Keurig Elite B40 Coffee Maker Review

I bought the Keurig B40 single-serve coffeemaker for my wife for Mother's Day and she loves it. It is fun and simple to use, we especially love all the different varieties of coffee and tea that well-known producers have put into the "K-cups" that fit in this machine (like Gloria Jeans, Caribou Coffee, Coffee People, Timothy's, Green Mountain, and more!). The coffee tastes great and you don't have to wait for an entire pot to brew.

I decided to get the B40 instead of the B60 or B70 because of the price. The B40 is usually $100 or so, but I got it on sale at my local Sears for $80. I couldn't justify upgrading to the B60 ($200 retail) just for the LCD display and the different cup sizes. I'll admit, the B60 is a beautiful coffeemaker and if you can find a deal (its only $150 on Amazon), it might be worth it. Bottom line though, the coffee is the same from each model.

At first I was skeptical about buying a single-serve coffeemaker since it seemed wasteful. All the K-cups are individual plastic cups and can't be re-used. However, there are a few reasons why I decided it was not as environmentally damaging as my traditional coffeemaker.

 - In my household, we end up making a full pot of coffee and only drinking a few cups. That wastes a lot of water and uses a lot of coffee grounds.

- We have regular coffee for our coffemaker, so we end up going to Starbucks because we want some flavor, and spend money and throw away their containers.

- If my wife and I want different flavors, we can each have a cup of what we want rather than making two pots of coffee, thus being more efficient (and saving a few arguments!). It also works well if she wants decaf and I want regular coffee.

- I bought a reusable K-cup from Keurig that can be filled with my own coffee grounds, meaning I can still buy coffee in bulk and not have to worry about throwing away the disposable K-cups. The reusable K-cup is great and easy to clean.

- The Keurig coffeemakers can be used to make tea or hot chocolate or hot water, so it is more versatile than a traditional coffeemaker.

I'm excited for this product and the future it has. With more and more varieties of K-cups being produced, and more add-ons being released by Keurig and other companies, I believe this type of unit is the wave of the future for coffee-lovers.