Dan and I both love our Keurig systems. I enjoyed my original for 3 years, but it started to fail, so I replaced it with the K75 Platinum Brewing System.
I feel safe in saying that I have replaced it with a device that is better in every way; the K75 is the K-cup lovers dream machine. The differences between my first Keurig, the Elite brewing system which is also now known as the K45, and the K75 Platinum brewing system fixes many of the complaints I had about the K45.
My favorite feature of the K75 is the larger water tank. The K75 has a 72 oz tank that lets me brew many more cups over the K45’s 48 oz tank. The tank is also lit up with some cool blue LED’s; I am thankful the K75 lives in my kitchen versus my bedroom!
While the original Elite system I reviewed only has 2 cup sizes and the newer K45’s have 3, the K75 Platinum system has 5 different cup sizes. You can brew a cup the size of a travel mug or one as small as a tea cup. The caveat with this is that some K-cups will not make the larger cup sizes. When using on of those, you can select the size cup you want and start the machine, but the result will be watery and weak. An example of K-cups that might have this issue are any of the Café Escapes cups since they are essentially powders; there are also some teas and milder coffee blends.
My most common cup size is 12 oz, and that’s the size I use when I brew my favorite K-cup, Jet Fuel. My Elite did not have a 12 oz setting (although the newer ones do), so I really appreciate the ability to get a little more coffee per K-cup. 12ounces fills more of my mug yet still leaves room for cream and sweetener. I have tried brewing the largest travel mug size in my Star Trek tankard, and the coffee tasted fine with my typical Jet Fuel which is an Extra Bold Cup. Again, it is possible that milder K-cup flavors may not taste right at the larger sizes.
The K75 has a LCD display where my K45 did not. This isn’t a new feature, as it’s been on other Keurig brewers, but it is new for me. The LCD allows the Keurig to have a clock and to have significantly more function than my original system. The clock enables you to have the Keurig turn itself on at a specified time, perhaps a few minutes before you get up. Then when you roll out of bed, it only takes one minute to brew a fresh cup of coffee. Having coffee mere minutes after waking up is a godsend!
The best part of the clock is it allows you to specify a time to turn the machine off as well, that way your Keurig won’t be wasting energy heating and reheating the water over and over again while you are at work. The LCD will also let you specify that the machine will turn off 2 hours after the last brew. This is independent of the auto on/off function, so if you enjoy that evening cup, you don’t have to worry about turning off the machine.
If other Keurig systems don’t make your coffee hot enough, this one might. You can vary the temperature each time you brew if you’d like, or you can set the default for your tastes. I have mine set to 192 degrees. It’s hot enough for me, so I haven’t changed it. Just like Keurig’s other K-cup based brewers, the Keurig 75 is easy to clean; all you have to do is run a cycle of water through the machine with no K-cup and then rinse out the drip tray. For the inside components, Keurig recommends running a descaling cycle every 2 months, whether it’s showing the cleaning indicator or not. So I set a calendar event to remind me to do that. You use White Distilled Vinegar to descale the system, and complete instructions are in the manual. This is something I did not do as often as I should on my original Keurig, so I think that could have been a contributing factor to the poor performance I eventually experienced. My old machine still works, but it needs cleaning much more often than it should, so I am treating my new machine with kid gloves!
One criticism I do have of the K75 is the location of the power button; it’s hidden in the back of the machine. That means you have to reach around the machine to hit the button to turn it on. If you use the automatic power on feature, you won’t have to do this; as there’s only one on/off cycle set of times, you will still need to turn it manually in the evenings like I do. I’d like it if they put it near the LCD, where the rest of the buttons are, as it just makes much more sense.
I highly recommend the K75 as the best K-cup system to purchase. At the $179.99 I paid for mine, it may seem a bit high, but if you have time to order online, you can find it for less at Amazon. And since the patent has run out on K-cups, it’s increasingly common to see an even larger variety of coffee and other hot drinks than before. I can even get store brand coffee from the Kroger, Target and Meijer chains here in Ohio. Some of these are very good. Also, the Café Cup adapter I reviewed for the K45 works well in the K75, so if you want to buy from a local roaster, you can definitely do that. For me, the K75 is the perfect solution to all of my complaints about the Elite system. If Keurig would just make a machine that could accept K-cups, Vue cups, and Rivo cups, I’d have the absolute perfect coffee machine!
MSRP: $179.99 (Get it for $143 on Amazon)
What I Like: Big improvement over other Keurig machines; the 72 oz water tank is my top feature
What Needs Improvement: Doesn’t work with cups from other Keurig systems; power button location
Source: Personal Purchase
I have this! It’s great, except that every few months (and I don’t know if this is just a problem with mine) I have to unclog the punch/water injector thing. It’s pretty easy to do: I take a needle, hold it over a flame to disinfect it, and then gently push it into punch a few times. Clears it up every time.
Just had to tell you that I read this review back when it was first
posted. Showed it to my dad, and we thought about getting one the K75’s for
months for my mom. I ordered it last week. We just got it set up last
night, and now we’re all kind of buzzed on the coffee samples that came
with the machine. I think we drank them all. (well, my sibling and her
family helped drink them. It wasn’t just me and my parents guzzling them
down)
I even used the link you posted in the review to go to Amazon to order the Keurig.
My parents love the K75. I bought it for my parent’s 48th wedding
anniversary, and my mom’s birthday that’s in a couple of weeks. My mom
is kind of annoyed that I hadn’t bought her favorite coffee in Kcups
until today. (her favorite coffee is Community Coffee with Chicory) I
had to order her coffee online, so she probably won’t get it till later
this week.
I really like Gear Diary. it’s helped me figure out what to get for Christmas presents for my parents the last couple of years.
We’re glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing. =)