If you are at Costco trying to decide if the Keurig K Supreme Plus Coffee Maker is a good purchase then this article will walk you through some pros and cons of this model.
The short version is, the Keurig K Supreme Plus makes a fine cup of coffee but is not a model that I recommend.
Key Features
A Keurig is a one trick wonder that quickly makes a single cup of coffee from a disposable, pre-packed pod of coffee. In general, Keurigs are handy devices that make a decent cup of coffee and this model is no exception.
Keurig has many different models and it can be tricky telling them apart. The key features on this model, the K Supreme Plus C, are:
- Multistream Technology
- Custom Brew Options
- Assortment of 18 Coffee Pods
- Reusable Coffee FilterÂ
- Large Water Reservoir
Let’s look at some of these features in more detail.
Multistream Technology
A regular Keurig will poke a hole in the bottom and top of the coffee pod and pass hot water through the holes and into your cup.
This Keurig still pokes one hole in the bottom of the pod but now pokes five holes in the top. The premise is that water is able to circulate better through the five holes and extract more flavor and aroma than through one hole.
Custom Brewing Options
This Keurig model lets you choose between three brewing strengths and three water temperatures to customize the brewing experience to your particular tastes.
Additionally, the unit can be set to brew five different sizes of coffee ranging between 4 and 12 ounces.
Assortment of Coffee Pods
You get 18 coffee pods with the unit which is a really nice feature.
It can take a while to find the brand/style of coffee that you really like and buying a bunch of boxes of the different styles can get expensive and tedious. The pods can often cost up to $0.50 each and it is really annoying to buy a box, realize that you don’t love the variety and then feel like you have to finish the rest because it cost so much and you don’t want to waste the money.
By providing an assortment of flavors Keurig is helping you dial in the style of coffee that you will want to buy in bulk.
Reusable Coffee Filter
The unit comes with a hard plastic pod that can be filled with ground coffee. This lets you make your own flavors of coffee pods to save money or let you experiment with new coffee varieties.
In principle the reusable pod is an excellent idea but I have never been able to achieve satisfactory results using one. I have a very similar reusable pod with my Keurig and I have never been able to get satisfactory results using the device. Regardless of what type of grind I use it seems like I always get a bunch of coffee fines in the bottom of my cup.
Why I Do Not Recommend the Bundle
The Keurig Supreme is a fine machine, assuming that you get one that doesn’t break, but it has serious limitations.
Let’s look at this from two angles…either you are a massive coffee lover or you are a casual coffee fan.
You Are a Massive Coffee Lover
I am a coffee freak and I am bored with the coffee my Keurig makes.
It does not matter that this model has multistream technology and various brew strength options, etc. The primary variable that determines the quality of a cup of coffee is the actual coffee that is used.
I enjoy the KPod coffee that I brew (Kirkland Summit Medium Roast) but it is nothing special.  I have experimented with different brands and, while I really liked some of them, the price tag of $0.50-$0.60 per cup was excessive.
I love to grind whole bean coffee and experiment with different varieties and that is something that you will not do with this machine. Yes, the reusable KPod that comes with the unit makes it possible to use fresh ground beans but I have never been successful with the approach.
I am going to upgrade my coffee brewing equipment this year and will be buying a unit that can accept K-Pods and has a separate brewing option designed for fresh ground beans.
You Are a Casual Coffee Fan
Some folks just need a cup of coffee to get them going in the morning. They don’t care about the complexities of the brew and are not interested in exploring single farm origin coffee from the mountains of Mexico.
And that is perfectly fine.
And for those folks you can save yourself a pile of cash and buy a simple Keurig for about $50.
Costco Value
The Costco Keurig has a regular price of $139 but it seems like every time I go into the warehouse that it is marked down to $99.
You can buy simpler versions of this device on online for $50-$60. You can also buy extra large versions for an office environment for about $300.
Overall the Costco price for this unit is very reasonable.
The big question you need to ask before you make the purchase is whether or not you want to be tied to using KPods or if you will eventually want to enjoy coffee from freshly ground beans.
I bought the Keurig about a year ago. 24 hours after setting it up, for no apparent reason, it leaked all of the water from the reservoir into my counter and floor. It went back to the store immediately and subsequently I bought a well reviewed drip coffee maker. Less convenient definitely, but exponentially better coffee, with a lower cost per cup.