Review: Is The Keurig K-Cafe SMART Worth It?

Recently, Keurig announced its most intelligent brewer yet: the K-Cafe SMART Single Serve Coffee Maker, the second machine in Keurig's lineup of connected at-home brewers. It follows behind the Keurig Supreme Plus SMART brewer and adds several new functions, including the hot/cold milk frother and Keurig's Barista Mode.

The at-home brand has come a long way since its first model hit markets decades ago, but we want to know if these emerging smart models do anything to help fix the fundamental issue with the pod approach to preparing the beverage — the issue that a predetermined amount of coffee grounds shouldn't be used for varying amounts of water. Let's explain: Six ounces of coffee requires a different weight of grounds than 8 ounces and 10 ounces. When passing 10 ounces of water through the number of grounds meant for a 6-ounce cup, your coffee runs the chance of being over-extracted — and under-extraction with the vice versa. Some coffee lovers may feel that pod-style coffee is never strong enough; coffee pods contain around 12 grams of coffee at most (via Coffee Affection), while Custom Cup Coffee recommends around 18 grams for a single 8-ounce pour-over.

Is technology enough to counteract this foundational issue? Are we doomed to always make flavor sacrifices for convenient coffee, whether it be for pods or instant coffee? Do you need a bigger, better, "smarter" Keurig? We explored one to find out.

You'll first open up the quick start guide and locate the first step. There are only four steps in the guide, but it will take much more exploration than that to get fully familiar with the machine. The first thing Keurig prompts users to do is scan the QR code on the back of the machine to download the Keurig app, but we actually recommend reading the water filter instructions first. The filter must be rinsed and soaked for five minutes, which wasn't mentioned in the start-up guide and held us up later on.

If you don't already have one, the Keurig app will prompt you to make an email-based account. Once the app is downloaded, an account is made, and the brewer is plugged in, the app will lead the user through a series of simple steps to connect the brewer and app, then the brewer and Wi-Fi. We found this process incredibly user-friendly, as most of it takes place on your phone and not the small display screen on the Keurig. The back of the guide provides a few housekeeping things that need to be done before brewing can commence: The reservoir should be rinsed and filled, the frother should be cleaned and dried, and the machine should undergo a cleansing brew, which the user will be prompted to do once the machine is on and connected anyway. After the cleansing cycle is complete, you're ready to start brewing.

The frother is the black pitcher that comes in its own smaller box within the Keurig packaging. It has two basic settings: hot and cold froth. Toggling between the two might be confusing at first because we think the two buttons on the frother could have been a bit more distinguished from each other, but the upper, smaller button with the horizontal line will switch the frother's function between cold (the leftmost indicator light with a snowflake design) and the three settings of hot. The one, two, and three numbers indicate levels of froth or the ratio of bubbly foam to milk. The No. 1 setting is the least amount of foam, equivalent to a latte. The middle No. 2 setting makes a moderate amount of foam that was close to a wet cappuccino. An indicator light will glow on whichever setting is selected — blue when on cold, red when on hot froth settings — and the lower button with the K logo will run the frothing cycle.

The machine cannot run its brew and frothing functions at the same time, so if you attempt to start a brew while frothing is occurring, the brewer will inform you that the coffee will be made when the frother is finished. The frother is easy to use and significantly elevates at-home craft coffees, although not to the degree that a steam wand would.

Here's the number-one reason to consider a K-Cafe SMART for your home: its cafe-style capabilities. The brewer is meant to make espresso-like shots out of regular coffee pods by forcing a smaller amount of water through the grounds at a higher pressure, which is something we feel the machine does well when making casual lattes at home, although those who enjoy espresso alone or even espresso con panna will long for the silky crema you only get with espresso-style roasts and dedicated espresso machines. These shots taste more like very strong brewed coffee (which is what it is).

It's key to understand the difference between steamed and frothed milk so you have realistic expectations when preparing your first drink with the machine. The former is made by heating milk with a wand that emits pressured steam; the milk is injected with tiny bubbles, called microfoam, giving lattes that velvety texture. Steamed milk is less voluminous but has a thicker mouthfeel. Frothing, on the other hand, creates a more cloud-like foam that, while light and airy, dissipates quicker. Frothing works for cappuccinos, but steaming is considered best for lattes. While we did get that pillowy layer of foam on the lattes we made, the milk incorporated into the drink was noticeably different texture-wise than a true barista-made latte.

The machine does well at wet cappuccinos and 50/50 cappuccinos but its three frother cycles don't make enough foam for a dry or bone dry cappuccino.

The K-Cafe SMART has the most bells and whistles. However, it'll be up to you to decide if the features are worth the extra $100 investment from the K-Café Single Serve Coffee, Latte, and Cappuccino Maker. It doesn't have smart capabilities but holds the same amount of water, and can make the same specialty drinks.

We also have to give the Keurig K-Select Coffee Maker a shot at a comparison, since it has a large reservoir, has more than one strength setting, and employs Quiet Brew Technology, which the K-Cafe SMART's product information doesn't mention — all for less than $150. If you're a coffee drinker who likes what they like — regular coffee and no fancy milk — all you need is the K-Select. We also had one instance of the machine's pod-reading technology believing that the loaded pod was used, when it was brand new, but we're blaming that on the not-yet-up-to-date software.

Like other Keurigs, this one can use on- or off-brand coffee pods, doesn't require Wi-Fi to operate, and needs a consistent maintenance schedule. One thing you must know about Keurigs, especially this one, is proper maintenance is necessary if you want the machine to work without issue. The frother should be thoroughly rinsed immediately after each use — caked-on milk residue would be something you do not want to deal with, and since the frother can't be submerged due to its electrical contacts, soaking may be a hassle.