Ninja - Luxe Café Essential Series

We got the Ninja Cafe Luxe a few months back and it's awesome. Its versatility is killer, especially since my wife is super picky and rarely wants the same thing for coffee that I do. Drip coffee? Check. Espresso? Check. Latte or Cappuccino? Check. Iced? Cold brew? Yup; any of those. Really impressed with it.

I bought a ninja luxe only thinking of the espresso. But it makes excellent filtered? drip? coffee too. We retired our old coffee maker and now use it for everything. The coffee setting gets you a maximum of around 700 ml but is excellent and also makes small cups. Ground and brewed in no time. Awesome machine.

I can't speak to how BIFL it is, but I got the Ninja Cafe Luxe back at Christmas and it's been an amazing all in one for the price of $500. I can just set and forget with quality better than any chain coffee, and I don't have to think about anything. High quality coffee without all the ritual. My only two complaints are that I can't grind easily grind to a separate container for French press, and I can't easily adjust the strength of the drip coffee.

I have the Ninja 072-08-1736 It’s fantastic, flexible, and affordable.

I have a Ninja machine that makes both espresso and drip coffee, and has a steamer built in to froth milk. It makes such good drinks that it’s taken the enjoyment out of cafe coffee. “We have fancy lattes at home!” But it was not cheap ($500+?). I chose it because that brand sells parts - if it does break, I won’t have to buy a whole new machine

Tell that to my Ninja coffee maker. First the tank started to leak when you removed to fill with water. The clock timer failed next. Finally the whole thing started to leak. I just got a Moccamaster on 1/2 price sale, and I do think it makes a better cup of coffee faster than my Ninja.

My Ninja died on me. First it leaked so I could take the tank off to fill it, then the LED clock died so I couldn't use the timer function, then finally the whole thing started to leak. Moccamaster is the way!

Have one of these too…5 years and going strong.

Do you need a whole pot? Nespresso is like 100 bucks and the vertuo ones make espresso and coffee. Strong good cups too. Otherwise, a ninja drip coffee maker was good to me for awhile. I see the pour over and French press recommendations, both a pain in the ass for a minimally and maybe no different cup than a machine drip. If you like the process and the routine then absolutely go for pour over or French press. Otherwise all drip and pour over coffee is pretty similar assuming you have good grounds and don’t have the cheapest shittiest coffee maker. Diminishing returns are insane when it comes to coffee. Someone somewhere will tell you how his $30 espresso was magical when it’s still just coffee.

The fails I’ve had have been despite routine maintenance. The ninja I loved, but the buttons stopped responding unless I left it unplugged for a couple hours before using it again. We’re on our second Braun, the first replaced under warranty after it started leaking from somewhere internally. We got a cheap Mr coffee while we waited for the replacement, but more often than not it ended up with grounds in the coffee. Use less, too weak. Before we switched back to a pot, our Keurig chugged along for years, rarely requesting maintenance. 😂

My mother has a ninja. I've used it, it makes a decent cup of coffee. She drinks a cup or two a day, sometimes using locally roasted beans and sometimes whatever is on sale at the grocery store. Every time she comes to visit me she comments on what great coffee my moccamaster makes and how it's better than what her ninja makes. Would upgrading be worth it to her? No, not really. I love coffee and I've gotten deeper into it as a hobby over the last few years. I upgraded my grinder, I started roasting my own beans, etc. Drinking coffee is one of the highlights of my day. To me, dropping $$$ on a coffee machine was worth it. I've been really happy with my moccamaster - I've found it makes a consistent, delicious cup of coffee using a wide range of beans. At the end of the day, it's a silly expensive drip coffee machine. Whether or not it's worth it is a matter of perspective.