Are you looking for a Keurig High Altitude coffee brewer? Keep reading to find out more…
Contents
What is Keurig High Altitude?
At higher elevation above the sea level, the atmospheric pressure is lower. And less energy is need to boil water. Thus, water has lower boiling temperature at higher altitude.
The Keurig High Altitude setting enables the coffee maker to brew coffee at higher elevations by lowering the brewing temperature.
What to note when brewing high altitude coffee?
When using Keurig coffee brewers at high altitudes, you may notice that your Keurig K-pods are slightly bloated up. This is due to the difference in pressure within the K-pod and its surroundings. Hence, it is recommended to pre-puncture your K-pod before brewing. This will release the pressure in the K-pod.
This is easily done with these simple steps:
- Slot the pod into to pod chamber
- Push it down gently so that the exit needle inside the chamber can puncture the bottom of the pod.
Which Keurig coffee maker has High Altitude settings?
There are 5 Keurig models with the High Altitude mode. Each has its pros and cons. Whichever model you buy depends on your needs.
Keurig K-Elite
If you do not like topping up water tank, you will like the Keurig K-Elite for its HUGE water tank of 75 ounces capacity. It also brew fast in under 1 minute and does the brewing with minimal noise, thanks to its quiet brewing technology.
Best of all, this is a Keurig with timer. This means you can set it to power on automatically the next morning so that it will be ready for you to pop in your favourite K-cup for brewing when you wake up.
Keurig K-Elite
Pros
- Can make 4 brew cup sizes – 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 ounces.
- Strong brew option – use this option if you need more caffeine kick.
- Can use K-cup reusable coffee filter – this gives you the option to use coffee grounds.
- Hot water dispensing function
- Fast brewing time of less than 1 minute
- HUGE water reservoir of 75 ounces – enough to make you 8 cups of coffee
- Simple button controls
- Programmable automatic power on and off feature
- Large drip tray
- Able to accommodate travel cups of up to 7.2 inches tall
- Descaling alerts
- Quiet brew technology
- Adjustable brew temperature
- High Altitude settings
Cons
- control panel is located at the top. This means you can’t place the machine under a cabinet.
- available in only 2 different style options i.e. brushed slate and brushed silver
Keurig K-Select
If 75 ounces is too big a water tank for you, K-Select is the next recommended option. It comes with a modest-sized water tank of 52 ounces. Like the K-elite, it brews fast in 1 minute and with minimal noise. However, it doesn’t come with the programmable automatic power on feature.
Keurig K-Select
Pros
- Comes with quiet brew technology
- SmartStart feature. Brew in under 1 minute
- Makes 4 brew cup sizes – 6, 8, 10 and 12 ounces.
- Strong brewing option
- Able to use K-Cup reusable coffee filter.
- Detachable drip tray to accommodate taller travel cups to 7.4″ tall
- Fingerprint-resistant finish
- Programmable automatic power down feature
- Large water reservoir of 52 ounces
- Descaling alert
- High altitude setting
- Simple button controls
- Available in 9 different color schemes
Cons
- No auto-on feature
Keurig K575
Keurig K575 belongs to the newer Keurig 2.0 brewer series, so it can use both K-Cup and K-Carafe pods. The K-carafe pods allow you to make a carafe of coffee at one go for up to 30 ounces.
If you like to have a Keurig with temperature control options, you will like K575 as it has the 5 options.
It also has HUGE water tank of 80 ounces so that you do not have to refill frequently. If you have a large family of coffee lover, K575 is a great option to buy.
Keurig K575
Pros:
- huge 80-ounces removable water tank
- Can brew 5 K-Cup brew sizes – 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 ounces
- Can brew a carafe using K-carafe pods – 22, 26, 30 ounces
- Brew fast. Makes K-Cup in under 1 minute and carafe in under 3 minutes.
- Brew strength control – allows you to make a bolder coffee using any K-Cup option
- 5 temperature setting for you to adjust the brew temperature.
- Hot water on demand
- Extra large color touch sceen
- Able program your brewer to turn on automatically at set times, so that it is ready to go when you want it,
- Able to program it to turn off at set times to conserve energy
- compatible with the Keurig’s My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter.: Able to use cheaper coffee grounds
- High altitude setting
Cons:
- Only available in 1 color scheme
Full Keurig K575 coffee maker review
Keurig K250
Do you like to bring your coffee maker when you travel? Do you like to have the option to make a carafe too? K250 is a slimline Keurig coffee machine which can use both K-Cup and K-carafe. Although not exactly small with its size at 15″L X 9″W X 13.7″H, its light weight of 7.5 pounds and slimline design makes it convenient to include in your baggage when you travel.
Keurig K250 Coffee Maker
Pros
- 4 brew sizes for K-Cup – 4, 6, 8, 10 ounces
- 3 brew sizes for K-Carafe pods – 22, 26, 30 ounces
- Strong brew option
- Can use K-cup reusable coffee filter
- Hot water dispensing function
- 40 ounces water tank
- Fast brewing time of less than 1 minute
- Slimline design, measuring 15″L X 9″W X 13.7″H
- Intutive touchscreen control panel
- Available in 8 different fun colors
- High Altitude setting
Cons
- No auto-on or auto-off features
- You will need to purchase the carafe and the reusable filter separately
Keurig K-café
This is a Keurig with milk frother. If you like milk-based drinks such as latte or cappuccino, Keurig K-Café is a good option to consider.
Pros
- Can make coffee, cappuccino and latte
- Can use fresh milk, including soy, almond, skim for latte / cappuccino
- Able to make both hot and cold latte/cappuccino
- easy to use
- Intuitive button controls
- Large 60 ounces water tank.
- Easy to clean
- High altitude setting
- Automatically power off after 2 hours of non-use. This can be disabled too.
Cons
- The K-Cafe takes up more space than an average Keurig model, although, if you consider that you can use a frother with it, this one is not so bad.
- Integrated milk frother does not deliver frothed milk directly to coffee.
- Only 1 color – dark charcoal color scheme
