First World Problems

I gotta start off by saying that I know that this is an extravagant waste of time and resources. I didn’t make this video because the K575 was slightly annoying, but rather because it baffles me that they became worse at designing coffee machines than before.

It’s doubly confounding because Keurig has based their marketing on the K575 being a “2.0” brewer. As in a (supposedly) new-and-improved follow-up to their original line.

Yes, it has a couple of advantages over the older B70 Platinum that I used for comparison. However, it seems that they increased the features without increasing the cost. That says to me that they designed these new brewers on a budget. A schizophrenic software interface and flimsier hardware seems to bear out that theory.

What’s in a Name?

Besides their software being a bit slapdash and unpredictable, their naming convention was a bizarre and confusing choice. The new brewer that I’m discussing in the video is called, as the thumbnail says, the Keurig HOT 2.0 K575 Plus Series Brewing System. What a mouthful!

And what’s my problem with that name? Well, for one, it’s inherently confusing.

First off, that’s what it was called on the box. That’s also what it’s called on Bed Bath and Beyond’s website (where I purchased it). So that’s the name I’m talking about. However, Keurig’s own website simply calls it the Keurig K575 Coffee Maker (at the time of this writing). It goes on to say that it’s a “Keurig Hot Brewer”. But notice that the word “Plus” is nowhere to be found. So is this the plus version (it is), but if not, what’s the difference between the standard and the plus? (There is no standard version of this model.)

If this is the HOT version, does that mean there’s a COLD version? No. Or, if there is, I can’t find it.

And why bother saying “2.0” in the first place? As I say, I understand that’s to differentiate Keurig’s new brewers from their old line. Fine. But the model numbers are completely different, so there’s no need to further differentiate them. If this were the B70 2.0 then I could understand it.

Last of all, sometimes the K575 is referred to as a “brewing system”. Now — on Keurig’s website — they’ve taken a step back from that and simply call it a “coffee maker”. Personally I think that it’s more relatable as a coffee maker. The hoi polloi don’t know what a brewing system is, outside of Keurig’s own marketing materials.

The only thing HOT about this brewer is that it’s a HOT MESS.

The Problems

I’ll give you this: All of the problems I examine in the video are actually just minor annoyances.

However, twenty minor annoyances is, to me, equal to one major problem. And, like I said, it appears that their “1.0” brewers were better designed. Aside from a couple of new features this is a step back, not a step forward.

Update, 2017-10-20

I'm upgrading the @Keurig #K575 to "utter shit" because UNLIKE THE OLD ONE, this "improved 2.0" version doesn't auto-shut-off if you leave the lid open. For the last few months it's been wasting juice staying hot all day long.

(And I leave it open so that the kcup hole dries.) pic.twitter.com/wP1z1g05aS

— Scott Dot (@ScottDotDot) October 20, 2017

I found this particular complaint to be catastrophically bad design. For what is it a catastrophe? For my power bill.

I have the Keurig’s auto-off timer set to something like 1 hour. That means that it should shut itself off promptly after one hour of disuse. And that’s exactly what the old B70 Platinum did.

However, and for no reason at all, leaving the lid open on the K575 “pauses” its brain. Or something. At any rate, if you walk away from it and leave the K-Cup receptacle open, it doesn’t auto-shut-off. Again, I habitually leave it open on purpose so that the orifice that accepts the K-Cup can dry out. It gets steamy in there, and who wants mold in their Keurig?

Since I didn’t know that (and wouldn’t have imagined it to be true), this claptrap of misprogramming has been staying on all day, keeping its reservoir hot even when no one wants coffee because we’re at work.