How to make the coffee hot …
We have noticed a growing number of comments on the net, and from our readers, about the problem in generating a good hot cup of coffee. And thinking about this we have noticed with our new K550 the cup of coffee in the morning doesn’t seem as hot as it was when we were using our B60.
What has in particular prompted this guide was an email from one of our readers, Donetta, we received the other day. In addition to a question Donetta asked about with her own Keurig she mentioned:
My sister bought the new Keurig 2.0 with the carafe, the first of this year. There was no temperature setting. She said the water was not even hot. Plus she was unable to use K-Cups if they were not Keurig brand. She called Keurig for help on the water not being “Hot” and they told her she had to use foam cups. She called me and I told her to take it back and get her money back.
We have highlighted the response from Keurig Customer Service …. priceless! Now both you and I know there has to be a better answer to this point rather than all of us moving to foam cups! It’s not the way one has one’s morning coffee.
But … we have a solution; well a two-part solution.
Parts and Equipment Required
Parts
Nil.
Equipment
Nil.
Steps to Follow
Step 1
The first step we want to do is change the brewer’s water temperature setting. Unfortunately, unlike the old Keurig’s, there is no manual setting for this. However, what the Keurig people have included is a High Altitude setting, which will help our cause.
Press the information button.
You will see the menu settings. Press the right arrow button to bring up page 2.
Press the third option down “High Altitude”.
Press the “Enable Button”.
Press “Save”. And then use the left arrow button to exit the menu system. It does this once you reach page 1 of the menu and then press the left arrow again. So from page 2 you are going to need two presses to exit.
The High Altitude setting was included because of lower air density and the lower boiling temperature of water. It seems counter intuitive that this will help us, but in actual fact the brewer will default to a higher temperature as it now thinks the air is less dense.
As an aside Keurig mention this setting is for locations with elevations of greater than 5,000 AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level). The closer you are to sea level the more “bang for buck” you get from the setting change.
Step 2
We have recommended this before and so will mention it again. An easy step to take in ensuring a better temperature for your coffee is to heat the coffee cup beforehand. You will notice in all the good coffee houses they do this.
With your Keurig 2.0 you can do this by running a water only cycle. On the main menu press the water symbol (second option down).
If will then ask you to lift the handle. Keurig have this to ensure the K-Cup portion holder is clear.
Once the handle is back down the big black button will light up. Press this and hold down to fill your coffee cup with hot water.
In addition to heating your coffee cup it also provides the brewer with the opportunity to have a water only flush through. If you run this water only cycle a few times you will notice the water gets cleaner each time as it flushes through coffee particles that get built up.
And that is it. Time to make your HOT cup of coffee.