I've been looking for this coffee maker my whole life

I love coffee. Can't live without it. But I only drink two cups a day. And I don't like making it, especially in the morning when I'm not completely booted up yet. The scooping and measuring, the filling, the waiting, the rinsing and cleaning...and for what? 8 cups of coffee that would take me a week to drink? Who needs that hassle? I just want one good cup, right now, no fuss or muss.

A few years ago, this was impossible. As the old saying goes, something can be good, fast, or cheap - pick two.

You had instant coffee, which is fast and cheap, but tastes thin and watery. You had french presses, which give a tasty single serving, but still require scooping, measuring and cleaning. And of course you had Starbucks et al, which is good and fast...but not cheap.

Then came the pods. The Philips Senseo was one of the first to hit it big, but I had heard mixed reviews on the quality of the coffee, so I held off. A few years later, there are a plethora of "single serving" makers to choose from, and two that I would personally recommend: The Braun Tassimo, and...

The Keurig B40. It actually is good, fast, and relatively cheap compared to $3 coffeehouse coffee, with which it is a contender. Let's take a closer look.

Aesthetics, Dimensions And Build Quality
The B40 weighs 12lbs empty, or 15lbs with the 48oz water reservoir filled. It leaves a 10"x13.25" footprint on your counter, and it is 13" tall. In other words, it's comparable in size to most coffee makers.

All Keurig models have excellent build quality. The moving parts feel smooth and solid, the machine as a whole feels rugged, with excellent fit and finish. This is one of the reasons they cost so much. It's built to last. It's also very attractive: soft, sculpted lines, understated blacks, and nifty blue LEDs. It looks great on my countertop. In fact, it sorta matches my new Harmony Universal Remote, another great product.

Performance And Use
This thing is fun, fun, fun to use! Easy, too. And no hassle!

It's very simple: Keurig's approach to the pod concept is the "K-cup", a small sealed unit about the size and shape of a mini-muffin. It contains ground coffee and a small filter. The Keurig B40 has a big honkin' lever you lift up to reveal a compartment into which you place the K-cup. Then you lower the level, which punctures the top and bottom of the K-cup and allows water to enter, brew, and dispense into your mug waiting below. Toss the spent K-cup and enjoy your coffee!

You do need to refill the water reservoir every 6 cups or so, and if the machine has been off, you'll need to heat that water before brewing. More expensive Keurig models let you program a time for preheating, which saves you a minute of standing around. They also give you different size options, but the K-cups only come in one size; those machines just vary the water amount. So a larger serving will be weaker and a smaller one more powerful. Not neccesarily a bad thing, but keep that in mind.

Setup could not be easier. Just slide the water reservoir and drip tray into place, and plug 'er in. You'll need to do one dry run, called "descaling", and then you're ready to go.

Coffee Quality, Varieties And Availability

So does it make good coffee or what? Yes, it makes great coffee, but you'll need to find the right varieties. Fortunately, the Keurig offers significantly more selections than any other brand out there. Thanks to aggressive marketing and licensing, K-cups are available from Green Mountain, Newman's Own, Tully's, Deidrich, and a host of other roasters. As I write this, there are roughly 80 varieties to choose from, compared to maybe 20 for the next closest competitor. And THIS is what makes the Keurig B40 worth every penny. The selection.

Now, the standard serving of coffee in a K-cup simply does not cut it. It's too little coffee for 7.5oz of water, and you get a "bright, delicate" brew, which is coffeesnob for a weak, watery brew. I found this true for almost all the coffees in the original box, and then I researched online and found this was a common complaint.

Luckily, there's a solution: stick with Extra Bold varieties. These varieties almost always say "extra bold" somewhere in the description. They have 25% more coffee in the k-cup, and it makes a world of difference! Only a few of the included samples are extra bold, but you can easily get them online.

Now, don't get me wrong: some folks may prefer the non-bold versions. I'm sure it makes great infant formula. Seriously, though. They're not bad, just a little underpowered. Try the sampler, and when you're ready to buy some k-cups, go here:

http://www.singleservecoffee.com

Great site - I used it to choose four varieties, all of which I enjoy. They are:

Tully's - Extra Bold French Roast
Coffee People - Black Tiger Bold
Newman's Own - Special Blend Extra Bold
Green Mountain - Heifer Hope Blend Light Roast

Of these, Black Tiger from Coffee People is my favorite - bold and complex, not too acidic. Heifer Hope Blend is my least favorite, no surprise; it's not a bold variety. If none of these sound appealing to you, no worries - there are currently over a dozen bold varieties and counting. In fact, Keurig provides this handy list. This is just the bolds, mind you:

http://www.keurig.com/category.asp?Monthly=false&Cat_ID=43&web_name=ExtraBold&mscsid=T8V90PFN0LW99KDCUG5FCFV9SCGHFX16

And here's a list of ALL the coffee varieties, not counting tea and cocoa - ye gods!

http://www.keurig.com/category.asp?Monthly=false&Cat_ID=37&web_name=All&mscsid=T8V90PFN0LW99KDCUG5FCFV9SCGHFX16

Actually obtaining these k-cups is pretty simple. You can get them right from Keurig, off those links. They're also available on eBay, on coffee wholesaler sites, and direct from roasters big and small. For example, Green Mountain, which now owns Keurig, offers a plethora of k-cups, including fun seasonal flavors. I haven't seen them in actual stores yet, but I predict they will be soon.

Wherever you get them, the k-cups will come in a 25-box, and typically cost $9-15 depending on the brand and your bargain-hunting skills.

That's about it for the Keurig B40. It's expensive for a coffeemaker, but absolutely worth it if you want great single-serving coffee, with a huge selection, with no hassle or cleanup, at the touch of a button.