Pod Coffee Makers Showdown: Nespresso VS Keurig

When looking for the ultimate convenience, which coffee maker delivers?

For the modern coffee drinker, making their ideal cup of joe in a short time is just as important as making it taste the best that they possibly can. After all, not everyone has the time to prepare a cold brew or the equipment to make a French press, but they still want and deserve premium tasting coffee during their everyday routine. For such individuals who are in a hurry but do not want to compromise on the quality of their daily java fix, coffee pods or single-serve coffee seem to be a gift from the Heavens.

If you don’t want to handle coffee filters and are tired of making sure there aren’t any coffee grounds left in your beverage, you can use coffee pods to fix yourself a cup of joe. Coffee pods or capsules let you make a quality drink without having to go through the redundant tasks that come with brewing your coffee. But the added convenience is that they also offer a great taste to their consumers. That is why those who enjoy their coffee can often be found asking which pod coffee maker is the best for their use.

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Get To Know The Brands

Before you go ahead and review the features offered by Nespresso and Keurig, you must learn the necessary information about each of these brands. While both of them are popular, it is important to know where they come from and how long they have been in business for you to have an informed opinion.

Nespresso

The brand comes from the Swiss roots of food conglomerate Nestlé Group. It was founded back in 1986, and since then has become synonymous with brewing high-quality coffee for home users. As the name suggests, the brand first became known for making espresso drinks through its coffee machines. But since then, it has evolved into including other beverages into its coffee makers as well.

Nespresso coffee makers come in two major varieties, namely Original and Vertuo. While the original specializes in espresso-based coffees, Vertuo provides you with more options in terms of different beverages and tastes. Both varieties hold a slew of different coffee makers, where they could make espresso shots exclusively to artful lattes – depending upon how much money you are willing to shell out. The brand is known for making these machines with the highest quality of materials, for which it charges premium prices.

Learn more about Nespresso’s Original and Vertuo machines in our article, here.

Keurig

Keurig isn’t far behind when it comes to offering premium experience within its coffee makers. Originally established in 1981 as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the company went through a few organizational expansions to become Keurig Dr. Pepper. Today, it operates from the U.S. and has become a coffee and beverage conglomerate.

Keurig’s coffee makers specialize in single-serve brewing as well as a carafe and mug-sized coffees that are known for their taste and convenience. The company offers a large variety of brewing machines for home users with different options for coffee pods or capsules. This appeals to a massive segment of coffee enthusiasts in the U.S. and all over the world. From single-serve coffee to premium quality lattes, consumers could enjoy a plethora of choices through the Keurig system.

What sets Keurig apart from its competitors is how it offers its pods, called K-Cups, in a variety of flavors that come directly from popular brands themselves. Among its premium flavors, Keurig’s K-Cups are also available in Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, and Folgers blends to name a few. This allows consumers to enjoy cafe-quality coffee right at their home.

There are many brands that have Nespresso-compatible capsules. Check out these top-rated 7 brands, here.

Nespresso vs Keurig

Both Nespresso and Keurig offer high-quality beverages but in two different manners. Therefore, deciding which pod coffee maker is the best is something that depends mostly on your taste.

While Nespresso has unbeatable taste in its premium offerings, Keurig brings coffee shops to your home through its brand partnerships. With that being said, both companies brew coffees that are silky smooth and provide perfect textures.

But here’s where it gets interesting. While Nespresso machines brew the perfect espresso and have become known for it, the way that Keurig machines are built does not offer “true” espresso. It’s because of the pressure mechanism of the Keurig machines that it does not process its pods in a way that could make an authentic cup of this highly popular beverage.

With that being said, Keurig still offers espresso pods that taste great. But if you are looking for the tiniest of details while making your espresso, then you might be disappointed by the technicalities at play.

The Price: Nespresso vs Keurig

If you are looking for a pod coffee maker that doesn’t break the bank while also providing you with premium tasting beverage again and again, then starting the comparison with the perspective of the price is highly essential.

Assuming that you are putting so much effort into making coffee at home, one of your primary objectives might be to stop visiting coffee shops at the start of your morning – and save some money while you are at it. With this frame of mind, it gets even more important to choose a pod coffee maker that churns out great single-serve coffees but at a nominal price.

Descaling your Nespresso is quite early to learn and master. View our guide, here.

Usability of Coffee Pods: Nespresso vs Keurig

You also need to keep in mind that if you choose a coffee maker, then you need to purchase specific coffee pods that work with it. Whether you are buying either a new Nespresso or Keurig, it wouldn’t be easy to find pods by other brands that work with your machine. While so-called alternative capsules will still be available, they wouldn’t be very compatible with your machines and would cause a host of issues in the long run.

It’s because newer models of Keurig pod coffee makers restrict the usage of other brands’ capsules with its machines. You cannot use capsules that are manufactured by other companies. However, it allows you to use special pods that could be filled using loose coffee grounds. This way, you can use your choice and blend of coffee if Keurig’s pre-made pods don’t seem to tickle your fancy.

But Nespresso isn’t any different since its newer models also restrict the usage of other brands’ coffee pods. It goes a step further than Keurig in its restrictions and prohibits the usage of reusable capsules. This means that if you buy one of Nespresso’s pod coffee makers, you wouldn’t be able to refill your coffee pods with loose grounds. What Nespresso offers to you in its variety of roasts and blends will be all you have to work with to make a shot of espresso or another coffee. Once again, workarounds by third parties will be available, especially in terms of reusable pods, but there’s no telling if they would work perfectly or not. You would have to use them at your own risk and upon a judgment of users who seem to find them quite helpful.

Either way, if you are buying coffee machines from these companies, then you are also committing to the coffee pod or capsule variations that they have to offer.

Recyclability: Nespresso vs Keurig

With the talks of global warming and climate change, responsible individuals are trying to make conscious choices to limit their carbon footprint on the world. From switching to clean energy to eliminating the use of plastic, this includes various little choices that come together to make a big difference.

Since coffee pods are disposable, their recyclability poses a big question on their users. Are you comfortable with the slight convenience of using coffee pods even if they end up littering the planet and making life difficult for its inhabitants? If not, then considering this factor is important for you.

While Keurig has the largest market share in the home brewing segment with an impressive 29 percent, not all of its pods are recyclable. This also includes some of the most popular K-Cups. With that being said, the company has vowed to make completely recyclable pods by 2020.

As compared to most of Keurig’s pods that are made out of non-recyclable plastic, Nespresso’s pods or capsules are made through aluminum. This ensures that they remain recyclable and could be reused without affecting the environment much.

This means that if you are looking for a greener choice in coffee pods, and if this is an aspect that makes you decide which pod coffee maker is the best, then Nespresso would beat Keurig to the punch. Now that you have gone through the factors in a detailed manner, here is a quick review of the showdown between Nespresso and Keurig.

Nespresso VS Espresso… View our comparison, here.

Pros and Cons: Nespresso vs Keurig

Pros of using Nespresso

Has premium brewing mechanisms.
It offers its exclusive flavors.
Makes technically apt espresso and espresso-based drinks.
Has recyclable pods.

Cons of using Nespresso

It has high setup costs.
It doesn’t offer brand-specific flavors.

Pros of using Keurig

It has cheaper initial costs.
It has more variety of flavors.
Officially provides reusable pods to use your coffee grounds.
Has brand affiliations to recreate popular tastes.

Cons of using Keurig

It doesn’t have a technically apt mechanism to brew espresso.
Flavors can miss the mark for particular palettes.
It doesn’t offer recyclability for all its pods.

Our Choice here at Coffeesesh.com

Remember, choosing either of these coffee makers is completely dependent on your discretion. No matter which brand you end up going with due to its durability, price, taste, or offered options in terms of variety, the only wrong choice is one where you don’t feel personally happy with your decision.

As long as you feel satisfied with what you have chosen, it doesn’t matter whether you buy a Nespresso or a Keurig. What matters is the value that you see within the product, since at the end of the day, it’s you who has to live with your new coffee maker and the features that it offers to you and your family.

Thank you for reading! Be sure to check out similar content related to these coffee brands like “3 Famous Coffee Shop Franchises Around The World“. Make sure you also check out “9 Gifts for Coffee Lovers” for a list of great gifts for all your coffee loving friends.

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We’ll brew ya later! ☕️

Pod Coffee Makers Showdown: Nespresso VS Keurig

When looking for the ultimate convenience, which coffee maker delivers?

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