I Swapped My Coffee Maker for the Ninja Luxe Café Pro for 6 Weeks. It’s the Best Beginner Machine I’ve Used
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Ninja entered the espresso machine game in 2024 with the Luxe Café Premier, earning a reputation for packing in premium features at a lower price. A year later, the Ninja Luxe Café Pro, ibuilds on that momentum, adding even more capability and edging closer to high-end machines from brands like Breville—while still being relatively affordable.
Over six weeks of testing, I set out to determine if the hype is warranted, and if this higher-priced machine can still achieve that perfect ratio of price to value as the original.
What Is the Ninja Luxe Café Pro Espresso Machine?
The Ninja Luxe Café Pro is a semi-automatic espresso machine with mess-free integrated tamping and grinding, plus an automated feedback system to let you know if your grind is too small or large and if your shot is flowing too fast or slow. It can help even novice home brewers perfect hot and cold espresso drinks.
Related: This All-in-One Espresso Machine Replaces Your Grinder, Scale, and Favorite Barista
Overall Impressions
Anyone can get this up and running. It doesn't matter if you don’t have the patience for manuals or live with people who don’t know their way around an espresso machine. Versatility and ease of use are its strongest selling points.
Visually, it got mixed reviews from the foot traffic in my kitchen. Some friends called it “sexy,” though personally I found it to be a little blocky compared to the softer lines of Breville machines. There are some similarities aesthetically to the De’Longhi Specialista line. The polished stainless steel picks up more fingerprints than brushed stainless machines.
The portafilter shape is proprietary, and it’s deep in order to hold the Luxe Basket portafilter. This basket is key to the machine’s versatility because it works for a quadruple espresso shot, drip coffee, and cold brew. But if you’re strictly buying this for espresso, the shape of the portafilter takes some getting used to, and it limits your option for aftermarket portafilters. It’s the same diameter (54mm) as a typical Breville portafilter, but the height of it means that normal 54mm portafilters aren’t tall enough to reach the gasket.
The adjustable cup tray lets you put nearly any size cup under the portafilter—from shot glasses to steel thermoses. But be warned that the gap in the center of the tray is large enough that a shot glass or demitasse with a small base will easily tip over if the edge is inside it.
The frothing cup is an absolute hero feature for this machine. First of all, it’s massive, and you can easily fit enough milk for two or even three drinks without worrying about it bubbling over. The Dual Froth system is fantastic, combining a traditional steam wand with the magnetic spinning stirrer you find in dedicated stand-alone milk frothers. You select your choice of foam from six options, from thin to fluffy, and let it do its thing. The only negative I had with the frother is that because it auto-purges with a generous amount of water, the drip tray needs to be emptied more often than other machines.
Speaking of the drip tray, it took me some getting used to. At its center, where you would naturally reach to grab it, is a detachable insert, so if you try to pull out the tray by that, it comes loose and you may drop it like I did. Only the side portions can be grabbed when you want to slide it out to empty.
Key Features and Tech
- The grind guidance is the most important feature, and it works across all drink types: espresso, drip coffee, cold brew, and cold press espresso.
- The integrated funnel and tamper make it extremely tidy and reduces clutter.
- The Dual Froth system and giant frothing cup are the best features I never knew I needed.
- Versatility with espresso, drip, cold brew, cold press espresso, and hot water—and the ease with which you can shift between them—make this an entry-level king.
- Adjustable cup shelf accommodates large insulated cups that other machines don’t have room for.
Performance
Since smart shot guidance is what makes Ninja’s espresso machines compete above their weight class, the most important metric is whether it actually works.
The machine is quick to set up. First, you turn the large dial in the center to your desired drink type, which determines the initial recommended grind size. Then you put the single, double, or quadruple basket in the portafilter based on what you’re making and insert it into the grinder. You push the start grind button, tamp twice with the integrated tamper (an indicator goes off when you’ve done it right), then insert and tighten the portafilter in the brew head. All that's left to do is push the center button to start brewing.
Based on the output, the machine tells you if you need to adjust the grinds with your actual grind size in large LED numerals beside the recommended size, and you can change it easily with a large dial on the left side of the machine.
While the overall system worked well, the recommendations were a little finicky. Even after 100 shots with the same beans, the machine still periodically changed the recommended grind size for espresso. While it accurately suggested a grind size of 15 for an optimal 30-second shot within 3 to 4 test shots, it would often suggest 13, then 14, but always coming back to 15. Once I realized that, I kept it at 15 even if it suggested I change it.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Relatively affordable; for the features, it offers strong value at $750. | Blocky looks may not be for everyone’s aesthetics. |
The Luxe Basket is the key to versatility, allowing for a quadruple espresso shot, drip coffee, or cold press espresso. | Luxe Basket size and shape limits aftermarket portafilter options. |
Dual-Froth System makes incredible hands-free froth with any milk type. | Polished stainless areas pick up fingerprints very easily. |
Giant frothing cup makes enough milk for 2 to 3 drinks without spilling over. | Assisted dial-in not always consistent with grind recommendations. |
Final Verdict
The Ninja Luxe Café Pro is for anyone who wants an espresso machine that's virtually hands free, relatively affordable, and a crowd-pleaser in terms of drink versatility. You'll never go back to Nespresso after this, but for people dying to become espresso hobbyists, it may leave you wanting more control and more options for aftermarket upgrades.
It costs $750 in the Stainless Steel and Oat Milk colorways or $899 for Emerald and Gold. Compared with comparable machines, the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch is currently priced at $1,000 and has a touchscreen Ninja lacks, but the De’Longhi’s bean guidance system takes more work on the part of the user. Compared with the Breville Touch Impress, currently selling at $1,199, the Ninja offers the same clean tamping and comparable grind size guidance, but lacks the touch screen.
The main question I had while testing the Ninja Luxe Café Pro was, do the added features over the Premier justify the higher price, or does the higher price over Ninja’s first machine make the value proposition of the Pro less of a no-brainer?
After six weeks of daily testing, I think the answer is yes to both. The features do justify the higher price for people of any skill level who want to be able to make nearly every type of coffee. But the higher price also means that in this range there are many solid options out there and another machine may be better to grow with as a serious home barista.
Why You Should Trust Me
I’ve been testing and reviewing home espresso machines for Men’s Journal for the past five years. In that time, I've also interviewed coffee producers, espresso accessory makers, and some of the world’s best baristas. I used the Ninja Luxe Café Pro as my daily driver for over six weeks to see how it performs with fairly heavy use.