Keurig just dropped its new machine, the K-Brew + Chill — and I can't wait to try it. From the latest Ninja launch to more premium machines like De'Longhi, it seems like all of the best coffee makers now come with a cold brew setting, and it's no surprise when you look at the growth in the iced coffee market. According to World Coffee Portal, 37% of people aged 35 and under drink iced coffee daily, and as someone who's tested dozens of coffee makers over the years, I'm absolutely part of the 37%.
When it comes to making iced coffee at home though, the market has some catching up to do. I'm all too familiar with pouring freshly brewed, piping hot espresso over ice for my morning iced coffee. And while this gets the job done just fine, the coffee just doesn't taste as good when it immediately melts your ice, leaving you with a watered-down brew. This brand new Keurig machine features something called QuickChill Technology, which promises to fix all this.
Released today with an eye-catching $100 discount when you build a starter bundle, the $99 Keurig K-Brew + Chill brews, then chills, and then pours your coffee, meaning it's already cold when it hits your ice cubes. According to Keurig, coffee comes out at sub-60°F, and best of all, it leaves you with a refreshing caffeine hit in under three minutes.
What we know about the Keurig K-Brew + Chill
If I were to make one minor gripe about the latest iced coffee makers, it's that they don't really make their coffee cold. Instead, it comes out at whatever the temperature of the water in your reservoir is — lukewarm, at best, and in need of a fair few ice cubes to hit that refreshing temperature I'm looking for.
That's why the Keurig K-Brew + Chill's QuickChill Technology has me excited. It promises to flash-chill coffee straight after brewing, cooling it to a sub-60°F temperature before pouring it over your cup. This means you'll be left with fewer melted ice cubes, and a less diluted drink.
This should also mean great things for the taste of your brew. The K-Brew + Chill promises a more intense and robust flavor thanks to its MultiStream Technology which uses 5 needles instead of 1 to puncture your K-Cup. This takes its cues from the best espresso machines — you'll always get the best extraction if each and every ground of coffee is saturated, which is why many drip coffee makers use something akin to a shower head to distribute water evenly through your grounds.
How does QuickChill work?
We'll be testing this coffee maker as soon as we can get our hands on it, but until then, we can pick up a few clues as to how its smart tech works.
The QuickChill Technology seemingly uses a cold container that chills coffee immediately after brewing. You need to fill this with water during initial setup of your machine, where it's then kept cold by the machine. The machines comes with a Cold Charging Bar which will show if your Chill Tank is ready to brew cold coffee, which means you can't unplug it between uses or you'll have to wait for the Chill Tank to re-acclimatize — we'll test to see how long it takes for your brewer to cool the Chill Tank before it can be used.
What else is new?
I'm happy to see a hefty removable water reservoir, which can hold up to 70oz. This has a handle and sits to the front of the machine for easy refills. It can brew a range of coffee sizes: 6, 8, 10, or 12 oz. cup, and you can use any Keurig K-Cup pods with this machine, although it won't work with K-Carafe, K-Mug, Vue, or Rivo pods.
One thing you might miss is a milk steamer, which you'll find with our current #1 Keurig, the K-Cafe.
More from Tom's Guide
