☕ ESPRESSO MACHINE REVIEW

Ninja Luxe Café Pro Review: ES701 with Lever Tamper and Hot Water (2026)

Ninja

Written and reviewed by the CoffeeLabAdvisor editorial team · Published 24 October 2026

The Luxe Café Pro Series, model ES701, arrived in the US in spring 2025 as Ninja's answer to the complaints about the Premier. It keeps the same idea, a grinder over a scale that suggests its own setting after every shot, and adds what the Premier was missing. The tamper is now a lever on the side of the machine, there is a separate hot water outlet and a single-shot basket, the menu gains ristretto, lungo and Americano options, and the milk system gets a larger jug, a fifth froth preset and an insulated wand that milk does not bake onto. Ninja calls it four machines in one: espresso, drip, cold brew and hot water. Reviewers agree it is the better machine. Where they disagree is whether the upgrades are worth the price step over the Premier, and the answer depends mostly on whether you want the tamper lever and hot water.

This machine includes a built-in grinder — see our verdict below on how it compares to pairing the machine with a dedicated grinder.

CoffeeLabAdvisor evaluation · Independently evaluated

Best suited for

  • Guided espresso plus hot water and the cleanest tamp in the Luxe Café range from our review
  • milk drinks without learning to texture by hand — the steam wand is automatic from the specification
  • a one-box counter — the grinder is built in from the specification

Consider another option if

  • you want to learn to steam and pour by hand from the specification
  • you steam and brew at the same time — a single heater does one, then the other from the specification
Read our evaluation →Best grinder for the Ninja Luxe Café Pro Series (ES701) →

How CoffeeLabAdvisor knows what it knows · Ask the Advisor

The better Luxe Café: the lever tamper, hot water and single basket fix the Premier's gaps, and its cold brew and cold foam lead the class. Medium and dark roasts only, milk temperature wanders on auto, and the premium is worth it mainly for the lever and hot water.
Best for: Guided espresso plus hot water and the cleanest tamp in the Luxe Café range
Boiler
Single thermoblock
Wattage
1650W
Tank
2.1L
Weight
12.3 kg
Steam
Automatic

✓ Pros

  • Integrated lever tamper; most testers found it cleaner and more consistent
  • Separate hot water and a single basket, both missing on the US Premier
  • Cold brew and cold foam singled out as among the best from any espresso machine
  • Measured 36 g double shots in 25 to 28 seconds

✗ Cons

  • Medium and dark roasts only; light roasts struggle
  • Auto milk temperature varied by up to 11 degrees C in one test
  • Water-hungry: the drip tray fills after about five drinks
  • One-year warranty on a machine at this price

Shot Quality

With medium to dark beans the Pro makes good, repeatable espresso. Home Coffee Expert took about five shots to dial in and was then consistently getting 36 grams of espresso in 25 to 28 seconds, with crema, body and a chocolatey finish, though not at the level of Breville's machines. Tom's Guide, whose reviewer is an SCA-certified barista, overrode the suggested grind to get a shot that flowed in creamy ropes in about 33 seconds. Coffee Kev, who bought both models and tested them side by side, found the Pro's shot volumes far more consistent than his Premier's, though still running slightly long. The dissenting data come from Expert Reviews' UK unit, which measured 60 to 65 grams out from about 18 in, well past the usual ratio, and once saw the grind setting jump a step on its own. The consistent warning is roast: Home Coffee Expert called it a medium-to-dark roast machine, full stop, and WIRED gave the same advice.

What the Pro Adds Over the Premier

The tamper lever is the upgrade reviewers rate most. Coffee Kev said it is the only upgrade he thinks is worth the extra money, Home Coffee Expert called it the biggest upgrade and said the consistency benefit is real, and Tom's Coffee Corner found it tamps properly when you tamp twice as the machine asks. Expert Reviews is the exception: it found the lever plasticky and hard to judge. Hot water is the second real gain, since the US Premier has none; there is also an automatic Americano, which CoffeeGeek found a bit clunky. The single basket fills another Premier gap. The rest is smaller. Ristretto and lungo are ratio presets rather than new hardware, and Coffee Kev found the extra-thick froth only slightly thicker. The XL jug holds about 350 millilitres, enough for two drinks, and the insulated wand wipes clean. Several reviewers, Tom's Guide among them, wondered whether the step up is worth it for everyone.

Steam & Milk

The Dual Froth System Pro uses the same idea as the Premier, a steam wand plus a magnetic whisk in the jug, with five presets: steamed milk, thin, thick and extra-thick froth, and cold foam. Testers rated the texture. Tom's Guide was a bit wowed by soft, shiny microfoam it judged good enough for latte art, and T3 found it better than expected for lattes and flat whites. Temperature is the weak point. Home Coffee Expert measured the automatic milk temperature varying by as much as 11 degrees Celsius, and Coffee Kev found it all over the place on auto. The froth temperature can be lowered in the advanced settings. Expert Reviews made good flat whites and cappuccinos with dairy and oat milk, and WIRED said the Pro makes the best cold foam of any espresso machine it has tried, with plant or cow's milk. Tom's Guide struggled to steam by hand in the large jug, and cold foam fades faster than steamed foam.

Drip Coffee and Cold Brew

Cold brew is where the Pro stands out. Home Coffee Expert said it was up there with some of the best it has had from an espresso machine, and Tom's Guide judged it a pretty good imitation of the real 24-hour kind, though not a rival. It is brewed in minutes at room temperature rather than steeped overnight, and Homes and Gardens found its first batch slightly warm, enough to melt some ice, so pour it over plenty of ice. Reported brew times vary from about three minutes for a double cold-brew shot to around twenty for a larger batch. Drip coffee is the weaker mode: Home Coffee Expert called it comfortably the least impressive part of the machine. It brews 6 to 18 ounces in classic, rich or over-ice styles, and the advice from Premier reviewers to grind finer than suggested for drip applies here too. The hot water outlet dispenses 8 ounces by default at one of three temperatures, which also makes tea and Americanos possible without a kettle.

Who It's For, Build & Value

The Pro suits someone who would buy the Premier but wants hot water, a single basket and a cleaner, less messy tamp, and who drinks medium to dark roasts. If you never drink Americanos or single shots, the Premier does nearly the same job, which is Tom's Coffee Corner's advice when the price gap is large. Build is a mix of stainless steel and plastic; T3 found the drip tray flexes in the hand and Home Coffee Expert felt some plastic parts less premium than Breville's all-steel bodies. It is water-hungry: Tom's Coffee Corner measured a flush of about 100 millilitres per drink and found the drip tray full after about five drinks, and Coffee Kev found it slightly worse than the Premier on that count. Plan to empty the tray and top up the 70-ounce tank every morning. Home Coffee Expert called the one-year warranty short for a machine at this price, and we agree.

What This Review Is Based On

This review is a synthesis of published evidence, not a test of our own unit. Specifications come from Ninja's US product page for the ES701, its ES700 Series owner's guide, its Amazon listing, and where Ninja's own figures are plainly wrong we say so and use measured ones. Hands-on evidence comes from Home Coffee Expert, Tom's Coffee Corner, Tom's Guide, Expert Reviews and T3 (both testing UK versions), Homes and Gardens, Coffee Kev and WIRED. Homes and Gardens tested a unit loaned by Ninja, Coffee Kev bought his, and the others do not say how they obtained theirs. Ninja's page prints the shipping box as the machine size, so the size and weight here come from Amazon's product data. Ninja publishes no pump pressure for the Luxe Café range, and the figures in reviewers' spec tables disagree, so we do not print one. No reviewer has multi-year data yet, so long-term reliability is unknown, and we found no safety recall for any Luxe Café model.
Ninja Luxe Café Pro $749.95 on Amazon
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Ninja Luxe Café Pro — FAQ

What is the difference between the Ninja Luxe Café Premier and Pro?

The Pro adds an integrated lever tamper, separate hot water, a single-shot basket, ristretto, lungo and Americano presets, a fifth froth setting, a larger milk jug and an insulated steam wand. The grinder, scale, baskets and cold brew are the same. Reviewers rate the lever and hot water as the upgrades that matter most.

Is the Ninja Luxe Café Pro worth the extra over the Premier?

If you want hot water, single shots or a cleaner tamp, yes; most reviewers singled out the lever as worth paying for. If you only drink doubles and milk drinks and own a kettle, the Premier makes nearly the same coffee. Tom's Coffee Corner suggests the Premier when the price gap is large, and Tom's Guide questioned whether the step up is worth it for every buyer.

Can the Ninja Luxe Café Pro use light roast beans?

Not well. Home Coffee Expert found that lighter beans exposed inconsistencies in the grinder and extraction, and never got a light-roast shot it liked despite the grind suggestions pushing finer. WIRED gave the same advice: medium or dark roasts only. Dark and medium roasts are where it performs.

How hot is the milk on the Ninja Luxe Café Pro?

It varies on the automatic settings. Tom's Coffee Corner measured about 62 degrees Celsius on the middle temperature, while Home Coffee Expert saw swings of up to 11 degrees between jugs. You can raise or lower the froth temperature in the advanced settings, or steam manually for full control.

Does the Ninja Luxe Café Pro make real cold brew?

It makes a fast cold-brew-style coffee in minutes rather than steeping overnight, brewed at low temperature and pressure. Home Coffee Expert rated it among the best it has had from an espresso machine, and Tom's Guide called it a good imitation. Pour it over plenty of ice, since one tester found a batch slightly warm.

What warranty does the Ninja Luxe Café Pro have?

One year in the US, from the date of purchase from an authorised retailer, for the original owner only. Ninja may repair the machine or replace it with a new or refurbished unit, and its owner's guide lists a shipping fee, US$20.95 at the time of writing, for sending the repaired or replacement unit back. Wear parts such as the funnel and water tank are excluded.

Compare machines with a built-in grinder →

The Grinder Pairing Tool matches grinders to this machine by budget — the page and the tool share the same engine, so answers never drift.

Compare machines with a built-in grinder →

🛒 Buying in deal season? Ninja Black Friday deals — the live price today, and how to tell whether a November discount is a real one.

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