When looking for a pod-free single-serve coffee maker, a lot of people consider the Ninja Coffee Bar to be their best bet. It’s a coffee maker that not only does single-serve without pods, but also many serving sizes up to a full 10-cup pot. It’s a great option for someone who needs a variety of serving sizes and no commitment to any type of pods. But I’m not here to discuss the Ninja coffee bar, but another member of the Ninja family; The Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System. This system not only offers a variety of pod-free serving sizes, but also expands the variety of drinks you can make to coffee and tea, hot or cold!
Features of the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System:
- Brew types: Coffee and Tea using ground coffee, tea bags or loose tea. No pods required.
- Brew sizes: single serve, XL cup, travel cup, Multi-serve, half pot and full pot.
- Brew styles: classic, rich, over ice, cold brew or specialty.
- Smart basket recognition: system includes two labeled baskets for coffee or tea. The system automatically recognized the inserted basket and displays the menu accordingly.
- Tea brew Selection: Herbal, Black, Oolong, White and Green.
- Upon tea selection, the system automatically adjusts the water temperature and steep time for the best results per tea type.
- Built-in milk frother for creating specialty coffee drinks like cappuccino or lattes.
- Comes with a 50 oz carafe. You can choose from glass or thermal options.
Watch How The Brewer Works:
What Is The Cold Brew Option in the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System?
In the Hot and Cold Brew system, there’s two type of cold drink options: Over ice and Cold brew. Over Ice is just what its name indicates, you brew your coffee or tea hot over ice to make your iced drink. But how does the Cold Brew option work?
Cold Brew is the process of making coffee using cold water instead of hot, and letting it steep for over 8 hours. The Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed system doesn’t do that, but it does something similar to the process. When selecting the Cold Brew option, your coffee or tea will brew at a lower temperature of 110F. The steeping time is from 10 to 15 minutes. Brewing coffee or tea at lower temperature usually results in a smoother non-bitter flavor. The brew is also stronger, so as the ice melts, it does not get diluted but the water only adds to the flavor and coldness of the drink.
Serving Sizes of the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System:
Like mentioned above, one of the great features of Ninja’s brewing systems is the variety of serving sizes. Here’s the sizes you’ll be able to brew (volumes vary slightly from one brew type to another, these volumes are for Classic brew type):
- Cup: 9.5 oz
- XL Cup: 11.5 oz
- Travel Mug: 14 oz
- XL Multi-serve: 18 oz
Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System vs. Ninja Coffee Bar, Which Do You Pick?
In the beginning of this post, I mentioned that the Ninja Coffee Bar is a popular choice for a machine that does it all serving sizes, including single-serve, without the use of pods.
Between the Ninja Coffee Bar and Hot and Cold Brewed System, which do you choose?
- As a coffee maker, there’s no difference between the two brewers. Both can make the same serving sizes and same brew types (Except for Cold Brew).
- The biggest difference here is that the Ninja Coffee Bar is a coffee maker only. The Hot and Cold Brewed system is a coffee and tea maker.
- With the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed system you can select from 5 coffee types (strength) and 5 tea types. The Ninja Coffee Bar has 5 coffee selections only.
So your choice is rather easy here. Do you need a coffee maker or a brewer that can does both coffee and tea drinks? Also, would Cold Brew be appealing to you as a drink option? Since it’s only available in the Hot and Cold Brewed System.