Keurig gets a lot of praise for their convenient and easy to use coffee makers.
More and more people are getting on the Keurig hype train but find out that it's not an easy task picking a Keurig coffee maker due to the wide variety of options that are available on the market.
Keurig has made sure to make a coffee maker that works with different type of coffee drinkers.
We have made this review to help the people that are looking for the most convenient and small coffee makers that Keurig produces, maybe you have limited space and want a coffee machine that doesn't take up a lot of space.
Usually when getting a coffee maker, it can take up a lot of counterspace.
Keurig really proves that a reliable and great coffee producing coffee maker doesn't need to take up a lot of counterspace, in fact they have made some of the smallest and great coffee machines on the market.
So, what are the best options when it comes to smaller coffee makers?
To answer that question, we have to narrow all the Keurig machines down in sizes and convenience, with the thought of taking up as little counterspace as possible.
There are two options that are often praised for their small size and convenience and that's the K-Slim and K-Mini.
That's why we wrote this detailed Keurig K-Slim vs K-Mini: Which is better? review.
Like the names of the coffee machines might suggest, these are small coffee makers.
But which one is better the K-Slim or the K-Mini? At first glance you might not even see big differences between the K-Slim and the K-Mini.
This makes it even harder to pick between the two.
They might look similar but they offer two very different experiences and have some interesting different features.
In this review we will go through the following subjects:
What are the similar features of the K-Slim and K-Mini?
What are the different features of the K-Slim and K-Mini?
Our recommendations on how to choose which one is best for you
Without further ado, lets get right into it..
Of course, the biggest similarity between the K-Slim and K-Mini is that they both use K-Cups to produce coffee.
Keurig are well known for these coffee pods.
The coffee pods contain a single serving and don't require you to do any grinding or measuring, that's why we will always recommend the K-Cups for beginners.
If you are looking for that step up in coffee then you might want to consider the My K-Cup Reusable filter.
The great thing is that it's reusable and lets you use coffee grounds to make your cup of coffee.
So why should you choose grounds to make your cup of coffee?
Well of course it depends on what you are looking for, the K-Cups tastes great and are even simpler to use.
The My K-Cup lets you use coffee grounds make a fresher-tasting cup of coffee and allows you to use different blends that are not available in K-Cup form.
When you look into the types of K-Cups flavors available you might get lost pretty easy.
The biggest and most well-known companies are producing their own K-Cup flavors and the smaller coffee brands are starting to produce their own K-Cups flavors as well.
Just like picking your Keurig machine it can be a chore to discover the best K-Cup flavor(s) for you.
We have written a detailed top 5 best K-Cups flavors, we recommend checking it out to help you on your journey of finding the best coffee possible to go with your Keurig coffee maker.
Something that the Keurig K-Slim & K-Mini have in common is the removable drip tray, this functions as a drip tray and as a cup holder as well.
If you spill some of your coffee the drip tray is sure to catch it, it's good to note that the drip tray is easy to clean just give it a few wipes.
Being able to remove the drip tray is great for cleaning but it has another function, removing the drip tray creates space and lets you fit any travel mug from up to 7 inches tall on any of these Keurig coffee makers.
Great for those occasions when you need larger amount of coffee, or taking some K-Cup coffee on the go.
Traditional coffee makers usually brew entire pots of coffee, The Keurig K-Slim and K-Mini both make use of the single-serve brewing option.
This lets you brew a single cup of coffee at a time.
This makes the K-Slim and K-Mini hard to recommend for the designated coffee maker in a place with a lot of people, this will lead to lines of people forming to get a cup of coffee.
Instead, we recommend considering the K-Slim and K-Mini for a home setting, this plays to the coffee makers strength.
So, what are the reasons for picking the K-Slim and K-Mini in a home setting?
When using single-serve brewing you help cut down on waste.
People tend to leave leftovers in their entire carafe of coffee, brewing just one cup of coffee at a time will more likely not leave any leftovers and makes sure to waste no coffee.
Additionally, single-serve brewing gives you and your friends and family more flexibility.
When brewing a carafe of coffee, you might have enough for the whole family but we all know we love our coffee a specific way, single-serve brewing allows you to choose exactly what you want, and friends and family brewing a cup after you can do the exact same thing for themselves.
There is a wide variety in K-Cup flavors and surely your friends and family will have their own go to K-Cup flavor.
We have made a 5 best K-Cups of 2021 list to help you on your journey of finding the best K-Cup flavors.
There actually are some significant differences between the K-Slim & K-Mini, the biggest difference between these two coffee makers is the water reservoir.
A bigger water reservoir can be a great addition to your coffee maker because you're able to brew more cups of coffee before having to refill.
We recommend bigger water reservoirs if you are going to share your coffee maker with family and friends.
So, which one has the biggest water reservoir?
It's the Keurig K-Slim that has a far bigger water reservoir compared to the K-Mini.
The K-Slim water reservoir can hold you up to 46 ounces of water, this can make you 4 cups of coffee before having to refill.
So, planning to share your coffee machine with family and friends?
We recommend getting the K-Slim.
The K-Mini has been designed with taking up as little space as possible, this is why Keurig has chosen to go for a single-portion water reservoir.
It holds up to 12 ounces of water, you're able to control how big your beverage will be by adding less or more water.
For example, putting in only 10 ounces of water will significantly increase the strength of your cup of coffee compared to putting in 12 ounces.
So, keep in mind that you have to put in new water every time after making a cup of coffee.
At a first glance there is almost no difference between the size of the K-Slim compared to the K-Mini.
The only difference between these coffee makers size is their depth.
Because the K-Slim uses a larger water reservoir it takes up a little bit more space.
The K-Slim is about 15 inches deep and that's a bit bigger than the K-Mini.
So, keep in mind that you will have to give up some more counterspace when getting the K-Slim.
So, what's the depth of the K-Mini? It's about 11 inches deep this is possible due to the smaller water reservoir.
So, wanting to save as much counterspace as possible?
The K-Mini might be perfect for you.
Let's be honest it's pretty nice to have a lot of options when it comes to variety in your color choices, this way you will have better options of making the coffee maker fit your home interior.
When it comes to color options, there is a pretty big difference between the K-Slim and K-Mini.
The K-Slim comes in two color options, black and white.
So, you don't have a lot of choices in different color when it comes to the K-Slim.
The K-Mini has significantly more variety in colors, you're capable of picking between 5 different colors: Black, Dusty Rose, Oasis, Poppy Red and Studio Gray.
All of these colors look great and offer some more variety than just your average black and white color options.
Keurig has really designed the K-Mini with easy to use in mind, this has resulted in the Single-Button feature.
When you open up your Keurig K-Mini package you will immediately see it only has one button.
Too many buttons can be overwhelming for the more inexperienced coffee drinkers.
Without having to struggle with any buttons or settings you can just put in your water and load in your K-Cup or coffee grounds, press the big button on top and watch how your K-Mini makes you a delicious cup of coffee.
The Single-Button feature makes the K-Mini a fast and easy to operate coffee maker.
Maintaining your coffee maker is one of the most important things to do, especially if you drink coffee everyday.
It sucks that it can be hard to tell when and how many times your coffee maker need cleaning.
We have often found that a lot of people even forget to maintain their coffee maker on a consistent basis, this is very understandable of course but it's detrimental for your coffee maker.
Luckily Keurig realizes that it's a chore to see or keep track of when you need to clean a coffee maker.
This is why the K-Slim has been implemented with an indicator light that shows you exactly when the K-Slim is in need of maintenance. No need to keep track of when you cleaned your coffee maker, the descaling indicator will illuminate when in need of descaling and a clean.
It's great that the K-Slim has this function because it will surely increase the longevity of the machine.
If you still don't know which coffee maker is best fitting for you, you just need to ask yourself a few questions; Are you short on counterspace in the kitchen or living room?
If this is the case we recommend the K-Mini, you're still capable of making just a delicious cup of coffee just like the K-Slim but with the easiest operating controls ever.
So, trying to save as much space as possible?
go with the K-Mini.
It's also important to consider who is going to use your Keurig coffee maker with you?
Anticipating friends or family using your coffee maker on a regular basis? In this case we can't recommend the K-Mini to you.
The K-Mini simply has a too small water reservoir for providing coffee for more than 2 persons.
Refilling the water reservoir on the K-Mini costs you time, especially because the K-Mini's water reservoir is not detachable, this means it'll take you a little more time to refill.
The K-Slim on the other hand is perfect for being used regularly, it has a 46-ounce water reservoir that is sure to give you 4 cups of coffee before having to refill.
It's also great that the water reservoir is detachable this makes for easy refilling and cleaning.
So, buying your Keurig coffee maker and expecting it to be used by friends or family?
In that case go for the K-Slim.
The Keurig K-Mini has 5 different color options, this outpaces the K-Slim which only has two different color options.
We have to say that the different colors that are available on the K-Mini really looks great and will surely have at least one colorway for everybody.
The Keurig K-Slim outweighs the K-Mini in terms of maintenance, you don't have to worry about forgetting to descale your coffee machine when using the K-Slim, the indicator light will illuminate to tell you when it's time for descaling.
This function will increase the longevity of your Keurig coffee maker so we think the K-Slim is a great pick for anybody that tends to forget to clean their coffee maker.
Choose the K-Mini if you are looking for a personal coffee maker that is easy to mobilize and saves you the most space possible.
In terms of the quality of the coffee we can conclude that the K-Mini and K-Slim taste the exact same.
Go for the K-Slim if you are buying a coffee maker for more than two people, the large water reservoir makes it perfect for being used by multiple people.
The extra maintenance features on the K-Slim make it a great coffee maker to be used often without breaking down.
Does the K-Mini and K-Slim not fulfill your needs in a Keurig coffee maker?
Looking for a different Keurig machine?
We recommend checking out our detailed review of the Top 5 Best Keurig Coffee Machines of 2021.