Home appliances under the Shark and Ninja brands hardly need an introduction. They are owned by the American SharkNinja Operating LLC, which has successfully competed in this segment since 1994. Over three decades, the company has become one of the world leaders in home appliances. Shark vacuums and steamers, blenders, air fryers, multicookers, grills from Ninja have been established in modern kitchens.
Of course, coffee makers haven’t been forgotten either. Today, Ninja offers coffee lovers a wide range, including the AutoBarista (fully automatic ‘bean-to-cup’ AE series), Espresso & Coffee Barista system (CFN series for traditional coffee and standard espresso capsules), Specialty & Multi-Serve Drip Makers (CM and CP series), and more.
Ninja Cafe series
In last year, Ninja lineup successfully expanded with and Luxe Cafe Pro (ES701), which became an improved version of Luxe Cafe (ES601). Today they cost ~$ 500 and $ 750 and compete successfully in the market.
Moreover, in the spring of 2026, the company introduced Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro Limited Edition, the design of which was developed in collaboration with former England captain David Beckham. As a result, the Pro version is now available in several colors with a claim to sophisticated aristocracy:
– Black / Stainless Steel – a classic basic version with a combination of a matte black body and polished stainless steel elements;
– Emerald & Gold – a limited-edition premium version with a rich green body and elegant gold accents on the holder, tamper, and panel;
– Matte Black, Stainless Steel & Gold (with dark wood accents) – a designer variation enhanced with wood-grain and gold details;
– Color Drops – limited-edition shades periodically released by the brand, such as Oat Milk, Cyberspace Gold, and Ash Green.
Unfortunately it’s around £150 more expensive than the standard Pro in its regular finishes.
Finally, in early June 2026 Ninja officially introduced the compact 2-in-1 (espresso and filter) Luxe Cafe Mini Plus ES351 model with launch price of £ 499.99. It’s 30% more compact, has guided grinding, and a hands-free Auto-Froth steam wand.
Thus, the Luxe Cafe series now offers four versions, including the Ninja Luxe Cafe, Luxe Cafe Pro / Pro Limited Edition, and Luxe Cafe Mini Plus. To avoid confusion, the company renamed the basic version to Luxe Cafe Premier.
Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier
Pros
– great value quality ratio;
– Barista Assist tech;
– excellent cold milk froth;
– integrated coffee scale;
– multiple ‘3-in-1’ brewing coffee, including innovative Cold Brew;
– superb espresso and cappuccino;
– Cold Froth;
– Queue Milk feature (auto start of milk frothing cycle after preparing espresso);
– near instant On.
Cons
– many controls;
– loud milk steaming, especially in Thick Froth mode;
– no hot water dispenser for the ES601 in US and Canada;
– the plastic dosing funnel feels brittle;
– high water consumption due to pre-infusions, the active heating management, and the auto-purging of the steam wand;
– wet coffee pucks due to the lack of a solenoid valve in Rich or Classic filter coffee modes;
– drip tray quickly fills up due to auto-purging system.
The top panel contains the bean hopper for the grinder, a cup warmer, and the lid for the removable reservoir. The low-profile design of the grinder hopper makes it easy to place under wall cabinets.
The large warmer easily holds several cups.
The 2-liter water tank has a low water sensor, but unlike most modern espresso machines does not have a built-in water filter.
The grinder requires Ninja’s dosing collar. When installing a portafilter without it, a warning will appear on the display.
A built-in scale is located in the doser cradle. In fact, they weigh the grinds to calibrate the timer for the next shot’s timer.
The grinder has a removable conical top burr, but unlike, for example, Breville grinders, it does not support micro-adjusment. The removable hopper holds up to 350g / 12 oz and has a bean shut-off system. It ensures removal of the hopper without spilling grains.
Portafilter and brewing methods
The unique Ninja portafilter with chrome-plated brass is one of the Luxe Cafe’s bonuses. Like standard models, it has a relatively small 53mm diameter. But unlike the usual double holder for ~18 grams for espresso, model comes with an additional deep and massive Luxe basket, which holds up to 40 grams of ground coffee.
This capacity is essential for brewing large batches of drip coffee or cold-pressed coffee. The coffee machine is equipped with a sensor that detects the filter type inserted, adjusting the grind size and water flow algorithm. Furthermore, this basket allows coffee lovers to brew even a quadruple espresso shot.
Ninja comes with a spring-loaded tamper to ensure consistently high-quality espresso. Moreover, its dosing collar reliably holds coffee grounds within the portafilter. Unfortunately, static electricity in the dosing chamber eventually causes coffee grounds to accumulate in the drip tray, requiring the use of a cloth.
Ninja Luxe Cafe uses several brewing methods, including drip-style coffee with extra large filter basket. Unlike traditional preparation in a super automatic espresso machine, the ground coffee in the filter aren’t tamped. To a greater extent, Luxe Cafe brews Classic and Rich filter coffee with the help of similar pour-over technology using low-flow pulses. In this case, hot water is poured onto ground coffee in a filter, providing extraction by passing water through the coffee puck under the force of gravity. Thus, the model supports four drip coffee brew styles, including ‘Over Ice’ and ‘Cold Brew.’ Moreover, Luxe Cafe has a choice of seven serving sizes ranging from 177 to 532 ml (6 – 18 ounces).
PID controller in the thermoblock heating system maintains a consistent brewing temperature.
Key Features
The user interface includes a digital display surrounded by various buttons and dials. Their thoughtful placement makes navigating as easy as possible.
Luxe Cafe’s control panel is split into three distinct zones. The controls on the left are for adjusting the dose and grinding. The central section provides the program and volume selection. Finally, the right section is designed for milk steaming options. It offers four main options, including ‘no froth’, ‘low’, ‘high’, and ‘cold froth’. ‘No froth’ mode is designed for manual steaming, ‘cold froth’ does not use steam.
Of course, the developers provided a convenient way to switch of grinder between espresso and drip coffee modes. For preventing it from jamming, it has a motor-supported adjustment for a finer grind.
The superb espresso with Ninja’s Barista Assist tech is one of the main Luxe Cafe bonuses. With its help, a beginner can prepare excellent coffee without delving into the relationship between grind size and flow rate. It involves several steps. Initially, the coffee machine offers a grind size based on the last shot. The next step is unique to modern coffee makers. The built-in scale of this model precisely weighs the required amount of ground coffee. Depending on the espresso bean, Luxe Cafe doses 17-18 grams of coffee. Unfortunately, as with any smart device, the coffee machine’s software can malfunction. In particular, they can occur when using fresh, high-quality specialty coffee. However, the Barista Assist feature can be disabled.
The coffee machine’s preset offers SCA-level standards, using roughly 18g of coffee to yield about 45g of drink with a 1:2.5 ratio. In the menu, coffee lovers can choose a tighter 1:2 or a looser 1:3 option. Unfortunately, the coffee dose is not adjustable. However, the model always produces very consistent shot.
Milk Foam and Quad Shot
The grinder has excellent soundproofing, ensuring quiet operation that does not exceed 63 dB.
Unfortunately, milk steaming is very loud, especially in Thick Froth mode.
When changing beans, the coffee machine automatically calibrates itself by brewing several test shots. To be fair, this option causes a controversial reaction due to the irrational use of coffee.
Milk Foam
The Ninja Luxe Cafe coffee machine uses a standard steam wand with adjustable airflow. However, inside the milk carafe is a magnetically spinning whisk and a temperature sensor. While frothing, whisk creates a vortex in the milk.
The model supports the popular Quad Shot mode, which includes 2 steps:
– the massive, deep Luxe basket is installed in the portafilter;
– the coffee machine adjusts the pre-infusion and pump cadence to push water through a more massive coffee puck, producing up to 100ml of espresso per cycle.
For Quad Shot mode the developer equipped the model with an innovative drip tray. It includes a multi-level tray for espresso/cappuccino cups and a removable center section. A removable mini-tray is placed into the main drip tray, allowing the machine to accommodate large 0,5 -0,6l / 18-20oz cups.This design allows coffee lovers to use a large travel mug under the portafilter. But everything comes at a price. The rather complex design makes emptying the drip tray a bit challenging.
Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier (ES601) vs Luxe Cafe Pro (ES701)
The Pro version (ES701) is bean-to-cup coffee machine. It features a built-in tamper lever, a separate hot water button, and advanced strength settings.
Both models offer:
– Barista Assist Tech (grinding and bean dosing tips);
– built-in grinder with precision adjustments;
– Dual Froth System (creates hot and cold milk foam);
– 3 brewing methods.
ES601 vs ES701 (differences):
– price – ($ 500 – $ 600) / (£ 480 – £ 550) / (€ 550 – € 650) vs $ 750 / £ 700 / (€ 500 – € 700);
– coffee tamping – manual spring tamper vs built into the holder lever;
– espresso, drip coffee, and cold brew vs hot water dispensing, lungo and ristretto modes, advanced water-to-coffee ratio settings (1:2, 1:2.5, and 1:4);
– standard milk frother vs a thicker 1/2″ steam milk frother with an anti-scald feature.
Today Ninja Luxe Cafe Pro is one of the most all-in-one coffee machines on the market. It offers Barista Assist technology, filter (drip), hot and cold brewing. Moreover, affordable price delivers great value quality ratio.
Competitors:
– five-star Sage Barista Touch Impress ~ £ 1,050 / $ 1,000;
– DeLonghi La Specialista Opera ~ £ 800 / $ 750.
Like Luxe Cafe, Pro version offers three brewing methods, including espresso, filter coffee and cold brew, has an integrated grinder, tamper, scale and milk frother. But despite its abundance of features, its size and weight are only (13.4″ x 12.5″ x 14.8″) / (34 x 32 x 37.7 cm)@27.1 lbs / 12.3 kg.
Conclusions
In recent years, the popularity of the hybrid concept has been growing rapidly in the consumer electronics segment. This list includes, for example, Micro RGB LED TVs with RGB backlit and an LCD panel, ALPD 5-based projectors with both lasers and LEDs as a light source, rugged phones with a built-in projector and much more. In fact, they effectively improve quality and expand functionality by embodying all the benefits of related technologies without significantly increasing the price.
Ninja fits perfectly into this trend, implementing the ‘3-in-1’ concept in the Luxe Cafe series. With it, the lucky owner can quickly get an invigorating espresso in the morning, enjoy a cold Over Ice or Cold Brew on a hot afternoon, and end the day with aromatic drip coffee. What’s more, the price of this wonder is very affordable, ranging from $500 to $800. The budget-friendly Premier is ideal for students and newlyweds, the Pro version is a little more expensive, but more functional, Pro Limited Edition is an aesthetes’ dream, and Luxe Cafe Mini Plus is convenient in a small kitchen.
The video demonstrates getting started with Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier.
