Most people who buy an espresso machine want the latte, not the hobby. The traditional route — a semi-automatic machine, a separate grinder, a scale, a tamper and a few weeks of wasted beans while you learn to dial in a shot — puts a lot of people off before they pull a good one. The Ninja Luxe Café Premier is built for them. It grinds, weighs the dose, guides the tamp and froths the milk itself, then turns around and makes a full cup of drip coffee or a cold brew from the same beans. According to Circana’s retail tracking, it was the best-selling espresso maker in the US in 2025 by dollar sales. At $499.99, the question is whether a machine that does three jobs does any of them well.
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The Short Version
Rating: 8.6/10
Best for: Households that drink lattes and regular coffee and want café drinks without learning barista skills
Price: $499.99
Verdict: The most beginner-proof way to get real espresso from whole beans, with drip coffee and cold brew included. Enthusiasts who want full manual control will outgrow it, but most people never will.
Ninja Luxe Café Premier Overview
The Luxe Café Premier (model ES601) is three machines in one body. It makes espresso in two styles, double or quad shot. It brews drip coffee in three styles — classic, rich, or over ice. And it makes cold drinks two ways: cold-pressed espresso and quick cold brew coffee. Drip and cold brew can be made in seven sizes from 6 to 18 ounces, so it covers everything from a single espresso to a travel mug.
Everything starts with whole beans. A built-in conical burr grinder with 25 settings grinds fresh for each drink, and the machine’s Barista Assist Technology handles the steps that normally take practice: it recommends the grind setting, doses by weight, guides the tamp with an assisted tamper, and adjusts temperature and pressure in real time for the drink you have chosen.
The machine measures roughly 13 inches deep, 13.4 inches wide and 14.6 inches tall, about the same footprint as a typical espresso machine with a built-in grinder, and it has built-in storage for its accessories so the tamper and baskets do not end up in a drawer.
Ninja Luxe Café Premier Specs
| Ninja Luxe Café Premier (ES601) | |
|---|---|
| Price | $499.99 (stainless) |
| Drink types | Espresso, drip coffee, cold brew |
| Espresso styles | Double shot, quad shot |
| Drip styles | Classic, rich, over ice |
| Cold styles | Cold-pressed espresso, cold brew coffee |
| Drip and cold brew sizes | 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 oz |
| Grinder | Conical burr, 25 settings |
| Dosing | Weight-based, built-in scale |
| Tamping | Assisted tamper |
| Milk frothing | Dual Froth System: whisk + automatic steamer |
| Froth presets | Steamed milk, thin froth, thick froth, cold foam |
| Dimensions | 12.99″ D x 13.39″ W x 14.57″ H |
| In the box | Portafilter, milk jug, double and Luxe baskets, tamper, cleaning kit, descaler, water test kit |
Espresso: Guided Rather Than Automatic
It is important to understand what kind of machine this is. It is not a super-automatic that drops a finished latte into your cup at the press of a button. You still lock the portafilter in, tamp with the lever and pour the milk. What Ninja has automated is the judgment: the parts of espresso-making that normally take weeks of trial and error.
The grinder recommends a setting and doses by weight, so you get the same amount of coffee every time — the variable that ruins most beginners’ shots. The assisted tamper presses an even puck without you having to learn the right pressure. Then the machine adjusts water temperature and pressure for the drink you have chosen and tells you if the grind needs to be finer or coarser. Within a few drinks of opening a new bag, the machine has effectively dialed it in for you.
The result is consistently good espresso from fresh beans, which is a genuinely big step up from capsule machines. An experienced home barista with a dedicated grinder and a high-end machine will be able to pull better shots, but that is a very different budget and a very different level of effort.
Drip Coffee and Cold Brew: The Reason to Choose This Over a Plain Espresso Machine
The feature that sets the Premier apart from the Breville Barista range is that it is also a proper coffee maker. Choose classic for a normal cup, rich for a stronger brew, or over ice for coffee that is brewed concentrated so it is not watered down when poured over ice. The grinder adjusts for each style, so you are not drinking drip coffee made from an espresso grind.
The cold options are where it gets interesting. Cold brew coffee normally means steeping grounds for 12 hours or more; the Ninja makes a rapid cold brew in minutes. Cold-pressed espresso brews at a lower temperature, pressure and pace, producing a smoother concentrate that is designed for iced lattes and espresso martinis. In a household where one person wants a flat white and another wants a large mug of coffee or an iced coffee, this is the machine that keeps both happy without a second appliance on the counter.
Milk Frothing Without the Learning Curve
Steaming milk with a traditional wand is the second skill most beginners struggle with. The Premier’s Dual Froth System combines a spinning whisk with an automatic steamer: pour milk into the jug, choose steamed milk, thin froth, thick froth or cold foam, and walk away. It turns out consistent microfoam for lattes and cappuccinos, and cold foam for iced drinks, which a traditional steam wand cannot make at all.
If you want to practise latte art you can froth manually. But the presets are the point, and they are the main reason this machine gets recommended for people who have never made espresso before.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Three machines in one: espresso, drip coffee and cold brew
- Built-in conical burr grinder with 25 settings
- Weight-based dosing and assisted tamping take the guesswork out of espresso
- Real-time temperature and pressure adjustment for each drink
- Hands-free frothing with four presets, including cold foam
- Rapid cold brew and cold-pressed espresso for iced drinks
- Drip coffee in seven sizes up to 18 ounces
- Built-in accessory storage and a complete cleaning kit
Cons
- Not a one-touch super-automatic: you still handle the portafilter
- Less manual control than enthusiast espresso setups
- Large footprint for a small kitchen
- 4.2-star average shows mixed experiences among a large owner base
- The gunmetal finish costs $100 more for the same machine
Who Should Buy the Ninja Luxe Café Premier
Buy it if you want espresso drinks without learning to be a barista. This is the clearest case. The grinder, scale, tamper and frother are all guided, and that is exactly what makes most people give up on traditional machines.
Buy it if your household drinks different coffees. One machine that makes a latte, a large mug of drip coffee and a cold brew replaces two or three appliances.
Buy it if you drink a lot of iced coffee. Over-ice drip, rapid cold brew, cold-pressed espresso and cold foam make it the best machine here for cold drinks.
Do not buy it if you want full manual control. If you enjoy dialing in shots and want to experiment, a traditional semi-automatic will give you more room to grow — see our Breville Barista Express vs Barista Touch comparison.
Do not buy it if you want zero effort. If you never want to touch a portafilter, a bean-to-cup super-automatic such as the Bosch Series 6 is the better fit.
Other Ninja Luxe Café Models
Ninja Luxe Café Pro ($749.95) — The 4-in-1 upgrade. It adds an independent hot water system for tea, pour-overs and Americanos, an integrated tamper operated with a lever, a single-shot basket, and an XL milk jug that froths enough for two drinks at once. Worth it if you regularly make drinks for two.
Ninja Luxe Café Mini Plus ($449.99) — Ninja says it is 30% smaller than the Pro series. It keeps the grinder, built-in scale, Barista Assist and automatic frothing, but drops cold brew: it makes espresso and hot or iced drip coffee only. The pick for a small kitchen.
Luxe Café Premier in Gunmetal ($599.99) — The same 3-in-1 machine in a darker finish. Only worth the extra $100 if the color matters to your kitchen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Ninja Luxe Café Premier worth $499.99?
For most people who want lattes and cappuccinos at home without learning barista skills, yes. It combines a burr grinder, a scale, assisted tamping and automatic milk frothing with drip coffee and cold brew, which would otherwise mean several appliances. Experienced home baristas who want manual control will get more from a traditional machine and separate grinder.
Does the Ninja Luxe Café Premier have a built-in grinder?
Yes. It has a conical burr grinder with 25 settings. The machine recommends the grind setting for your beans and drink, and doses the grounds by weight, so you do not need a separate grinder or scale.
Can the Ninja Luxe Café Premier make regular coffee?
Yes. Besides espresso, it brews drip coffee in classic, rich or over-ice styles in sizes from 6 to 18 ounces, and it makes cold brew coffee and cold-pressed espresso. That is the main difference between it and a dedicated espresso machine.
What is the difference between the Ninja Luxe Café Premier and Pro?
The Pro ($749.95) is a 4-in-1 machine that adds an independent hot water system for tea and Americanos, an integrated lever tamper, a single-shot basket and an XL milk jug for two drinks at once. The Premier ($499.99) is the 3-in-1 version with an assisted handheld tamper and a standard jug. For one or two drinkers, the Premier covers almost everything.
Does the Ninja Luxe Café froth plant-based milk?
Ninja’s Dual Froth System uses a spinning whisk with an automatic steamer and has four presets: steamed milk, thin froth, thick froth and cold foam. Ninja positions the Luxe Café range for dairy and plant-based milks, though plant milks vary in how well they foam, and barista-style versions of oat and soy milk generally work best.
Is the Ninja Luxe Café Premier good for beginners?
It is one of the best espresso machines for beginners. Barista Assist Technology recommends the grind, weighs the dose, guides tamping and adjusts temperature and pressure automatically, and the frother runs on presets. Those are the steps where beginners usually go wrong with traditional machines.
Final Verdict
The Ninja Luxe Café Premier is the easiest way to get real espresso from fresh beans, and it makes a good cup of coffee and a cold brew as well. The grinder, the weight-based dosing, the assisted tamp and the hands-free frother remove the steps that frustrate beginners, and that is why it has become the best-selling espresso machine in the US.
It is not for everyone. Enthusiasts will want more manual control, and anyone who wants a one-touch latte should look at a super-automatic. But for a household that wants café drinks on a weekday morning without a learning curve, this is the machine to buy.
Rated 8.6 out of 10. If you want a hot water tap and a lever tamper, step up to the Luxe Café Pro. If counter space is tight, the Mini Plus keeps most of the features in a smaller body.