KEURIG K-MINI PLUS REVIEW: IS IT A GOOD BREWER OR JUST TINY?

The Keurig K-Mini delivers on its promise of a tiny footprint, but how’s the coffee?

The ultra-compact Keurig K-Mini Plus is about as easy to use as possible, brewing a single cup of coffee at the press of a button. But if you’re a Home Brews Coffee reader, you’re probably equally concerned about the coffee quality – something for which Keurig’s are not necessarily known.

For this review, I put a brand-new Keurig K-Mini Plus through a battery of tests to see if it’s worth your money. Read on for my honest opinion.

The Full Keurig K-Mini Plus Coffee Maker Review

The Keurig K Mini Plus coffee maker is a tiny, simple, and affordable single serve coffee machine, widely available on Amazon and in box stores. It’s well suited to small spaces like RVs, dorm rooms, or offices, and I’ve noticed it’s become a stalwart of many hotel chains and vacation rentals.

But is the K-Mini Plus still a good buy if you’re not short on space? That’s a more nuanced question, and that’s what I wanted to tackle in this in-depth review.

How I Rated It

• Design And Build
• Features
• Ease Of Use
• Coffee Quality
• Value For Money

3.3

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What is the difference between Keurig K-Mini and K-Mini Plus?

Before I get into the K-Mini Plus, let me quickly explain how it compares to the base model K-Mini, which is about $25 cheaper.

• The K-Mini Plus has a removable water reservoir, which is easier to refill and more convenient to clean.
• The Plus model has coffee pod storage for up to 9 coffee pods.
• The K-Mini Plus has a chrome accent on the drip tray, giving it a more premium feel.
• The Plus offers strength control, allowing you to choose between regular and strong coffee.

It’s the last of those four points that I think makes the K-Mini Plus a worthwhile buy, particularly for coffee drinkers who value aroma and flavor. 

The Defining Feature Is Size

The Keurig Mini Plus is the smallest Keurig coffee maker, measuring just 4.5 inches wide by 11.3 inches tall by 12.1 inches deep. It fits comfortably anywhere. It’s even tiny and light enough to be considered portable, which is helped by its discreet cord storage and K-Cup pod holder space.

The drip tray is large enough to hold an entire serving – in case you hit Brew and forget to add a mug, doh! – and the water reservoir holds 12 ounces. You can even fit a 7” tall travel mug under the spout if you remove the drip tray.

The K-Mini Plus is currently available in seven colors, ranging from practical black and white to fun options like cardinal red and misty green. I have no complaints about the overall design. It’s sleek and attractive, with nice chrome accents adding a little class. 

SIngle-Serve Water Reservoir

Reviewers seem to hold mixed opinions about the K-Mini Plus’s single-serve water tank. Personally, I’m a fan. 

Sure, you have to refill it every time you brew coffee, but it allows you to precisely choose the size of your coffee based on how much water you add – rather than confining you to pre-programmed cup sizes. I found it very convenient to just use my mug to fill the tank. And it ensures you’re brewing with fresh water every time (1).

The fact that it’s removable is a nice upgrade from the K-Mini, particularly given that it is dishwasher-safe.

Using The K-Mini Plus And Brewing Options

The K-Mini Plus offers very few custom brewing features, and this simplicity is part of the appeal. Your only variables are the drink size (chosen by how much water you add to the tank) and the coffee strength.

I appreciate the Strong brew option because Keurigs have a bad habit of brewing weak coffee, and the Strong setting goes a long way towards alleviating that problem. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t just brew with less water to provide a more concentrated coffee. It slows the passage of water through the coffee grounds to extract more flavor with the same volume of water (2).

It’s still important to remember that you are using the same K-Cup, and thus the same amount of ground coffee, regardless of brew size. So a 6-ounce cup of coffee will have a far stronger flavor than a 12-ounce brew.

The actual brewing is foolproof. It takes the machine about 30 seconds to heat up after you turn it on, during which time you can fill the water tank, pop in a coffee pod, and set your mug under the spout. Press the Brew button. It takes between 1 and 2 minutes to brew one cup of coffee, depending on the size.

Typical Keurig Coffee Quality

Keurig brewers are famed for their convenience, not their amazing coffee quality. K-Cup coffee is typically weak and watery, even more so when you brew larger size cups. There are a few reasons for this, only some of which are solvable.

First, Keurigs have a notoriously low brew water temperature. When I tested the K-Mini Plus, it was on the order of 180 to 185 F, well below the recommended 195 to 205 F. This makes it hard to achieve a complete extraction.

Second, Keurig machines brew fast. This is touted as a selling point for convenience, but the limited water-to-coffee contact time, again, limits extraction. There’s a reason it takes 4 minutes to brew a good pour-over or French press.

Third, the coffee dose inside a K-Cup is small (and very often stale), which leads to a weak brew lacking in flavor. 

How To Brew The Best Coffee With The K-Mini Plus

I can’t solve all the problems inherent with Keurig pod coffee makers, but after a fair amount of experimentation, I achieved some decent cups of coffee with this little brewer.

I used a reusable My K-Cup coffee pod which I packed to the brim with freshly ground coffee from a local roaster. You don’t need to buy the best specialty coffee for this machine, but try to get something reasonably fresh.

I had far more success brewing darker roasts. Not only do they have a bolder flavor to begin with, but they’re more porous than light roasts. Which means they’re easier to extract with a shorter brew time and cooler water.

Lastly, I relied heavily on the Strong brew setting and stuck with 10 ounces as my maximum serving size.

Admittedly, using the refillable pod eliminates some of the convenience. But I found it only added about a minute or two of prep and cleanup to my morning coffee routine. If that’s incompatible with busy weekday mornings, maybe consider this option for slower weekend brews.

An Aside: Keurig and the Environment

I can’t review a Keurig coffee machine without mentioning its environmental impact, which is perhaps not entirely what you would expect (3). K-Cups are definitely a problem. They continue to be non-recyclable in many jurisdictions, leading to overflowing landfills (4). 

But the actual coffee maker is a different story. Single serve coffee makers waste much less water, coffee, and energy compared to standard drip machines. The K-Mini Plus has an auto off feature that powers it down just 90 seconds after brewing, and the matte black casing of the K-Mini is now made from 30% recycled plastic. 

If you’ve been avoiding Keurig due to concerns about your environmental impact, pairing the matte black K-Mini Plus with a reusable My K-Cup is a method of brewing coffee you can feel good about.

Is The K-Mini Plus Good Value?

The price of the K-Mini Plus is a sticking point for me. It’s listed at $109.99 but is currently on sale for $83, and sale pricing is very common. That’s a lot of money for something that doesn’t make particularly great coffee, particularly given how many excellent budget coffee makers are on the market.

It seems in the last few years that Keurig has become a sort of premium brand, priced higher than most other single-serve coffee makers. This might make some sense with the newer Keurig models, which have added technology to improve extraction. But the K-Mini Plus doesn’t fit in that category, and it’s still an all-plastic, made-in-China brewer that I wouldn’t expect to last more than a few years. 

Is the Keurig K-Mini or K-Slim better?

I have tested both of these brewers, which tend to fall in the same price bracket, and I believe the newer K-Slim is an improvement over the older K-Mini. Indeed, I replaced the latter with the former in my review of the best Keurig coffee makers.

The biggest difference is that the Keurig K-Slim uses the brand’s new Multistream Technology, which improves extraction quality. That said, it is slightly larger and lacks the Strong setting, so there are pros and cons either way. 

Don’t Buy the Keurig K-Mini Plus If…

• You want to brew full carafes of coffee: If you’re looking for a great small coffee maker that can brew more than a cup at a time, check out the impressive new 5-cup Zojirushi Zutto. For even larger batch brewing, there’s always the trendy Drew Barrymore coffee maker.
  
• You want more drink customizability: If you want more options than just drink size and Strong, any of the more advanced (and expensive) Keurig models will fit the bill – for example, the Keurig K-Elite or Keurig K-Supreme. The unique Keurig K-Cafe even comes with a milk frother for cafe-style drinks.

• You want something less expensive: I just discussed my qualms about the K-Mini’s value for money. For a small and simple single-cup coffee maker on a budget, I’d suggest the Hamilton Beach Scoop or the even cheaper Chulux Mini. Or, if you’re willing to consider a manual option, the Aeropress gets my vote as the best single-serve coffee maker.

The Verdict

My opinion after testing this compact coffee maker is that the Keurig K-Mini Plus was designed for rapid speed, small size, and ultimate convenience. If you are inclined to prioritize those factors over coffee quality, it delivers. I can absolutely see its value in the right scenarios. On the other hand, if you want truly delicious coffee and have a few extra minutes or inches to spare, I think you can do better.

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