Keurig Brings K-Cups to the Small Office
If you’re like us, you’ve got a Keurig brewer stationed handily in the kitchen, ready to make a quick and consistently excellent cup of coffee anytime. But at the office, it’s a different story- it’s the old shared coffee pot, filled with who-knows-what from who-knows-when. We’ve reviewed two of their previous models, the B70 and B50, and still have yet to find a better single-cup brewing system.
So, we took a chance, and tested out the Keurig Office Pro. Meant to handle up to 10x the use of the home brewing systems, we were disappointed that the reservoir wasn’t larger- you’ll end up filling it every day, if not more often. As with all K-cup brewers, you can use any of the wide variety of K-cups, now available from many roasters, with many flavors, in decaf, and even tea or hot chocolate cups. You can also use other ground coffee by getting the basket attachment, which basically serves as a small filter- though the coffee isn’t quite as good as with the actual K-cups.
Convenience is the name of the game here- instead of everyone having to share the mediocre coffee, each person can make their own decision, hazelnut Columbian or dark roasted Emeril’s. It’s a nice advantage, and the OfficePro does the job well, more capable and faster at multiple consecutive cups than the smaller B50 or B70 versions. It isn’t too loud, and is solidly built, but lacks some of the polish of the other versions (no LCD screen, an old-school knob for size selection, and only 3 drink sizes on hand instead of the 4 offered on the B70).
Easy to clean, the removable reservoir is great if you need to pack up or move the unit… but not all that necessary. And the included cup is a nice, if odd choice- perhaps more suitable to the home brewers, since the point of this heavy-duty machine is to serve a crowd. The bottom line: we weren’t sure that the better construction and UL commercial listing made up for the $250 pricetag, versus the B70 at $170. Of course, we were only making a dozen or so cups, spread out throughout the day, and if you are making more it might be totally necessary. Available primarily online and includes 18 K-cups to try out.
