Keurig K Duo Essentials Review [Why is K-Duo Better?]

Are you a fan of Keurig’s K-cup system? But you have always hope to be able to make a carafe of coffee using ground coffee on your Keurig coffee machine? Now you have it, the first Keurig dual coffee maker. In this review, we will take a deep look at this new Keurig K-Duo Essentials single serve and carafe coffee maker.

Keurig K-Duo Essentials Dual Coffee Maker Review : Who it is for?

Who is the Keurig dual coffee maker suitable for?

The Keurig K Duo Essentials is great for a family of coffee lovers with different coffee brewing habits.

This coffee maker provides not only the signature K-Cup pod function for making a single cup at time. But it also has a carafe for making a pot of coffee.

The single serve side allows you to make coffee without dealing with messy coffee powder and the freedom to make your favourite K-cup for just yourself anytime of the day.

When you need to make coffee for a few persons, the carafe side comes in handy as it allows you to make a pot of coffee for up to 12 cups at a time.

 

3 Key Selling Points of Keurig K-Duo Essentials

With that being said, what are the specific features of the K-Duo Essentials ? What sets it apart from not only other Keurig models, but other coffee makers? And here’s 3 key selling points of the K-Duo Essentials.

1.  It can make a single serve cup and up to 12 cups carafe of coffee

Keurig K-Duo Essentials is a dual coffee maker. lt has two brewing options. You can make single cup of coffee using K-cup. You can also make a coffee pot of coffee using ground coffee.

The pot of coffee holds up to 12 cups of coffee. But you have 3 options to choose – 8, 10, 12 cup – depending on your needs. As for the single serve pod, you have the choice of 8, 10, or 12 ounces.

This Keurig with carafe makes it perfect for a family of coffee lovers with varied coffee habits. It gives options for those who enjoy either type of brewing system.

2. It use only 1 single HUGE water Reservoir

With two brewing choices available, it would be assumed there are 2 water tanks. However, this model has a single water reservoir that holds 60 oz of water.

This reservoir is shared between the two brewing options. Having 1 single water tank that is huge has 2 benefits. It can provides water for a longer period of time and yet saves time as there is only 1 unit to fill.

3. It has a smart start feature

This feature is something that Keurig Duo Essentials should definitely be applauded for. Other Keurig models require a choice of cup size to be made, then it will heat the water to dispense for the cup.

The K-Duo Essentials allows you to simply make your selection after powering on your coffee maker. The Smart Start feature allows K-Duo to heat and then brew in one single process, right after you hit the brew button. This means you don’t have to stand around for the heating to be done before you can select your brew. Who has the time and patience to do that in our busy mornings?

 

 

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Key Specifications of Keurig Duo Essentials Coffee Maker

Dual coffee maker: can make single serve k-cup coffee and up to 12 cups carafe of drip coffee

Compatible with Keurig’s K-Cup Universal Reusable Coffee Filter: if you want to go decaf or try speciality ground coffee, you can use do so with this filter.

Warming plate: The carafe side has its own hot plate for consistently hot coffee with each pour.

Glass Carafe: The carafe is not an extra expense. It is included with this maker straight from the box.

Pause & Pour Option: press a button to pause the brewing for a quick cup of coffee

Able to use Keurig’s reusable gold mesh filter: This can save you plenty of money as disposable paper filter costs can add up over the long run. Also paper filter does a poor job at preventing the coffee particles from flowing through and affect the coffee experience.

Energy Efficient: The machine shuts down automatically after 5 minutes of non-use. Cut your energy costs with no hassle from your side. And no need to worry if you have remembered to switch off the machine on your way to work

Removable drip tray: for those who like to drink coffee on the go, simply remove the drip tray and you can fit up to 7 inches travel mug

 

Cons of the Keurig Duo Essentials Coffee Maker

 Plastic Build

It doesn’t look very appealing with the plastic housing Also, the door for the K-Pod entry seems a bit flimsy.

Glass carafe is more prone to breakage

You will certainly need to be more careful dealing with glass carafe as it is more prone to breakage. Also, you may get scalded by the hot glass carafe. It also doesn’t retain heat very well. Thus, the need for a warming plate.

If this bothers you, consider getting the Keurig K Duo Plus instead. This is also a dual coffee maker but with a stainless steel thermal carafe. And it does look nicer asthetically.

Pause and brew is not automatic

You have to press a button to pause the brewing. This could have been more automatic by allowing the machine to detect the removal of the carafe and stop brewing. However, this would probably increase the cost with an additional sensor. Personally, I feel that this feature tends to be seldom used anyways

Carafe side is not compatible with Keurig K-carafe pods

You can only use ground coffee powder for the carafe side. This can get messy if you are in a rush and not careful.

Consider a Keurig K575 coffee maker if you want a complete Keurig experience. This coffee maker can make single K-pod cup or a carafe using the newer Keurig K-carafe pods.

Keurig K Duo vs K Duo Essentials

You may come across the Keurig K-Duo. It sounds like it is the brother of Keurg K Duo Essentials.

Yeah. They have many similar features indeed. And they are Keurig dual coffee makers.

They may look the same too. But really, Keurig K Duo is a better version of the K-Duo Essentials.

And here’s why K-Duo is better.

1. Auto Brew

K-Duo allows you to program the brew time up to 24 hours in advance for this coffee maker to start brewing. This auto brew feature is not found in K-Duo Essentials.

2. More brew sizes for both K-Cup and Carafe

K-Duo Essentials only have 3 sizes for K-cup and carafe. However, K-Duo has 4 brew sizes for K-cup and carafe. It can make smaller cup  size of 6 ounces for single serve side and a smaller 6 cup carafe size. The extra smaller size gives you more flexibility to avoid coffee wastage if you require lesser coffee.

3. Travel Mug friendly.

The K-Duo Essentials can only fits mugs up to 5.8 inches and a maximum of 7 inches with the drip tray removed. K-Duo can fit even taller mugs, up to 6.25 inches with drip tray intact and 8 inches with drip tray removed. If you like to use tall mugs, this can really make a difference.

Should I buy Keurig K-Duo Essentials or K-Duo?

Personally, I have always like the Keurig coffee maker as I can avoid dealing with coffee powder. But having to use ground coffee for the carafe side defeats the purpose. If you ask me, I would recommend the Keurig K575 coffee maker if you have the need to make a carafe of coffee.

On the other hand, some may like the freedom to use their preferred ground coffee brands. If you prefer to use ground coffee, then both Keurig K-Duo models are good options.

But I would prefer K-Duo over K-Duo Essentials for the ability of automatic carafe brew as well as the extra smaller brew size options.

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