Minutia Links:

TO FLY L.A.
16303 Waterman Drive
Van Nuys, CA 91406
877.863.5952
www.toflyla.com

Woodland Hills Ice Skating

Keurig Platinum B70 Brewer
By Bruce Wildstein

Like me, many people enjoy making just one or two cups of fresh coffee at a time. Most coffee makers are designed to brew four or more cups for best results. There are, of course, some inexpensive single cup coffee makers. But these units are generally cheaply made and either malfunction after time or just stop working altogether. In my quest for a really good single cup coffee maker, I came across the Keurig Platinum B70 Brewer. Now here is a unit that is anything but cheaply made. It's heavy duty and also very contemporary in its styling. And after using it for a couple of weeks, it may very well be the best single cup coffee maker around.

After unpacking and setting it on your counter, the first thing you'll want to do is fill the large reservoir with water. Filtered or bottled water is recommended to eliminate any unpleasant tastes from chlorine or other impurities. The reservoir has a device which also tells you when the water level is low. You can keep water in the unit at all times so that it can be scheduled to turn on in advance and be ready for quick use. Before brewing your first cup, you'll want to run just water through the unit at least once to make sure it's clean. A small on and off switch is located on the back side. When it's turned on, some soft blue LEDs will light up around the control center and the reservoir. The control center has an LCD display which will initially read "Not Ready." During the first few minutes the unit is on, enough water for one cup is being heated. After this time, the LCD display will read "Ready to Brew." Coffee from Keurig is supplied in small sealed containers called K-Cups. One K-Cup is enough to brew a cup or large mug of coffee. You simply drop the K-Cup into the holder and lower its handle until it locks down. A button below the control panel labeled "Brew" will start flashing. Just press the Brew button, and within seconds your cup of coffee is being made. Apparently the hot water is forced through the K-Cup under pressure, because it takes less than a minute to brew a full cup.

The control center also contains a setup menu. This menu allows you to schedule the coffee maker to turn on at any time of day and additionally turn off automatically. Scrolling through the menu also allows one to set the water temperature (a few degrees hotter or cooler), and the desired cup size. There are five preset cup sizes, ranging from a small 5.25 ounce cup to a large 11.25 ounce travel mug. Of course the larger the mug size you use, the somewhat weaker the coffee may be. However, with a strong blend I have not found this to be a problem.

I've been very happy with this coffee maker. I have it set to turn on about 15 minutes before I wake up. That way the water is already heated and I can just pop in a K-Cup and have hot coffee in about a minute. You should also know that Keurig sources coffee from numerous well-known suppliers. These include Green Mountain Coffee, Diedrich, Gloria Jeans, Newman's Own Organics, Tullies, Caribou, and others. They also supply a variety of teas from Bigelow, Twinings, and Celestial Seasonings. And if the 200 or so varieties are not enough, you can also buy a special coffee filter that works in the unit so that you can use your own favorite blend. The Keurig Platinum B70 Brewer is a first-class coffee maker, and it can be found on sale for as low as $99 in places like Target, Ralph's, and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

back to top