You might not know, but the MCCS team has one interesting thing in common with Sofía Vergara: the love for the Ninja Coffee Bar. Well, at least we believed her when she showed her love for the coffee maker in her Ninja commercial. Nevertheless, we do think that the Ninja is an excellent drip brewer, and, trust us, this opinion is based on valid reasons.
If you are someone who, like us, wants to have it all when it comes to coffee, you could seek ‘salvation’ in the Ninja Coffee Bar. This literally is the coffee maker that won’t make you choose between a single-serve coffee maker, a cappuccino maker, or a drip brewer that can ‘equip’ you with a full carafe of coffee during coffee thirst times.
Why are we not saying anything about the Ninja Coffee Bar making espresso, though? Well, it’s because we’ll need a few more lines to answer the espresso question, and we’re about to end the intro of the article.
A few important things about the Ninja Coffee Bar
We’ll get to whether the Ninja Coffee Bar can make an espresso in a second, but if you let us, we’d like to try and put you under the Ninja Coffee Bar spell. We promise that this has nothing to do with us, but with the nice qualities of the coffee maker, so please allow us to tell you more about it.
Are you still reading? We’ll take that as a yes. Alright, time to be serious now.
We already said that we really liked the Ninja Coffee Bar; our love for this coffee maker has no limits and it has everything to do with the beverage versatility of the brewer.
All Ninja Coffee Bar models come ready to make spectacular coffee drinks. Operated through a fancy control panel, the Coffee Bar brews regular and extra-large cups, regular and extra-large travel mugs, half and full carafes, and more! Some of these options might be absent depending on the Ninja model, but most of them will be available.
Each Ninja is, furthermore, equipped with a frother, a thermal or a glass carafe, a measuring scoop, and a coffee recipe book.
Anything else in the ‘feature box?’ Yes! The Ninja Coffee Bar proudly uses the programmable Auto-IQ technology, pre-infuses the coffee, comes with the option for delay brew, and, if it’s a version with a warmer plate, the plate adjusts its temperature in accordance to your coffee’s size.
Here’s one interesting perk: the Auto-IQ technology adjusts the coffee volume after the recipe of the drink you’re making.
How does all of this sound to you?
Espresso, are you around?
We see you, espresso, we see you! Objectively, though, you are not on the list of coffee drinks that the Ninja Coffee Bar can make. But, this is not as unfortunate as it sounds because the coffee maker makes an espresso-like drink with a feature called ‘Specialty Brew.’
As you might know, drip coffee makers cannot make espresso because they lack the ‘putting enough pressure on the coffee’ factor.
A shot of espresso requires an espresso machine.
An espresso machine will expose coffee grounds to water under 9 bars of pressure—the optimal pressure for a creamy espresso. Drip brewers, on the other hand, only let the water run through the coffee and do not create a pressure of 9 bars.
The Ninja Coffee Bar might not make espresso, but it does make an espresso-like coffee concentrate. You can enjoy the concentrate as a standalone product or add it to your milk-based drinks later on or use it as a base for drinks from the recipe book that comes with the Ninja.
Good coffee on the horizon with the Ninja
The Ninja Coffee Bar makes the thin body of regular coffee more flavorful by pre-infusing it, varying its temperature, and adjusting its strength. With the recipe book, furthermore, you’ll get to try many coffee drinks that are fun, different in volume, and diverse! Fantastic!
The buttons for classic, rich, iced, and specialty coffee, and those for cafe forte and cold brew make the coffee-making even easier. At the touch of a button, you can get a ready drink or a drink that will be the delicious base for a more complex recipe.
In case the Ninja is a ‘no-no’…
If you think that the Ninja Coffee Bar won’t do, we can understand. A good shot of espresso is probably irreplaceable for you, and you cannot accept concentrated coffee in your milk-based drinks or as a clean espresso shot. In that case, we recommend you check out the following espresso machines to get your true espresso:
- Breville the Barista Express;
- Gaggia Classic Pro;
- De’Longhi EC155;
- Coffee;
- Or the De’Longhi EC702, featured in our best espresso machine under $200 list.
It’s time to wrap it up
Our final thoughts on the Ninja Coffee Bar are that it’s a great coffee maker. Affordable and very versatile, it brings a lot to the table in a simple way. It is a beautiful machine that, in our humble opinion, makes art out of coffee.
We hope that by now you like the Ninja Coffee Bar as much as we do. Have a nice day and let specialty coffee show you what a fancy drink coffee is!
So glad I found this description. A love this machine based on the YouTube reviews and based on the opportunity I had to briefly test one out. It’s a beautiful/stylish as well. I was wondering, however, if it could make an espresso or something like an espresso before I ran out and purchased one. AND IT CAN. So I’m sold and plan to purchase one from Kohl in a few days.
Just so very helpful. Thank you!
I really love my ninja coffee bar it makes everything I like I really enjoy my coffee I would use no other coffee maker