Ninja Luxe Café Pro Review: Time for Barista School

You might know Ninja for its air fryers but the company that’s taking the kitchen by storm makes everything from knives to ice cream makers to coffee machines.

It’s the latter that I’ve been testing with the Ninja Luxe Café Pro (ES701), aiming to bring the barista out in you. As the name suggests, this is the top-of-the-range model from Ninja, offering 10 more drinks than the Luxe Café Premier.

This semi-automatic machine is a ‘3-in-1′ with options for espresso, filter coffee and cold brew. Furthermore, it has a hands-free Dual Froth System and a grinder which offers ‘Barista Assist Technology’.

I’ve been testing the Luxe Café Pro for two months to see if it’s worth splashing out on – at an RRP of £699/$749.

Design & Build

• Stylish and compact
• No touchscreen is a blessing
• Some awkward elements

The Ninja Luxe Café Pro is a really nice-looking coffee machine. I’d like more colourways to choose from like the Premier, but it’s smart and is surprisingly compact considering all the things it can do.

There were far too many labels and bits of tape to peel off after taking it out the box, but luckily that was a one-time affair. More importantly, the Luxe Café Pro doesn’t feature a stupid touchscreen. Every time I’ve used these on a coffee machine, they are slow and just downright unnecessary.

The combination of buttons, dials, and the backlit screen is perfect and shouldn’t go wrong either. Elsewhere, there’s a large bean hopper which can fit a little more than a typical bag’s worth (227g), a mug holder with space for four espresso mugs and a handle on the side for tamping the ground beans.

Overall, it’s an excellent machine, but there are a few small downsides to note.

As with most coffee machines, the water tank is the most awkward. Unless you have a big kitchen with plenty of space around the machine, it’s tricky to get in and out – I normally just fill it with a jug instead (and you can use the milk jug).

The drip tray has a small removable section where the coffee pours in case you need to place a very tall travel mug, and this almost always falls out when I’m emptying the larger tray as I forget it’s there.

Another downside if you are forgetful is that the handle doesn’t get locked in place when the beans are being ground. If you walk off, come back and forget to tamp, pulling it out causes coffee to go everywhere, including in the drip tray.

The wheel to adjust the grind size is on the left side behind the tamp arm and could be awkward to use for some kitchens or perhaps people with conditions like arthritis. You do get some motorised assistance but not always.

There are two lights to help you see what you’re doing but they’re placed quite far back so I only found the one shining into the milk jug worked, and that’s the one I needed far less.

Lastly, the additional shelf to get smaller mugs closer to where the coffee brews doesn’t sit totally flat, so mugs can slide a little when the machine vibrates.

As mentioned, these are small things but worth noting before you buy.

Drinks, Features & Performance

• So. Many. Drinks
• Barista Assist is a help and a hindrance
• Top-notch froth

As mentioned at the top, the Luxe Café Pro can make a lot of coffee – I mean different types, so if you only ever make espresso, then this will be overkill. Just get a pod or simple bean-to-cup machine.

The coffee is split into two sections – espresso and coffee – and you can put three different baskets into the handle: single espresso, double espresso, and one called ‘luxe’.

The latter is just a fancy name for a large basket to make filter coffee but you can choose more than one option for a lot of the coffees, so you can experiment with different ways to make them. Here’s the full list:

Espresso

• Ristretto
• Espresso
• Lungo
• Americano
• Cold-pressed

Coffee

• Coffee
• Rich
• Over ice
• Cold brew

If that wasn’t enough choice, you can choose seven different sizes (where it applies) from small to XL (175-530ml) as well as three strength settings. And you can adjust the temperature if you wish.

It gives you so many choices, making the Luxe Cafe Pro far more versatile than so many rivals. Especially the fact it can make cold brew and cold-press coffee – you can use the latter to make espresso martinis.