Keurig K cafe Brewer – Brew. Froth. Enjoy

Keurig products came a long way from its inception as a major brand. Initial products were simplistic, and basic in design and function. The K-Café™ Special Edition was designed with a beautiful premium metallic finish that complements any kitchen, while the regular K-Café™ coffee maker is designed in a dark charcoal color, but the functionality and coffee flavor produced is the same.

This coffee maker is a single-serve coffee, latte, and cappuccino maker. The coffee maker is very simple to use and brews great flavor coffee. It measures 12.5 inches tall (16.7 inches when open), 15.3 inches wide, and 11.7 inches deep. It weighs 10 pounds and the length of the cord is 30 inches.
Inside the box, you’ll find a quick start guide that can quickly help you to set it up. It comes in four cup sizes that you can brew your coffee based on preference. The sizes of the cups are 6, 8, 10, and 12 ounces.

The moment you take this Keurig K-Café™ Special Edition out of the box, you’ll easily notice its fit and finish. The coffee maker looks polished with a modern device design, and it’s a large coffee maker.

Keurig K cafe Brewer Description

On this Keurig model, you have a strong brew button that brews coffee longer to give you a more intense coffee experience. Also, it has a coffee shot button that uses a k-cup pod to get a concentrated shot of coffee.

With this appliance, you also get to make your lattes and cappuccinos hot or iced, depending on your preference. This coffee maker does not brew espresso, so there’s no pressure applied when brewing the shots.

The Keurig K-Café™ is compatible with the k-cup universal reusable coffee filter. So, you can use regular ground coffee instead of a pod if you prefer it. It takes a few tries to learn how to remove the pod holder the first few times.

You can remove the bottom of the pod holder for cleaning. At the top of this machine there is a button with the letter ‘K’ inscription on it. This is the brew button you will press to brew the coffee you desire each time.

Major Parts of the Appliance

When using this coffee maker, there are some major parts you’ll use quite often. Here are the integral parts of the appliance and how they work

The Frother

The coffee machine comes with a frother that is dishwasher safe. It sits in a compartment that has a thin rod in its middle. You can froth fresh milk, soy milk, almond milk, and skim milk.

The frothier has a lid and there’s a magnetic whisk that sits inside the middle of the frothing cup. There are two lines marked inside the cup. One of the lines is to fill milk for cappuccinos, while the other is to fill milk for lattes.

After purchasing the Keurig K-Café™, the frother should be washed with warm soapy water and let dry.

The Drip Tray

The drip tray is detachable and you can clean it. It holds 8 ounces of overflow and its top rack is dishwasher safe. A 6.2-inch mug will fit into this appliance with the drip tray. But, for a 7.2-inch you need to remove the drip tray for the cup to fit.

Water tank

The removable water tank can hold 60 ounces of water and has a handle to carry it comfortably. There’s a maximum fill line marked on the water tank.

It is advisable to be mindful of this line and not exceed the limit the water tank can carry. To fill the water tank, you can either fill it while it’s attached to the machine or detach it to fill.

Maintenance

After use routine

When brewing is complete, open the pod holder, take out the pod and discard it. It is advisable to wash the frother immediately after brewing. Wash off the remaining froth from the cup and wash the magnetic whisk. Some parts of the Keurig are dishwasher safe.

Descaling the Appliance

It states on the manual that you should perform descaling once every 3 months. But it’s advisable to perform descaling based on how often you brew. If you brew coffee for multiple people on a daily basis, for example, the coffee maker should be descaled every 2 mos, or even on a monthly basis. This is because the presence of calcium in hard water is what usually causes the scales and it affects the machine operation and the coffee flavor. Follow this procedure to descale your appliance.

• First, you need to get a descaling solution
• Empty the water tank
• Open the pod holder and make sure there is no pod in there
• Pour the descaling solution into the water tank to the max line
• Place a cup size of your choice on the drip tray and initiate the brewing procedure
• Go over the brewing process again. Pour clean water into the water tank and run it through to rinse.

Cleaning the Coffee Maker

Cleaning this appliance will become a normal routine for you, especially if you use it often. Use the following sequence to clean your coffee maker:

•   Place a 12-ounce mug on the drip tray

• Remove the water tank, rinse it and fill with water to the maximum line
• When the power is turned on, it will start heating the water and you’ll be able to hear it, and you’ll know when the heating stops.
• Check the pod holder to make sure there is no pod
• Press the 6-ounce button and the brew button in the middle., and you’ll see water pouring into the mug. Discard the water and place the mug back on the drip tray
• Your appliance is all set to brew again. When you finish brewing one mug, the water will heat and you can brew another cup in less than a minute.

Brewing with Keurig K-cafe and Performance

Indicator lights

When it’s time to descale the appliance, the indicator light for descaling will turn on. The “Add water” light will blink when the water tank needs more water.

There’s also an indicator light for auto-off which goes off when you disable the auto-off mode. The auto-off indicator light comes on when your appliance is in auto-off mode. This implies that your appliance will automatically turn off after 2 hours of no use.

Making a Shot

To make a shot, use this sequence:

• Open the handle, put your pod in the pod holder and close the handle
• Press the latte and cappuccino button for the shot button to light up
• Now, press the brew button in the middle

Making a Cappuccino

To make a cappuccino, you have to froth the milk. Follow this sequence to froth your milk

• Take off the lid on the frothing cup and fill the milk up to the cappuccino line
• Cover the cup with the lid
• You’ll see three buttons for frothing. Press the ‘cap’ button and your milk will start frothing
• You’ll hear two beeps indicating that the frothing is done
• Pour the milk into the shot and your cappuccino is ready. (Optional, you can make designs with your frothed milk)

Making a Latte

Follow these steps to make a latte:

• Open the handle, put your pod in the pod holder and close the handle
• Press the latte and cappuccino button for the shot button to light up
• Press the brew button in the middle
• Next is to froth the milk
• Take off the lid on the frothing cup and pour the milk up to the latte line
• You’ll see three buttons for frothing. Press the ‘latte’ button and your milk will start frothing
• You’ll hear two beeps indicating that the frothing is done
• Pour the milk into the shot and your latte is ready.

To brew a cup of coffee, press the coffee button. You can press the strong button if you want to make a stronger coffee. If you want to brew a latte or cappuccino shot, press the latte and cappuccino buttons.

Making a Cold Froth for an Iced Latte or Cappuccino

During summer, and some like it year-round, but if you desire a cold froth for an iced latte or cappuccino, follow this sequence

• Get a 16-ounce mug and fill it halfway with ice
• Pour cold milk into the latte line on your frothing cup
• From the three buttons, Press the ‘cold’ button
• Press either of the latte or cappuccino buttons on the frothing compartment
• Pour in the shot and then the milk froth. I had one and it was delicious!

Power Saver Mode

The auto-off feature

With the auto-off feature, the unit goes off by itself after two hours of non-usage. To enable the auto-off feature, follow this sequence:

• Power off the appliance
• Hold the strong and 10-ounce button down for three seconds
• Power on the appliance and you’ll see the auto-off light blinking

Disable the Auto-off Feature

To leave the Keurig on at all times, follow this sequence to disable the auto-off:

• Plug it into a power socket
• After that, power it off and hold down the strong and 10-ounce button for three seconds
• Power on the appliance and you’ll see that the auto-off feature light is not on anymore

Pros

• Easy to operate
• Supports multiple cups sizes
• It has a frother.

Cons

• Have to use K-cups only
• Single serve coffee maker (Lots of K-cup manufacturers)

The Takeaway

Like most Keurig coffee makers, this unit was designed for speed and convenience. Pressing a few buttons gives you coffee, a shot, cold or hot milk with froth for your lattes and cappuccinos.The Keurig K-Café™ Special Edition was designed to brew a truly great flavored coffee regardless of which type you desire at an affordable cost.

If you want nice lattes or cappuccinos with a creamy froth on top, this product is a great buy.

If you have any comments, please leave them below, I’d love to hear from you. If you’re a coffee lover and a dog lover check these pet supplements.