Ninja makes some of the best coffee makers we've tested here at TechRadar, and just a couple of months ago, it added another espresso machine to its collection. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro is the brand's first fully automatic espresso machine, meaning it takes care of the whole brewing process for you. Our reviewer awarded it a near-perfect four and a half stars out of five, but is it the right coffee maker for you?
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It's a tough choice, especially since one of the brand's other top coffee makers — the Ninja Luxe Café Pro — has received a big price cut for Amazon Prime Day. Here I'll weight up the differences between all three so you can make the best decision.
Personally, I'd opt for the Ninja Luxe Café Pro right now. Not only is it significantly cheaper for Prime Day, it also encourages you to experiment with brew settings to get your coffee tasting just the way you like it. Your priorities might differ though, so read on for the full low-down on these two premium coffee makers.
Price
- The Ninja Luxe Café Pro is the cheaper option
- It costs even less for Amazon Prime Day
- The Ninja AutoBarista Pro is still full price
The Ninja Luxe Café Pro has a list price of $749.99 / £699.99, but is currently discounted for Amazon Prime Day. In the US, you can pick it up for $599, while in the UK you can find it for £599. The Ninja AutoBarista Pro isn't included in any Prime Day deals. and is still retailing at its full list price of $949.99 / £899.99.
The Luxe Café Pro is therefore by far the cheaper of the two, costing around $300 / £300 less right now.
Features
- Both coffee makers are beginner-friendly
- Ninja AutoBarista Pro handles the whole brewing process
- Ninja Luxe Café Pro is more hands-on and encourages tinkering
Both these coffee makers are beginner-friendly, but the AutoBarista Pro takes care of the entire brewing process for you, while the Luxe Cafe Pro requires you to get a little bit hands-on, and makes it easier to tweak settings.
The Ninja Luxe Café Pro grinds your coffee into a portafilter basket, which you then tamp down using the lever on the side of the machine, and move under the brewing group (the part of the machine that dispenses hot, pressurized water) to begin pulling your shot of espresso. The machine will suggest appropriate brew settings, but if you're not satisfied with the taste, you can use the row of buttons on the front to change the temperature and strength, and use a dial inside the bean hopper to tweak the grind size.
With the AutoBarista Pro, the entire brewing process happens inside the machine, so you only have to tap the screen and wait for your drink to be dispensed. You can customize your drink if you like, but the AutoBarista doesn't encourage you to tinker as much as the Luxe Café Pro.
Both machines can brew espresso and drip coffee, as well as cold-brewed coffee. Both can also produce creamy foamed milk for lattes and cappuccinos, with different texture settings. Alternatively, you can raise the steam wand of either machine a few degrees and steam milk manually.
Neither coffee maker will dispense milk into your cup though. This is normal for a semi-automatic coffee maker, but not so common for a fully-automatic one. Whether you use the auto foaming function or use the steam wand manually, you'll need to pour it in yourself. Consider it an opportunity to practice your latte art!
Maintenance
Normally I have reservations about fully automatic coffee makers because brewing coffee inside a confined space can make an ideal breeding ground for mold. Heat and moisture, combined with a scattering of organic matter in the form of stray coffee grounds, mean things can get pretty nasty unless you dedicate time to properly cleaning it at the end of the day with allowing it to thoroughly dry out.
Ninja's designers have come up with a clever solution for the AutoBarista Pro — installing a fan in the coffee maker's case that cools and ventilates the interior, just like a PC case fan. All its removable parts are dishwasher-safe as well.
The Ninja Luxe Café is also easy to keep clean; just wash the portafilter and basket, clean the drip tray, purge and wipe down the steam wand, and flush the group set with hot water to keep it fresh.
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