Ninja’s coffee makers, whether it is the DualBrew model or Hot and Cold Brewed or even the older Coffee Bar systems, all have multiple brew styles to give you as much of a customized experience as possible. In this post, I will help you understand the difference between each brew style and give you a general idea of what they mean.
The availability of exact brew styles will depend on the model you have, but I will explain all brew styles available in all models.
What is a ‘Brew Style’
The term brew style generally refers to the coffee strength or intensity level of the brewed coffee. You can use this selector to adjust the strength of your brew. So each of these names simply refers to the strength level of the coffee brewed.
Brew Styles: Classic, Rich, Over Ice or Specialty
Classic vs. Rich – What’s The Difference
Classic brew seems to be the most obvious choice of them all. This is your classic cup of coffee with balanced taste and aroma. Rich is designed to use slightly less water than the Classic brew, making your coffee state stronger. As you can see in the photo, the rich brew is darker while the Classic brew has a medium shade.
Ninja’s Brew Size Chart
Here’s the exact amount of coffee you get from both brew styles (this chart is from the Ninja DualBrew manual – could be slightly different for other models)
| Size | Classic | Rich |
| Small Cup | 8 oz | 7 oz |
| Cup | 10 oz | 8 oz |
| XL Cup | 12 oz | 10 oz |
| Travel Mug | 15 oz | 12 oz |
| XL Travel | 18 oz | 16 oz |
| 1/4 Carafe | 28 oz | 26 oz |
| 1/2 Carafe | 37 oz | 33 oz |
| 3/4 Carafe | 46 oz | 41 oz |
| Full Carafe | 55 oz | 47 oz |
So as you can see, the Rich brew style for most brew sizes will use LESS water and the difference in water ounces will depend on the size you are brewing. Using less water will give you a bolder tasting coffee.
Over Ice Setting – What Does It Do?
As its name suggests, this brew style is for brewing coffee over ice for your favorite chilled iced coffees.
Some people were under the impression that Over Ice brewed cold coffee, but no, that’s definitely not the case. What this brew style does is create a coffee concentrate that will hold up to the melted ice and not taste watered down. It will brew hot as usual, but will brew in a flavor bold enough to taste good from first to last sip.
Two things to keep in mind:
- Do not use glass! you can use a stainless steel or plastic tumbler to make your iced drinks.
- Fill your cup with ice to the top before the coffee brews. You’ll want the coffee to brew over the ice.
This brew style can be used with any cup size, from small cup and up to a full carafe. You can use the included glass carafe if you want, since it’s made from materials that can withhold temperature change.
Here’s the expected coffee volume for this brew style (when filled with ice and using ground coffee)
| Size | Over Ice (Filled with Ice) |
| Small Cup | 8 oz |
| Cup | 10 oz |
| XL Cup | 12 oz |
| Travel Mug | 14 oz |
| XL Travel | 18 oz |
| 1/4 Carafe | 28 oz |
| 1/2 Carafe | 35 oz |
| 3/4 Carafe | 45 oz |
| Full Carafe | 55 oz |
Specialty Brew – What Is It?
I’ve talked in detailed about specialty brew when answering the question: can ninja dualbrew make espresso.
Specialty Brew is Ninja’s alternative to espresso. You can use this brew style to make a coffee concentrate and use it as the base for your specialty coffee drinks, whether you want to make a latte or a cappuccino. This brew type only brews 4 oz of coffee, no cup size selection available.
Is Specialty Brew and Over Ice The Same?
Both brew styles are supposed to brew concentrated coffee, are they the same?
No, for Over Ice, you get to select from different cup sizes. The coffee will taste bolder so when it is mixed with ice, it does not taste watered down. Depending on the cup size you choose, the coffee will fill up to the top.
Specialty Brew uses more coffee ground and will only brew 4 oz of coffee.
What About Specialty vs. Rich Style Brew, Are They Different?
Yes, they’re totally different. Rich is designed to brew a bolder cup of coffee, but not a coffee concentrate. It only uses slightly less water, but you can still brew all cup sizes using this brew style. Also, compared to Specialty, it uses less coffee grounds.
Amount of Coffee Ground for all Brew Styles (Expect Specialty)
| Size | Tablespoons |
| Small Cup – Cup – XL Cup | 2 – 3 |
| Travel – XL Travel Mug | 3 – 5 |
| 1/4 Carafe – 1/2 Carafe | 6 – 10 |
| 3/4 Carafe – Full Carafe | 8 – 14 |
For Specialty Brew
| Specialty Brew (4 oz) | 4 tablespoons |
