Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier Espresso Machine Review: Beginner’s Luck
I really Really Thank you for the ninja adopting Luxe’s milk steaming system. Some automatic espresso machines incorporate milk containers that must be brought back and forth from the fridge, like this. list. But Luxe keeps it classic with a cane that starts steaming with a pitcher and button press that simply adds milk.
If you choose, you can steam the milk manually. Alternatively, you can steam milk into four programmed settings. This includes cold forms. There is also a plant-based option setting, which Luxe will automatically adjust to. I had little to do with this milk foam, but I enjoyed the opportunity to practice some latte art, even if the pitcher’s squirt is not ideal.
Quirks and quality
The Luxe has a removable hopper and quick heat-up time, which is great. To the left of the machine is where many coffee gatherings take place. Place the funnel on the porter filter to keep it in place before grinding the coffee. Unfortunately, after several months of use, the plastic corners of the funnel are chipped.
If not in use, alongside the pressure click tamper, there is a designated funnel spot on the left side of the machine. I really like this tamper because tamping is often overthinking (Do I create enough pressure? Do I have a uniform surface?).
Unfortunately, the reservoir does not come with a filter. The IV tray can be easily removed and cleaned. An orange notch pops up when you need to empty the tray. On average, empty the drip tray for every 4-5 drinks. Even if the drip tray is empty, the machine is leaking.
With the shelf, the Luxe can accommodate 2oz espresso shots, but can be removed to make room for the 18oz travel mug. One common complaint about Luxe is that despite the Portafilter having two spouts, there is not enough room on the shelf or drip tray to accommodate two espresso cups. However, one of the biggest mistakes on this machine was that there was no hot water gush and I especially enjoyed it on a machine like the De’longhi Magnifica start.
My beef with many ninja kitchen appliances is that sometimes they try to do too much. A cooler with the added “Frost Vault”. However, I feel that Ninja Lux Cafe is different given how intentional it is to compete with other new era espresso machines. Pulling the espresso is solid and sometimes inconsistent, but overall provides a smooth and robust shot. The drip coffee is good, not great, and cold brews can be bitter as they use room temperature water from the filter.
Like many ninja products, the machine sits in a strange space. Coffee purists can choose a simple machine without all the Luxe assists, but true beginners may not feel comfortable investing in Luxe’s ”all-in-one” style. Nevertheless, it is the overall high quality equipment at a fair price that respects the ninja brand when it comes to coffee games.
