Thrilled to Upgrade Our Keurig - 2.0 Is the Way to Go!

It is no secret that I love a good cup of coffee.

Getting our Keurig changed my world from pots of lukewarm or stale coffee to fresh cups of just what I wanted. We have been through 2, and I wouldn't be without a Keurig and my K-Cups.

So when I learned about the Keurig 2.0, I talked my husband into getting one. Jumping with both feet into the improvements that had me all excited. A chance to have the coffee my way, with even more options.

First of all, after a little online research I decided to go with the Keurig 2.0 K560. This is the model available right now at Costco.  One of the big differences between the different models is the water reservoir. The K550 and K560 both have an 80oz water reservoir. These models also both have a customizable night-light in the water reservoir. Okay, this was not a big selling feature for us but I did set ours to display green for our beloved Ducks.  Both come with a variety of K-Cups and K-Carafe packs, but the one at Costco was a better overall price.

You can also find the Walmart version, the K500 with the same model features, just a smaller pack of K-Cup and K-Carafe samples. Overall, the price was between Costo and the Keurig brand site.

I really liked the new look of the 2.0. Though aesthetics are such a small part of a coffee maker, I thought they really improved the look of a machine that will be gracing my counter top.

The water reservoir redesign was fabulous! I loved how the top lifted up for easy refills. The other big bonus was the water filter that will keep me from having to wait for our water to filter before adding it to my machine. We are on well water and there is fine sediment that wreaked havoc on our past machines. Now my Keurig has a filter and even has a program (which you don't have to enable) that will tell me when maintenance is needed.

Oh, and that 80oz. means I don't have to keep refilling throughout the day.

Another big difference is the base completely pulls out for easier cleaning and to fit in the carafe. Keurig boasts that the machine can tell if you are brewing a single cup or a carafe and this is why. Do you notice the notch in back?

That is where the carafe fits in. It has a magnet so it fits snugly into place.

Our machine came with a plastic carafe. We decided to do the upgrade to the stainless Thermal Carafe to help keep our pots of coffee warmer longer. This is a feature I plan to use more for our Sunday morning breakfasts. That is when we are more likely to use regular mugs and take a little longer to enjoy our morning coffee.

The display has also been redesigned. One of the biggest reasons why my husband and I chose to upgrade right away was the strength feature. Both my husband and I prefer a stronger brew than usually Keurig has to offer. This allows us to make our favorites stronger. And yes, it works!  As the machine brews, it sounds different. The water is put through in intervals instead of straight through.

As always, select the size cup you want and now you can even choose hot cocoa or "other". Then push the button for the water to dispense.

Another great feature is hot water dispensing. My old machine would dispense water, but without a K-Cup the water went all over and wasn't directed down. I even tried putting in a reusable, empty K-Cup, but wasn't thrilled with the results. Now I have taken my hot water pot off the counter because the Keurig 2.0 now will dispense without problems.

If you are a current Keurig owner, you will notice that the biggest change is you must use a Keurig licensed K-Cup. They have changed the packaging and generic pods are no longer accepted by the system.

I would say that is the biggest downside of this new product. But take heart, there are some hacks out there online. I haven't tried them myself, so I won't go into detail. The biggest grumble I had was for the leftover K-Cups in my pantry (yes, even licensed ones) that didn't have the new packaging. My stores, even in rural OR, are now carrying the newer acceptable version.

Overall I love the new machine! We ended up giving away our old Keurig. It still had some life left, but my new Keurig 2.0 now fits my family's needs better. Even with the larger water reservior, the machine didn't take up much more counter space. It is taller, and overall better than the original.

Do you own a Keurig? Will you make the upgrade?