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It used to be easy to pick a Keurig. After all, there was just one of them. That didn’t last long, though. There have been over 50 different Keurig models released over the past several years!
In this article, I’ll help you find the smallest Keurig coffee maker (hint: it has the word “Mini” in it). I’ll also tell you about all the best small Keurig coffee makers and some of the other great small coffee makers including small pod coffee makers and travel coffee makers.
Why Should You Get a Small Coffee Maker?
In most apartments, counter space is at a premium. As much as you love coffee, you might need some of that counter space for whatever else people do in their kitchens (cooking, I guess). The extra counter space also gives you a chance to experiment with new types of coffee makers or with coffee accessories like milk frothers.
Small coffee makers also make ideal travel coffee makers and camping coffee makers. You still need a place to plug them in (with some exceptions below!), but it’s a lot easy to lug around a small Keurig and a few pods than a big 12-cup carafe coffee maker and a bag of grounds.
What Is the Smallest Keurig Coffee Maker?
The K-Mini and K-Mini Plus are the smallest coffee makers from Keurig also some of the smallest pod coffee makers available anywhere.
Keurig K-Mini coffee maker
Dimensions: 12.1” H x 4.5” W x 11.3” D
If you have used any other Keurig, the first thing you’ll notice is a distinct lack of buttons.
The K-Mini is capable of brewing anywhere between 6 and 12 ounces of coffee at once, which might not be obvious since they took away the brew size button. Since the reservoir only holds enough water for one mug, there was no need for a brew size selector — it will brew exactly as much water as you add to the reservoir.
At less than 5 inches wide, the K-Mini is less than half the width of the K-Select and K-Elite, so it will fit just about anywhere. The cord storage makes it easy to pack the Mini away when not in use or when you want to transport it.
The Keurig Mini will brew coffee in just a couple of minutes, the same as any other Keurig model. It can easily be used with a standard mug or a taller travel mug.
The K-Mini is one of the most colorful Keurigs, too. You could even get it as a pink coffee maker if you wanted to.
Keurig K-Mini Plus coffee maker
Dimensions: 12.1” H x 4.5” W x 11.3” D
The K-Mini Plus is everything the K-Mini is plus a few very important extras.
The removable water reservoir makes the machine much easier to clean and fill — although it still only holds a cup of water. The Plus also adds pod storage capacity for up to 9 pods, which means you won’t be running to the trash can after each use.
Most importantly, though, the K-Mini Plus adds a strong brew button. One of the most common complaints about Keurigs is that their coffee can be weaker than normal drip coffee. The strong brew feature provides a bolder brew. This strong coffee is made by slowing the brewing process just enough to get more extracts out of the coffee grounds. This option alone is worth the price difference.
Are There Other Small Keurig Coffee Makers?
The K-Mini and K-Mini Plus are by far the smallest of the Keurig lineup, but they are somewhat more limited than the other machines. If you don’t mind using up a bit more space, the K-Slim, K-Supreme, K-Supreme Plus, K-Duo is worth a look.
Smallest Keurig Coffee Maker with a multi-cup reservoir: Keurig K-Slim
Dimensions: 12.14″ H x 4.76″ W x 15.2″ D
The K-Slim is a few inches deeper than the K-Mini, but that space is devoted to a much larger 46-ounce water reservoir. It can brew 3 cup sizes: 8, 10, and 12 ounces. That means you’ll get somewhere between 3 and 5 cups of coffee between reservoir refills, which makes the Keurig Slim much more convenient than the Mini.
Unfortunately, the K-Slim is missing the brew-strength control option of the K-Mini Plus, and the reservoir is not removable.
Best small Keurig coffee maker: Keurig K-Supreme
Dimensions (reservoir on side): 12.15” H x 7.85” W x 12.02” D
Dimensions (reservoir in back): 12.15” H x 6.36” W x 15.11” D
The K-Supreme adds a few inches of width and just under an inch of depth to the size of the K-Mini, but it does some amazing things with that extra little bit of space.
First, the Keurig Supreme has a 66-ounce removable water tank. It offers 4 cup sizes: 6, 8, 10, and 12 ounces. Even at the largest cup size, you’ll get 5 cups of coffee between water tank refills. The reservoir pivots between two positions, making it much easier to find a way to fit it onto a crowded countertop.
My favorite thing about the supreme, though, is that it has two strong brew options — strong and iced — for a total of three brewing strengths. The iced option makes even bolder coffee than strong, letting you make iced coffee without the melting ice overly diluting your coffee.
They also made some serious improvements to the biggest flaw in the Keurig setup: the water stream. Because the old Keurigs pushed a single water stream through the pod, it often failed to properly extract the outer coffee grounds. The K-Supreme’s multistream technology uses 5 streams instead of 1, so even normal strength coffee tastes better than it did with older Keurig models.
There’s also a K-Supreme Plus, but it is slightly larger and the water reservoir doesn’t pivot. The only real advantages it brings are an extra cup size (4 ounces), a larger reservoir (78 ounces), and temperature control.
Smallest Keurig coffee maker with carafe: Keurig K-Duo Plus
Dimensions (reservoir on side): 14.19” H x 8.20” W x 11.70” D
Dimensions (reservoir in back): 14.19” H x 7.68” W x 15.88” D
The K-Duo Plus is 2 inches taller than the mini and almost 4 inches wider, but it’s worth including in this list because it is the smallest Keurig that can also make a full carafe of coffee.
It includes a stainless-steel thermal carafe which keeps coffee warm for hours longer than a glass carafe. It’s able to brew 6, 8, 10, or 12 cups in the carafe as well as single cups with 6, 8, 10, or 12 ounces of coffee. Along with the ability to use k-cups, the K-Duo Plus has a permanent mesh filter for brewing with coffee grounds.
The Keurig Duo Plus has a 60-ounce removable reservoir. The reservoir pivots into three positions — back, left, and right — offering even more flexibility for fitting the machine into your kitchen.
What About Other Small Pod Coffee Makers?
Keurigs are not the only machines that use coffee pods or coffee capsules. There are other k-cup coffee makers, but there aren’t any high-quality ones that are as small as the K-Mini and K-Slim.
If you are willing to step outside of k-cups though, there are a couple of Nespresso options that are perfect for kitchens with limited counter space or for traveling. These all use the Nespresso OriginalLine capsules, so they’ll produce espresso instead of drip-style coffee. If that sounds good, these options are worth a look.
Nespresso Essenza Mini Original Espresso Machine
Dimensions: 12.9″ H x 3.3″ W x 8.0″ D
This is the smallest coffee maker in the Nespresso lineup. It makes the K-Mini look huge by comparison, cutting 1 inch off the width and 3 inches off the height, with less than 1 inch added to the height.
Even with the tiny size, this machine can deliver 19 bars of pressure, more than enough to make delicious espresso. It can reach full temperature in less than 30 seconds, which means you’ll get your shot of espresso in about 1 minute.
The machine uses the Nespresso OriginalLine capsules and can make two cup sizes: a 1.35-ounce espresso or a 5-ounce lungo. It holds 5-6 used capsules, saving you a few runs to the trash can.
The water tank is removable, and it holds 20.29 ounces, enough to make 4 lungo-sized shots.
Wacaco Nanopresso Portable Espresso Maker
Dimensions: 6.14″ H x 2.8″ W x 2.44″ D
This is not a Nespresso machine, at least not by itself. The Nanopresso can only use ground coffee, but Wacaco makes a Nespresso capsule adapter for it.
With that adapter, you’ll have the ability to make capsule espresso on the go. It is perfect for travel, hiking, camping, or pretty much any time when a manual coffee maker is preferable to an electric one. You still need a source of hot water, but that need is unavoidable.
This machine is not battery-powered, as you might suspect when you first see it. It’s operated by squeezing it, which takes a bit of effort but is not particularly difficult. The innovative design allows squeezing to produce enough pressure to make a decent espresso. Don’t expect it to be as good as from a real Nespresso machine, but it’s great when you need a cup of coffee in a pinch (pun probably intended).
Other Compact Coffee Makers (Good for Travel)
If you don’t mind using ground coffee instead of pods, you could try out one of these alternatives. They are both great home coffee makers that can also make excellent travel coffee makers.
AeroPress Go
Dimensions (excluding mug): 5.26″ H x 4.22″ W x 4.22″ D
The AeroPress is one of my favorite coffee makers. Its compact, manual design is great for travel, but it can also readily replace a small coffee maker at home. It can make up to 3 cups of coffee at once, and it only takes about 2 minutes to brew.
The espresso makes a concentrated coffee that can be diluted to be similar to drip coffee. You can also operate the device in a slightly different way to make a beverage similar to espresso in your AeroPress.
As with the Nanopresso, the only thing you’ll need to operate the AeroPress is coffee and hot water — no electricity or batteries required. In a pinch, you can actually brew with cold water in your AeroPress, although it takes a few minutes longer.
The AeroPress is operated by pushing a plunger through the main chamber. This is even easier than the squeezing motion required by the Nanopresso, so don’t worry about not being able to operate it.
The original AeroPress was already handy enough, but then they went and released the AeroPress Go, which is basically just an AeroPress that comes with its own tailored mug.
Stanley Classic Travel Press
Dimensions: 9.6″ H x 3.5″ W x 3.5″ D
This is a French press built for camping. Actually, it’s a travel mug built for camping that also happens to operate as a French press. Oh, and it fits in your car’s cup holder.
As such, it’s very compact, and its stainless steel body is incredibly durable. The double-wall vacuum insulation keeps your coffee warm for hours, and you can just drink right from your coffee maker!
This is one of the best travel coffee makers I’ve ever seen. And the recent iteration is even better since they’ve upgraded it to hold 16 ounces of coffee.
Final Answer
In case you skipped to the end, here’s the answer one more time:
The smallest Keurig coffee maker is the Keurig K-Mini or the Keurig K-Mini Plus.
Depending on whether you are looking for a way to save counter space, a travel coffee maker, or a little of both — I’ve introduced some other options that may be even better than the Keurig K-Mini or K-Mini Plus.
If you want the smallest Keurig: Get the Keurig K-Mini Plus.
If you have a tiny bit more counter space, the best small Keurig coffee maker is the Keurig K-Supreme.
If you are looking for the best travel coffee maker, I’m going to recommend the AeroPress Go.
