Occasionally, I receive offers for companies to send me items to review, and even less often, I accept these offers. But I love coffee, so when iCoffee offered to send me one of their brewers, I agreed. I’m always happy to test something against the current coffee champion in my house: my glorious Nespresso VertuoLine. The short story is that my Nespresso isn’t going anywhere. But there are certainly some things I liked about the iCoffee. HINT: it’s not the name. A) the “i” thing is sort of owned forever by Apple, Inc. and you (I mean the royal you because I mean ANY COMPANY that isn’t Apple), aren’t Apple.  Also, B) it’s SO played. I mean, it’s a step worse than calling something “2.0.” Yep. But not everyone can have a marketing whiz like moi to do their product or brand naming (I’m available for freelance services, BTW), so it is what it is.

Let’s go over the iCoffee Opus by Remington.

IT’S A LOOKER
It’s purty. I mean, it’s kind of a monstrosity, but it’s also shiny and it lights up all blue and high-tech looking. Like the inside of a limo bus at a bachelorette party. I feel like I’m making it sound not-awesome, but really it’s impressive-looking on the counter. Take it to work and your coworkers will “ooh” and “ahhh.” Then you’ll be stuck making them coffee every morning. Gah, coworkers.

BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT BEAN, ‘BOUT THAT BEAN, NOT THE BREWER
Here’s the thing. I think all Keurig-style brewers are pretty much the same. And most importantly, they’re only as good as the coffee you put into them. There is no magic that can save shitty coffee. That fact is unchanged by my trial of the iCoffee Opus.

ALL THE Ks
So here’s the first key differentiator/thing of note about the iCoffee: It works with any K-cup-style cups/pods or whatever. Like, all the knockoffs, all the different brands, whatever. And more importantly, it comes with a reusable pop-top cup that you can fill with your choice of non-shitty (suggestion) coffee. See “THE BEANS” above.

BECAUSE PEOPLE LIKE TO SAY “CUPPING”
The other key differentiator about the iCoffee Opus: You can select the number of ounces in the cup you’re filling up and the machine will brew accordingly. They call this technology “Dial-a-Brew.” I would assume that if you want stronger coffee you could grab a larger mug/travel mug and select a smaller number of ounces. Because math. There’s possibly a bit of trial and error involved here. Even the Nespresso doesn’t do this level of customization. It’s the little shot, the bigger shot or if you have a VertuoLine, a full cup.

BUT HOW DOES IT TASTE?!
Honestly, the coffee itself didn’t blow my skirt up, but that’s actually not bad, because as far as actual brewed coffee goes, I’m super hard to please. I hate weak coffee, flavored bullshit coffee, and basically anything that’s not espresso. I like strong. I like it to taste like coffee. The coffee sample that came with the machine (a nice touch, I might add), was fine. I’d likely buy the strongest coffee I could find or use the reusable cup with some really good coffee I like if I were going to use this machine daily. Again, it’s about the coffee, more than the machine.

THE BOTTOM LINE
This machine is impressive, compared to other Keurig’s I’ve brewed before. I do not love it more than my Nespresso (which is in an entirely different category IMO), but as you know my Nespresso was also FREE and it’s unlikely I would have spent the hundies it cost to buy it on my own. The iCoffee Opus has a totally reasonable $139.99 price tag at its exclusive retailer AKA Bed Bath and Beyond. Use that 20% off coupon you know you have just waiting for the opportunity to use it and BAM: like $112. Total Christmas gift territory. Or so I hear. I’m Jewish, so I only get coal in my barbecue for Christmas.

NOTE: In case it was unclear from the above tale, the iCoffee Opus was sent to me free of charge by the iCoffee people to be reviewed for this blog. Also note that I am completely honest in my reviews, whether it be of a restaurant or a product, regardless of the price I paid (or did not pay). The end.