Keurig Cup Sizes: All You Need To Know About Keurig Cups

It seems like no two Keurig machines make the same-sized cups of coffee.

To help you visualize Keurig cup sizes, I made a chart that shows the cup sizes for the most popular Keurig machines.

I also included a few things to remember when thinking about Keurig cup size. 

But before we get to the chart, we need to talk about what exactly I mean by cup size.

Let’s get to it!

What Are The Keurig Cup Sizes?

Generally speaking, there are 5 cup sizes that Keurig machines can produce: 4, 6, 8, 10, or 12 oz.

However, only a handful of Keurig machines can actually brew all five sizes. Most Keurig machines only brew 3 or 4 cup sizes.

See the chart below for figuring out which machines brew which cup sizes.

But before we get to the chart, we need to talk about Keurig pods.

There are three different pods, but only the Keurig K Cup pod is still in production.

K-Cup

This is the classic coffee pod that Keurig makes. It’s a little plastic container filled with coffee grounds that you place inside your Keurig coffee maker.

And yes, all K-Cups are the same size and work in any Keurig coffee maker.

The best part?

There are hundreds of different drinks, brands, and styles of K-Cups.

Anything from regular old black coffee to sweet iced tea. You’ll be able to find a drink that you like.

Many coffee shop brands have their own K-Cups. Starbucks, Green Mountain, and Dunkin’ Donuts are three of the biggest names that make K-Cups.

Starbucks actually makes a ton of different K-Cups.

There are single-use K-Cups, but also reusable ones that you can fill with ground coffee of your choice.

K-Mug

Important: The K-Mug is actually discontinued.

They were designed for the Keurig 2.0 machines and meant to give you 12, 14, or 16 oz of coffee.

What happened to them?

Well, Keurig discontinued the 2.0 machines because they weren’t compatible with K-Cups. They also weren’t compatible with third-party pods.

So, the bottom line is that you should avoid the K-Mug pods if you happen to stumble across them.

More than likely you do not have the 2.0 Keurig model.

K-Carafe

Important: the K-Carafe is discontinued.

They were designed to be big pods that could brew whole carafes in the Keurig 2.0 brewers.

But they were discontinued for the same reasons the K-Mug pods were stopped.

However, if you’re looking for a Keurig that brews carafes, you’re still in luck.

The Keurig K-Duo series brews carafes of 6, 8, 10, or 12 cups. The only caveat is that you have to use ground coffee instead of dedicated carafe pods.

Water Tank Sizes

Keurig seems to have a different water tank for each machine.

When choosing a coffee maker, the water tank is a big factor.

A bigger water tank means you won’t have to refill as often and will get more cups. But they take up more room.

A smaller water tank means you get fewer cups per fill. But they are generally smaller machines.

Here’s the deal: The bigger the water tank, the less you have to refill.

It really is that simple. A 75 oz water tank will give you about 9 cups of 8 oz coffee before the reservoir needs filling.

A couple of machines noted below actually need to be refilled each time you are brewing coffee. But the benefit is that those machines are small and don’t take up a lot of room in your kitchen.

Cup Sizes Of Different Keurig Coffee Makers

*The Keurig K-Mini and the K-Mini Plus require you to refill the reservoir each time you want to brew.

**The Kuerig K-Duo, K-Duo Plus, and K-Duo essentials all brew 6, 8, 10, and 12 cup carafes.

***The Keurig K-Cafe and K-Cafe Special Edition also have a 2 oz concentrated coffee for specialty drinks.

Keurig Cup Sizes And Coffee Strength

In the chart, you might have noticed that every machine brews 8 and 10 oz cups.

And that most machines brew 6 oz cup size.

What does that mean for your coffee strength?

It means that K-Cups are designed to be brewed in the 6-10 oz range.

From my personal experience, K-Cups taste the best when brewed at 8 oz cup size. Anything bigger, and the coffee starts to taste a little watered down or diluted.

Anything less and the coffee starts to taste tarry or burnt. If you’re looking for an espresso-style single serve coffee machine, a Keurig brewer probably isn’t for you.

A few Keurig machines have a strength control button.

Basically, that means that if you want a little more oomph in your cup, press the “Strong” button and your machine will make a strong brew.

Some machines also have an iced drink setting. Similar to the strength button, the iced button is meant for iced tea, iced coffee, or any other iced beverage.

Bottom line: The smaller you brew, the stronger your coffee. The bigger your brew size is, the weaker the coffee. But 8 oz cup size seems to be the sweet spot for a perfect cup.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this chart helped you visualize the different cup sizes Keurig machines brew.

I found it really helpful to have all this information in one place instead of jumping around trying to figure it all out on my own.

Keurig machines all brew 8 and 10 oz cups. And brewing 8 or 10 oz will get you the best results.

Anything less and your coffee might taste too strong. Anything more and your coffee might taste too weak.

And a few machines even brew pots of coffee. And one even has a milk system.

Wondering how a Keurig machine actually works? Check out our article on how to use a Keurig!