#HelloKeurig

*I received a Keurig K550 brewing system as part of the #HelloKeurig review opportunity via the Influenster program. All thoughts and opinions on the system are my own and I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.*

I LOVE COFFEE! If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, this is not a newsflash. As a matter of fact, if I’m not posting about a workout, sharing a photo of a new recipe I’ve tried or a few motivational words, I’m posting about coffee. It makes me happy. It’s a hug for my soul. It’s the pat on the ass that says “Go get ’em, tiger!”

Obviously when I received word from Influenster that I was selected to take part in the #HelloKeurig campaign, I was super stoked! 

We were already proud owners of a Keurig brewing system and we loved it. I know some people don’t like Keurig’s and if you’re not using a french press or fancy schmancy, professional machine you aren’t a true coffee lover but I completely disagree with that and tend to just laugh to myself about it. With my hectic daily schedule, three coffee drinkers in my house and two kids, I love the fact that we don’ t all have to agree on a coffee. We can each wake up, pick a K-cup flavor to fit our mood, brew, sip and move along with our day. I also adore that my kids can grab a mug, pop in a hot cocoa cup and enjoy a warm treat for themselves. To me it’s the best of all worlds for everyone and Keurig improved upon it with the new Keurig 2.0.

The Keurig 2.0 now features a carafe option which is perfect for when you have company over and want to brew a few cups of coffee in one shot. If also perfect for those of us who want a cup of coffee now and want to have some left over to cool off so it can be added to a post workout protein shake. (Did I mention that I LOVE coffee?) The K550 model, which I received, also boasts a larger water reservoir which I absolutely love. I tend to be the last one to make their coffee in the morning, so I am no longer greeted with the “Please Add Water” message…which was almost like my old Keurig’s sarcastic way of saying Good Morning, to me.

This new system is full of bells and whistles. It has a new sleek design, lots of customization options like a nightlight, clock options, auto turn-on/turn-off, brew strength (which might be my favorite new feature) and a night light! Yes…I said a nightlight! You can also customize the wallpaper on the display and there is a new smart brewing technology (which I will get into in a minute). We were very impressed with the machine as we unpacked it and couldn’t wait to try our favorite coffee’s with the new brew strength option…but that’s were things went a little wrong and my temper started to flare.

Unfortunately, the new Keurig 2.0’s smart brewing technology will ONLY brew the newer K-cups and there is a little false information in the pamphlet that comes with the machine. It says that you can only use K-cups with the Keurig logo on them, but that is not true. We had tons of cups with the Keurig logo on them (like the K-cup pictured on the left in the image below), but the box did not say that they work in ALL KEURIG BREWERS (this is key when purchasing cups for the 2.0) and they did NOT have the silver/white rim around them (which is where the new technology is stored for perfect brew settings). As a result of this technology, you can also no longer use the refillable K-cup to brew special local coffees, which may not offer K-Cups. Bummer…right?! On the bright side, Keurig is aware of this issue and if you contact them, they will provide you with a coupon code for 3 FREE replacement boxes along with FREE shipping from their website! This definitely took my temper back to happy coffee lover as I scrolled through the options I had to choose from on their site. (If you haven’t tried Chocolate Donut, I suggest you go order some after you finish readying this post.)

Overall, we are very happy with the new Keurig 2.0 K550 system. Here is a list of Pro’s and Con’s that we came up with:

Pro’s

• Ability to brew a variety of sized, from 4 to 10 oz cups
• Ability to brew 2 t0 4 cups at a time (by using the new carafe)
• Very easy to swap between single cup and carafe brewing
• Comes standard with water filter
• Larger water reservoir (on the K550 model only)
• Easy to read digital display
• Auto brew timer option for the carafe
• Optional night light
• Ability to choose how strong you want your coffee
• Ability to choose if you are brewing something besides coffee (tea/hot cocoa) so the brew comes out better
• Economy setting that allows for you to set the machine to turn off after so many minutes of being inactive
• Option to brew just hot water

Con’s

• Can not use older K-cups with the 2.0 system *Must have silver/white outer ring on K-cup or black Keurig seal along with words in ALL KEURIG BREWERS on the box*
• Can not use refillable K-cup with your own grinds
• The carafe that comes standard is plastic and does’t hold heat well. There is a stainless steel version (sold separately) which I feel should come standard with the deluxe K550 model. I have not used the stainless steel version, but I would hope it hold heat in better than the plastic one, since there is no warmer option.

We’ve been using our new Keurig 2.0 system for over a month now and the list of pro’s definitely outweigh the con’s to us, especially since Keurig has address the old K-cup issue with the generous coupon. I am also happy to see that the Archer Farms cups available at Target have switched the new technology! If you have purchased these in the past, be warned that only the cups in the new packaging have the new technology. So if you find cups on clearance, skip them since the machine will not be able to read the. (There is a hack around this new technology, but I won’t go into that. If you have a bunch of old cups on hand that you want to use, all I will say is Google is your friend in figuring out how to make them work.)

What are your thoughts on the new Keurig 2.0 system? Do you think you’ll be saying #HelloKeurig anytime soon?