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- iCoffee Mozart vs Opus? What You Should Get Instead - March 26, 2022
- The R2-D2 Coffee Press: Fulfill Your Love of Coffee and Star Wars - March 26, 2022
In the debate between iCoffee Mozart vs Opus, which one wins? Well…maybe neither. The iCoffee Mozart and Opus have both been discontinued. You can still find them, but you might not want to. Keep reading to see a list of features, pros, cons, and what similar coffee makers you can look into for your morning caffeine.
iCoffee Mozart Overview
The iCoffee Mozart is a versatile, convenient machine that’s reminiscent of the classic Keurig in aesthetics and style. Want a single cup of hot, delicious coffee brewed in a minute or less? This one could accomplish that.
Features:
- Spin brew technology
- 72 oz. reservoir
- Uses all K-Cup style cups
- BPA-free
- Removable drip tray (great for large mugs)
- Makes 4 to 12 ounces at a time (choose from whole or half-ounce increments)
- Brews fast—less than 60 seconds
- Automatically shuts off so you don’t have to worry about whether you left it on
- Pretty standard coffee maker size at 13.1” x 10” x 13.1” (maybe a bit big)
- 10.74 lbs
- Has a knob to turn to select the number of ounces of coffee you want to make
iCoffee Mozart Is Not as Great as It Sounds
So what’s the bad news?
As mentioned above, iCoffee went out of business. Though you can still find their machines—including the iCoffee Mozart (and Opus)–in some stores and from a handful of sellers online, good luck with any warranties, broken pieces that need to be replaced, or any type of support you might need.
If you do decide you want to buy one anyway, check Amazon before making a purchase. At the time of this writing, they do not have the most reasonable prices on the iCoffee Mozart I’ve seen, by far.
However, there are more than 400 iCoffee Mozart reviews to read through to make sure you’re making the right decision. A lot of people loved their iCoffee Mozarts, but there are some reports of machines that didn’t even make it a year before they stopped working.
The prices could drop, too, though I doubt they’ll go low enough to justify the purchase. How low would they have to go for you to think it was worth it to buy the iCoffee Mozart?
iCoffee Opus Overview
Like the iCoffee Mozart, the Opus was a single-serve brewer with some features that made it convenient and fun to use. The prices on this one are a little lower than the Mozart ones that I saw, but still nowhere near worth it. For comparison’s sake, let’s see what it had to offer.
Features:
- Even bigger than the Mozart: 15” x 14.3” x 11.6”
- 12.45 lbs
- Spin brew technology
- Uses K-Cups
- Removable reservoir
- Automatic shut-off
- Adjustable drip tray to accommodate larger mugs
- Similar in looks to the Mozart and classic Keurig; had a knob to turn to select the number of ounces of coffee you want, just like the Mozart
More Bad News
Yep, that bad news above applies here, too. You could buy the iCoffee Opus, but you’d be better off looking for a different coffee maker from a brand that’s still in business. Even a great deal on a coffee maker at the time can turn into a bad one as soon as something major goes wrong.
iCoffee Mozart vs Opus Compared
Well, they have a lot in common. Both have been discontinued, so there’s no clear winner on that one.
- They could take K-Cups and make coffee relatively quickly.
- Opus has a slightly bigger reservoir, at 75 ounces compared to 72.
- Both would brew up to 12 ounces of coffee, in half-ounce increments.
- They looked almost identical.
- Both have hit-or-miss reviews; some people loved their machines and had no problems, while others had trouble either right out of the box or a few months into the machine’s use.
There’s really no huge difference between the two coffee makers in the iCoffee Mozart vs Opus comparison. Either would get the job done (as long as you didn’t get a lemon). They both seemed to make great-tasting coffee.
If you were to get a working machine at a reasonable price—either of them—you probably wouldn’t be disappointed. It’s when things start to wear out (sometimes sooner than later) that the problems start to appear.
Should You Get the iCoffee Mozart or Opus?
Honestly? Neither.
Maybe if you find a brand new one for less than $20.00 at a garage sale, you should (in that case, either one will do) buy that one, but even that comes with risks and you could be out $20.00 either immediately or in a couple of months. You’ll just have to decide if the risk is worth it for you.
Between the number of complaints that they’ve stopped working, are too hard to clean, and people’s general disappointment in the machines even when they paid the normal (usually less than $70.00) price, I highly recommend looking elsewhere for your next single-serve coffee maker.
I will point out that eBay has the most reasonable prices (at retail or just below) at the time of this writing. You could go there and make an offer to get one at a lower price.
A lot of sellers (more so in other places than on eBay) are trying to take advantage of the fact that the machines have been discontinued and sell them for much higher than retail prices. You could get top-of-the-line current models for almost the same as what some people are asking for the iCoffee Mozart and Opus.
Other Options to Consider Instead
Luckily, there are plenty of options on the market that have comparable or superior lists of features. These models are around the same size as the iCoffee Mozart and Opus. In some cases, they’ll take up even less room on the counter.
1. Classic Keurig
It makes sense that the K-Classic™ Coffee Maker would be a viable option since the iCoffee Mozart and Opus both were single-serve brewers that could use K-Cups.
It’s about $120.00, but you may be able to catch this one on sale pretty easily. The water reservoir will hold 48 ounces. That’s significantly less than the iCoffee Mozart and Opus coffee makers, but if you don’t need a lot more than that, this is still a great option.
It makes coffee in a minute or less, a cup at a time. You can only make up to 10 ounces of coffee at a time, though. If you wanted 12 or even 14, you’ll have to go with another option.
Get it in rhubarb (red) or classic black.
Do yourself a favor and do NOT waste your money on an iCoffee machine. They generally don't last long and the company is going out of business. Instead, pick up the real-deal with a Classic Keurig instead. It's not THAT much more expensive.
2. Cuisinart SS-10
It costs about $150.00 and holds 72 ounces of water in the reservoir, similar to the amounts the iCoffee Mozart and Opus held. It also uses the K-Cups just like they did. In addition, it comes with its own reusable filter cup so you can use your own coffee. It makes 5 to 12 ounces of coffee at a time, but not in the half-ounce options the Mozart and Opus did.
Use the hot water option for soups, hot chocolate, tea, etc. It’s easy to clean, has a gorgeous blue LCD screen, and a removable drip tray for fitting bigger mugs. The overall design is sleek and looks a lot more modern than the iCoffee Mozart and Opus did.
It’s programmable and has auto shut-off. You can also adjust the temperature.
The Cuisinart Premium Single-serve Coffee Brewer offers freedom of choice! Choose your perfect temperature and cup size.
3. Cuisinart Coffee Center
The Cuisinart Coffee Center isn’t exactly the same. It will actually brew a pot of coffee, too. If you were looking at single-serve machines but wondering if you’d ever need to make a whole pot, this might be the perfect medium you were hoping for.
One drawback to this model is that it’s only able to make 10 ounces of coffee on the single-serve side at a time, which is a little less than most other coffee makers. The reservoir is significantly smaller than that of the iCoffee models and some others on this list at a capacity of just 40 ounces.
It does come equipped to let you use your own coffee—not a K-Cup—though, so you’ll get a little freedom from that. There’s a charcoal water filter to keep your coffee tasting as fresh as possible. On the carafe side, you’ll be able to brew 12 cups at a time and choose between regular or bold strengths. There’s another charcoal water filter here, plus a gold-toned coffee filter to make sure your coffee tastes great.
The Cuisinart Coffee Center features a fully automatic 12-Cup coffeemaker on one side and a single-serve brewer on the other. Sipping solo or serving a crowd, it's easy to enjoy the gourmet taste you expect from a Cuisinart coffeemaker. And one coffeemaker that does the job of two frees up more space on your counter!
4. Hamilton Beach FlexBrew® Single Serve Plus
There’s also the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew® Single Serve Plus (or Single Serve with Removable Water Reservoir) to consider.
It won’t cost much more than the iCoffee Mozart or Opus coffee makers, and you’ll be able to get your hands on one much more easily. The Plus is about $60.00 and the one with the 40 oz. the removable water reservoir is about $80.00.
Use K-Cups or your own ground coffee in it; it’s versatile like that. You can even use paper filters and/or make a little more coffee at a time, too—14 ounces for a travel mug. It also automatically shuts off when it’s done. Either of these will be easy and intuitive to use. You can also choose between regular and bold coffee strengths.
For all the adventurous coffee drinkers out there, there's finally a coffee-brewing machine that can satisfy the taste buds in two different ways. The FlexBrew single-serve coffee maker allows the flexibility of brewing freshly ground coffee one minute or a single-serve pack the next.
Further Read: Full Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Review.
The Verdict
iCoffee Mozart vs Opus? Neither.
Go with one of the options listed above or venture out into new territory and try something totally different. There are too many strikes against the iCoffee models because they’re out of business now. Other models have a nicer aesthetic and perform just as well, without the risk of not being able to get support or new parts.
David
Sunday 27th of March 2022
I have a Mozart, but not the single serve. I love iced coffee and wanted to be able to make a whole pot to store iced coffee in the fridge, without having to make a cup every day and then have to dilute it with ice cubes or wait until it was cooled down. I bought the 12 cup Mozart used on eBay and decided to take a chance. It works great, but I don't use it as often as you would a single serve, nevertheless, I haven't had any problems with mine. I didn't even realize that the company had gone under, until today. I was looking for a new carafe, as mine had brown residue that I couldn't get off. I started noticing that nobody had iCoffee brewers in stock and then began looking a the single serve coffee makers and noticed the same. I have a Keurig Vue coffee maker and although I haven't had any problems, I do note that it has never made the coffee as hot as my old Breville K-cup machine, which still works, btw, but I wanted to be able to make larger cups of coffee, without it being overly diluted. Vue coffee makers just didn't catch on and they never had the coffee choices that were available with the K-cup models. Fortunately, they make adapters so that I can use K-cups in it, but the coffee is still not that hot, even after setting it to the highest temperature allowed. That's why I was looking at these iCoffee single serves. The 12 cup makes excellent coffee, and although people also said that it, also was too difficult to clean, it's really not that difficult. The coffee also leaves behind what they called "essence", which can be taken out by using an available filter that came with the unit. I happen to like it. It's not gritty, but does leave the coffee with a muddy appearance, unlike most brewed coffee makers, but it adds flavor to the coffee, without any bitterness. After all of that searching, It turns out that I was able to get the residue off the carafe, very easily in fact, by using a melamine sponge (Mr. Clean Magic Eraser). It took it off very quickly and without any scrubbing. The carafe now looks brand new. I saved about $50.00 from what they were asking on eBay (with the shipping).
I'm still interested in the single serve, but no one seems to have the Mozart or Opus available, in used condition, but there was one new one available on eBay. I'm not willing to risk buying one at $149.00 plus $30.00 shipping. Way too much for a company that no longer exists and no warranty if anything does go wrong.
Jack
Sunday 20th of March 2022
I've had my icoffee machine (OPUS) for about 6 years. Never had a problem. This review makes me suspicious that the reviewer is from a rival company. Mine still makes great coffee. I just wish I could find a new old stock one. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
John
Saturday 8th of January 2022
Sure, buy a Keurig, they last about a year (if that long). I have a 5-year old iCoffee and have never had a bit of trouble with it. You can thank Keurig for putting Icoffee out of business.
Daniel Staggers
Thursday 19th of August 2021
Sorry, but I don't understand. I have a 4 year old Mozart and have never had any trouble with it. I never got more than a year out of 7 Keurig machines. They don't even use valves made for liquid and they also went bankrupt. I was so impressed with the Mozart, I bought out Ebay and have two brand new ones in storage for that day I need them. icoffee was the very best money could buy an I never heard complaints from anyone who owned one. I just don't think they sold well enough to keep Remington interested. They should bring them back. Anything is better than a Keurig or it's cousin the Cuisinart.
Lauren
Sunday 6th of December 2020
Our icoffee machine has lasted us many years and with no issues.