As the Keurig 2.0 line introduced the option to brew larger K carafe pods going to 30 oz, there was a need for a carafe to handle the large volume. Thus came around the Keurig Carafe. A carafe large enough to hold the brew from the single-serve machine. Since the 2.0 line, in general, lacked heating plates, the Keurig carafe took on a thermal mode.
Let’s see how well it performed with our Keurig Carafe review.
Highlights Of The Keurig 2.0 Carafe
Pros
- Keeps coffee hot for almost an hour
- Good quality construction
- Well-insulated, double-walled stainless steel body
Cons
- Works only with K carafe pods
Top Features And How To Use Keurig 2.0 Carafe
Construction Quality And Usability
Keurig carafe gives you no reason to complain where construction quality is concerned. It has a well-made double-wall stainless steel construction that is both fashionable and functional. As an insulated carafe with a solid build, it is pretty handy and dependable.
The carafe is available in two colors, black and stainless steel. Well, even the black carafe is made from stainless steel, it’s just colored black. Functionally, there is no difference between the color options of the carafe.
The carafe is widest at its base and tapers slowly towards the top. Its lid is made from plastic and is attached to the handle. A ring of plastic covers the base.
You’ll notice a bump on the plastic at the base. This is where it holds the sensor, which is both useful and dramatically problematic.
Insulation For The Keurig Thermal Carafe
According to its specs, the carafe will hold the brewed coffee within 5-degree Fahrenheit of its temperature for 30 minutes. Even if you choose to wait an hour, you’ll find the coffee is still hot. Since it is a gradient, you could probably wait for another 30 minutes and still find the coffee at the right temperature.
However, going beyond an hour is pretty much pushing it. Keeping coffee hot for 30 minutes to an hour is the most you should be expecting from this carafe.
With a volume of 32 oz, this 4 cup carafe (or 5-cup, if you choose the 6 oz metric) is a pretty useful tool for the Keurig 2.0 line.
It is useful to note that the K carafe pods have long since been discontinued and are no longer available. If you have a 2.0 machine, it is still possible to use reusable K carafe pods. On that note, the 2.0 line is pretty much out as well. You can find some machines in stores, but for the most part, consider it discontinued. The same goes for the Keurig carafe.
On The Sensor And Keurig’s DRM Love
Keurig 2.0 machines could brew the carafe pods into 22, 26, and 30 oz coffee. And all of that would necessarily flow to the Keurig carafe. Yup, other carafes just won’t do!
As mentioned earlier, there’s a sensor at the base of the carafe. This is a little magnet that interacts with the Keurig 2.0 coffee makers and lets them know that the carafe is in position. It is only with the carafe in place that the Keurig 2.0 machines would brew the K carafe pods.
And yes, you need the Keurig Carafe to brew the pods, and the pods to use the carafe. In a way, this highlights the “doomed to fail” experiment Keurig tried with pushing its products on the 2.0 line. Seriously, it makes no sense for the coffee maker to brew exclusively into a specific carafe.
The unnecessary complexity actually made people wonder how to use Keurig 2.0 carafe. Imagine your carafe and machine are okay, but there’s damage to the sensor. Congratulations, the expensive carafe is now worth absolutely nothing!
As you can guess, there was a huge customer outrage. So while Keurig dropped its exclusivity, the 2.0 line and carafe aren’t completely out of the woods.
Users came up with various hacks and workarounds to get over this problem. Some of these were as simple as cutting off the magnet and using it with whatever carafe the user wanted. Others were more sophisticated.
In any case, this was a terrible experiment to lock users into Keurig products and is still quite a cautionary tale.
Cleaning And Maintenance Of The Keurig Carafe
When it’s time to clean the Keurig carafe, it’s best to take the manual approach. Do not put this in a dishwasher. As a rule of thumb, you should avoid putting anything that uses double-wall insulation in a dishwasher. It won’t necessarily break, but the quality and life of the product will decrease.
Instead, use a mild soapy solution made from dish soap. It is advisable to use a brush for a more thorough cleaning. If the carafe is mostly clean, just putting the soap solution inside it and shaking it vigorously can do the trick. Don’t forget to put on the lid if you take this route. I don’t recommend this method, but it’s always an option!
Does Keurig Carafe Work With Newer Carafe Systems?
It can, but not really. Both, the Keurig K-Duo and K-Duo Plus use a 60 oz carafe. The K-Duo prefers a glass carafe on a heating plate, while the K-Duo Plus uses a thermal carafe without a heating plate. In appearance, the K-Duo Plus Carafe is the taller, bigger brother of the Keurig carafe.
This carafe has the same double-walled stainless steel construction. However, there is no sensor involved this time around. The only thing the sensor does is pause brew when the carafe is removed. So yeah, technically you could shove the Keurig Carafe with the K-Duo Plus, but it has very limited uses.
The Bottom Line On The Keurig 2.0 Carafe
Keurig carafe had its heyday and it’s well past that now. It had its problems, and as this Keurig carafe review shows, there are some real strengths too. However, not being included with most of the 2.0 line machines and insistence on exclusivity limited the potential of this carafe.
Anyways, if your old Keurig 2.0 machine with DRM needs a carafe, take a look at this one. Otherwise, there are plenty of functionally and economically better carafes to consider.