Early, Monday mornings demand a good cup of coffee. A quality brew that is strong enough to perk you up for the day. With the rise in popularity of single serve coffee makers, we are very keen to review the FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker from Hamilton Beach.
Hamilton Beach is one of the household names in the coffeemaker scene. If you are wondering if this single serve coffeemaker is something worth investing in, this article might be able to help.
Our rating of the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker: 3.2 stars
The Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker
Key Features:
The Hamilton Beach FlexBrew is a Single Serve Coffeemaker designed for single cup brewing, ideal and economical for coffee drinkers who live alone, or are the only person who drinks coffee at home.
- The coffeemaker is compact and lightweight, therefore making it perfect for small kitchens or countertop with limited space.
- Its adaptable cup stand fits both a standards-size cup and a travel mug.
- Easy and simple operation ensures there’s no fuss or mess where the FlexBrew starts making coffee with a click of a button..
- Cleaning and maintenance is also simple and straightforward as all of its removable parts are dishwasher-safe.
- The flexbrew looks great, features a strong and durable stainless steel design.
- Compact and lightweight
- Makes a single serving (less wastage)
- Easy to operate and clean
- Accommodates travel (also uses standard-sized mugs)
- Good-looking
- Active, toll-free customer service
- Possible spills and leaks with time
- Tends to spit whole coffee grounds
- Not as durable
Features
Capacity
The FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker offers a 10-ounce (300 ml) capacity in storage, a standard capacity for single serve coffeemakers. For single cup drinkers, this ensures that no extra coffees are made, therefore no stale taste and no wastage.
Compatibility
One feature we really like about the FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker is its compatibility with both K-cup packs and soft pods. What’s even better is that the FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker can also brew using ground coffee. And to makes things even better, all these coffees are brewed from the same coffee pod holder, no adaptors required. No need to purchase a different holder for each type of coffee separately. Versatility: check!
One issue that’s surfaces several times during our research is that the machine sometimes fails to puncture the K-cups and pods properly.
Build and Construction
Moving on to the design aspect. Having come from Hamilton Beach, we expect a certain level of excellence in this area. The FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker is very lightweight and compact. Perfect for small homes, apartment-dwellers, students, and basically everyone living on a budget. It’s design on the other hand looked nowhere near the resemblance of a cheap product. It’s made with solid stainless steel construction with a silver and black theme that’s sleek, minimal and elegant.
There’s a push-down handle to pour the freshly brewed coffee into the mug, and on/off button rests at the bottom of the cup stand. The cup stand, by default, will hold your standard-sized mugs. To accommodate large travel-size cups, simple turn the stand upside-down, and voila! Some users have feedback that when trying to discharge the coffee after brewing, the pour will splatter and spit out.
Ease of use
Apart from its compact size, the FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker is very easy to use as well. Simply fill up the coffee compartment with the coffee of choice, and press the start button. Done.
Cleaning is also very easy as most parts are removable. The cup stand for instance, comes off easily without any struggling or tugging, and all removable parts are dishwasher-safe.
How well does the FlexBrew Single Serve Coffeemaker compete?
1) Keurig K55 Single Serve Coffeemaker
As one of the most Instagram and YouTube famous coffee maker, the Keurig is the go-to for most coffee lovers these days, and from some great reason too. If you are willing to upgrade from the Hamilton flexbrew for a little extra money, then we recommend that you get yourself a Keurig K55.
The Keurig is superior to the Hamilton Beach in terms of versatility, where users have the option to brew different sizes of shots. The water storage is also massive at 48-ounce. The pods and K-cup compatibility also allows control over your brew and pour. The Keurig K55 Single Serve Coffeemaker would be an ideal choice for users who prefer simple, straightforward operation with fast and strong brew output.
2) Black & Decker Programmable Single Serve Machine (CM620B)
The next competitor is this machine from Black & Decker. It is a single server like the Hamilton, and is a less expensive option.
What makes the B&D machine stand out is its timing feature. The machine offers automatic shut/off, a timer and an indicator light. It looks a million buck and is more or less very compact as well. The machine offers a tad higher capacity than the Hamilton Flexbrew, and is very much programmable too. If you are a picky and perfectionist coffee-drinker, then the CM620B Programmable Single Serve Machine by Black & Decker might be able to impress you. Each product is backed-up with a 2-year warranty as well.
3) AdirChef Grab N’ Go Personal Coffeemaker
The AdirChef Grab N’ Go Personal Coffeemaker is probably as compact and personal as a coffeemaker can get. It is so compact that you even could air-travel with it if you really want to.
This coffee maker features auto shutoff, has reusable filters and comes with a convenient travel mug fitting into most cup-holders inside cars, strollers, etc. It is a tiny machine, so it’s normal that it won’t have much capacity to it. Its design is very minimalistic and basic, making it easier to use and fast in operation. Nonetheless, for the very same reason, the AdirChef Grab N’ Go Personal Coffeemaker is perfect for people who are always on the go and need their cup of Joe fast! A great machine for our forgetful peeps too.
Conclusion
The Hamilton Beach FlexBrew single serve coffee maker is a good choice for those who require compactness and doesn’t require too much coffee at once. It looks good, has a good price, and features high efficiency. And all that despite being potentially a little bit messy and producing not as refined coffee. Don’t like mess in your home kitchen? Then maybe the competitors of this coffee machine will be a better choice for you. Otherwise, go get the FlexBrew single serve coffee maker as it will surely satisfy you.
>> Related: Cuisinart Single Serve Coffee Maker Review
Have you tried this coffee maker before? Or are planning to go ahead and give this one a shot? Leave a message and share with us.
