I spent a month testing the Keurig K-Supreme and it's great at making back-to-back brews

Keurig is one of the best-known brands for single-serve coffee makers, and over the years, their gadgets have gotten much more advanced. Today, many of the best Keurigs have features like milk frothers, Wi-Fi connectivity, and even carafe brewing, but if you’re just looking for a basic model to brew individual cups of coffee, the Keurig K-Supreme Coffee Maker is one of the brand’s more basic options.

This Keurig model keeps it basic, offering four brew sizes and strength control, but foregoing more advanced features. It has a few handy options that make it more convenient to use, such as a dual-position water reservoir and back-to-back brewing, and it’s also more compact than models like the K-Select.

Still, the Keurig K-Supreme is fairly expensive for a basic coffee maker, so we put it to the test over the course of a month to see if it’s worth adding to your kitchen. Here’s what we liked about the machine—as well as a few areas where it fell flat.

Keurig K-Supreme: Price and availability

The Keurig K-Supreme Single Serve Coffee Maker has an MSRP of $169.99, but it’s regularly on sale for $99. You can purchase it directly from the Keurig website (which can earn you reward points to apply towards K-cups), but it’s also available at most major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

Keurig K-Supreme: Features

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The Keurig K-Supreme is a full-size, basic model in the brand’s current lineup of single-serve coffee makers. It has more brewing options than budget-friendly models like the K-Slim, but it’s nowhere near as fancy as options like the K-Cafe.

The K-Supreme has the brand’s “multi-stream technology,” which essentially means it pokes five holes in the top of the K-cup instead of just one, letting water more fully saturate the coffee grounds. The brand claims this technology delivers better flavor and aroma than you’d get from older models like the K-Classic.

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In terms of brew options, the K-Supreme lets you choose from four drink sizes: 6, 8, 10, or 12 ounces. There’s a “Strong Brew” button, as well as a “Brew Over Ice” option, and the machine is compatible with the My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter. It also offers back-to-back brewing, meaning there’s no wait time if you want to brew multiple cups of coffee in a row.

However, I’d wager that the K-Supreme’s most interesting feature is its dual-position water reservoir. When you set up the machine, you can choose whether you want the reservoir on the side or the back. I tried out both orientations, and personally, I prefer having it on the side, as I found it’s easier to remove and refill that way. If you’re pressed for space, though, the machine takes up less room when the tank is in the back.

The one setting that this machine lacks is an automatic shut-off. Other models automatically shut off five minutes after brewing to save energy, but this one doesn’t turn off for two hours. If you want it turned off immediately after brewing, you’ll have to press the power button manually.

Keurig K-Supreme: Design

The Keurig K-Supreme comes in four colors—black, white, gray, or farmhouse white, which has a more yellow tone—and the exterior is all plastic with a matte finish. Even the handle that opens the lid, which is silver to make it look like stainless steel, is made from plastic. This is fairly standard for Keurigs, but I did feel like certain components were a bit flimsy. In particular, the water reservoir wobbles when it’s placed on the base, and the handle feels cheap and doesn’t shut fully when you put a K-cup inside the machine.

This unit has a simple control panel on top, and there are buttons for each brew setting and drink size. This saves you from having to scroll through a menu, and you simply press the big central button to start your brew. There are also two indicator lights that let you know when to refill the water tank and when you need to descale the machine, but that’s about it. There are no other settings to adjust, and overall, it’s a really simple design that’s easy and intuitive to operate.

Keurig K-Supreme: Performance

I tested the Keurig K-Supreme for several weeks, using it on a daily basis to brew both my morning cup of coffee, as well as mid-afternoon drinks. I regularly make specialty K-cups like chai lattes or hot apple cider, and my partner enjoys making hot cocoa for a little sweet treat after dinner, too.

Hot drinks

For the most part, we stuck to hot drinks with this Keurig, and it worked similarly to other Keurigs that I’ve tested in the past. When you press start, the machine takes around 15 seconds to heat up and start dispensing your drink, and the entire brew process for an 8-ounce drink takes 75 seconds from start to finish. If you want to brew a second beverage, it starts dispensing after 10 seconds and has a total brew time of 60-65 seconds. The machine registers at around 50 to 55 decibels throughout the brewing process, with the loudest step being the sputtering at the end, which measures around 65 decibels.

One downfall of Keurigs is that they typically don’t brew as hot as regular drip coffee makers, and that held true with the K-Supreme. Hot beverages are usually dispensed at around 160-162 degrees Fahrenheit. I don’t mind this lower temperature, as it allows you to start drinking right away, but if you prefer your coffee piping hot or add a lot of chilled milk to your drink, the temperature might be too low for your tastes.

In terms of drink quality, I don’t have any complaints. The coffee was flavorful, though I did find that the difference between the regular and strong brews was barely noticeable. My specialty drinks always came out as expected, but there were occasionally coffee grounds that ended up floating in my drink—this can happen if they get washed out of the bottom of the K-cup while brewing.

Iced drinks

The K-Supreme does have a brew over ice option, which lowers the brew temperature slightly to prevent it from melting the ice. I was surprised that there’s only one default drink size when you’re brewing over ice. The machine automatically brews a 6-ounce drink, and you’re unable to select a larger size. However, because you’re brewing over ice, which then melts, you still end up with a decently sized beverage.

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This setting takes roughly the same amount of time as a regular brew: 10 seconds to start brewing and around 70 seconds total. In my experience, the hot coffee melts around 50-70% of the ice in your glass, which does leave the drink quite cold. The caveat, of course, is that the coffee is a bit watered down. If you drink a lot of iced coffee, I recommend checking out the Keurig K-Brew+Chill, which flash-chills hot coffee before it dispenses, resulting in less ice melt for a richer flavor.

Keurig K-Supreme: Ease of Use

If you’re looking for a Keurig that’s easy to use, the K-Supreme certainly fits the bill. Because it has a no-frills design, it’s intuitive to operate, even for someone who’s never used a Keurig before.

This machine can accommodate any standard mug or cup size, as well as travel mugs up to 7 inches tall. (You may have to remove the drip tray to fit bigger travel cups under the spout.) After you put a K-cup into the machine, it will prompt you to select a brew size by blinking the lights on the row of buttons. Once you select the size you want, the central “K” button lights up to let you know that’s where you should press next. It’s really that easy, and if you want a stronger brew, you simply press that button before starting the brew cycle.

I also loved that once you finish brewing, you’re able to simply pop in a fresh K-cup and brew a second drink without waiting for more hot water to heat up. This back-to-back brewing came in handy when both my partner and I wanted mid-afternoon drinks—no one was ever left waiting while the machine warmed back up.

Should you buy the Keurig K-Supreme?

The Keurig K-Supreme Single Serve Coffee Maker is a no-frills, easy-to-use option that’s great if you want to make one cup of coffee at a time. It offers all the basic settings you need without any added complexity, and its dual-position water reservoir lets you adjust the orientation of the machine to suit your living space.

Hot drinks made from this machine are flavorful, and it’s convenient that there’s no wait time if you want to brew a second drink right away. It’s not the best for ice beverages, as the brew over ice option yields a diluted drink, but overall, it’s a solid mid-priced option from the brand.