Mr. Coffee BVMC-KG2-001 Single Serve Coffee Maker, Silver

I decided to get a Mr. Coffee brewer because I was concerned about the reliability issues I read about with the Keurig-branded brewers. I even waited a few extra weeks to receive this latest model in case it had any improvements over the KG1 -- and also because it looks so much cooler. Only time will tell how durable it is, but my initial impression of quality is positive. It also does look as good in person as it does in the photo. This brewer makes the perfect-sized cup of coffee. I get 8 oz bottles of spring water by the case, so brewing a cup involves popping in a K-Cup and emptying a bottle of water into the reservoir. Unless you like coffee that tastes like dirty water, I can't imagine getting an acceptable result putting more than 9 oz water through a K-Cup. I never even go to the 9 oz maximum fill because I like my coffee on the stronger side. Some K-Cups don't make a rich enough coffee for me even with 8 oz water, but I found some that work great. You have to shop around a little and find the ones that suit your taste. I like a good cup of coffee, but I'm not a connoisseur and don't want to be. A K-Cup machine is an alternative for people who drink drip coffee. This brewer makes a better cup of coffee than my previous drip machine, and I'm very satisfied with that. A drip coffee maker does make a hotter cup of coffee though, probably at the expense of quality. The Mr. Coffee brewer makes coffee that's initially at an ideal temperature, but it cools off quickly. I imagine this is an issue typical of K-Cup machines. Pre-warming the mug with hot tap water is helpful, but I'm considering getting Bodum Bistro Double-Wall Insulated 10-Ounce Glass Mug, Set of 2 . I'm glad to be rid of the electricity-sucking hot plate of my drip machine and very happy to get a single cup of coffee in 3 minutes flat (including prep) with basically zero cleanup. That's why I bought the machine. The Mr. Coffee brewer works great, looks good, and offers good value in a basic Keurig machine.

Originally I had purchased a Keurig B40 coffee maker and I returned it after using it twice. I really wanted a coffee maker that used the K-cups so I did a Google search and found this coffee maker and Amazon had the best price. When it arrived I quickly ripped it out of the box and made a cup. I held my breath hoping it didn't sound like a jet plane taking off (like the Keurig coffee maker did.) To my surprise it didn't. It sounded like a normal coffee maker brewing. It made a full 9 oz cup of coffee (unlike the Keurig.) The coffee tasted great! It was hot enough for me (the Keurig was way to hot for my liking.) In my opinion this coffee maker is not only made better but also looks better than the Keurig model that I had. It's not huge (like the Keurig) and since I don't have a lot of counter space this was a big plus for me. This coffee maker was by far a better value and it is perfect for my needs. The sample K-cups that came with it another plus. Once again "Thank you Mr. Coffee!" I'd rate this a 10 if I could.

After our Keurig migrated to the Board room, we missed it in the main office. I purchased this one to hold us over- and based on the price and reviews it works. It's attractive, makes a good cup of coffee or tea, and is cheaper than most alternatives. The only drawback- it is really slow, perhaps because it holds only the one cup at a time. I put the electric kettle on at the same time as a k-cup and nearly had boiling water in the same time.

We bought this Mr. Coffee KG2 from Amazon and received it last night. So this morning was our first usage. After running a cup of water through the system the first time to clean it out, I made three cups. As others have pointed out, the correct process is: 1. open the K-cup holder 2. put in a K-cup and push down to puncture the bottom 3. close the K-cup handle (which punctures the top of the K-cup) 4. open the water reservoir 5. pour in 8 oz. of water 6. close the water reservoir 7. put the coffee cup in position 8. push the brew button Opening the water reservoir seems a tad awkward. But it isn't a big deal. I put 8 oz. of water into the coffee cup, pour that into the reservoir, then put the coffee cup into position. After the brew cycle completed, it runs a little air through the K-cup. After that, I just pulled out the K-cup and threw it away. There was no dripping, and the K-cup mechanism "looked" clean. The electrical cord for the unit is quite short. But I have the unit on the counter next to the receptacle so it isn't a problem. The manual says to use an extension cord if the supplied cord isn't long enough. The supplied cord appears to be captive, so we can't swap out cords for a longer one (hence the reference to an extension cord in the manual). None of us drink coffee. I bought the KG2 for hot chocolate, hot tea, and iced tea. This morning I made hot chocolate for everyone (my wife, my 6 yr. old son, and myself). I bought boxes of three highly rated hot chocolates (Swiss Miss, Grove Square milk chocolate, Grove Square dark chocolate) and made one for each of us this morning. We'll cycle the next couple of days and individuals will decide which variety they like. Note that the Swiss Miss K-cup version isn't the same as the packet version (in the same designed box, "Milk Chocolate" with red background banner). The K-cup version only has 5 grams of sugar; the rest of the sweetness comes from sucralose. My wife liked the Swiss Miss, my son liked the GS milk chocolate, and I thought the GS dark chocolate was OK. Note however that these aren't the same as milk-based hot chocolate. I was kind of expecting that, so I was a little disappointed that they didn't add (enough) milk powder to their mixes to actually make nice milk-based hot chocolate. At this point, I can't say who like which the most. We'll cycle them to see... On the whole, we're happy with the quality of the unit. One specific reason why I bought this Mr. Coffee KG2 unit (instead of the Keurig or Cuisinart version) is because I've seen references on the internet to Keurig/Cuisinart using automotive-grade air solenoids to pipe the water around. That seems to have lots of problems and replacement solenoids are even available for those units. I haven't opened up the Mr. Coffee unit to see its internals, but I would hope that the folks at Mr. Coffee know better. Since I didn't see any internet references to people needing to buy lots of parts for the Mr. Coffee K-cup units, then I assumed the best. I'm happy with the apparent sturdiness of the unit. It feels more solid than the flimsy Keurig units that I've played with in stores. Scott Other comments: In the manual, they show pouring water from a water bottle into the water reservoir. However, I use a coffee cup and that does spill a little. But in the end, all of the water ends up in the reservoir so it's not a big deal. The manual says to use filtered or bottled water. It also says to NOT use deionized nor reverse osmosis water. But I have an RO system, so that's what I'm using. I presume the recommendation against deio and RO water is that those will erode the heating element over time (due to the lack of minerals in that water). That's OK with me. We have a well, a water softener (potassium), and RO; so the water I use is one of those three. The RO water is probably better for the KG2 than my other two alternatives. Update: It is now August 2013 and our unit is still going strong. Every couple of months I run 1 cup of water through the machine (without a K-cup) just to clean it out. Also, we only make hot chocolate, tea, and iced tea in this unit (no coffee). But we have been very happy with the unit and there haven't been any problems.