Keurig K Duo vs Hamilton Beach Flexbrew: Which is Right for You?

Trying to decide whether the Keurig K Duo or the Hamilton Beach Flexbrew would be best for your home?

We’ve created this guide to help you make up your mind about these coffee makers. We’ll be comparing and contrasting the Keurig K Duo vs Hamilton Beach Flexbrew.

Expect to have these questions answered:

• What do the Keurig K Duo and Hamilton Beach Flexbrew have in common?
• What are the differences between them?
• Which situations would each one be best in?

Let’s get started.

Quick Summary

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The Keurig K Duo especially excels at two things: serving groups of people, and being straightforward to use. This coffee maker belongs in your kitchen if you’re a beginner when it comes to coffee, or you’ll be sharing the machine with others.

Built-in storage makes the Hamilton Beach Flexbrew great for putting away or conserving space. Get this one if you don’t have a lot of space and will need a coffee maker that can be tucked away after use.

Similarities

Cup or Carafe Brewing

As a rule, more options tends to be better.

Cup or carafe brewing used on both the K Duo and Flexbrew give you more choices.

If you’ve got a family clamoring for coffee in the morning, you can brew a carafe to serve everyone at once. You could even make a carafe to enjoy by yourself over a period of time.

On the other hand, when you don’t need as much, you can prepare a single cup. This lets you make one drink specifically tailored to your desires at the time.

In any case, no matter what you choose, you’re getting however much you need every time.

K-Cups or Coffee Grounds

Going hand in hand with the idea that more choices are better is the K-Cup or coffee grounds compatibility on either of these coffee makers.

K-Cups are terrific for coffee novices. They contain coffee or cocoa that’s already been ground and measured out for you, so you can just pop them in the coffee maker and wait for your drink.

But for those more experienced, nothing quite beats the strength of a freshly ground mug of coffee. If that sounds more like your style, then you can use your own coffee grounds with the K Duo or Flexbrew.

Regardless of your skill level or preference, the option to choose between K-Cups or coffee grounds makes these machines accessible to anyone no matter their proficiency.

Automatic Switch-Off

Have you ever worried while you were out and about that you left something on back at home?

Hamilton and Keurig both compensated for this when they designed the Flexbrew and K Duo. Each one comes with an automatic switch-off function that will turn them off after a specific period of time.

For the K Duo, this switch-off occurs five minutes after your last drink. In comparison, the Flexbrew will automatically power off after two hours of inactivity.

In short, this means no more worrying about whether you’ve left your coffee maker running once you’re out the door. In the long run, it means increased energy efficiency and decreased utility bills.

Travel Mug Compatibility

At times, you might want to take a drink on the road with you.

This can be done on both the K Duo and Flexbrew. Either one of them can support use of a travel mug.

With the Flexbrew, you can fit a travel mug up to eight inches tall on the single-serve side. Comparatively, the K Duo can hold a travel mug up to seven inches tall.

It’s just like getting a portable paper cup from your coffee shop, only more environmentally friendly and economical. You can reuse your favorite travel mug time and time again on these machines.

Coffee Strength Settings

If everyone were the same, life wouldn’t exactly be interesting.

Just like how everyone is unique, so, too, can each cup of coffee be. Variations in tastes can easily be accommodated with the K Duo’s and Flexbrew’s coffee strength setting.

Either one can brew you an extra-strong beverage at the touch of a button. Press the Strong button on the K Duo, or the Bold button on the Flexbrew, and you’ll get a more powerful drink.

Brew Pause

In a hurry? That’s no problem at all for the K Duo or Flexbrew.

They both come with a brew pause button that will let you stop a carafe mid-brew to pour yourself some. Once you’re done, you can resume the brew cycle and go on your way.

Scheduled Carafe Brewing

Just like you might set an outfit out to wear the next day, you can also prepare these coffee makers to make a pot for you ahead of time.

Both the K Duo and Flexbrew can be programmed to prepare a carafe up to 24 hours in advance. This is particularly useful if you’ve got a cramped morning routine every day.

Just set the coffee maker to make you a pot of a coffee the next morning, and you’ll find it waiting for you in the kitchen.

Differences

Drink Size Options

Neither you nor your family or friends want the same size drink constantly.

Sometimes, you’re simply more or less thirsty. Other times, you just want something to sip on while you relax, regardless of whether or not you’re actually thirsty.

Regardless, it’s best to have a coffee maker that can keep up with these changes in mood. While both have various drink sizes to use, the Keurig K Duo has just a bit more.

You’re able to make single cups of 6, 8, 10, or 12 ounces with the K Duo. In addition, you’ll get similar sizes with the carafe brew function: 6, 8, 10, or 12-cup servings based on your input.

With the Flexbrew, you’re able to brew up to 10 ounces if you use a K-Cup, or up to 14 ounces with coffee grounds. The carafe consistently brews 12-cup portions.

Hamilton Beach Flexbrew Storage Area

One thing that makes the Hamilton Beach Flexbrew so spatially economical is its built-in storage area.

Located just beneath the cup holder on the single-serve side, you’ll find a small compartment that can hold a brew basket or single-serve pack.

This can help you keep all your coffee-related products in one place, which is particularly useful if you ever need to store the Flexbrew away. Additionally, it’s invaluable when it comes to conserving acounter space in crowded kitchens.

Keurig K Duo Smart Start

Do you ever walk into a room and forget the reason you were going into that room?

A similar thing can happen when you have a coffee maker with a long heat-up time. If you turn it on and go do something else while you wait, you could forget that you were going to use it in the first place, only for it to switch off after idling.

This kind of forgetfulness is no issue for the K Duo. With Smart Start, it will heat up and brew your first drink at the same time.

You can just turn it on, put your grounds or K-Cup in place, choose your size, and come back shortly to find a fragrant cup waiting for you.

Hamilton Beach Flexbrew Dual Water Tanks

Rather than using one water tank for both brewing cups and carafes like the K Duo, the Hamilton Beach Flexbrew comes with two.

One side is used to brew your cup, and the other is for your carafe. This was specifically designed to make refilling the tanks easy, eliminating overfills and their resulting spills.

Each water tank is built with its own window, so you can easily monitor their levels. You’ll know exactly when you need to add more water to either one.

Which one should you purchase?

Frankly, there are many features shared by these coffee makers, but there are still differences that make either one suited for various circumstances.

For instance, the K Duo’s Smart Start is fantastic for those with a crammed morning schedule. You won’t need to stand around waiting for your coffee maker to warm itself up.

Furthermore, its huge 60-ounce water tank and its plethora of drink sizes make the K Duo adaptable enough to meet the needs of a variety of people. Whole families can comfortably share this coffee maker.

But those with jam-packed countertops need all the space they can get. This is where the Flexbrew really excels because of its integrated storage compartment.

Also, this same storage compartment makes it easy as can be to store the Flexbrew away when you really need to clear up some space.

With this in mind, here is our suggestion:

Buy the K Duo if you’re going to be brewing for more than just yourself. It offers a wide variety of drink sizes and makes the first brew of the day simple by combining heat-up and brewing with Smart Start.

The Flexbrew, however, is the pick for those who will be making a pot or cup here and there. It’s particularly good at preserving space with its storage compartment.

You can learn more about the Keurig K Duo or the Hamilton Beach Flexbrew here:

If you’re in need of an intuitive coffee maker that’s built for more than just use at home (such as a business or office), you might want to look at a superautomatic machine. You can take a look at Majesty Coffee’s superautomatic collection here.