Have you ever been to the store to buy the latest model of a computer? As soon as you get home, you find that your model is now obsolete? Does that ever bug you? It’s okay. It happens all the time.
How often does it happen with coffee machines? More often than you might think. In fact, that’s exactly what Keurig does, and they’ll keep doing it whenever they think of new features to add to your morning routine.
Keurig K450
This week we’re taking a close look at the [easyazon_link identifier=”B00KYWL4PO” locale=”US” tag=”cafe049-20″]Keurig K450[/easyazon_link] and finding out what makes this the latest and greatest of their coffee models over its predecessor, the Keurig K350. There’s more under the hood than just the ability to brew a consistently fresh cup of coffee, right?
Let’s dive head first into the Keurig 2.0 K450 Reviews and find out what makes this such a great little machine.
Auto-off
The best features include a 70-ounce reservoir, the iconic color touch display, a programmable clock, and an auto-off feature—a must-have for college kids and busy professionals who otherwise are prone to forgetting to turn it off when they’re done with it. Moreover, there are other settings you can have fun with, like brewing a stronger cup of coffee.
Brews Carafes
One of the best new features of any Keurig 2.0 machine is its ability to brew [easyazon_link identifier=”B00NAZM5Y6″ locale=”US” tag=”cafe049-20″]K-Carafes[/easyazon_link] with the same simplicity of brewing a single serving of coffee. Single-serve coffee machines are what made Keurig famous to begin with, and now these same machines can brew carafes as well.
Compared to other models
What did Keurig do to the K450 that previous models didn’t have? Comparing it to the K350, the first difference I noticed were the color selections. Keurig’s K450 comes in five colors. I didn’t buy five copies of the machine to compare colors—I only bought the black one. The silver accents popped out. It makes me wish I bought one in the Sandy Pearl color. That color is unique, even among coffee makers. They have two versions of red to choose from—Red and Vintage Red. The Vintage Red looks like a deeper, darker color reminiscent of 1950s diner 
décor. It also comes in white. So five colors total: [easyazon_link identifier=”B00KYWL4PO” locale=”US” tag=”cafe049-20″]White, Red, Sandy Pearl, and Vintage Red[/easyazon_link].
The prices between the two are comparable, with the K450 only costing an extra $5. For me, color selection alone can easily be worth an additional one-time fee of $5. The K350 has a smaller water tank, sitting at 60 ounces instead of th
e previous 70. The first time I looked at these machines side-by-side, the color display on this one immediately caught my eye. The K350 has a black and white screen. Both screens were the same size, and just as responsive to my touch. Navigation was identical; I could quickly find the settings for a stronger brew, as well as specialty settings for specialty drinks, like hot chocolate and mocha.
The “footprint”—how much counter space it uses—of the K450 was slightly larger than the K350, but that’s 
to be expected with a larger water tank. It hardly makes a difference. The aesthetics of the machine more than make up for it.
Everything else was pretty much the same, with the biggest differences being the extra 10 ounces of the water reservoir, the color screen, and the colors. If you buy a compatible reusable K-Cup, you can’t go wrong. It’s a beautiful machine that brews a mean cup of coffee, simply and quickly. You won’t find any instructions on how to use Vue K-Cups in the manual of the machine, but if you were to read the instructions that come with the cups themselves, you would find that you need to use setting number four on the machine.
What do others think of the machine?
Every positive review loved the machine. They love the strength settings, the look, and how delicious their coffee turned out to be. It was easy to open and came with Keurig Carafe, six K-Cup Pods, four K-Carafe Pods, and a water filter handle with a filter cartridge. Within 10 minutes of opening the box and setting it up on the counter, you can have your first cup of coffee. Nothing is quite as satisfying as this first cup to ease your excitement from setting the machine up.
More than one review stated that the color selection felt like they had design options to use in their kitchen. While others need “skins”—decals that can change the color of the machine—this one has five gender-neutral colors they can choose from to match their kitchen décor.
What to look out for
This is a Keurig 2.0 model, which can turn off many buyers due to the DRM technology alone. The Digital Rights Management function can be frustrating. Natively, out of the box, you are only allowed the use of officially branded Keurig K-Cups. No other brand will work; the machine won’t let you. You will get an error that tells you to use their brand coffee. If you want to use this coffee machine straight out of the box, you will need to use Green Mountain Coffee or other K-Cups that have their logo printed on the label of the cup.
But wait ~ there are lots of options for making the most out of Keurig’s new line of coffee makers. I’ve reviewed several 2.0 DRM workarounds, which means I have plenty of [easyazon_link identifier=”B00S1MKM20″ locale=”US” tag=”cafe049-20″]Freedom Stickers[/easyazon_link] and other reusable pods on hand. Check out these other articles that tell you how to get around it safely and easily—no tools, no taking anything apart, and no hassle. Every reusable K-Cup that says they are not compatible with Keurig 2.0 becomes compatible with either the Freedom Clip or Freedom Stickers. Ekobrew, a brand with 2.0 compatible K-Cups, sells the Freedom Stickers while the Rogers Family sells the Freedom Clip. It still brews one helluva cup of coffee, and you’re not stuck with Keurig brands.
Conclusion
This is a sleek little machine. The touch screen, color selection, the silver accents, and the 70-ounce reservoir all make this worth an extra $5. This machine comes highly recommended.
Get yours here. [easyazon_cta align=”center” identifier=”B00KYWL4PO” key=”small-light” locale=”US” tag=”cafe049-20″]
