older machine, we’ve compiled a comprehensive look into Keurig’s history to help you decide.
In this article, we’ll spill the beans about the triumphs and missteps of Keurig’s brew-based inventions, from its latest luxury models all the way back to its earliest product line.
Quick Keurig Comparison
What are the differences in Keurig models?
- Keurig 1.0 models are a bit bigger and cheaper than the rest and have fewer cup sizes and strengths.
- Keurig 2.0 models build on the first line’s excellence, adding touchscreens, nightlights, iced and flavored coffee modes, and a few new cup sizes and strengths.
- Keurig Plus models give you even more cup sizes, strengths, and temperatures.
- Keurig’s Vue, Rivo, and Kold lines were specialty machines that have been discontinued.
- Keurig’s Office and Commercial models are made to absorb a lot of traffic. These range from the single-use, single-button K-Suite to the decked-out Eccellenza Momentum that gives you 10 different drinks and remote activation capability.
Newest Keurig Models List
- Keurig® K-Classic® Coffee Maker
- Keurig® K-Elite® Single Serve Coffee Maker
- K-Mini Plus®
- Keurig® K-Supreme® Coffee Maker
- K-Duo™ Single-Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker
- K-Supreme Plus®
- Keurig® K-Select® Coffee Maker
- K-Café® Special Edition Single Serve Coffee, Latte & Cappuccino Maker
- K-Slim® Single Serve Coffee Maker
- K-Mini®
- K-Duo Plus™ Single-Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker
- Keurig® K-Compact® Coffee Maker
- K-Café® Coffee, Latte & Cappuccino Maker
- Keurig K-Duo Essentials™ Single-Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker
- Keurig® K155 OfficePRO® Premier Brewing System
- K-Express Essentials™
- K-Latte® Single Serve Coffee and Latte Maker
- Limited Edition Jonathan Adler™ K-Mini® Brewer
Data source: Official Website.
Related | Our Top Picks For The Best Keurig Coffee Maker
Keurig 1.0 Models
Keurig’s 1.0 line of models were the first single-serve coffee pod brewers.
Keurig originally branded this first line with the name “B Series” until a clever marketer realized that “K” would be a more appropriate letter. The 1.0 line was quickly rebranded as the “K Series.”
Most K Series models still have an identical B Series counterpart from before the name change, if you can find it.
As you might expect from a first draft, K Series models have a classic look and feel that may make you equal parts nostalgic for the old and appreciative for the new.
Newer Keurig machines got smaller with time, so these first models were generally bigger and bulkier. You won’t find many high-tech features like touchscreens and submerged nightlights, but you will find a much lower price tag than the latest fully-loaded models.
This original line allows you to use any K-Cup coffee pod that fits into the machine, even if it was made by a third party. Besides the single-use pods, many 1.0 models also let you brew regular filtered coffee with reusable filters and refillable pods.
Related | Do K-Cups Expire?
Most K series machines can hook up directly to your hot water supply and come with a removable drip tray so you can fit different mug sizes. Even without a touchscreen, the button-based interface is user-friendly, making it easy to choose different brew strengths and amounts from the limited selection.
1.0 Series Overview
There are five sub-series in Keurig’s 1.0 line:
- The K10 Mini-Series are the smallest models, specializing in single servings without any flashy extra features. These were designed for people who drink coffee one cup at a time and don’t mind refilling the machine after every use.
- The K40 Series has a 48-ounce reservoir. It was one of Keurig’s bestsellers. A few years after its initial launch, it was rebranded as the K50 Series with minimal changes. The K55 is still our favorite 1.0 model, which we’ll talk more about below. The discontinued K40 and K50 Series are similar to the current K-Classic.
- The K60 Series was called a “mid-luxury” model. With a 60-ounce reservoir, it was one of Keurig’s first models to come with an LCD screen. The current version most similar to the discontinued K60 Series is the K-Select.
- The K70 Series was marketed as the “Platinum Series.” It came with a plethora of special features and could brew up coffees between 4-12 ounces at a variety of temperatures from its giant 72-ounce reservoir. This discontinued model’s current counterpart is Keurig’s remarkable new K-Elite.
If we had to choose, our top 1.0 model is the K55 or the new K-Elite. It’s a quiet machine with an impressively short brew time that can make a cup of coffee in less than a minute. It comes with three different serving sizes, an automatic off-timer, and an alert that lets you know when the water is running low.
Read our Keurig K55 Review and K50 vs K55 comparison here.
What about a water filter? This was one of Keurig’s first machines with a charcoal filtration system. That means you can connect it directly to your tap water supply without worrying about chlorine, sediment, or weird-tasting minerals.
It also has a handy descaling feature that you can set and forget. This automatic descaling takes care of calcium buildup and practically makes the machine clean itself. Although, you will still need to learn how to descale a Keurig because the process will eventually need your help.
Most other Keurig 1.0 models, including the K50, don’t have either charcoal filtration or automatic descaling.
1.0 Pros
- Popular. You can find tens of thousands of reviews online from people who love Keurig’s 1.0 models, so they must have done something right.
- Can use any brand of K-Cup pod, including third-party pods and refillable K-Cups.
- Short brew time
- Many models can use both single-serving pods and reusable coffee filters to make a larger batch.
- Comparatively inexpensive
1.0 Cons
- Many models come with cheap plastic parts that are easy to break
- Fewer cup sizes than later models
Keurig 2.0 Models
Keurig’s 2.0 line is a bit more high-tech than their first line. Many models are smaller but a bit heavier and pricier than their 1.0 counterparts. The second line has most of the first’s great features like the direct hot water hookup and the single serving size, plus a few new features.
The main feature upgrade was that 2.0 models let you brew up a greater variety of coffee sizes and strengths. High-end 2.0 models also come with giant touchscreens, multicolored glow lighting, and both hot and iced coffee modes.
Initially, the 2.0 line was centered around an anti-pirating idea that didn’t pan out in the end. All 2.0 models had a built-in pod scanning process that didn’t let users use third-party coffee pods if they weren’t licensed by Keurig.
This caused an uproar among consumers, who wanted the freedom to use their machines as they wished. A few years after the launch, the pod scanners in all models were deactivated and no longer included with newer lines.
Today, you may use coffee pods from any manufacturer with any Keurig model, including the 2.0 line.
The official K-Cup pods for 2.0 models are much bigger than the standard 1.0 size. The 2.0 line also lets you use different kinds of specialized pods like the K-Mug and the K-Carafe. These unique pods contain more coffee than the K-Cup. Some also feature interesting Keurig coffee flavors like hot chocolate, French vanilla and hazelnut.
2.0 Series Overview
The 2.0 line has five main sub-series. The main difference between them is the size of the water reservoir for bigger brew sizes:
- K200 – 40 ounces
- K300 – 60 ounces
- K400 – 70 ounces
- K500 – 80 ounces
In our opinion, the K500 series is the best from the 2.0 line, specifically the K575 Keurig coffee maker. The exterior is covered in sleek, futuristic platinum. It’s just as easy to make a single cup or a whole pot of coffee. The oversized water reservoir lets you make up to 10 single servings before you have to refill it.
The large touchscreen makes the K575 one of the easiest and most programmable Keurigs. You won’t find many buttons because you can access all the machine’s functions directly from the screen.
This gives you unprecedented, fine-tuned control over your coffee’s temperature, strength, and size as well as all the cleaning, lighting, and energy-saving settings. The K575 is basically just a few steps away from being a cell phone that makes coffee.
Read our Keurig K575 Review and K475 Review to compare the differences.
2.0 Pros
- Easy to brew. It’s hard to imagine, but the 2.0 line makes your morning coffee even easier than the 1.0 line.
- Easy to clean. The reservoirs and drip trays are removable, and there aren’t any little hidden areas that you can’t reach with a sponge.
- Touchscreens!
- Quiet brew technology
- Overall, 2.0 machines are a bit smaller than 1.0 machines.
2.0 Cons
- More expensive than 1.0
- A bit heavier than older models
- Initial DRM issues with K-Cups and compatibility
- More technology leads to more Keurig Coffee Maker Problems
What Is the Keurig Plus Series?
Keurig’s Plus Series has about the same brewing techniques as the 2.0 line with a few extra temperature control, size, and strength settings.
Plus models let you brew up as little as a 4-ounce shot of coffee up to a whole 30-ounce slosh. You can also program the brew to be a little bolder than non-Plus models.
Keurig for Offices
Our top Keurig pick for offices are the K155 OfficePRO coffee makers. Its pour-over brewing system can make coffee, tea, and cocoa in four serving sizes. Any beverage can be either hot or iced and will be ready in under 60 seconds.
The K155 is pretty quiet without any weird noises to startle us before we’ve had our coffee. We love the big LCD touchscreen. We don’t like that you can’t customize the strength of your coffee or hook it up directly to your hot water line.
Besides the K155, another good office option is the K3000. You can plug this single-serving machine directly into your hot water supply and leave it to brew all day long without worrying about a thing.
It has four different cup sizes, but some customers complain that the larger sizes taste a bit watered down.
Keurig for Commercial Use
Keurig’s Commercial models are made for high-traffic use in hotels, offices, restaurants and stores. Besides the K155, featured in the above section, there are currently six more commercial models.
- K-Suite: This is Keurig’s smallest commercial model. It’s designed to be easy to use and foolproof even to the most persistent of fools. It brews 8-ounce servings and has to be refilled after every use to avoid standing water between guests.
- K140: Great for small businesses, the K140 comes with a removable 48-ounce reservoir and an Auto-Off option to save energy. It can make both hot and iced coffees in three different serving sizes.
- K1500: This one is made for heavy office use with a 96-ounce reservoir, a direct water hookup and four serving sizes from 6-12 ounces.
- K2500: Made for a slightly bigger office, the K2500 has a 100-ounce reservoir and five serving sizes from 4-12 ounces. The curiously labeled ‘STRONG’ button caters to hardcore coffee drinkers who like the boldest brews.
- K3500: Similar to the K2500, the K3500 adds a beautiful high-resolution touchscreen, an auto-eject function for coffee pods, and a hot water dispenser. The K3500E is a customer-facing model that you can use with a coin charger.
- Eccellenza Momentum: Keurig’s juggernaut model boasts an 18-inch touchscreen, 10 different kinds of coffees and other beverages, and three strength settings. It comes with a Remote Brew app that you can use at a distance to make sure your coffee is ready when you arrive.
Keurig Vue
Keurig cooked up its Vue line as a vehicle for a new series of even larger coffee pods called K-Vue pods.
Vue machines were designed to make hotter coffee in a bigger standard size. The Vue Series V500, V600 and V700 gave you a 16-ounce cup, and the V1200 and V1255 gave you a massive 18-ounce single serving.
It turned out very few people wanted to buy a whole new model that looked kind of like a bulky fax machine just for a slightly bigger, warmer serving of coffee. Keurig discontinued the Vue line due to low sales.
Keurig Rivo
The Rivo was a specialty machine that only brewed espressos using specialized K-Rivo coffee pods. You could make cappuccinos and lattes, but you couldn’t make standard coffee in a Rivo.
Due to a lack of popularity, the Rivo was discontinued. Keurig’s current specialty beverage machines, the K-Latte and the K-Cafe, now have modes to make both espressos and standard coffees.
Related | Do Keurigs Make Espresso?
Keurig Kold Coffee Maker
Keurig’s Kold machine used disposable syrup pods to make single-serving sodas on demand. Although the drinks came out bubbly and ice-cold as advertised, customers had a lot of complaints.
Each pod made one 8-ounce drink but was more expensive than buying a 12-ounce soda can at the grocery store. Users didn’t like the hefty size and price of the Kold. They complained about its noisy hum and its five-hour cooling time.
Keurig discontinued the Kold only nine months after its release.
Final Thoughts
Keurig coffee makers were the first to give us a simple, streamlined way to brew up the fastest coffees in the West.
The company’s creativity and dedication to the delights of the darkest brown drink have inspired them to pump out an incredible myriad of specialized machines year after year with no end in sight.
From the original twinkle in the founder’s eye to the latest, splashiest luxury models, you can count on Keurig machines from any line to give you single-serving coffees in 60 seconds or less.