When GE introduced a refrigerator with a Keurig coffee maker in the door, it seemed like a smart way to save counterspace. But in a bit of counter programming, Keurig hopes to reclaim that space—and then some—with the new Keurig Kold which makes, you guessed it, cold drinks. Consumer Reports just wrapped up our tests of the Keurig Kold and we're currently testing the GE Cafe CFE28USHSS refrigerator (the one with the built-in coffee maker). Let's just say the results run hot and cold.
If you want to make space for a Keurig Kold, keep in mind that it's 12 inches wide, 19.2 inches deep, and stands 17.5 inches tall when open. To guarantee a stream of chilled beverages it has to be plugged in at all times so pushing it aside isn't an option. If you do, you'll have to wait at least two hours for it to chill down again. The Kold differs from other soda makers in that it doesn't use CO2 cartridges. Instead it uses proprietary "Karbonator" beads that, in the simplest terms, trap CO2 and then release it into the drink when the beads get wet. The Kold also makes non-carbonated drinks.
After tasting glasses of soda, seltzer, iced tea, flavored water, and sports drinks, our sensory panelists agreed that the Keurig Kold makes pretty good cold drinks. But are they better than the canned or bottled beverages you grab from the refrigerator? Coca-Cola is a part owner of Keurig so we compared a can of Coca-Cola with a Kold Coca-Cola made from a Keurig pod. And tasters found it had a "fuller mouth feel and more cola syrup flavor," and was just as fizzy if not fizzier.
Then we tasted Keurig's own line of Kold drinks with such names as Seraphine Persian Lime seltzer, Flyte Lemon-Lime Launch sports drink, Tierney's Iced Tea, and Waterful Flavored Water. They were all judged okay but perhaps not worth the time and expense.
Kold Considerations
We found a Keurig Kold selling for $333 on Amazon. A box of four Coca-Cola Kold pods costs an additional $4.99 and a sampler pack of 20 pods costs $20.99. Any way you slice it, that's a lot more than a can of Coke. And each Kold beverage is only 8 ounces, while a can of soda is typically 12 ounces. We also found other drawbacks that may cause you to think twice before sacrificing valuable countertop real estate, including:
Slow going. Each drink takes between 75 and 90 seconds to make, which adds up if you're having a party. After you make six, you'll have to refill the machine with water. And they aren't that cold: 45 degrees F was as cold as our drinks got.
Soda pods are difficult to recycle. While the pods for non-carbonated drinks are easy to recycle, those for the carbonated drinks are not. That's because they contain Karbonator beads, which have to go in the trash, and a separate compartment for the syrup. In theory, you can recycle the outer container but that entails dumping out the beads and opening the syrup compartment, which is no easy feat.
Expensive to run. In addition to the cost of the machine and the ongoing cost of replacement pods, the Keurig Kold uses almost as much energy to run, 250 kilowatt hours a year, as a full-sized top-freezer refrigerator. So it's up to you whether you want to give the Kold a warm welcome or the cold shoulder.
