At Coffee Brewster, we deliver reviews and analysis for connoisseurs of coffee – for those in whose veins – coffee runs. So if your preferred status is caffeine, read along this review: a showdown of Ninja Coffee Bar vs Keurig.
Ninja Coffee Bar and Keurig are both top notch manufacturers when it comes to coffee brewing machines. Comparing them is like enjoying clash of the titans.
Ninja Coffee Bar Vs Keurig: the companies
Keurig
Keurig is a well known company, and is in this business since 20 years. Keurig Inc was founded in Massachusetts in 1992. Their tag line “A leader in specialty coffee & innovative single serve brewing” speaks their story. In the most of America especially the northern region – it is very difficult to find a better pod-style coffee machine than Keurig.
SharkNinja
The Ninja Coffee Bar System?made by SharkNinja – a company established in 1995 – advertises its coffee brewers as giving you “better than a coffeehouse experience – at home”. Recently, Ninja Coffee Bar machines are becoming more and more popular.
Comparing Ninja Coffee Bar and Keurig
1. Experience and Brand Value
Both the establishments are experienced firms in coffee makers market, with Keurig having a little edge in experience over its other rival.
The second important feature to note about Keurig is its specialization in making coffee machines best suited for offices and for commercial use.
Another important thing again in the favor of Kurig is that it is a company specialized in manufacturing only coffee machines. On the other hand, SharkNinja makes a variety of products and has a subsidiary firm called Ninja Coffee Bar which handles the coffee maker production.
Winner: Keurig
2. Pod coffee machine or not?
Keurig is pod based whereas Ninja is not. So what does this mean for you?
If you choose a Pod style coffee maker:
- you will be free from all the mess and maintenance that a full sized coffee machine needs (although pods need to be thrown out and that generates waste). Ninja machines can never become so convenient.
- you can have fully prepared coffee in less than a minute. Ninja?s can never by se so speedy.
- you can easily store pods as they are seal packed containers whereas ground coffee needs to be consumed quickly or else it will lose flavor and freshness.
If you choose Pod free coffee maker:
- you will have an all-in-one type brew station. It will be like having a mini cafe in your home, and nothing can beat the experience of brewing your own coffee from start to finish.
- you will have the independence of preparing the coffee exactly to your preference, whereas in pod machines you have to drink a ready-made beverage, so to speak.
- most importantly pods are more expensive than fresh coffee beans. So every time you are saving time with a pod, you are spending a little more than what regular coffee would cost you.
Winner: Tie
3. Reservoir Size
Keurig’s maximum 90 ounce size can never be bettered by Ninja Coffee Bar’s 50 ounce water reservoir, which means you can brew with your Keurig for much longer than you can with a Ninja Coffee Bar. However, refilling water is not such a deal breaker.
Winner: Keurig
4. Ability to make specialty beverages
Ninja brews concentrated coffee, iced coffee and other coffee-based specialty beverages. The machine does most of the heavy lifting for you. Keurigs can actually brew a much wider range of beverages, from coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and a wide variety of other drinks.
Sure, the drinks may not be “authentic”, but with a Keurig, you’ve got a one-size-fits-all solution.
Winner: Keurig
5. Frothing milk
All Ninja models come with a frother, either built-in or hand-pump, and a bubbled up top on your coffee cup is an out of this world experience. Ninja Coffee Bar models will brew much more authentic lattes and cappuccinos.
Keurigs have cappuccino pods, but those aren’t real cappuccinos.
The experience of fresh frothed milk in the mouth is a velvety smooth feeling that you just can’t replicate with powder and hot water.
Winner: Ninja
6. Brewing Technology
Technologically both the coffee makers are balanced. The Ninja Coffee Bar “Auto-IQ One-Touch” is a remarkable which helps get the most out of your coffee.
On the other hand, Keurig’s Quiet Brew is a must, especially if you are an early morning or a late night coffee drinker.
Winner: Tie
8. Accessories
Ninja includes a lot of accessories, whereas Keurig comes with the machine only. I’ll still call this one a tie, because Keurig doesn’t?need accessories to brew. You just pop in a pod and you’re done. Since the variety of beverages you can make with Ninja is much greater, you’ll need the extra stuff.
Winner: Tie
9. Price
Ninja and Keurig both are in the above two hundred dollars range. Distinct products but same price!
Winner: Tie
Keurig K-Select Coffee Maker
The Keurig K-Select Coffee Maker is one of Keurig’s flagship offerings.
It comes with a generous 52 ounce reservoir. It’s not as big as the 90 ounce monster you find on some machines, but let’s be honest: for most households, 52 ounces will be more than enough.
That’s the equivalent of a little over 6 cups of coffee before you have to refill.
There’s also a built in water filter to make the best-tasting coffee possible. The K-Select lets you program the strength of the brew, and Keurig has an impressive ecosystem of pods that lets you brew a giant variety of beverages from roasters all over.
You can also remove the drip tray to fit in a mug up to 7 inches tall. You can choose from 4 cup sizes: 6 ounces, 8 ounces, 10 ounces, and 12 ounces, and there’s a button labeled “Strong” which will make a stronger brew.
The machine is super simple to use: just pop the lid, put in a pod, push the brew button and the machine will do the rest.
The simplicity is it’s main selling point. No fuss, and you can make a cup of coffee even if you are half asleep.
Again, the most important feature of the Keurig is that it brews a single serving of coffee in light speed(metaphorically, but it’s still pretty fast for a coffee maker).
Ninja Coffee Bar CF097
Ninja’s CF097, officially named as a Next Generation Ninja Coffee Bar is a thermal carafe (more on this shortly) coffee maker.
Ninja Coffee Bar machines do not accept pods. These are pod-free brewers, which mean you have to add in ground coffee yourself. The coffee is placed in a standard filter basket that you would find on any drip coffee maker.
In a pod-free system you have more control and freedom over the amount and brand of ground coffee you want to use and you can personally customize the kind of coffee you drink.
For best results, you want to use freshly roasted coffee beans and grind just before brewing. That ensures maximum freshness and flavor from your coffee.
The Ninja Coffee Bar machine comes with a stainless steel carafe. A carafe is a flask in which your prepared coffee is stored, and hence a thermal carafe stores your coffee and keeps it hot.
This machine accommodates a hot and cold carafe, both to keep hot coffee hot and iced coffee cold. Don’t try mixing them, though!
Adding to your coffee fantasy, almost all the Ninja Coffee Bar machines features a milk frother allowing you to froth milk and top your coffee with silky steamed milk.
While the Ninja Coffee bar will not make an espresso shot per se, it does make a coffee concentrate for making lattes and cappuccinos. You may not like the shot, but mixed in with milk, it will be perfect.
In this high end model Ninja Coffee Bar has introduced two fascinating new technologies:
Advanced Thermal Flavor Extraction
This technology is designed to extract full flavor of the ground beans and allows you to choose between three varieties of brews – Classic, Rich and Over Ice Brew.
Auto-iQ One-Touch Intelligence
With this technology the machine draws just the exact amount of water from the reservoir, based on the brew size and brew type you choose, giving you perfect taste which is neither too diluted nor too concentrated.
Other features of this coffee maker are:
- A 50 oz reservoir
- Four different brew types: Classic, Rich, Over Ice and Signature Brews.
- Allows a variety of sizes – Normal Cup, XL Cup, Travel Mug, XL Multi-Serve, Half Carafe, and Full Carafe.
- Includes a measuring scoop and a recipe book
Related
Final Verdict: Ninja Coffee Bar or Keurig?
If you want a no-mess pod system then go for a Keurig without a second thought. It is easy to use, requires virtually no immediate clean up and saves a lot of your precious time.
Keurigs are ideal for quick and easy coffee brewing. That makes it a perfect choice for offices and commercial settings where lots of people may be brewing. This way everyone gets their coffee quickly and everyone has a wide variety of choices to brew.
However, if you want a traditional style coffee maker which gives you an experience of a cafe like preparation, then go for the Ninja Coffee Bar. It allows many different styles and serves your preferences very well.
As a result, though, be prepared to spend a little more time and efforts in its operation and cleaning.
Also read: Keurig vs. French Press Coffee Makers
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ninja Coffee Bar better than Keurig?
If you’re into brewing more authentic coffees, lattes, cappuccinos, and iced coffee, the Ninja Coffee Bar is a better pick than Keurig.
Can you use K Cups in a Ninja Coffee Bar?
Ninja Coffee Bars are not pod based machines. You must use ground coffee to brew in a Ninja Coffee Bar.
Does the Ninja Coffee Bar make single cups?
You can make a single serving of coffee with a Ninja Coffee Bar, but you’ll need to do it with ground coffee, not a pod.
Last update on 2024-04-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
