Keurig vs Regular Drip Coffee Makers – Which is better?

Enjoying our daily cups of coffee has become one of our staple activities. At least 1 cup of coffee in the morning is a must to get us all alert for the day. With this, we are always in search for the finest yet sustainable coffee which will fit our lifestyle – from the flavor and aroma of the beans to the various coffee brewing methods. In this article, we shall explore two of the most popular and efficient coffee brewing method: the Keurig K-Pod Coffee and the Traditional Drip Coffee.

Related: Keurig vs Nespresso Coffee Makers

Differences between the Keurig with the traditional drip coffee maker

Quality of Coffee

One of the most striking differences of Keurig Coffee compared to the usual drip coffees is its capability to provide you with a café-style coffee at home.

Ever since the widespread popularity of Keurig coffee machines, most of the famous coffee brands have created their own coffee pods. This allows you to have instant access to Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, Krispy Kreme, and Gloria Jean’s among tons of other famous brands.

Interestingly, each of these brands also allows you to customize your desired flavor, coffee roast, and caffeine strength. For example, Starbucks offers different flavors from gentle blonde, medium, dark, and up to French roasts. And also its other available premium roasts.

However, despite such options, convenience, and innovation, the quality of the coffee Keurig produces remain to be a debate among coffee enthusiasts.

Many asserts that corollary to Keurig’s speed of brewery is its substandard by-product. Such is the case because this brewing method allows a very short contact between the hot water and the coffee beans –resulting in an under-extracted coffee.

In other words, lesser brewing time results in fewer aromas and oils many coffee connoisseurs search for.
On the other hand, the coffee produced by traditional drip coffee makers is still being enjoyed by the majority of coffee purists. The primary reason for staying with drip coffees is having total control over your cup of coffee without sacrificing any of the strength of its flavor.

Update: If you like to have a Keurig coffee maker that can make drip coffee too, check out the latest Keurig K-Duo Essentials single serve and carafe coffee maker

Brewing Speed

Keurig machines pride themselves with their ability to produce coffee within less than a minute. With such capability, many refer to Keurig coffees as instant coffees. Well, it’s both a yes or no.

Indeed, the brewing time between your usual instant coffee and Keurig coffee should almost be the same – 60 seconds or less. After all, you are only required to add hot water to the instant powdered coffee, then mix and drink.

However, it is important to note that such instant coffee is rather made from a pre-brewed coffee instead of a freshly brewed one. Unlike it, a Keurig pod contains real ground coffee; therefore, providing you with a real coffee in an instant.

On the other hand, getting your coffee through traditional drip coffee maker comparably takes longer time. Notwithstanding that you must grind your whole beans from time to time for maximum freshness. Unless you are using ground coffees in small amounts, this can make coffee brewing more time-consuming.

In using the drip method, there should be an average 5-minute contact time between the water and the coffee grounds. Of course, this varies per models of the coffee maker; still, the National Coffee Association recommends such contact time for traditional drip method.

Remarkably, there are several new drip coffee makers which now allow its users to set a timer. Instead of waking up to make a coffee, you will rather be woken up by your coffee’s aroma. This solves the immediate demand for a coffee fix after waking up.

Keurig machines seem to be the best for busy people whose every second count. However, some could already be well satisfied with the timer option of the newer models of drip coffee makers.

Convenience

Aside from Keurig coffee maker’s ability to offer you a coffee under than 1 minute, its overall design is also conveniently compact enough to occupy only a small portion of your countertop. Unlike traditional drip coffee makers which, depending on the water capacity, almost require an exclusive location in your kitchen.

In terms of maintenance, Keurig is recommended to be cleaned or descaled only every 3-6 months. Descaling is the cleaning process which aims to remove calcium deposits that can accumulate inside a Keurig coffee maker. Doing this regularly will not only keep the brewer’s performance but also protects you from any possible health risk.

Descaling requires a specific descaling solution and a simple yet repetitive cleaning process.
On the other hand, aside from the daily filter work which traditional drip coffee makers requires, it also needs a weekly to monthly thorough machine cleaning to remove any coffee residues.

Functionality-wise, Keurig already exempts its owner from the usual manual pouring of measured coffee grounds and water. With it, you will only have to insert your K-cup, fill in some water, and simply choose the size of your cup.

Unlike the other method, leaving the machine turned on is totally fine as it does not have a heating coil which traditional coffee makers have to warm your coffee.

On another note, having the said heating coil could also be convenient at times when you plan on drinking your coffee in batches or plan on reheating it after it gets cold.

Hence, the actual degree of convenience Keurig and drip coffee makers vary from every coffee drinker.

Health Risks and Benefits

Generally, drinking coffee is health beneficial as it contains various antioxidants and nutrients.

Since Keurig coffees are predominantly flavored coffees, it is obvious that they contain various flavoring and sweeteners. Such additives may contravene to the usual low-calorie content of a regular coffee.

On the other hand, drip coffee makers allow you to control everything about your coffee. Therefore, it is easy to assure that what you are drinking is only the good stuff – a next to zero calorie drink packed with antioxidants.

Price

It is not therefore a surprise that Keurig coffee makers are way more expensive than the traditional drip coffee makers.

A basic and decent Keurig machine will cost you not less than $150.00 while an average drip coffee maker should just be around $20.00. Notwithstanding that the cost of using K-cups is about 4x more than the coffee grounds, for the same consumption.

Average coffee consumption using Keurig will cost you $800.00 annually while only $190.00 for the drip method.

Nonetheless, Keurig coffee should still be cheaper compared to a daily trip to Starbucks.

Differences between Keurig Coffee and Drip Coffee

The primary difference between Keurig Coffee and Drip Coffee is the quality of coffee.

Keurig coffees can be likened to the ones served at restaurants and Cafés since popular coffee brands have created their own pods.

However, despite such options, coffee purists maintain that due to the quick brewing time of Keurig coffees, they have become inferior to that of drip coffees, in terms of aroma and oils.

After all, which tastes better depends on the person who drinks.

Similarities between the Keurig with the traditional drip coffee maker

Compared to other brewing methods, both Keurig and traditional drip coffee maker are convenient and easy to use for a modern lifestyle.

Both machines require minimal maintenance efforts to ensure their optimal performance.
More than anything else, these two coffee makers, despite their differences, nonetheless produce great coffees.

Advantages for buying Keurig

Buying a Keurig machine will almost make it impossible for you to brew a bad coffee. Also, it will further add flavors to your daily life as it offers a variety of flavors and brands which you can enjoy within the comfort of your home.

With K-cups and Keurig, gone are the days when you still must grind your beans and measure everything to get that fresh cup of coffee.

Indeed, it is the perfect machine for an instant coffee with real flavors.

Advantages of buying a traditional drip coffee maker

There are no arguments with the fact that using a traditional drip coffee maker will save you hundreds of dollars, and even thousands in the long run.

This machine is perfect for a family who loves drinking coffee as it can produce a large amount of coffee with superb quality in one go.

Also, with drip coffee maker, you have the full control over your coffee – whether you want it stronger, or lighter, or sweeter, it will all be up to you.

Newer models of coffee makers also have a built-in timer making your morning extra convenient without spending much.

Keurig vs Drip Coffee Makers – which one to buy?

At this point, you should be able to decide which one to purchase between Keurig and Drip Coffee Makers.

If you are the type of person who prefers instantaneous convenience, loves variety, and enjoys a café quality coffee, you should have already fixed your eyes on Keurig Coffee Makers.

After all, if money is not an issue, you could never be wrong with Keurig.

On the other hand, if you are one of those coffee purists who like their coffee black, or at least, flavored minimally, you are sure to get the traditional coffee maker. You must have higher regards to the type of coffee beans you are about to brew rather than the actual brewing machine.

Also, if you simply want your daily caffeine fix without spending much, you might also want to start with a drip coffee maker and upgrade to Keurig later.

In the end, there is no one size fits all answer as to whether you should buy a Keurig or a drip coffee maker. Such a decision is largely based upon your preference, personality, and lifestyle.

Just get whatever you feel is the best for you. After all, the fact that life begins after coffee will never be changed regardless of your brewing method.