Last Thanksgiving I noticed Keurig had their K-Crema™ High Pressure Coffee Maker on sale on their own website. I'd never owned a Keurig, and I'd never owned a Nespresso either — so I honestly didn't know Keurig made a machine that claimed to pull something resembling an espresso shot. The price was reasonable enough that I decided to find out for myself.
List price at the time was $219.99. I paid $109.99 in the Black Friday sale.
What the K-Crema Actually Does
The K-Crema™ uses Keurig's PressureInfusion Technology, which the company says runs at five times the pressure of a standard Keurig brewer. Press the "Pressure" button and it's meant to force enough pressure through the K-Cup to raise a layer of crema on top — the same microfoam effect you'd expect from a real espresso extraction. Press "Classic" instead and it behaves like any other Keurig, using MultiStream Technology to saturate the grounds without the crema claim.
It's not compatible with a reusable filter in Pressure mode, so this is a pod-only trick. I used a "Donut Shop" K-Cup (available from Amazon) for my test — not exactly an espresso roast, but a fair test of what an ordinary pod does under pressure.
The Test
The video above is a single espresso-style shot, pulled straight from the machine, no editing tricks. Watch what actually happens under the Pressure setting with a completely ordinary pod.
The result surprised me a little. It produced a fair amount of crema — genuinely more than some espressos I've been served in cafes and restaurants over the years. That's not a high bar in some cases, but it's not nothing either.
The Verdict
What it isn't: a substitute for a proper espresso machine. The crema is thinner and less persistent than what you'd get from real 9-bar extraction through fresh, properly dosed and tamped grounds, and the flavor profile is still very much "Keurig pod" rather than "espresso." I wasn't expecting it to compete with a good prosumer machine, and it doesn't.
What it is: a genuinely decent way to get an espresso-style shot at home with zero skill required and zero cleanup beyond tossing a pod. For someone who wants an occasional espresso-style drink without owning a portafilter machine, or as a low-commitment way to make lattes and cappuccinos at home, it does more than I expected for the money — especially at the sale price.
If you're curious enough to try one yourself, here's the current listing: Keurig K-Crema™ High Pressure Coffee Maker on Amazon.
Disclosure: I bought this machine myself, at full retail during a Black Friday sale. Keurig did not invite me to review it and I received no compensation of any kind for this post.
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