Fellow moms, coffee lovers, anyone who likes a good latte or mocha now and then – I want to introduce you to the Ninja Coffee Bar, a compact coffee maker that fits on your countertop!
I’ve been on cloud nine since receiving my own Ninja Coffee Bar to review. But I have to start with a confession.
No, it’s not something lame like “I can’t live a day without coffee!!!” You guys probably already knew that about me by now. 😉
Here’s the thing. Recently, before receiving my Ninja Coffee Bar, I was pretty frugal about everything except one thing – coffee. Life had just gotten super crazy and I had been stopping a bit too frequently at local coffee shops and the gas station to get my coffee. Why? It was better than what I could make at home!
However, after receiving and trying out my Ninja Coffee Bar, it was obvious to me that I no longer needed to stop somewhere to get coffee shop quality coffee. I could easily do it at home and for a fraction of the price!
The Ninja Coffee Bar is a new coffee brewer that fits on your countertop just like a regular coffee maker, but offers a lot more. It features Thermal Flavor Extraction™ technology, which means it “blends Precision Water Delivery with automated controls for Calibrated Temperature, Pre-infusion, Coffee Saturation, and Flavor Richness.” In simpler words, while it uses ground coffee like other coffee brewers, it truly unlocks the coffee’s full flavor potential!
My Ninja Coffee Bar fit nicely in the space of the everyday coffee maker I had in there before (but rarely used), and includes many features including:
- Glass Carafe
- Precise Temp Warming Plate
- Removable Water Reservoir
- Permanent Filter (that you could use with or without paper filters)
- Multi-Serve Cup Platform
- Ninja Easy Frother
The Removable Water Reservoir twists right off – just remove it, fill it with water, and twist it back on. It also shows you exactly how far to fill it up.
It also features a slick stainless steel finish and easy controls for four different brew types: Classic Brew, Rich Brew, Over Ice Brew, and Specialty Brew (for those lattes and other “special” drinks!).
You can also choose from four different sizes: Cup, Travel, Half Carafe and Full Carafe. Its Auto-IQ technology measures the correct amount of water for each size.
Check out the Drip Stop – so you can stop the flow of coffee to pour a cup mid-brew. No more spilled coffee from stopping it too soon!
It even has a warming plate that automatically adjusts to keep your coffee at the ideal temperature and has a 2-hour shutoff feature.
I tried it out not only at home but I even brought it to work with me at my church so my co-workers could enjoy it, too! We brewed a half carafe, a single mug and a travel size mug serving.
How long does it take? One of my favorite features is that it’s super quick – from the time you plug it in, your drink is done within approximately 4 minutes! It even beeps to tell you when your drink is done.
I also tried the frother with some regular milk on my mocha and it was so creamy! You just pour a little bit of milk (or even almond milk) into the frother and pump it a few times to get perfect frothed milk:
I hope you can see why I’m in love with my Ninja Coffee Bar. I’ve used it for the past couple weeks and haven’t stopped to buy coffee anywhere even ONCE. It comes with a book of 40 coffeehouse-style recipes that I’ve been trying out including the French Vanilla Iced Coffee, the Mocha-Mint Cooler and the Mochaccino! If you’re tempted to buy your coffee everyday at a coffee shop, at $4-5 a day it quickly adds up, so why not try the Ninja Coffee Bar for equally good coffee for way cheaper?
I like my coffee strong, too, and I’ve been using Caribou Coffee’s Amy’s Blend Dark Roast Coffee Beans that I ground up at home myself. That’s another thing I love about making my coffee at home – I can control what goes into my drink, so I’m experimenting with different amounts of sweetener and other ingredients like almond milk for drinks that are better for me yet still delicious.
Cost? The cost is between $159 – 290, depending on where you get it and what accessories you want included. I know that doesn’t sound like a “frugal” price. But if you like coffeehouse-quality or fancy coffee drinks and buy them regularly, you WILL save money with this by making them at home. Many people have a Keurig (we have one at work), and the price is comparable, but even compared to a Keurig you can save money because you can use any ground coffee instead of special k-cups.
Interested in a Ninja Coffee Bar for yourself?
Order one from Amazon.com here:
Or order directly from Ninja here! It also includes a 5-year warranty. What a great gift idea!
(Disclosure: I received a complimentary Ninja Coffee Bar to write this review. This post also contains affiliate links that help support this site at no cost to you. All opinions are 100% mine.)
Hi! I’m glad I stumbled across your review, from a fellow Minnesotan. 🙂 I’m looking at buying this (can get it for $135 today through Kohls!) and I’m an iced mocha “addict” from Caribou, but a frugal mom too and hate to part with that $4-5 when I treaet myself. How does this machine hold up for iced drinks? Thanks for your review, it was very helpful!
Hi Jill – It does great for everything…actually the first drink I made with it was iced coffee. There’s a special setting just for iced drinks. It automatically measures just the right amount, too. It’s a very versatile machine and I’m still using it every day!
Thanks for your input, I just ordered it! 🙂
Great! Enjoy it!
How does the singe cup feature work? I am used to K-cups that are used for individual cups of coffee. Do you have to put new coffee grounds in it for each cup of coffee??
You use the Ninja Coffee Bar like a regular coffee maker – there’s a reusable filter to put coffee grounds in, or add a paper filter to the reusable filter. Yes you need new coffee grounds but you can use any coffee.