Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat little budget coffee machine
Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2023
I'm a little late to getting into coffee, and live in an apartment with a very small kitchen. Bought this little gadget to make coffee making easier without taking up too much counter space.
Happy to report that it meets all my needs, and feels like a great investment for the price I paid. Contains a set of instructions that was a little hard to parse at first but mostly clear, and the machine itself is quite intuitive when you get used to it.
The water tank at the back slides on and off satisfyingly. I think it's designed for you to poor a cup of water in at a time, but I've found it easier just to fill the tank in the sink directly. It has helpful guides so you can make sure you have enough water for the size of cup you want to brew. The stopper at the bottom (where it connects to the rest of the machine) isn't the tightest, so avoid shaking the container on its way back to the machine if you don't want a few water dribbles on the counter.
The machine comes with two inserts for coffee brewing - one that is K-cup compatible and a separate mesh filter that you can add coarse grounds directly to. Both work pretty well - I've opted to pick up reusable K-cups for easier use and they work great in the machine.
The machine has three settings across multiple sizes - regular, strong, and over ice. I found the regular setting to brew quite a watery coffee, so I've been using "strong" and enjoying it. It's not the strongest, but it does still give a pretty rich-bodied flavor - and the brewing process is fast and hands-off. I find the best taste I've got so far has been from fine-ground coffee with a filter in one of the K-cups.
I've only used the over ice setting a few times but I've been pretty satisfied with it. There's not much ice left in the iced coffee when you're done but you do get a refreshingly cool drink, and the flavor is pretty well-balanced.
All in all, I'd consider this a great "starter machine" for those in tight spaces. It does everything I'd want a Keurig to do at a fraction of the cost, and despite being mostly made of plastic, it feels pretty sturdy. Looking forward to using this for a while.