Keurig K-Slim Review

The Keurig K-Slim is a compact brewer great for small spaces but does not brew quality coffee. However, if you are looking for the convenience of a pod machine and favor more flavorful brews — you should look towards our other pod-style brewers. Although this model values simplicity, it certainly lacks in quality compared to higher-end pod-style brewers. We recommend searching elsewhere if you're looking for quality and convenience.

Performance Comparison

Brew Quality

The Keurig K-Slim performed very poorly in our review for brew quality. The Slim simply lacks the water distribution and brew features necessary to brew a good cup of coffee. The K-Slim does not reach industry standards for the precise brewing temperatures needed to extract coffee properly. Even worse, the water distribution capability of this machine makes it the worst in our review. There is no option for pre-infusion with the K-Slim. This coffee maker quickly injects the K-Cup with water, resulting in under-extracted and watery-tasting coffee. Although there are settings for brewing 8, 10, and 12oz coffees, the weak brew-strength only increases with cup size.

User Friendliness

The Slim brewer performed above average for the user-friendliness metric. This pod brewer is not programmable, but with the simplicity of pod brewing, extra steps in the brewing process are streamlined. The interface is fairly intuitive and features separate buttons for cleaning and descaling and options for single cup adjustments for 8, 10, and 12oz cups. The brew volume indicator allows you to choose the right cup size, eliminating the worry about overflowing. The K-Slim also has an indicator for low water levels, which is helpful because the water tank is not visible from the front. The tank is removable and can be filled all the way, not just to the desired brew amount.

Ease of Cleaning

The simplicity of pod-style brewing tends to make for easy cleaning. This single-cup coffee maker delivers coffee right into your cup, eliminating the need to clean a carafe. There is not much daily cleaning required with the K-Slim. However, long-term care is needed to eliminate buildup from hard water. This brewer has the fastest descaling cycle over any other brewer in this review. The K-Slim features a descale button that automatically runs the 15-20 cleaning cycle.

Consistency

To test the consistency of this brewer, we made five back-to-back pots of coffee. Our team analyzed the water distribution patterns and measured the brew temperatures of each batch, looking for temperature stability. When brewing back-to-back cups of coffee, we measured that water temperature varies by 2.5 degrees between cups. The K-Slim is the only brewer in our review that performed perfectly for average brew time. This brewer was extremely consistent in brewing coffee in just over 1.5 minutes from the first cup to the fifth.

Value

Relative to its price, the K-Slim does not come close to producing the coffee quality we expect. The K-Slim brews watery-tasting coffee that does justify the investment into pod-styling brewing. If you are looking for the convenience of pods, we recommend other pod-style coffee makers in our review.

Conclusion