CNET Reviews the Keurig Alta: Good Lattes, Thin Espresso, Steep Price

CNET has reviewed Keurig’s new Alta and gave it an 8.0, calling the plastic-free AltaRounds an achievement while saying the espresso is thin and the $500 price is hard to justify on flavor alone.

Reviewer Nikita Ephanov liked the Alta’s double-shot dark roast best: it pulled with a real crema and made a good cappuccino or latte with steamed milk. But by CNET’s measurements, a roughly 14-gram round produced about 98 grams of coffee, around a 1:7 ratio against the 1:2 typical of a proper espresso shot, which is why the shots lacked body. The light and medium roasts came across flat to him, with a woody note that got stronger when brewed over ice. The caramel round was a pleasant surprise.

On the hardware, CNET praises the steam wand and the touchscreen, which reads a code on each round and suggests drinks. The downsides it lists are size (Keurig’s largest brewer, with extra vertical clearance needed to load rounds), a short power cord, and the individual foil wrapper each round still ships in. Keurig told CNET paper packaging is coming.

The money: $500 for the brewer with 32 rounds to start, then $11 per box of eight, less $1.50 with a subscription. That’s still over $1 a cup by CNET’s math, and the reviewer said he’d rather put the money toward a drip brewer or a semi-automatic espresso machine. The Alta also takes regular K-Cups.

Our take: CNET’s verdict matches what we’d expect from a first-generation system. If you want milk drinks from shelf-stable pods and already like Keurig coffee, it’s a real upgrade. If you mostly drink a plain mug, a cheaper Keurig and a good reusable K-Cup cut more waste for a lot less money. Our Alta explainer has the rest of the details.