B150 Brewer

I drink coffee pretty much all day and until I got a Keurig, I used a commercial Bunn coffee brewer and ground my own beans.

My kids got me a cinnamon colored Keurig B70 about 9 months ago. Truly, if it hadn't been a gift from my kids, I would have returned it unopened. I had read too many reviews about malfunctioning machine. Reluctantly, I set up the machine and brewed my first cup of coffee. That was it I was hooked! However, I was ready to battle Keurig if my machine began to malfunction, as so many others have.

Fortunately, my B70 worked so well that my grown kids began hinting that they would like one, too. Since the cinnamon color didn't fit especially well with the colors in my kitchen, I began looking for another Keurig so that I could gift the B70 to one of the kids.

I decided to purchase the B150 because of the larger, 90 oz. water reservoir and the fact that it would brew 5 different cup sizes (4 oz., 6 oz., 8 oz., 10 oz. and 12 oz.). I also felt that perhaps since this is a commercial machine, it might be more durable than a home machine. I've had it for about 6 months now and probably use it 15 to 20 times a day between all the family members.

Upon unpacking, I was very pleased with the heft of the machine. It feels very solid. The handle is thick, stainless steel, the water reservoir is much thicker plastic than the B70, and has double layer sides. It's obvious that this machine is meant for heavy use. The black and silver color looks well in my industrial style kitchen. It is a little larger than the B70, but not so large that it looks out of place in a home kitchen.

I really like the color, LCD touch screen. It prompts you to insert a K-cup, then you use it to select your cup size and then push the illuminated Brew button. That's it. As a side note, there are all sorts of lovely, coffee related pictures that run slide-show fashion across the LCD screen while your coffee is brewing.

The LCD screen will alert you to low water levels and when it's time to de-scale. You can also access the menu settings through the LCD screen.

This machine can be direct plumbed with an optional kit so that you never even have to fill the water reservoir. I haven't done this because my city has freakishly hard water so I only use filtered water in my Keurig. In fact, I would recommend using filtered water no matter where you live. I simply keep a Britta filter pitcher next to my machine and keep it filled throughout the day. It works perfectly because I have never seen white calcium deposits anywhere on my machine, in the reservoir, or on the puncture needle. Mineral deposits will kill appliances so filtered water is cheap insurance against that. Also, it makes your coffee taste better.

Another maintenance tip is to run 4 oz. of just water through after every cup, especially after hot cocoa. It keeps the tip from clogging and prevents transfer of flavor from one cup to the next.

If you are new to Keurig machines, one thing to keep in mind is that there is a wide variance in the quality of the K-cups. Some even have instant coffee in them (ugh)! Read reviews and then buy small quantities before you buy a huge box. Some varieties I like are Keurig Wild Mountain Blueberry (seriously good despite the way it sounds), Keurig Kahlua Original, and Folgers Gourmet Caramel Drizzle. Tazo also makes some killer tea K-cups. If you sample a number of different flavors, you are bound to find some favorites.

Also, experiment with the cup size with each brand. Some taste their best with a smaller cup size and others require the full 12 ounces of water.

The Ekobrew Reusable Filter works very well, too, and I use it for a special blend of coffee I particularly like that isn't available in K-cups yet. It's more trouble than regular K-cups but less trouble than making a conventional pot of coffee.

You will find a wild range of reviews for Keurig machines and I believe there is a quality control issue during manufacturing. I think I got lucky that both machines I purchased function perfectly (so far). I was certainly ready to return my machines, repeatedly if necessary, if they malfunctioned as so many others have mentioned and I think any buyer should be aware of the fact that there are a relatively high number of machine failures. But when they work, I think they are wonderful!

We purchased this brewer recently and in less than two months began to have issues with it. It constantly gives a lift water reservoir message, will not pump water from the reservoir to the unitthe pump is audible but not moving any water! We paid over $200 for this unit. It was a replacement for a cheaper version that also developed problemsthought that a "commercial" system would be more durable and last. DON'T WASTE your money on this system! It's a shame because it did make good coffee for a very short time.

If I can prevent one person from wasting hard earned money on one of these pieces of junk, than I can feel like I've done something good!

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Received our Keurig in a timely manner and works awesome for a small office. We had a B70 and it worked well for over a year, but I think it was not big enough for our team of coffee/tea drinkers.

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This is a very nice device. I especially like the display/touchscreen and the graphic interface. The images make it VERY clear what is going on as well as what steps are necessary. I recommend this unit to ANYONE who wants a Keurig, not just the business community.

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There are ridges inside the chamber. This is fine for the thin plastic k-cups because it forms it bends to the ridges. Because the refillable k-cups are thick plastic or metal and can't bend, they will not fit in this machine. This model is meant to be sold to a business. The intent is the business can sell it's employees k-cups instead of allowing them to bringing their own refillable ones because of machine limitations. Think of how much plastic they are waisting on a daily basis. Corporate greed at it's finest.

KRUPS XP5280 Pump Espresso Machine with KRUPS Precise Tamp Technology and Stainless Steel Housing,

I have used Krups espresso machines for over 25 years. This is my third Krups and it is stunningly superior to the previous models I used. (The last one lasted 18 years and was still in usable condition when I upgraded to the XP5280.) The taste of the espresso made by the XP5280 is vastly superior to that produced by the previous Krups model I owned, and to the espresso made by other brands of machine that my friends own. The coffee also arrives in the cup with a wonderfully thick crema. The taste is, I'm guessing, a result of the way the machine carefully controls the water temperature and way the pump and the head work together to control rate of flow of hot water through the coffee grains, in combination with the effectiveness of the auto-tamping mechanism. The auto-tamping is a great feature. (With my prior machine I was lazy about tamping and somewhat deterred from doing it properly by the way the pump seemed to be 'laboring' when I over-tamped.) The auto-tamp gets the tamping just right. The milk-frother is a huge improvement over the one on the earlier model. It makes more than enough froth. (I had to get a bigger frothing jug to accommodate the froth.) It is also much easier to clean.

I see that other reviewers have had problems with the plastic latches on the frother breaking. I agree that they do look a bit fragile, so I am being careful with them. The unlatching process requires a bit of practice: you have to make sure the latch-locking ring is pulled all the way down before trying to pull the frother off the plastic thing at the end of the pipe.

[Update, July 14, 2012: Krups has taken note! A re-designed frother was released a few days ago, part number MS-623107, and it's is a huge improvement. There are no fragile latches. It is secured by a twisting action. The kit ($11.99) includes the frother and a replacement plastic connector, to which the frother connects, that you screw onto the steam pipe. If your original frother has broken Krups will, I hope, send you the kit for free. My original frother hasn't broken yet; but I bought a new kit just in case.]

[Further update, January 11, 2013: One of the latches on the original frother just snapped off as I was using it. It was rather alarming as the frother detached suddenly and steam exploded out of the naked pipe in a scary manner. I can see why Krups re-designed this. I attached the replacement twist-on frother and it is much easier to put on and take off, and much less likely to break and cause injury. If the machine you receive is older stock, with the old-style frother that has with three claws, immediately call Krups and insist that they send you a free replacement.]

Overall, everything about the machine exceeds what I had expected and I recommend this top-of-the-home-line model without reservation.

Some small observations (I hope Krups Product Development team will note these):

(a) The instruction manual could be improved. For example:

When periodically doing a full cleaning of the brewing head, and removing the plastic part with the nozzles, the manual says "replace the black plastic part and turn to the right until the two arrows line up", whereas it should really say "replace the black plastic part, making sure that it is positioned with the arrow on it close to the arrow on the metal part, and turn clockwise until the two arrows line up". (If you replace it in poor lighting conditions, getting the arrows about 180 degrees apart, it will get badly stuck and extremely hard to pull out without damaging the plastic.)

The "Problems" table in the manual says that all three button-lights flashing means that the steam knob is in the steam position. What it should stay is "Either the steam knob has been left in the steam position (or is maybe just a little bit off the "O" position), or the water tank is empty."

(b) With respect to the comment above, about the steam knob, the "feel" of the knob as you get to the "O" position is a little odd: it feels as through you might be straining something when you apply enough turning force to actually get it all the way to the "O". I'd prefer a much more solid stop sensation.

(c) It would have been nice if the steam knob had been designed with a "hold" position, at which the steam is shut off but the machine remains in steam mode (i.e., does not go into the cool-down cycle to prepare for coffee-making). If you need to pause steam making (e.g., to cope with overspilling froth or to change over to frothing a second jug of milk) you have no choice but to turn the steam off, wait while the cool-down cycle finishes, press the steam button again, and wait until the machine reaches steam temperature again -all a needless waste of time, water, and electricity.

(d) The turning force you need to apply to turn the brewing-head handle as it is auto-tamping (note: I am not trying to turn it too far), is quite a lot relative to the weight of the machine. If you put the machine on a very smooth surface or on a plastic drip mat, the machine will tend to rotate as you operate the handle (particularly when the water tank has very little water in it) unless you place a steadying hand on the top of the machine. The machine would have felt a lot steadier if Krups had put some weights in the base.

However, these are small points that just have to be noted and do not diminish the pleasure of using this excellent machine.

A frother-cleaning tip: after using the frother (whether or not you plan to remove it to give it a proper cleaning), with the machine in the ready-to-make-coffee state (= left three lamps lit, steam lamp not lit), put a cup or jug under the frother and turn the steam knob a little way for a few seconds. This will cause hot water to squirt through the steam outlet, clearing any milk residue from the steam channel of the frother. This prevents the frother becoming clogged by dried milk residue.

Being fairly new to Espresso machines I researched reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, and decided on a Krups XP5280. Too bad, no review ever mentioned the fact that, and this was confirmed to me by Krups Customer Service, you need to wait at least 15 minutes between successive cups of espresso, even longer if you used the steam wand! If you don't wait this long the water is diverted to the drip tray instead of the filter holder. WHAT!! Before this was confirmed by Krups itself I could only think I had a defective unit. Upon hearing that this is "normal", I promptly returned it to the seller, of course at my own expense. I didn't like that the machine couldn't be used under cabinets that don't give you enough space to fully pull out the reservoir which needs to be pulled out upwards. But I did like the Krups automatic tamping, the set amount (programmable) amount of espresso delivered, and the puck ejector in the filter holder. I only wished someone had mentioned in a review the problem with needing to wait so long between successive cups using the Krups XP5280, it would have saved me the wasted time, and cost, to return it to the seller! If you only need to make one cup, or are willing to wait 15+ minutes between cups, then perhaps the Krups XP5280 is for you. It was not for me.

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I purchased this machine at the recommendation of a knowledgeable salesperson at a local cooking store called Great News (Pacific Beach). I really liked the programmable feature, after returning a different model that did not have the preset for espresso pour duration. I also like the "precise tamp" feature as it saves a step and works well. I find that by using a Cuisinart Conical Burr grinder to freshly grind the beans(I use illy beans exclusively), and by following the directions for proper priming(1st use), cleaning, and operation the resulting espresso and latte drinks are excellent. It consistently turns out great tasting espresso with generous amounts of "crema", and steams milk well(I recommend getting an instant read thermometer for steamed milk which indicates proper heating temerature between 150 and 170 degrees mine is from a company called CDN). One minor issue is the steam nozzle. Mine did break after about 4 months one of the clips that hold the nozzle to the steam wand broke I called the company and they sent me a new one. Pluses when used properly this machine turns out great and repeatable results for both espresso and steamed milk. Minus Steam wand nozzle must be handled with care and cleaned often. By the way folks make sure you read the directions on how to disassemble and clean the nozzle if you don't it gets pretty disgusting inside.

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I've owned this expresso maker since July of 2011. I am on my 3rd nozzle. Since I can't find nozzles for sale on the internet anymore, I finally decided to call the Krups warranty hotline since everything is still under warranty. First they told me that the expresso maker is warrantied for 2 years instead of the 1 year in the manual. Then they notified me that the nozzle is being redesigned. They will send me the "older style" (that is, the one I have now) to hold me over until the new one comes out in Summer 2012. Then they put me on their mailing list to get the newly designed nozzle when it comes out. The hotline person was helpful and acknowledged that there was a design problem with the existing nozzle (in so many words), so I am glad Krups is not in denial of the facts. I like the expresso maker -especially the auto tamping feature and the pre-measured pulls. So if you already own one of these, don't despair. I recommend you call Krups and get your name on their list for the new nozzle.

5/3/12 Just received the newly redesigned nozzle from Krups. It is much heftier than the original. Still made of plastic but much, much thicker. The nozzle body is now a single piece with a stainless steel outer tube which simply presses onto the front of the nozzle; looks like it mostly for show. Gone are the 3 flimsy tabs which are prone to breakage. The new nozzle now locks onto the steam arm with a twist. Because the new nozzle attaches differently, you also have to replace the plastic base which screws onto the steam arm.

It is now 1 year since purchasing this machine. I just replaced the filter holder because of corrosion. The plastic handle started to crack and the button which locks the filter holder started sticking, preventing the holder from locking into place on the expresso maker. Now the button doesn't pop up like when it was new. Looks like pewter underneath the chrome plating. I make 2 cups, double shots, every day. It would be nice to have a stainless steel filter holder but you would have to buy an expresso machine which costs twice as much to get that. And as I examine other machines in this price range, they all seem to be made of the same materials. So I understand the shortcuts made to sell a machine at this price point. And I like the expresso it makes.

12/19/12 I have been through 2 of the newly designed nozzles. They both have cracked from the heat and eventually leak along the centerline of the tube. Lasted about 3 months. I called the Krups customer service center again and the person said she'd never hear of this before. However, she quickly said they would send me another replacement. I think I'll keep doing this until the 2-year warranty runs out.

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I have owned this unit for 16 months. During that time I have gone through 7, count them 7 frothing wands. Three before the "new design" and 4 after. Had to wait over 2 months, for the new frothing wand, because they were out of stock at the factory. That tells me lots of people were having the same issues. Not spending one more penny on a new frothing wand. I am going to buy a "real" unit and once agsin relax with my morning latte. The customer service department acted like I was bothering them. GOODBYE KRUPS. NEVER AGAIN!

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Krups XP4050 1200-Watt 15-Bar-Pump Programmable Espresso Machine

I must start with saying that this is my second XP4050 in one month, the first suffering from two problems. One problem was the same that others have mentioned here, when water stops coming out of the filter head and instead just dumps into the drip tray from an apparent overflow-type valve in the bottom of the machine. This only happened once, corrected itself, and never happened again. The second problem was that I noticed a small amount of water occasionally leaking from the buttons on the front and the stainless portion on the front of the machine would also get VERY hot. I believe these were one problem, possibly the brewing portion leaking.

I contacted Amazon online and was shocked at the ease and speed of getting a replacement model. At no charge to me, including shipping, I had a brand new XP4050 within 3 days.

The new model works perfect. I am a somewhat new espresso afficienado, having been making my own at home for only about 2 years. This is my second machine, my first being a Krups Gusto that recently died. I decided on the XP4050 after a great deal of research and comparing features versus cost. The price I got this model through Amazon was literally half what I was looking at with other brands.

As far as use of the machine, it couldn't be easier. I use mostly pods but have tried grounds with equally easy and great tasting shots. The three different filter baskets for brewing are held in the handle firmly, which was an issue in my old Krups Gusto (I accidently threw away the single shot filter basket). The frother performs very well although I have not tried the attachment for pulling the milk from a separate container. As others have said, make sure you keep an eye on your drip tray, it does tend to fill quickly. I empty mine every 4-6 shots.

Overall, even considering my initial "problem" model, I am extremely happy with the XP4050. It's a great looking, inexpensive, easy to use machine that consistently puts out quality shots of espresso. I would recommend this model to either new beginners or someone looking to step up a little.

Ahh great coffee at home

Firstly I am just a wee amateur when it comes to coffee. I hate instant coffee and wanted quality coffee at home that was easy to make.

I just purchased this machine last night; it's our first pump espresso machine. It took me a couple of goes, messing around with the machine to produce a good coffee, but I seem to be getting quicker and better with each additional coffee I make.

It's fairly simple to use. The pre-programmed 1 or 2 cup buttons take all the guess work out of the coffee creation process. It is also very quick to fire up (become ready from power up to coffee creation) in comparison to some of my friends machines.

The autocappuccino (milk foamer) also works well, with surprisingly little mess or effort, but be sure to use very cold milk.

So far the machine seems to be very easy to clean after your perfect cup, no drips or mess which I have read about in other reviews.

I have not tried the ESE pods yet, but I am sure this eliminates any coffee ground mess.

I hope this helps, enjoy

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Last month I decided to replace my aging, 6-year old Krups espresso machine. It had provided great service but, thanks to a less-than-rigorous regimen of descaling over the years, was getting long in the tooth. Its pumping action was weakening, and the steamer would occasionally get rambunctious. I was happy with Krups, so I replaced it with another, the XP 4050. Bad choice.

The XP 4050 just didn't work as it should. On some mornings, after the machine heats up, it goes into a frantic blinking mode when I try to pump. And it didn't pump...its four blue lights just blinked furiously at me.

The machine's manual did not describe this behavior, so I called the Krups consumer help line from the manual. (Incidentally, kudos to Krups on that help line. I got to a human pretty quickly.) I described the symptoms, and they emailed me a UPS label to send the machine in. Four weeks later, a replacement arrived.

It does the same thing.

Another criticism: The steamer nozzle is useless. It's like a four-year-old blowing bubbles into a cup of milk. My old machine had a healthy steaming nozzle that was a whiz at frothing. The XP 4040 is no match. Adding to the aggravation, the steamer attachment has a little air-induction tube that keeps falling out.

I'm sorry, Krups, you've gone astray. The machine's going back to Amazon.

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I have owned the Krups XP4050 for over nine months now and have used it daily ever since it was purchased. I knew I was taking a risk when I bought the XP4050, as I had read the many negative reviews on Amazon. The primary reason why I took that risk was that I was able to get an extremely good deal getting well over $100 off the typical retail price. I feel fortunate not to have experienced any of the serious issues some of the other users have had.

There is a learning curve to the XP4500. That's for sure! Here are the things that I have learned in the time that I have owned the machine:

1. The water tank must be seated properly. Period!!! If it's not, you will get the flashing blue lights as others have pointed-out. When inserting the water tank, it should firmly stop when fully seated. You will feel a slight detent when it's seated properly. If it feels "squishy" and the tank pushes back up slightly, pull it out and start over again. I have noticed that the tank inserts easier the more the XP4050 is used.

2. Clean the inside of the brewing head frequently. It doesn't need to be after every espresso, but it should be done at least when you've finished for the day. I usually use a paper towel to do this after I have run a cycle without the filter holder. I also occasionally use a brush to remove grinds that accumulate in the brewing head.

3. Yes, the machine has a "rubbery" smell when it is new. It will go away after a while of usage.

4. Do not use the "auto cappuccino accessory." While the auto cappuccino accessory usually does an OK job if you want a latte, it suffers from three drawbacks: A) Results wildly vary. B) Milk does not get hot enough. C) There is only enough foam produced to top off a latte. It does not produce enough foam for a real cappuccino.

5. For a decent cappuccino, purchase a frothing pitcher and use the "perfect froth accessory." Oddly, the instructions for the XP4050 on the Krups website does not mention the perfect froth accessory, so I do not know if it was not included in the older units, or if it is no longer included in the newer units. Hopefully, it is still included. If you don't have it, you really need to get it if you want to make a decent cap. More importantly, you need to learn how to use it. This took me a long time to figure out because there are no decent instructions on how to use the attachment. Really, I should record a video on how to do this, but for now, I'll try to get the idea across here:

A) Remove the small stainless tube from the perfect froth accessory (PFA).

B) Attach the PFA to the steam nozzle so that the black rubber protrusion (that holds the small tube) points away from the machine.

C) Fill 1/3 to 1/2 of your frothing pitcher with cold milk (depending on how many caps you want to make).

D) Start steam process on the machine (I assume that users already know how to do this).

E) Once steam (not water) is coming out of the PFA, raise the frothing pitcher up to the bottom protrusion of the PFA so that the top of the milk is just barely over the hole in the protrusion. If the placement is correct, you will see the milk being sucked in to the hole along with a little air. If the hole is too high, you will get large air bubbles. If hole is too low, the quantity of foam will be significantly reduced. The foam will build upon itself if you are doing this correctly. Continue to create the foam until the milk has been heated to your liking.

Hope these tips help. Good luck with your XP4050.

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My husband purchased this espresso machine for me and I was thrilled at first. It worked well for just shy of 2 months, then broke. The water would no longer draw up into the filter it would only drain into the drip tray. We exchanged it for the exact same model and the new one was worse! We followed the instructions to prime it before the first use the night we received it and turned it off without making coffee. Luckily I smelled something funny before going to bed or else my house may have burned down! Internally the machine didn't turn off and it over-heated so badly that it scorched my counter and warped the plastic on the top and sides! The second machine never made a cup of coffee... We promptly returned that one as well and decided to purchase a different machine entirely! Please don't waste your money on this product!

Expobar Pulser Heat Exchange Espresso Machine

I have had this unit for 15 months and use it about 8 times per week. It has been rock solid. I rate it five stars. At the time I bought it from Whole Latte Love (a sister company to Aabree Coffee) it was about $700 on sale with free ship. I really like it because it has adjustable brew pressure and steam temperature. That puts it in the same league as the big boys costing $2,000 and up.

It has an E-61 type system, meaning it uses an automatic system to keep a small amount of boiler water recirculating through the brew head to keep it hot between use. Once it warms up, the portafilter and brewhead are hot, no need to flush hot water through them to warm them.

One side effect of the E-61 is "overheating" when left idle over a 1/2 hour or so. The brew water can get too hot for perfect espresso, then you just have to flush 2 or 3 ounces of brew water through the head to get the temps back to normal (approx 205 degrees F, depends on your taste and the coffee bewing extracted)

Performance-wise, there is more than enough steam for steaming milk. The machine came with two identical steam tips of the single hole type, this makes it easy to control the milk temperature. My nephew has a Pasquini Livia 90 machine with a 3-hole tip, it steamed much too fast. He switched to the Expobar tip and is very happy.

Never purchase from Aabree coffee company or whole latta love. they are same company and will send you a refurbished unit instead of new. If you don't like it, they will make you pay 50% restocking fee.

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The other reviewer has the technical info you need. I bought this at Aabre Coffee for about $700, 5 or 6 years ago. It replaced a Francis! Francis! unit that I'd been using for about 8 years. I did my research, and chose this for the 2 boiler (steaming as you brew) feature, in my price range. I have not been disappointed; It's going strong and has more than justified the cost saved on lattes! FYI: I use a KitchenAid grinder, bought from Amazon about 2 yrs ago. The carafe broke, but I just put a small Mason jar in its place and I love it. Again, good quality in my price range. All my friends vie and hint for coffee dates at my house. I am the barista in my circle!

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