Keurig K-Compact Review

This is our Keurig K-Compact review.

At The Coffee Arsenal, we dedicate ourselves to creating comprehensive reviews of the most popular coffee makers. We’ve researched the K-Compact coffee maker in depth so you can know if this is the ideal product for you.

In this review, we will analyze every aspect of this coffee maker, from the water reservoir and build quality to cleaning and maintenance.

Let’s get started.

Overview: Keurig K-Compact Review

This is a long review, and because of that, we have developed this quick overview so you can know a little bit about the machine before entering into details.

The K-Compact as the name suggests is a compact machine, it is pretty small which is very convenient because you can place it almost everywhere.

The machine is very easy to use since it has just 4 buttons, one power button, and 3 for selecting your preferred brew size.

Finally, the water tank is big enough so you can brew a few cups of coffee before having to refill it again, however, many people complain about this water reservoir being too small.

Now that you have seen a little bit of the machine, let’s dig deeper.

Specifications

Specifications	Keurig K-Compact
Brew Sizes	6oz, 8oz, 10oz
Water Tank Capacity	36oz
Removable Water Reservoir	✔️
Charcoal Filter Compatibility	✔️
Product Dimensions	12.5″ (16.3″ when open) H x 8.2″ W x 13.2″ D
Weight	6.9lbs
Travel Mug Friendly	✔️
Colors	Black, Red, Turquoise, Moonlight Gray, White
Strength Controls	❌
Descale Light	❌
Add Water Light	✔️
Heating Light	❌
Auto Off Light	❌
Auto Off	✔️
High Altitude Settings	❌
Hot Water On Demand	✔️

Key Features: Keurig K-Compact

In this part of our Keurig K-Compact review, we are going to make a quick analysis of each one of its key features.

Design and Build Quality

The design of the Keurig K-Compact is nicely done despite its price.

It is made of plastic, but it seems to be very solid, and the parts are well made. However, since this is a budget coffee maker you should know that this machine can last for about two to three years.

For its price, it is a fair deal.

It has smooth borders giving the machine a modern look and it comes in several colors like black, red, turquoise, moonlight gray, and white. So, you won’t have to worry about style.

Keep in mind that the water tank is made of plastic and it is not too solid, so if you let the water tank fall it will possibly break apart.

The water tank also has a nice handle that you can use to transport it and insert it back into the machine easily.

These are the dimensions and weight of the Keurig K-Compact:

• Height: 12.5″ (16.3″ when open)
• Width: 8.2″
• Depth: 13.2″
• Weight: 6.9lbs

As you can see the machine is fairly small, which makes it perfect for small spaces.

Ease of Use

This machine is very easy to use, it literally has 4 buttons, one for turning on/off the machine and 3 for selecting the brew size.

For making this machine work you just need to do the following steps:

1. Press the power button and wait until it warmed up
2. Once the machine is ready, the brewing buttons will start blinking, so you just have to open the lid, insert your K-Cup and press whatever brew size button you want
3. Once the machine has finished brewing, open the lid and extract the K-Cup

That’s it! You can brew coffee with this machine in literally 3 steps. Keep in mind that you have to fill the water tank with water before doing all of these steps.

If you want to learn more about how to use the K-Compact, here’s its official user manual:

• Keurig K-Compact user manual

Brew Sizes

The K-Compact lets you choose between 3 serving sizes, 6oz, 8oz, and 10oz, it doesn’t come with a huge variety of brew sizes, but it covers the basic needs. The manufacturer recommends choosing the 6oz option if you want a stronger brew.

Water Reservoir

Let’s talk about the water reservoir of this machine.

It has a capacity of 36oz, which gives you the ability to brew 6 cups of 6oz, 4 cups of 8oz, and 3 cups of 10oz.

Also, the water tank is removable and as we talked about earlier, it has a handle that you can use to transport it easily.

Auto Off

Despite this model being pretty simple, it comes with Auto Off. This feature allows the machine to turn off automatically after 2 hours after the last brew.

This feature is great for a couple of reasons, firstly because it is very convenient since you don’t have to worry about turning off the machine manually and also because it saves energy.

Brewing

We’ve reached a point in our Keurig K-Compact review that is super important for some people. Let’s talk about the coffee quality.

We’ve brewed a cup of coffee of 8oz with this machine, it had a temperature of 168F which is pretty hot for being made with a pod coffee maker, and the brewing time is around 1 minute.

Overall the cup was average, however, let’s clarify some things here.

You should keep in mind that this machine is a budget pod coffee maker, fundamentally, pod coffee makers don’t produce the best coffee in the world.

So, you can’t expect the same coffee quality from this Keurig as you would get with a sophisticated semi-automatic espresso machine that requires some human attention.

Also, the flavor will vary depending on the coffee pod that you are using, in our case we’ve used a classic roast coffee pod from Folgers.

So, for some people, the coffee produced by this machine is glorious, for other people (coffee aficionados) it is awful and for some people, it is just “good enough”.

So, if you are not a coffee aficionado and you are just looking for a standard coffee cup this coffee maker will do the job.

Finally, this machine can only use K-Cups, so be aware of that before spending money on your coffee pods.

Cleaning and Maintenance

Since this machine is so small and compact, it is fairly easy to clean and maintain.

First of all, the drip tray and the water tank are completely removable, so you can just remove them and wash them in the sink pretty easily.

To clean the machine thoroughly you will need the following:

• Large ceramic mug
• Non-abrasive cloth
• Dish soap
• Access to a sink

First, you can clean the exterior of the machine using a non-abrasive cloth and some dish soap.

Next, you can clean the drip tray and the drip tray plate using a cloth, some dish soap, and some water.

The water reservoir needs to be cleaned about once a week in order to keep bacteria and mold away.

You can clean the exterior of the water reservoir using the cloth, some dish soap, and water, but make sure to not clean the interior of the reservoir with the cloth because you can leave behind some lint, which harms the machine’s internal system.

Now, after cleaning the reservoir or brewing strong beverages, you have to perform a cleansing brew.

To do this you just have to place a cup on the drip tray and brew a cup of 10oz without using a coffee pod, just water.

That’s it! If you perform these cleaning steps regularly will keep the machine working nicely.

There’s one more thing, Keurig recommends to descale your machine every three to six months.

To descale your Keurig K-Compact, just follow the steps in the following video from the official Keurig YouTube channel.

Pros and Cons: Keurig K-Compact Coffee Maker

These are some pros and cons of this coffee maker.

Pros

• Affordable
• Simple but functional
• Variety of colors available
• Brews coffee at 168F

Cons

• No control over brew strength
• Small water reservoir

Alternatives to The Keurig K-Compact

In this section of our Keurig K-Compact review, we are going to discuss several nice alternatives to this machine.

1. Keurig K-Slim

The Keurig K-Slim coffee maker is a compact and convenient coffee maker.

It features a 5 inches wide design, which is pretty convenient for small spaces and portability.

The water reservoir on this machine can hold up to 46oz of water and also it is removable. It’s perfect for making several cups of coffee one after another.

It allows you to brew 3 cup sizes, 8oz, 10oz, and 12oz. If you like huge cups of coffee you will like this coffee maker.

It is also travel mug friendly, so you can bring your coffee everywhere pretty easily.

It comes in three colors, black, red and white, so you can choose your preferred one.

2. Keurig K-Elite

The Keurig K-Elite is a wonder of a coffee maker. It has a water tank with a maximum capacity of 75oz which is big enough to brew several cups of coffee before refilling the water tank.

It features five brew sizes, 4oz, 6oz, 8oz, 10oz, and 12oz, which gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to choosing your brew size. Keep in mind that this machine is designed for K-Cups.

The interface is very simple, you have a total of 12 buttons that will help you configure this machine as you please.

For example, you have 5 brew size buttons, a power button, an iced button, and more.

This machine also offers the possibility of brewing water on demand that you can use to prepare instant soups or oatmeal.

Also, you can configure the time and the temperature at which your coffee is brewed.

Impressive isn’t it? And these are just some of the many features and settings that this machine has!

3. Keurig K-Mini

The Keurig K-Mini is a very compact and affordable coffee maker. It has a stylish design and since it is so compact it is perfect for small spaces.

You can fit a six-inch tall mug and since the drip tray is removable you can also fit a 7-inch mug.

In the back, you will find a cord storage where you can place the cable, very practical if you want to bring your machine with you somewhere.

The major downside of this machine is the water reservoir, it only holds up to 12 ounces, which is not too much, and also, you should know that the amount of water that you put in the reservoir is the amount of water that is going to be brewed.

Also, note that the water reservoir is not removable.

This machine works with pods and it only has two buttons, the power button, and the brew button, so it is extremely simple.

So, as you can see, this machine works perfectly as a single-cup coffee maker. It is very portable and compact. It is ideal if you live alone or you like to bring your coffee maker with you everywhere.

You may notice that this coffee maker is quite similar to the Keurig K-Slim. The main difference between them is the water tank, the one on the K-Slim is much larger.

If you want to learn more about this coffee maker and how it compares to other machines mentioned, check the resources below:

• Keurig K-Mini vs K-Mini Plus
• Keurig K-Slim vs K-Mini

Is The Keurig K-Compact Coffee Maker for You?

Now you understand almost everything about the Keurig K-Compact coffee maker. But how to know if this machine is ideal for you?

The Keurig K-Compact is For You if…

• You want a coffee maker that has a modern look and is very affordable
• You want a machine that is easy to use
• You want a coffee maker that brews hot coffee quickly

The Keurig K-Compact is Not For You if…

• You want a modern coffee maker with a lot of features and customization options
• You want a coffee maker with a large water reservoir

The Bottom Line: Keurig K-Compact Review

We highly recommend the Keurig K-Compact for those people who want an affordable coffee maker that is also very easy to use.

It is a machine that can brew delicious coffee (for most people) at a decent temperature in no time.

This machine is very affordable, so keep in mind that they had to reduce the costs in several aspects, like materials and features, also, its water reservoir is pretty small.

So, despite we said that the plastic on this machine seems to be very solid, we just can’t compare it to the most expensive models that have superior quality.

F.A.Q – Keurig K-Compact

These are some answers to the most common questions about this coffee maker.