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Tom's Guide
23-06-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
Ninja Luxe Café vs Ninja Luxe Café Pro: which coffee maker should you buy?
On a budget? The long and short of it is that the Ninja Luxe Café is far better value for money than the Pro. It offers all the brilliant 4-in-1 brewing you could need, but you will have to hand-tamp your portafilter and the milk jug won't offer enough space for two drinks in one. Is the Ninja Luxe Café Pro better than the original? Yup. It has an in-built tamping arm, which creates a much more straightforward workflow for busy coffee-lovers, and there's a hot water dispenser to make your Americanos better than ever. But it's also $150 more than the original. The Ninja Luxe Café shook up the coffee maker market when it launched in 2024, but Ninja catches on fast, and it's already released a new and improved version of its flagship espresso machine: the Ninja Luxe Café Pro. The Pro may look similar, but there are some vital differences that you should consider before you make your purchase. For a start, it's $150 more expensive than the original model, which could offer pause for thought if you're hoping to spend less than $600 on a coffee maker. For that extra $150, you'll get a savvy in-built tamping arm that will keep your brewing process mess-free, and there's also the addition of a hot water dispenser, which will satisfy Americano-lovers. We tested (and loved) both in our Ninja Luxe Café review and the Ninja Luxe Café Pro review, but the right one for you will depend on your coffee preferences and your budget. Here's what happened when we pitted two of the best espresso machines head-to-head. Ninja Luxe Café Pro Ninja Luxe Café Price (on manufacturer's website) $749 / £699 $599 / £499 Dimensions 13.39" x 12.48" x 14.84" 12.99" x 13.39" x 14.57" Settings 29 19 Weight 27.07 lbs 25.73 lbs Grinder Conical burr, 25 settings Conical burr 25 settings Tamping In-built tamping arm Tamping guide and dosing funnel Dosing Weight-based Weight-based Espresso filter 53mm, single basket, double basket and luxe basket 53mm, double basket and luxe basket Water reservoir capacity 67.6 fl oz / 2.0L 67.6 fl oz / 2.0L Pressure 15 bar 15 bar Steam settings 5 styles 4 styles There are some subtle design differences here, but they're barely visible. Here are the main differences you should know about before you buy. Size For a start, the Pro is marginally larger and heavier than the original Ninja Luxe Café. But unless you're working with a very specific space, I don't think that will be a deciding factor for you. Tamping arm The most significant difference here is probably in the tamping arm. This will make a massive difference to your workflow. The original machine included assisted taming in the form of a screw-on funnel to make sure you don't spill grounds on your counters, and a hidden compartment to store your tamper when not in use. With the Ninja Luxe Café Pro, there's no need to even take your portafilter out. Simply press the arm down and it will evenly compress your puck for a perfect extraction. Because the grinder is weight-based, you won't ever need to trim your grounds or top up your filter with either machine, but it's still a great convenience factor that makes a huge difference to the user experience. To be honest, I was surprised Ninja didn't include a tamping arm in the original machine. A new single filter The original Ninja Luxe Café made the rogue choice of including a double and quad basket, but no single filter. That's pretty odd for an espresso machine, even if, I confess, I never brew a single shot for my morning drink. If you're watching your caffiene intake, the Ninja Luxe Café Pro could be better for you. It includes a single filter, allowing you to make shorter drinks. Bonus brewing settings The original Ninja Luxe Café can make espresso, drip coffee, and cold brew. With the Ninja Luxe Café Pro, you can also make use of a hot water dispenser and added hot water button. This will allow you to make tea or matcha, and top up espresso to make Americanos. The dispenser sits right next to the group head, meaning it tops up your coffee automatically after brewing certain drinks, which I particularly enjoyed. The Pro will also make ristretto and lungo, which in essence is a different pre-set ratio of water to coffee. A ristretto is a short, strong shot, and a lungo is a longer and more watered-down coffee. Milk jug Another design difference to consider is the increased milk jug capacity you'll get with the Pro. The original Ninja Luxe Café comes with an 8-oz jug, whereas the Pro's jug is 12.5-oz. This allows you to make milk for two drinks at once. But be warned, it's seriously huge, and makes hand-steaming a little fiddly. Steaming wand The steam wand with the Ninja Luxe Café Pro is thicker than the original machine. It doesn't make too much of a difference in use, but the thicker wand stays marginally cooler after use. Bonus milk settings The Ninja Luxe Café Pro has an added milk setting for "extra-stiff" foam. Think the sort of rigid, dry milk you'd get on a hot cappuccino, and it's that sort of texture. This is more of a nice-to-have than a must-have, because the original has a cappuccino setting that's perfectly capable of creating stiff foam. Winner: Ninja Luxe Café Pro Probably the most significant factor separating the Ninja Luxe Café Pro and the original model is that all-important price tag. And it looks like Ninja has bumped up the price of the Pro since it first launched at $699 in May. Right now, the Pro is retailing for $750 at NinjaKitchen, which makes the latest release a whole lot more expensive than the original Ninja Luxe Café, which retails for $599. Does it offer an extra $150 worth of features? In my opinion, no. It's a really bizarre price increase, because it takes what was a competitively-priced machine, adds a few useful features, and thrusts it straight into the premium coffee maker market. It's not that the Ninja Luxe Café Pro can't compete with the likes of $750 Breville or De'Longhi machines, but at $599, the Ninja Luxe Café offered much better value for money. Winner: Ninja Luxe Café Pound for pound, the Pro is a better machine than its predecessor. Its tamping arm is a game-changer for your brewing experience, and the addition of a single basket, ristretto and lungo settings, and a hot water dispenser makes it notably more capable. But is it worth the extra money? That's for you to decide. If you're someone who bought the original and is considering upgrading, I highly doubt you'll find the added functions of the Pro worth the $750 price, but for an extra $150, it's worth considering how much you'd use the hot water dispenser, XL milk jug, or single basket. Aside from the tamping mechanism, these machines are built very similarly, so you'll be able to get a great coffee from both. If you want the best machine: You should buy the Ninja Luxe Café Pro. It's the better machine for features, design, and user experience. If you want the best value: The Ninja Luxe Café isn't as capable as the Pro, but at $150 less, it might be a more realistic option for you. It still makes fantastic drinks, but you won't get the same variety thanks to the omission of a hot water dispenser and single basket. But that could be a trade-off you're willing to make, especially if there's a good deal available on the older model.
Tom's Guide
07-06-2025
- Business
- Tom's Guide
I'm a certified coffee snob, but the new Ninja Luxe Café Pro has won me over — here's why
The Ninja Luxe Café Premier rocked the coffee game when it dropped last year, but amid its myriad smart touches, there was one feature that I thought it lacked — a tamping arm. Enter: the Ninja Luxe Café Pro. Tamping arms are a huge mess-saver for modern espresso machines. You can find them in the likes of Breville and De'Longhi flagship models, and Ninja has caught on fast. Not only do they prevent messy countertops, but tamping arms also have the added benefit of measuring the height of your puck to check for grind volumes, and evenly tamping to prevent channeling. What else is new in this upgraded model? Well, there's a hot water dispenser, something that was sorely lacking in the OG for Americano-lovers such as myself. And its milk steaming jug is significantly larger, allowing you to brew for two. I've spent a week with Ninja's latest flagship coffee maker, and here's why the Ninja Luxe Café Pro has won me over. Price $749 / £699 Size 13.39 in L x 12.48 in W x 14.84 in H Colors Stainless steel + black Power 1650 watts Weight 27.07 lbs The Ninja Luxe Café Pro retails for $749 / £699, heralding Ninja's arrival in the luxury coffee machine market. For context, that's $150 / £150 more than the original Ninja Luxe Café Pro, and comparable to the likes of De'Longhi's excellent new La Specialista Touch or Breville's Barista Express Impress. Visually, the Ninja Luxe Café Pro isn't my favorite. And I'm not ashamed to say that looks matter to me in a coffee maker - if you're asking me to display something on my kitchen counters, I'd like to enjoy looking at it. In a word, I find it a little boxy. But it's in keeping with Ninja's branding: all singing, all dancing, but utilitarian. Not an inch of stainless steel is wasted, with a comprehensive drink menu and informative display panel. There's also a container on the side of your machine for the filters you're not using, which is a nice touch. Not an inch of stainless steel is wasted If I'm being picky, which I think is warranted for $749, I wish the water tank and waste water container were larger. I found myself refilling a lot more than I would with my usual Breville Barista Touch Impress, and I also had to empty the drip tray at least once a day. This might be because Ninja has added a separate, removable drip tray to sit underneath the group head, which loses about a third of the capacity I get in the Breville. This is a nice idea, because it allows you to put travel coffee cups (or the world's tallest mug) directly underneath your group head, which is something I usually can't do when I take my own coffee into the office. Like I said, I'm a coffee snob, and the machines in the office don't always cut it. But if I could trade, I'd probably take the extra waste water space over the removable group head drip tray for the convenience of fewer trips to the sink. The key to a good coffee is a good grinder, but good grinders can be seriously expensive, so if I were placing bets, this is where I'd have expected the Ninja Luxe Café Pro to let me down. But actually, the grinder is pretty clever. The grinder has 25 settings, which is about on par with the range you'lll find in similarly-priced machines from Breville and De'Longhi. This machine uses a somewhat unique weight-based grinding system, meaning your machine never under- or over-grinds, and your puck will always be perfectly level. And I found this weight-based system to be shockingly accurate. Another cool feature that I've never seen before is the fact that the machine automatically detects when you change filter baskets. I'm not even sure how it does that, but it never failed in the pretty frequent switches I was making between the luxe basket and the double filter. A final feature that caught my attention is that the machine automatically purges a little coffee when you change your grind size. That's pretty smart, because there's usually some retention in domestic bean-to-cup machines, meaning when you change grind size, you'll end up with a little of the leftover grounds from the original size, topped up with your new setting. That can make it tricky to find the perfect grind size when you're dialling in. Then, there's the tamping arm. In the Breville Impress range, this arm will indicate if you've ground too much (or too little) coffee and suggest either trimming the top of your puck, or grinding a little extra to hit the perfect level. Ninja adds a token green light to let you know the machine is happy with the volume of grounds in your puck, but because it works on a weight-based system, it should in theory be perfect every time. The machine will suggest changing your grind size depending on the extraction time of your coffee. Too long, and your grounds may be too fine, therefore not allowing enough water through and resulting in a bitter brew. Too short, and the grounds are too large, not creating enough pressure and therefore leading to a weak and under-extracted espresso. The Ninja Luxe Café Pro suggested I start at grind size 18, and it was happy with the first espresso I brewed. I do wish the machine had a timer (my Breville does) to show how long the extraction takes, but regardless of whether Ninja was happy, I wasn't. I found the flavor to be a little lacking, and my shot was a little too speedy as it gushed into my espresso cup. After testing countless coffee makers, I know when a shot isn't pulling quite right. So I overrode the machine and changed the grind size to 15, which resulted in a very tasty shot. I was using Lost Sheep's Brazil roast, and the Ninja Luxe Café Pro brought out the deep fruity notes very well. My perfected shot flowed in creamy ropes, and took around 33 seconds. The machine suggested we meet in the middle at 16, which I (again) ignored. So is its grind suggestion perfect? No, but you can just ignore it, and it's also led me astray in my much more premium Breville Barista Touch Impress. And for more entry-level users, it's better to have some guidance than be left to figure out this complicated espresso business solo. My university nightclub used to sell 'Quaddies': 4 shots in one glass for a cost-effective and efficient way of getting the party going. Well, for obvious reasons, the university banned those, and I thought my quaddie days were behind me. Thanks to Ninja, I can now enjoy a different type of quad-shot in the form of its Luxe basket. I approached the Luxe basket with extreme scepticism. The Luxe basket is the reason the Ninja's portafilter looks a bit ridiculous: it needs to fit single and double baskets, but also a giant, deep filter that would easily double my daily coffee bean consumption. In this economy? But before I come down too hard on this unorthodox addition, I should admit that I've increasingly been turning to it for my morning coffee. I love an Americano, and combined with the new hot water dispenser, the Americano you can make with this XL basket tastes like straight-up, delicious jet fuel. It's really good stuff, giving me a strong but tasty buzz and topping off my mug with an attractive, thin layer of crema. I won't give up my drip coffee quite yet, but if you're looking for a machine that can brew longer coffee as well as short shots of espresso, the Ninja could be tempting. Like its Luxe basket, the milk jug Ninja developed for the Ninja Luxe Café Pro is also comically large. It comes with a whisk at the bottom, which can texturize hot and cold milk, and the option of four different froth levels if you choose to steam automatically. You still can steam manually, but I would suggest buying your own, smaller jug to do this. I struggled to steam by hand in the giant milk jug. I have no notes for the automatic milk steaming. The jug even comes with markings for different volumes to allow you to follow the coffee recipes printed on the side of the machine. I first made a cappuccino following these recipes, and my mountains of steamed milk came out glossy and dry, as you'd aim for when hand-steaming. Next, the latte. I was surprised and a bit wowed by how evenly this milk was textured, with a soft and shiny microfoam that was definitely latte art-worthy. To be mega picky, I'd have had to decant the jug into a more suitable vessel to then pour something impressive, but that's something they teach you at barista school, so seasoned home baristas shouldn't mind too much. As soon as the weather picks up, I switch out my coffee cups for iced latte tumblers. But I've never tried a machine that can make cold foam before, and it was love at first brew. First, I brewed a double shot of 'cold brew' which, like every cold brew setting I've tried from similarly-priced machines, doesn't quite rival the real 24-hour-steeped stuff but is a pretty good imitation. Extraction took about 3 minutes, and the machine pulsed water to pre-infuse and slowly pull a room-temperature shot. The flavor was mellow and fruity, and it definitely hit the spot on a hot day. I then toppped with some milk I steamed using the cold foam setting, and it instantly elevated my summer staple. The thick layer of foam slowly melted into the cold brew, and while it faded relatively first (which is to be expected of any milk that's whisked instead of steamed) it looked lovely and tasted great. The most obvious machine to compare the Ninja Luxe Café Pro to is its predecessor, the Ninja Luxe Café Premier. And while it offers a few things the original doesn't, I do wonder if this is worth $150 more to every customer. Not because this machine isn't worth $750 machine, but because its initial offering was outstanding value. The price immediately lifts the Pro out of the realm of entry-level bean-to-cup machines like the Breville Barista Express, where it's playing in a league of its own. At $749, we're vying with the big boys. If, like me, you're not charmed by the aesthetics, the De'Longhi La Specialista Touch is a very worthy alternative to the Ninja Luxe Café Pro. It's compact, packed with smart features, and offers a much more interactive experience than the Ninja. In the UK (where I'm based) it's a tantalizing $699, but it's $300 more than the Ninja Luxe Café Pro in the U.S., where it retails for $999. There are people who won't enjoy this machine, but they're in a niche minority. It lacks the finessed finish of more established coffee brands, and breaks with some well-established conventions in favor of accessibility. For one, the whisk at the bottom of the milk jug, while great for making cold foam, probably won't impress coffee enthusiasts who appreciate the art of hand-steaming. And while the luxe basket turned out to be a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, some will question whether you can get a good espresso out of a quad basket, and resent the unusually large portafilter that comes with it. As for me? As a seasoned espresso snob, I didn't expect to enjoy this machine as much as I did. Ninja has put a lot of thought into every element of this machine, from the automatic purging when you change grind size to the storage space for your spare baskets. And the inclusion of a tamping arm is a smart one, allowing you to still feel like you've crafted your coffee, but with less mess and more precision. The Ninja Luxe Café Pro offers the perfect balance between ease of use and manual features to create a uniquely accessible machine that almost everyone will love.
