Ninja Luxe™ Café Premier Series Espresso Machine Drip Coffee Maker & Cold Brew Machine

Original Review:

I have a more expensive Delonghi automatic machine, but own a lot of Ninja appliances so when I saw this and what it claims it can do I had to get it. I can honestly say I’m disappointed. I followed the instructions setting it up and getting it calibrated so to say. I made a rich cup of coffee and it wasn’t bad, but noticed when I set it to 10 oz it made more than 10. I then wanted to see how well it did espressos. I use Fabula espresso beans. I set the setting to double shot and it gave me a single that was way to concentrated. There was a very tiny amount of crema so not good in my opinion. The puck that came out of the portafilter was not as solid as it should have been. I tried another cup of coffee this time on classic vs rich and set it to 8 oz. It made more than 8 oz. For coffee it always recommends the grind at the max 25 no matter what. The measurements are off. The unit looks high end and the concept is nice, but its not doing what it claims it can do. I did try different beans and after 3 tries it was barely letting water out to the point my cup barely had anything in it. The other thing I noticed is even with the guard on when grinding it leaves a mess. This would be a good beginner machine, but it’s definitely not without faults.

Update:

After watching several videos and seeing everyone have positive outcomes I thought maybe I received a defective unit, which can happen so I decided to try a new one.
I can say that the new unit works correctly as intended. Amounts are correct and I’m actually getting crema. It did take me 5 times vs 3 to get the correct recommended grind number, but the end result is positive. It’s still really meant for beginners, but at the price point and options it’s good. If you receive one and don’t see results you should see, try another. Just make sure your beans are fresh.

It felt like Christmas morning when this arrived at my door. I was so excited to unbox it and start playing. And it didn’t disappoint!

I suppose I should start by saying I don’t consider myself a coffee expert or connoisseur. I know what I like, and I like tasty coffee, and that’s about the extent of my expertise. That being said, however, I’m pretty sure I’ve used every coffeemaker out there: ordinary drip filter machine, Keurig, French press, Aeropress, Chemex, cold brew (the low-tech kind made in my fridge overnight), and I also have both types of Nespresso machines, original and Vertuo. The Nespresso machines are okay as far as they go, but I don’t like being restricted to their small selection of very expensive pods. Coffee made with the Vertuo is particularly unimpressive. I have never been terribly fond with any of these methods, and I always wanted a real espresso maker so I could really experiment. So it’s a happy day!!

I took everything out of the box and read all the instructions, which were very clear and helpful. The only bummer was that there was no water-hardness test strip in the package (according to the instructions there should have been one included), so I just chose the middle setting (3). I’ll have to buy some test strips and check my water hardness later.

Then, the fun part!! I finally got to make real espresso! It’s so cool how the machine weighs the portafilter before grinding so it knows exactly when there is enough ground coffee in it. Also love that it uses a burr grinder. Choose your beverage, grind your coffee, move the portafilter from the grinder to the group head, press Start Brew, and poof! Espresso! I then made foam with dairy milk, which was just as easy to make as the coffee. All I need to do now is learn how to pour designs into the top of my coffee!

It comes with an “Inspiration Guide,” a book of coffee recipes that includes clear instructions on how to make lattes, cold brew, salted caramel cold foam, and lots of others. There are also instructions on regular maintenance and cleaning. All materials are clearly written, thank goodness. A bad manual can make an experience with an appliance extremely frustrating, so I’m happy these are clear and professionally written.

I can’t compare this machine to other espresso makers as this is the only one I’ve ever had. But I love it. It was so much easier to use than I anticipated. And while it’s quite an investment, it’s still about 1/3 to 1/4 the price of a lot of the espresso machines I researched. I’m really looking forward to playing around with different coffee-drink recipes. I can’t recommend it enough.

Makes amazing espresso and both hot and cold brewed coffee. I am so impressed with the precision and quality of the grinds and brews. It’s so easy to use and makes exceptional coffee. Wow!!

Where I’m coming from: I love a good, strong cup of coffee or espresso drink, but I am not a javaphile whole sweats every little detail in search of the perfect brew. Before this machine, I’ve owned a dozen different coffee makers, a couple of pod machines, and a couple of basic espresso makers… but nothing like this.

We have more than a half-dozen NINJA products and everything they make has been GREAT (with one exception that was merely “good”) so I was excited to get this. Receiving this felt like being a kid on Christmas morning… even down to the way the accessories are packaged screams that this is something special. It’s definitely a splurge for someone who’s never paid more the 150 before, but the Ninja name gave me high hopes. So far, it has EXCEEDED my expectations and I look forward to firing it up each morning.

The quality is, of course, excellent. It fits easily on my counter and looks cool. Making a latte (my most common item) is as easy as you can reasonably expect it to get, and the results are wonderful. So far, I’ve only used it with Starbucks french roast beans and it makes a VERY robust espresso. You can adjust the quantity of the espresso or you can affect the overall intensity by how much milk you use. This is the first machine I’ve had that steamed, stirred, and frothed the milk for you… no more heating the milk separately.

I also LOVE having the integrated, multi-setting burr grinder and hopper that weighs the grounds for a perfect grind every time.

If I could add one dream feature (to be honest, I didn’t even try this, but I’m pretty sure it can’t do it) it would be the ability to heat/froth the milk at the same time that the coffee/espresso is being brewed just to save time. I suspect running two heating elements concurrently might be too much for a 15A outlet.

True, I can’t directly compare it to the machines costing much more, but I can’t imagine they’d be better. I’m not aware of any others of this quality and flexibility at this price. If you’re interested enough to be reading these reviews, I’d say, go ahead and spoil yourself and buy this machine. It’s awesome. (Dang, I finished my entire mocha latte while writing this!)

I hope this helps! I’m sure you’ll love it.

I’m a professional barista and this machine really impressed me. It seemed like they thought everything through with this machine, including the instructional videos… which you should definitely watch! The literature is very thorough and accurate. If you’re not a manual reader, that’s okay! Just use the QR codes they supply to watch their really nicely done instructional videos. This is a beautiful, well built machine that punches above its price point. I’m going to put it in my office and work – instant coffee hangs! This is as good if not better than $tarbuck$ and you can use any type of beans you’d like.

Cool things:
-The machine is self-calibrating based on your beans. You have to do a few test espresso shots or coffee pulls, but then the machine will tell you the suggested grind.
-It has a setting for both dairy milk and plant based milk when you use the frother. I ended up enjoying the “thick foam” setting for my latte. You can pull off some pretty decent latte art with this machine!
-You can self-froth if you’d like! For those of us who are picky about their milk frothing or temperature… fear not! It has a setting that will allow you to bypass the automatic frothing when you’re feeling festive. Thanks, Ninja!
-Storage for everything. Each little part has a place you can store it! No more million pieces scattered everywhere. Everything has a place.
-Self-regulating tamper. It has a spring in it, so you can’t overtamp! Brillant! And it’s a really nice tamper! Yeah, Ninja!
-The instruction manual tells you what the ideal espresso pull looks like. Nice touch!

Things you should consider buying:
-darn good coffee beans
-an espresso knock box (unless you like running to the garbage in between pulls)
-a silicone or rubber mat for tamping (unless you like slowly eating away at your counter)
-a towel for cleaning the frothing wand of milk residue (but don’t worry, the thing cleans the inside by itself!

Just received my machine. So far alot of trial and error because machines of this caliber is new to me. I was sick of spending my money at starbucks and decided to invest in this, and my coffee is not only homemade but taste better. Get it!!!

I absolutely love this machine, and glad Ninja finally has a true espresso coffee combo. I’ve had it for a week, and it’s amazing. Better than the Breville, better than the Casabrews. I do wish it had a bottomless portafilter, but coffee comes out great and espresso comes out amazing. The foam is awesome, from thin, to super thick, to cold foam!

I am absolutely thrilled with my Ninja espresso machine. Not only does it save me money every day, but the self-clean feature and ease of use make it a joy to have in my kitchen. The modern design fits perfectly on my counter, and the quality of the lattes it produces surpasses that of my local coffee shop. I love experimenting with adding brown sugar and different syrups to be frothed, creating a unique and delicious flavor. While the buttons may be a bit confusing at first, the machine quickly becomes intuitive to use with regular practice. Overall, this espresso machine has quickly become my favorite appliance in the house, and I give it 5 stars without hesitation.

We already have a Ninja coffee pot that we really like so I was pretty confident in getting this that we would have a good experience. I have never had an espresso machine nor used one, though we enjoy drinking it. I’ve always been a bit intimidated, but this has been so easy to set up and use. The whole thing is so self contained and it just knows what it’s doing. Calibration is very simple. There’s a video that walks you through the initial set up, grind settings, first tests, and then you’re good to go.

We had cappucinos within ten minutes of unboxing. My kid had a vanilla steamer. We also got some Lavazza decaf espresso beans so we can have a night beverage.

I was a little skeptical at first that this was going to be finicky and complicated but I am so impressed and surprised by how easy it is. I can tell already that we’re going to wonder what we did without it! The poor coffee pot might be relegated to the pantry.

It doesn’t take up too much space on my counter and easily fits under the uppers. It’s about 12” x 13” at the base, and I think I’ll put it on a slider/roller tray so I can pull it out when using it and push it back under the upper when we’re done with it.

this machines quality is very noticeable, it has so many features like the integrated scale and the different presets. I own some other products from ninja and this device lives up to its reputation. For me, it took me a little bit to learn how to do different stuff and I found it a little hard but I could only imagine using a different espresso machine that doesn’t have grind size recommendations and the weight based dosing to help. The quality is great, it feels super sturdy and the design is also modern but also sleek and doesn’t stand out too much on my countertop. There are a ton of different uses for this machine and I can’t wait to use it more.