Ninja AutoBarista Pro: two-minute review
The Ninja AutoBarista Pro makes crafting coffee and espresso drinks easy. The espresso is the real deal, a true 9-bar espresso brew with crema. It also brews regular drip coffee and a kind of rapid cold brew for iced drinks. From there you can froth your milk of choice, dairy or non-dairy, hot or cold, to create the beverage you get out of bed for.
A dozen pre-sets give you one-touch simplicity. Grind iQ chooses the grind size and dose based your beans. But if you prefer to tweak your settings to your personal taste (strength, grind, temperature, size, froth type,) you can save up to two separate user profiles. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro comes with two bean hoppers so you can easily swap out two different kinds of beans in seconds. Plus there is a chute just for pre-ground coffee, so you always have that option.
I tested out all 12 of the espresso and coffee drinks on the pre-set menu: Espresso, Lungo, Americano, Latte, Cortado, Cappuccino, Flat White, Drip Coffee, Over Ice (coffee), Iced Latte, Cold-Brew (coffee) and Cold-Pressed (espresso). They all came out great, though I noticed that the hot coffee drinks aren't super hot. I'd say they are immediate drinking temperature, not blow-on-it-and-sip temperature.
There is some simple cleaning and maintenance involved, but the machine does perform automatic rinses and has an interior fan to keep things as clean as possible before you have to do anything.
Wake up and have an incredible barista-style coffee drink with just the touch of a button or two. I don't know about you, but this is all I can manage before having coffee in the morning!
Ninja AutoBarista Pro: price and availability
- Available at Ninja's website and Best Buy
- Retails for $949.99 (£718 / AU$1,354)
- Will come in several color options
As of this writing, you can buy the Ninja AutoBarista Pro on Ninja's own website and third-party stores for $949.99/ £899.99. That works out at about AU$1,350, but at the time of writing it's not yet available in Australia. The color shown in my photos, stainless steel, is the only color currently available, but three other colors are coming: Midnight Blue, Oat Milk, and Bronze.
Ninja AutoBarista Pro: specs
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Name | Ninja AutoBarista Pro |
Type | Automatic |
Dimensions (L x W x H) | 17.8 x 10.7 x 15.82 inches / 45.3 x 7.1 x 40.2cm |
Weight | 39.44 lbs / 17.9kg |
Water reservoir capacity | 80 fl oz / 2.37 liters |
Milk frother | Yes |
Bars of pressure | 9 |
Ninja AutoBarista Pro: design
- Professional barista look
- All-inclusive machine
- Touch screen
The Ninja AutoBarista Pro looks like what its name would suggest: an automatic professional barista. Which is pretty much exactly what it is. It's designed to be simple to use and the most efficient way to get the coffee or espresso drink you crave.
The coffee hopper clicks into place on top of the machine. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro comes with two hoppers, so you can keep two different kinds of coffee on hand and easily swap out the hoppers as needed. Each time you put new beans in the hopper, you can run a "Grind iQ" cycle, which allows the machine to automatically dial in the perfect grind size for your beans. There is also a pre-ground coffee chute.
From the top, you can access the water reservoir if you prefer to add water that way as opposed to removing the whole tank and bringing it to your water source.
A large 80-ounce water reservoir sits on the right side of the machine. Inside the reservoir is a water filtration tablet, which should be changed out every two months. The tablet holder has a dial you can set, visible from the outside of the tank, as a reminder of when to change out the filtration tablet.
The left side of the machine has a removable door; inside the door is the brew unit. About once a month, you'll need to pull out the brew unit and give that a thorough rinse and the machine interior a wipe-down.
On the front of the machine is a large touch screen where you make your selections. Underneath that are the dual dispensing spouts, adjustable coffee cup platform, milk wand, and milk jug. The machine does rinse itself regularly, and the milk wand purges itself after use, but you'll need to empty out the drip tray once every few brews. Of course you need to clean the milk jug, steam wand, puck bin, and bean hoppers as needed. Periodically, you'll also need to run a cleaning cycle and descale cycle.
Before using the machine for the first time, you'll need to test your water's hardness with the included test strip. You'll have the opportunity to enter your water's hardness level during setup.
- Design score: 4.5/5
Ninja AutoBarista Pro: performance
- Create just about any hot or cold coffee or espresso drink
- Froth your hot or cold dairy or non-dairy milk
- Very easy to create custom beverages
When I wake up in the morning, what gets me out of bed is the thought of that first cup of coffee. The last thing I want to do is have to go through a multi-step process to get that caffeine kick. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro makes it so easy to get an excellent cup of joe quickly. There are 12 preset coffee and espresso drinks, but each one can be customized to your preferred bean strength, brewing temperature, and drink size. I tried all 12 of the drinks at least once and they were all very good. I used a dark roast coffee for my testing and started with the default settings on everything.
The temperature on the hot drinks was not what I'd call super hot. I found it immediately drinkable, but if you like your coffee to come out hotter than that, you might be disappointed.
I started with just a standard espresso using the default settings, which is a 2.5:1 water to grounds ratio. This was very strong, as expected. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro does produce a crema on its espresso drinks. I made a cold-pressed espresso, which you brew over ice. It brews at a lower temperature and does take longer than brewing a standard espresso, which makes it taste a bit smoother and less bitter. It's still a very strong espresso drink. I tried a lungo, which is a longer pull than the standard espresso, but still a very strong drink with the default settings. I made an americano, which is an espresso with extra water added. This was still strong but good.
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When you make milky drinks, you pour your milk of choice into the jug, choose dairy or non-dairy, and the Ninja AutoBarista Pro properly steams and/or froths your milk for your selected beverage. Then it's up to you to actually pour the milk into your espresso.
I made a cortado, which is espresso plus enough steamed milk to cut the bitterness. It does indeed do that, it's very good even with the almond milk I used. I made a flat white, which is an espresso plus steamed milk, more milk than a cortado but less than a latte. I also made this with almond milk and it was good. Then I made a latte, which has a bit more steamed milk plus a bit of froth. I used skim dairy milk this time with great results.
The cappuccino, which is espresso plus equal parts steamed milk and froth, was foamy and amazing. I used the default settings and skim dairy milk. This might have been my favorite hot beverage. I also made an iced latte, which is cold-pressed espresso plus lightly frothed milk. This turned out slightly foamier than I expected for an iced drink, but it was delicious.
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In addition to the espresso-based drinks above, the Ninja AutoBarista Pro also makes drip coffee. The standard size cup is eight ounces, but you can make it larger or smaller as you like.
The default drip coffee setting was a little weak to my tastes, but that was easily adjusted and I made a stronger brew the next time.
The Ninja's AutoBarista Pro's cold-brew setting isn't a true cold brew. That would take hours. It does, however, brew at a lower temperature for a smoother, sweeter taste and a still-warm-but-cooler brew. The first time I tried this, I thought I selected 4 ounces but it seems to have been 40 ounces. I just stopped it before my mug overflowed. The taste was very nice and smooth. I did it again and brewed six ounces, which came out great.
I made an Over Ice coffee and it wasn't bad, but kind of weak compared to the Cold-Brew.
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- Performance score: 5/5
Should you buy the Ninja AutoBarista Pro?
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Attribute | Notes | Score |
|---|---|---|
Value | While not a cheap machine, if it replaces a daily coffee run it's worthwhile. | 4/5 |
Design | Well-designed to make so many different beverages with ease. | 4.5/5 |
Performance | Everything I made was great; you can tweak the default settings to your taste. | 5/5 |
Buy it if
You want coffee-shop quality coffee and espresso drinks
If you've had it at a coffee shop, you can make it at home with this machine. What else can I say?
You don't want to make that daily coffee shop run
While a thousand-dollar machine may not sound like a bargain, it might save you money in the long run if you eliminate that daily coffee run and brew your coffee at home.
You want coffee quick and easy
You literally just press a button to get your coffee made in the morning. Sure, you'll need to pour in some milk if you want a latte, but seriously, it's so easy.
Don't buy it if
It's not in your budget
Yes, it may save you money in the long run, but it is indeed a large up-front cost.
You don't have much counter space
This is a big machine that takes up a lot of counter space. Plus, it's too heavy to take on and off your counter to store away each day.
Ninja AutoBarista Pro: also consider
De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
Less automated but smaller and less expensive, this one might be just right for you. Like the Ninja, the frothing wand and coffee bean grinder are built in. And it has a touch screen so you can easily make nine different drinks.
Terra Kaffe TK-02
Want even more automation? Hook up your milk of choice and this machine steams, froths, and pours just the right amount into your beverage. Plus, you can control it from your phone or via Alexa.
Check out my Terra Kaffe TK-02 review.
How I tested the Ninja AutoBarista Pro
I spent a couple of weeks in a very caffeinated state. I brewed and drank every beverage on the touch-screen menu at least once: espresso, lungo, americano, latte, cortado, cappuccino, flat white, drip coffee, cver ice (coffee), iced latte, cold-brew (coffee) and cold-pressed (espresso). I performed standard maintenance on the machine, such as emptying the drip tray every few brews, cleaning the milk wand and frothing jug after every use, and removing and rinsing the brew unit.
First reviewed June 2026
