We Tested Ninja’s New (and First Ever) Espresso Machine. Here’s What You Need to Know [CNET]

The multifunction Ninja Luxe Cafe does more than pull creamy shots of espresso, but is it worth the $500 price? Here’s the scoop on Ninja’s first foray into specialty coffee.

At-home espresso making remains popular, with as many as 14% of Americans reporting that their morning cup is espresso or espresso-based. That’s up from just 1% a decade ago. Ninja, the inventive manufacturer of budget-friendly kitchen gadgets has joined the party with the launch of Ninja Luxe Cafe, the brand’s first ever espresso maker. 

The multifunction coffee system turns out shots of espresso, as many as four at once, but also cups of drip coffee and rapidly made cold brew — a claim few other espresso machines can make. 

I chatted with Neil Shah, chief commercial officer of SharkNinja, over Zoom ahead of the launch. Shah explained how the brand has deep experience and proven success making traditional coffee makers, but now hopes to take guesswork out of a coffee subcategory famous for its persnicketiness. 

The Luxe Cafe walks you through the espresso process with precise grind size suggestions and weight-based dosing — tricky decisions typically made by the person crafting the coffee. And coffee drinks can be finished with foam via the machine’s hands-free, automatic milk frothing and whisking station — all of it managed by intuitive but not overly complicated digital controls. 

What’s different about Ninja’s espresso maker?

A flurry of brands offer at-home espresso makers with more hopping in all the time. Ninja drops into a crowded space with a customer base known for particulars, but it seeks to remove some of the snobbish stigma from at-home espresso making and offer a more user-friendly experience. 

The machine has an unusually large portafilter that can be converted into a traditional coffee filter to make as much as 18 ounces of drip coffee. There’s also cold brew function that turns out concentrated coffee mixed with water for an instantly chill java for steamy summer days. Ninja’s system also whisks milk and nut milk in addition to the more traditional steaming. 

The machine has a sharp, modern look, although it’s not the best looking espresso machine in the middle price tier (KitchenAid’s new semiautomatic espresso machine holds that crown). 

The portafilter transforms into a drip coffee filter

Ninja’s most glaring innovation is in giving the espresso machine a specialty filter to pop in for brewing drip coffee and cold brew. Most espresso machines do one thing — make shots of espresso — and coffee pros would say that’s by design. Good espresso hinges on exact measurements and grind sizes, precise pressure during extraction and consistent water flow, but Ninja is challenging the notion that espresso makers have to be one-trick ponies. 

A built-in whisk for thicker foam 

Most modern espresso machines include a frother wand for steaming milk and creating foamy lattes and cappuccinos. Ninja, true to form, takes things a step further with the addition of a built-in whisk that operates through the bottom of the milk container. 

The frother and whisk combine forces to make four types of coffee topper: steamed milk, thin froth, thick froth and cold foam. There’s also a special setting for nondairy milk, which can be trickier to work into a lather than cow’s milk.

First impressions of the Ninja Luxe Cafe

As with most Ninja kitchen tools we’ve tested, the Luxe Cafe was painless to set up and easy to operate. The machine doesn’t require any barista training to quickly make espresso. The machine nudges you toward its precalibrated bean grind size, a most critical factor for pulling proper espresso, and aids in dosing — aka how much espresso to pack into each shot.

Despite the dozens of options of beverages to make, I found the control panel easy to adapt to. After three or four attempts I had both a drip coffee setting and espresso strength that I liked. The suggested grind size for particular styles was clear, as was changing it manually if I wanted to try something courser or finer. 

I appreciate the detachable bean hopper (something I’m still waiting on Breville to introduce in its machines) which allows you to both clean it thoroughly and also swap beans without much trouble if you prefer a darker roast and someone else in the home prefers light. 

Frother does what it’s supposed to but the whisk is overkill

The frother worked well (they don’t always) as did the whisk, although I don’t care to have my milk whisked to such a dense foam as the Luxe Cafe does. But being able to use the whisk feature with no additional cleanup made the unique feature more attractive. 

Making drip was easy and the resulting coffee was great

The drip coffee setting was excellent and my favorite Ninja-specific feature. It took a few tries and an eventual flip through the manual to make sure I had the drip coffee portafiler installed correctly. One I did and screwed it into place, coffee selection was intuitive. Brewing of an 18-ounce cup of diner-style coffee happened in under 3 minutes.

Cold brew made by the Luxe Cafe was just OK

The cold brew feature I found less impressive. I brewed according to the machine’s direction but the result tasted weak. For me, it’s just as easy to pour strong shots of espresso over ice and let the dilution turn it into iced coffee naturally. 

I was surprised by the price

As a newcomer to the category and a brand known for value, I was surprised by Luxe Cafe’s $500 price tag. Similar espresso machines made by Breville and DeLonghi, two leaders in the at-home espresso category, can be had for around $550 and they have decades of positive consumer sentiment to ride. Although most of those brand’s models don’t also make drip. That said, Ninja’s Luxe Cafe is sure to drop in price as most small kitchen appliances do in the months following launch.

Where can you get the Ninja Luxe Cafe?

The Ninja Luxe Cafe is available for $500 on NinjaKitchen.com, Best Buy and Amazon.