Updated on December 7, 2022
Since it first gained popularity in the early 2000s, Keurig, the largest single-serve coffee brand on the market, has satiated a large portion of America’s caffeine cravings. With new rivals appearing, Keurig has been stepping up its game by including additional flavors, features, and smart-home apps into its practical units.
The two most common brands of single-serve coffee makers, which are used by one-third of households, are Nespresso and Keurig. Both use pods to brew coffee, although they differ greatly from one another. Because the pods cannot be switched, you must stick with your decision, so make it wisely.
Differences Between Nespresso vs Keurig
Coffee Taste
Both Nespresso and Keurig employ capsules, making their brewing technologies comparable. But because the brewing process and pod design are different, there are two separate flavor profiles. The Nespresso method maximizes extraction for fully flavored coffee.
Two brewing methods are used by Nespresso. Traditional pressure-based technology is employed by The OriginalLine. With a 19-bar pressure pump, this procedure is comparable to standard espresso brewing. VertuoLine, meanwhile, makes advantage of centrifusion. In Vertuo machines, the pod is spun 7,000 times per minute by the machine. During centrifusion, the time that ground coffee spends in contact with hot water is prolonged, creating foamy crema that improves the scent of the beverage.
Nespresso pushes coffee from 20 perforations on the edges of the pods for both types, injecting water into the center and around the edges. Because there is less filtration, the coffee contains more coffee oils. Overall, Nespresso has a rich, robust, and concentrated flavor, and Nespresso machines produce stronger drinks that are similar to those made with home-grade espresso machines.
Pressure-based technologies are also used by Keurig devices. Two holes are punched into the top and bottom of the pod by Keurig machines, and the pressure squeezes the coffee out. The main distinction is that K-cups include an inside paper filter that removes most of the particles and coffee oils. As a result, the coffee’s flavor is diminished, and Keurig coffee has a lighter mouthfeel. Espresso lovers frequently complain that Keurig coffee is weak and watery, and the machine doesn’t create as much crema as a Nespresso machine.
Other, less significant variances are also significant. Compared to Keurig, Nespresso uses a finer grind size and a greater coffee to water ratio, both of which increase the richness of the coffee.
Drink Options and Coffee Sizes
Keurig offers a greater selection of beverage options. Regular drip coffee, hot chocolate, tea, lemonade, and fruity beverages are among of the beverages that you may produce with a Keurig. There are presets for 8 oz and 10 oz in many Keurig models, but some, like the K-Select I tested, can brew 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz, and 12 oz. Espresso is one beverage that Keurig cannot produce, though. The company made an espresso-related attempt. The production of the espresso Keurig model and K-cups has subsequently been halted.
The opposite is true for Nespresso, which produces coffee, espresso, ristretto, lungo, and cappuccino (in the models with milk frother). Sizes for Nespresso range from 1.35 ounces to 7.77 ounces. It’s frustrating that Nespresso doesn’t offer more than a regular cup, much less the 12 oz that I believe to be the minimum size for waking up in the morning. The 16 oz carafe size of the Vertuo Next is quite distinctive.
Price
The more expensive choice is Nespresso. The price range for Nespresso VertuoLine machines is from $130 to $350, and some luxury models with an integrated milk frother can cost more than $500.
Prices for Nespresso Vertuo pods range from roughly $1 to $1.20 per pod and can reach $2 for specialty mixes. Pods from OriginalLine cost less money. The majority of them cost 60 cents each, while you may find third-party options for as little as 40 cents each pod. There are many more affordable Nespresso OriginalLine products made by other companies, but not for Vertuo. Although Nespresso only offers their pods in packs (or “sleeves”) of 10, you may purchase bundles on Amazon that have 40 or more pods.
Prices for Keurig machines range from $70 to $250, with the majority of units costing around $100. The cost of a Keurig pod ranges from $0.40 to $0.70. With a Keurig, you will spend less on both the machine and the pods. These savings eventually add up.
Brew Variety
More than 400 beverage options are available in Keurig’s K-Cup pods from 60 brands, including the ten most popular coffee brands in the US. Coffee, hot chocolate, tea, lemonade, and fruity drinks are among these beverages.
Additionally, all K-Cup pods, including those made by Keurig and by other companies, work with K-series brewing devices. To meet any incredibly particular needs, you may even pour your preferred coffee into a reusable K-Cup filter. The more environmentally beneficial method is to use reusable filters because contamination frequently occurs during single-stream recycling.
Currently, the Nespresso VertuoLine, which uses bar-code scanning technology, only offers 17 distinct varieties of coffee. Some people might find this lack of diversity to be a drawback, although coffee connoisseurs may be able to ignore it given the superior quality of the available coffee.
Brewing method
Keurigs use the same straightforward approach as conventional drip coffee makers: pressure brewing. The K-Cups have two holes pierced in the middle and the bottom by the machine for coffee connoisseur, and pressure forces the coffee out. An eight-ounce or ten-ounce cup of coffee can be brewed in anywhere between 45 and a minute.
While the Nespresso machines have embraced centrifusion, the conventional pod machine still uses the crude pressure method of brewing coffee. This increases the amount of hot water that comes into touch with the coffee beans, producing more foamy crema on top of each cup.
This cutting-edge centrifusion technology is used by the Nespresso VertuoLine, which should not be confused with Nespresso Original Machines. The capsule spins at a rate of about 7,000 rpm thanks to a combination of centrifugal force and water fusion.
The water is injected in the middle and pushed out of the 20 apertures on the edges after the machine penetrates the Nespresso pods both in the center and around the edges. When it comes to the brewing process, temperature and time are the key variables that can affect the coffee’s quality. Nespresso uses barcode scanning technology so the coffee maker can read the ideal temperature and brewing time. The outcome? Simply put, Nespresso coffee makers make considerably better coffee than the majority of Keurigs. The centrifugal process used by Nespresso to create the thin layer of crema further improves the scent and flavor experience.
Nespresso Vs Keurig – Which one is better?
Despite having a relatively small market share in the United States, I believe Nespresso to be the better brand, but for most customers, the decision will come down to price versus quality. With better products, Nespresso is the better manufacturer. Keurig coffee makers cost less to buy and run on a daily basis.
However, this research only considers the macro-level choice between Nespresso and Keurig. There are various classes of brewers within each brand that provide varying functionality for a range of prices.