Keurig vs Drip Coffee Maker (What’s The Best Option?)

Keurig comes with a bang in the coffee maker industry and completely revolutionized the way we use to prepare coffee.

It is estimated that more than 36 million Keurig units are being used in homes and offices across the US. Quite a huge number, Isn’t it?

The unique selling point of Keurig is user-friendliness. Before Keurig, Traditional drip coffee machines were very popular and can be found in every home or office, but since Keurig has come on the scene, the popularity of traditional coffee machines has been declining mainly because coffee lovers are prioritizing convenience over anything else.

Despite its convenience, Keurig also has some drawbacks, also Drip coffee makers have some key benefits that you won’t want to overlook.

That’s what we are going to discuss in this article so you can make an easy decision between Keurig vs Drip coffee makers based on your preferences.

Is Keurig a Drip coffee maker?

Keurig is not exactly the same as a drip coffee maker but has many things in common. Both brew regular cups of black coffee rather than espresso, and they both prepare coffee by passing hot water over ground coffee and letting it pass through a filter.

Keurig and Drip coffee makers have a wide selection of models with different features for consumers to choose from.

The main difference between Keurig and Drip coffee makers is that drip machines use coffee grounds while Keurig uses K cups. Drip machines give you control over brewing parameters such as grind size, amount of grounds, and brewing time, while Keurig doesn’t.

This is both good and bad at the same time: If you want convenience, it’s good; if you want to prepare coffee how you like it, it’s a big negative.

What is a Keurig

Keurigs are single-serve pod-based coffee makers known for their convenience. Keeping up with the demands of our time, Keurig has designed its machines with quickness and ease of use in mind.

Keurig made the brewing process as simple as possible. Place the pod in the machine, press the brew button, and your coffee will be ready in minutes.

The secret to Keurig’s convenience is their K cup coffee pods. These pods contain predetermined amounts of coffee grounds sealed to preserve freshness.

There are many top companies in the coffee industry that manufacture k cups, such as Peets, Lavazza, Starbucks, and also Keurig collaborates with Green Mountain Coffee to make k cups.

That’s why there is a large variety of K cups available on the market and you can choose what suits you best. In addition, K cups are available for tea, hot chocolate, and lattes.

Keurig has launched many different models to satisfy the needs of customers with much needed features.

Models like the Keurig mini and slim, with minimal design and minimal features, start at around 100 dollars, while advanced models like the Keurig K elite and K café, with many customizable features, cost around 200 dollars.

What is a drip coffee maker?

Drip coffee makers are around for decades now – the traditional coffee machines every Millennial has grown up with.

Drip coffee makers are essentially an automatic way to brew traditional pour-over coffee in which water seeps through coffee grounds and filters through a strainer or a paper filter.

Although making coffee in a drip coffee machine isn’t that difficult but it isn’t as convenient as Keurig too. You have to grind and measure the coffee beans and also you have to clean the filter basket of the machine after every brew.

Different types of drip coffee makers are available on the market, including super-automatic, fully programmable, grind and brew, built-in milk frothers, 2 in 1 espresso and coffee makers, 4-12 cups or carafes, etc.

A few of the leading names in drip coffee makers include Cuisinart, Ninja, Mr. Coffee, and Black + Decker. You can easily buy a decent drip machine at under half the price of Keurig.

Keurig vs Drip Coffee | Things to consider

In case you’re looking to buy a new coffee maker and finding it difficult to make a decision between a drip coffee maker or Keurig, here are some points to consider.

Which Tastes better Keurig or Drip coffee?

For coffee snobs, the taste and the quality of the coffee drink is the most important thing.

And Drip coffee maker delivers a better-tasting drink than Keurig. Hands down!

But only on one condition if you use freshly ground coffee beans. The brewing method of both Keurig and drip machine is almost the same so ultimately the taste comes down to three things

• Type of coffee grounds
• The freshness of coffee grounds; and
• The amount of coffee grounds

And all these things are in your control while brewing coffee in a drip machine.

There is a variety of flavors available in k cup pods but it is certainly less than the variety available in coffee beans

You can use freshly ground coffee beans in a Keurig too by using reusable k cups but it kills the whole point of buying a Keurig machine, the convenience.

The amount of coffee grounds in a K cup is only suitable for a 5 to 7-ounce serving size anything larger than that will be watered down.

In short, Coffee prepared by the Drip machine tastes better only if you are using freshly ground coffee beans. Otherwise, there isn’t much difference!

Convenience and User Friendliness

If you prefer convenience over everything else then definitely there is no better option than the Keurig coffee maker.

Turn on the machine and it will heat up in a minute put the coffee pod and select your desired coffee size to wait for another minute and your coffee is ready. Literally a cup of coffee in under 2 minutes! Additionally, you need not clean anything afterward, just discard the coffee pod.

Drip machines, on the other hand, are also easy to use but can’t match the convenience of K cups.

Compatibility

Keurig machines are designed to brew coffee with K-cup coffee pods only. Keurig also offers reusable coffee pods so you can use your own grounds.

In my opinion, this isn’t something anyone should consider using as Keurigs are designed to provide convenience and that can only be achieved using K cups. After all, convenience is the only reason we are paying extra money to buy a Keurig.

If you want to brew coffee using your own coffee grounds then why not buy a significantly cheaper drip machine?

Which one is more affordable Drip coffee or Keurig?

A decent drip coffee maker costs around 40 to 80 dollars, whereas Keurig machines start from around 100 dollars and go as high as 250 dollars for advanced models. So yeah! Keurig is definitely more expensive than a traditional coffee maker.

Also, the recurring cost of K cups is significantly higher than that of ground coffee which makes using a Keurig more expensive than regular coffee.

Here’s a quick comparison of the yearly cost of a Drip coffee machine and a Keurig.

Check out other Keurig comparisons

• Keurig vs French Press
• Keurig vs Nespresso
• Is Keurig Worth it

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