I tested the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus — and it’s ideal for total beginners due to this one game-changing feature

The Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus does the one thing I know most new home baristas struggle with: dialing in. Ever wondered why nothing is coming out of your espresso machine, or it’s coming out like water from a newly unblocked pipe? It’s because you haven’t dialed your coffee in yet.

But Ninja said ‘No more!’ No longer do you have to waste precious coffee on figuring out optimal grind size’ The Luxe Cafe Mini Plus has auto-grind-size calibration that tells you the precise “click” you should grind your beans at. This is genuinely so helpful for newbies.

So, is this enough to make the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus one of the best espresso machines? For beginners, totally. Say goodbye to coffee-related headaches (unless you’re slamming double espresso after double espresso, but that’s a completely different type of headache). Want to find out more? Why wouldn’t you? Keep reading this Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review: Specs

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review: Price & availability

The Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus is $499 from SharkNinja U.S. and £499 from Amazon U.K.. Although this looks like an objectively large amount of money, I can assure you this is actually reasonable for an espresso machine with a built-in grinder.

Ninja also makes the Luxe Cafe Mini ($459). The Mini doesn’t have automatic milk frothing. On the Luxe Cafe lineup is the Luxe Cafe Pro ($749), Luxe Cafe Premier ($599), and then you’ve got the eye-watering AutoBarista Pro ($949).

The cheapest setup I’d recommend is the Casabrews 3700 Essential ($129) and the Timemore C2s Chestnut ($60), which works out to $189. However, this is a hand grinder, so it might not be best for those who have no desire to spend ten minutes turning a crank (me included — I make my boyfriend grind my beans).

When you get into bean-to-cups, the price increases dramatically. You’ve got the Casabrews Marenza ($349), the cheapest bean-to-cup I’ve ever reviewed, but there’s a catch — the grinder hopper smashed after the second use, so I wouldn’t recommend it for longevity.

You’ve also got the Breville Barista Express ($699), one of the most iconic bean-to-cups ever made, and the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo ($699), the best-value bean-to-cup I’ve reviewed. The Luxe Cafe Mini Plus undercuts both by some margin.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review: Design

Just like the Ninja AutoBarista Pro I reviewed last month, the Luxe Cafe Mini is effectively a big plastic square. The machine gets the job done, but I don’t think it’s as pretty as the Breville Barista Express, De’Longhi Arte Evo, Lelit Mara X3, or the Fellow Espresso Series 1.

Of course, though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you may totally disagree. That’s fine! Ninja knows what works, obviously; it wouldn’t keep releasing espresso machines with the same functional aesthetic otherwise. It must work.

What separates the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus from the Luxe Cafe Pro or AutoBarista Pro is pretty obvious — its size. The Luxe Cafe Mini is 3 inches narrower, half an inch slimmer, and 1 inch lower than the Luxe Cafe Pro. I’d recommend it for small spaces any day.

There’s an LCD screen on the front of the machine: you can see your grind size and coffee settings here. It’s easy to change said settings: just twist the knob and press the buttons. They’re all labeled, and it’s practically impossible to go wrong here.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review: Espresso

As this is a bean-to-cup, I’ll discuss grinder and espresso here. I’ll go through milk performance later. The grinder operates at 71 dB, which is around the same volume as a running shower or a flushing toilet. As it only grinds for a few seconds, I’d say this is pretty quiet, all things considered.

Grinder

Unfortunately, you can’t set the grinder to whatever step you please. As the machine recommends you a grind setting, you can’t just go rogue and do what you want. As a result, I was only able to do a portion of my “normal” grinder testing. Obviously, if you’re making “drip”, the machine will suggest a much coarser grind size.

You get a dosing collar that slots into the grinder mechanism to prevent mess, too.

Normally, I would go through every fineness: Turkish all the way to cold brew. Here, though, I was only able to test the espresso-fine 12-step.

Here’s my standard uniformity testing. I’m looking for big jumps here: I want 0% to 90%. This proves the grinder is uniform, as all the grounds are the same size.

I would have liked to do more testing — but as I said, the machine only lets you grind on its recommended size!

As you can see, the grinder isn’t overly uniform. However, dialing in is super easy, as the machine does everything for you. No weighing or dosing or adjusting the grind. The machine takes care of all that headache.

Espresso

The Ninja’s espresso tastes fine. It’s not delicious, but it’s not disgusting, either. If you’re the kind of person who puts syrups or flavoring in your coffee, you probably won’t notice the taste flavor at all — but isn’t that kind of the point? The espresso tastes like coffee. Not massively nuanced or bright coffee, but coffee. It tastes like Starbucks.

As you can see, the shot is a nice caramel color with a layer of crema. The crema isn’t as creamy as I’d like, but it still tasted good. There was no nuance or complexity to the shot: it tasted like chain coffee. However, this is still good enough for most people — and without the dialing-in headache. It brewed 34g of coffee in 26 seconds.

I will note that the portafilter is tiny — just 53 mm. This means you likely won’t be able to get much aftermarket stuff in terms of accessories, but, again, I’m not sure that’s who this machine is aimed at. You do, however, get a dosing collar and a spring-loaded tamper as standard.

As I mentioned earlier, while the grinder isn’t “technically” perfect in the same way you’d expect from a standalone grinder, it’s fine for casual coffee drinkers who prioritize ease of use over coffee snobbery.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review: Milk

The Luxe Cafe Mini has two milk steaming modes: automatic and manual. You can choose from three levels of foam: low, medium, and high. Weirdly, the “medium” foam level is more like a cappuccino. It took 1 minute 49 seconds to heat a jug of milk to drinking temperature, which is longer than the Breville Bambino Plus’s auto milk frothing time.

Manual milk steaming works the same as any other espresso machine. I was surprised to see the Luxe Cafe Mini Plus has a super strong steam wand — much stronger than Casabrews alternatives I’ve tested. It’s around the same strength as a De’Longhi Arte Evo.

Here’s a photo of automatically frothed milk.

As you can see, the texture is okay. It’s not perfect, but it’s soft enough to achieve some latte art. There was a disconnect between the milk and froth, which resulted in a dodgy pour. I’d recommend serious home baristas foam their own milk, but newbies might find this super helpful.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review: Storage & maintenance

As the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus is, well, mini, it’s a better option for smaller spaces. Although it’s not as small as a standalone espresso machine, it’s smaller than alternative bean-to-cups. Let’s get our comparison caps on! N.B.: the last model, Breville Bambino, is a standalone espresso machine. This is just for a baseline comparison as the Bambino is the small machine of choice for many. I’m aware they serve slightly different audiences.

As you can see, the Luxe Cafe Mini is considerably lighter than the other bean-to-cups. It’s also shorter and slimmer than all the others, but the De’Longhi Arte Evo is narrower.

I have no qualms about recommending the Luxe Cafe Mini to those who need a smaller espresso machine but don’t want to sacrifice a built-in grinder.

In terms of longevity, Ninja offers a 2-year warranty, which is the same as Breville and De’Longhi, so pretty standard. As the machine doesn’t come with cleaning products, you’d need to get backflush tablets and descaler yourself. These are $34 for a 4-month supply directly from Ninja. It does come with a water filter, though, which is nice!

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus review: Verdict

The Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus is a fantastic first espresso machine. I won’t impress coffee snobs, but it will hit the spot if you value ease of use, simplicity, and consistency. The automatic dial-in process is perhaps the best thing for newbies. No stressing over why no coffee came out or why your coffee tastes like sour bean water. You do get a decent shot of espresso every time.

No, there’s no nuance of complexity in the shot. I use the same beans for all my testing, and they tasted like Starbucks rather than the snobby shop down the road. But is that a bad thing? Starbucks is popular for a reason. People love coffee that tastes like coffee. I personally wouldn’t get this machine, but I’m a coffee snob. Take what I say with a pinch of salt.

If you’re reading this and nodding along, you’re definitely the target audience for the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus. It helps you make consistent espresso and milk. Coffee lovers looking for a one-ticket route to consistently great coffee? Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus.