Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus ES351 Review

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini (and Plus) in a Nutshell

The Luxe Cafe Mini and Mini Plus are small semi-automatic espresso and coffee machines, which means that they include an integrated conical burr grinder. The machine also comes with a milk pitcher, a tamper, and a funnel, so that you can go to town right away making drinks.

For context, Ninja only started in 2024 with their first espresso machine, the Luxe Cafe Premier ES601, and that machine blew up in popularity. Now, just 2 years later, they have come out with two Mini models, to add to their line-up. Let’s see what it’s all about…

What Changed on the Mini Models?

Well first of all, the Mini is 30% smaller than the original Luxe Cafe Premier or Luxe Cafe Pro. This is a welcome change, since it takes up less real estate on your counter, and feels less dominating. The smaller size also looks cuter, I’d say. However, becoming smaller means that the machine is a little more cramped. More on that later.

Besides being smaller overall, it has also changed positions of the tamper and funnel. They used to be stuck in the left side of the original Luxe Cafe series, but are now dropped in a socket on the top of the unit. This is actually nicer from a workflow standpoint, but does get coffee grounds on the top of your machine.

An improvement is the enhancement in grind settings. While the original model only had 25 grind settings, the new Mini models have 60! This is great for gaining more granularity on adjusting your grind size, especially in dialing in for espresso. Also, the grind knob now turns vertically, while it was previously a horizontal dial.

The new Mini models come with a different milk pitcher, without a whisk disk. That makes cleanup maybe a little easier, but it also means no cold milk frothing. In fact, the Mini models cannot do cold drinks such as cold brew or cold-pressed espresso.

Additionally, the new Mini models come with a different portafilter. If you check the pictures below, you’ll see the Luxe Cafe Premier (left) has a dual spouted portafilter. The Mini on the right has a single spout. This means that you can split a shot on the Luxe Cafe Premier, but not on the new Mini models. That doesn’t bother me, as I don’t split shots, but it might bother some other people.

60 Grind Settings!

The Luxe Cafe Mini and Mini Plus come with 60 grind settings, which is awesome! This gives the grinder an excellent range, to go between espresso (around 8-12 for me), to lungo (15 to 18 for me), to filter coffee (45-50). The large number of tracked grind settings additionally give better granularity, meaning that you can adjust between smaller steps than before, allowing one to better dial in for espresso.

As before, the grinder on the Mini series still grinds during adjustment when the portafilter is installed. This is good so that the grinder burrs don’t get extra force on them while adjusting. This is a nice feature, that I’ve only seen on Ninja espresso machines.

New Steam Wands!

While the original steam wand on the Luxe Cafe Premier ES601 worked fine, it was a little on the thin side, had just one hole, and got super hot! The new steam wands on the Mini models are better, I’d say. While the Mini ES301 gets the same steam wand as the Luxe Cafe Pro ES701 (non burn, and thicker), the Mini Plus ES351 gets the steam wand from the AutoBarista series of machines.

This 4 holed steam wand is very bulbous, as it also accommodates a newly positioned thermoprobe, that used to be under the milk pitcher. After testing the steam wand for a few weeks on the Mini Plus, I can say that it’s very good. It has good power to inject air into the milk to stretch it, and also enough power to get the milk churning nicely. The steam wand on the Mini ES301 is also good, as it is based on the Luxe Cafe Pro ES701.

By the way, the Mini Plus ES351 can also auto-steam the milk, as it has the thermoprobe in the tip, as shown in the photo below.

New Drink Selection on the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini

Everyone wants to know what kind of drinks this machine can make, so I’ll tell you. It has espresso, triple (aka Lungo, aka Caffe Crema), and filter coffee. For espresso, I generally grind around setting 10, for Caffe Crema I’m around 15 or so, and for filter coffee, I grind around size 45.

While the Luxe Cafe Minis are great for hot drinks, please note that they do NOT do cold drinks. So, in contrast to the ES601 Luxe Cafe Premier (which is more expensive) it cannot do Cold Brew, Cold-pressed Espresso, or cold froth milk. You’ll notice that the new smaller pitcher of the mini series does NOT have a milk frothing whisk, and therefore it cannot do cold milk.

So how does the Luxe Mini perform for Espresso and Coffee?

This is the most important question, isn’t it? The Luxe Mini did for me an admirable job of making espresso and Caffe Crema during the weeks I’ve been using it. They’ve both been full bodied, full of chocolate and nutty notes, and nice and creamy. The drinks have also been well balanced for me – not bitter nor sour. If you want to try a coffee that gives incredible crema, try Borbone’s Espresso Intenso.

One big part of the success of the Luxe Cafe line, is the integrated scale. The machine always doses 17-18 grams for a double espresso or Caffe Crema, and this is very helpful in getting a good shot. Additionally, the Barista Assist is a big help in choosing the correct grind setting, whether pulling an espresso, Caffe Crema, or filter coffee. Below you can see the recommended grind setting of 15 for a Caffe Crema.

As I mentioned, the Luxe Mini also does filter coffee. Here you can choose between 6 and 8 ounce, or 175 and 225ml, depending on your region. You can see that the recommended grind setting is 47 out of 60, which is a pretty coarse setting. I do like the filter coffee that the Luxe Mini makes – it’s quite full-flavored and bold. I myself generally prefer to stick with the above pictured Caffe Crema however. I just love creamy type drinks.

So how does the Luxe Mini Plus perform for Milk Foam?

What’s funny is that the Mini Plus uses the same 4 holed steam wand as the AutoBarista Pro, but it performs differently. In fact, the steam wand on the Mini Plus has much more power than the more expensive AutoBarista Pro. Well, that’s a good thing for the Mini Plus.

The steam wand is super thick too, due to an integrated thermoprobe. Why is there a thermoprobe? Well, it lets the machine know the milk temperature when auto-steaming. So yes, the Mini Plus can auto-steam the milk, but in my testing, the results varied a lot. Sometimes the milk texture was pretty good, other times not so good for my standards.

I honestly prefer to steam manually most of the time, as no machine that I’ve tested has consistently made good milk foam – not even the super expensive Breville Oracle Jet. Anyway, just check the picture below, where you can see just how powerful the steam wand is, on the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus:

You can see based on the whirlpool above, that the steam wand is very powerful. Steaming this way provides excellent milk foam texture, more than good enough to pour latte art. It’s creamy and delicate on the tongue. Of course it does take some practice though. Just be sure to add some air into the milk at the beginning, by holding the steam wand tip near the top of the milk, and after having injected air for about 10 seconds, submerge the wand slightly, and put it near the edge of the pitcher to get a roll, or whirlpool going until hot.

What Accessories does the Mini come with?

The Luxe Mini comes with all you need: 54mm portafilter, 54mm funnel, 54mm tamper, and a nice stainless steel milk pitcher. It also comes with a 250 gram bean hopper and 1.3 liter water tank. The water tank feels under-dimensioned on this model, but more on that later in the pros and cons section.

There is something to be mentioned for the portafilter. It now comes with a single spout, to better route the liquid exiting the portafilter, but it does have a food-safe plastic insert in it. I mention this for the people who are looking to avoid plastic.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini vs Mini Plus vs Mini Plus EU

Ninja has made two main variants of this machine, the Mini and Mini Plus. The main distinction is a different steam wand that can do auto-steaming on the Mini Plus. But, the Mini Plus also comes with the fold-away cup tray, versus the insertable tray on the regular Mini.

Finally, there is no hot water outlet on the North American models, while the Mini Plus EU ES352 does have a hot water outlet. Go figure.

The Looks and Features of the Ninja Luxe Cafe Mini Plus

I’d say that the Luxe Mini series looks quite similar to the original Luxe Cafe Premier, but cuter. Some people say that Ninja makes coffee machines that look like 90’s VCRs. You can judge for yourself.

One thing I will say – the build now includes completely plastic sides and back. The original model was also made of quite a bit of ABS plastic, but had more stainless steel accents. By the way, you’ll also notice hand cutouts on the bottom of the machine, for lifting or shifting it, which the Luxe Premier and Pro lacked.

Of course there are some advantages too. The new Mini Plus comes with 60 grind settings and a nice vertically adjusting knob. I quite like using this knob, and it’s ergonomically better than what they had on the previous models, which was horizontally adjusting. Plus, the nice aforementioned side handles.

I DO have to mention one thing that’s a little annoying. On the top of the machine, you store the tamper and funnel. While this is nice for the workflow, it does make things a little dirtier. You’ll have to vacuum out the grinds that collect over time.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier ES601 vs Luxe Cafe Mini

So how does the Luxe Mini fair, compared to its bigger brother. Well, I was expecting it to have a larger price delta compared to its bigger brothers, the ES601 and ES701 to be honest.

The Luxe Mini omits any cold drinks, which is going to push people who want a cold brew or cold pressed espresso, or even cold frothed milk towards the more expensive Luxe Cafe Premier and Pro models.

I think where the Mini shines is really in two areas: 1) it is 30% smaller, which is great for people with limited space, and 2) for Caffe Crema. This drink has become one of my favorites, and the Luxe Mini does a great job with it. The Luxe Cafe Premier and Pro cannot pull such a long drink, I’m afraid.

I would also say that the ratios have gotten a little more precise on the Luxe Mini. So, if you’re aiming for a 150ml Caffe Crema, I generally got between 140 and 155. This is excellent.

Well anyway, if you check out the picture below, you can see just how much smaller the Mini is, compared to the Luxe Premier.

Pros and Cons of the Luxe Mini?

I’m not gonna lie: I’ve really enjoyed testing the Luxe Mini Plus these last few weeks. It heats up quickly, it’s quite accurate with the volumetric dosing, it makes excellent Caffe Crema, nice espresso, and does a good job steaming milk manually.

But, like anything, it has cons too. Since it IS 30% smaller, it feels quite cramped, especially if you’re using a scale. You’ll also have to flip the cup tray out of the way when you want to steam milk automatically (Mini Plus version).

Another annoyance is that the Mini Plus uses a lot of water, and needs to be re-filled often. This is however a bane of all Ninja espresso machines. They ALL use a lot of water. They do this to flush their circuits, I’m guessing to keep things clean, and temperatures a little more stabilized.

Finally, I wish the auto milk frothing was more consistent. Sometimes it’s good, other times it doesn’t incorporate fully. I think most people will be satisfied, but for someone like me, I’d prefer to have manual control.

Find your Luxe Cafe Mini and Mini Plus here:

Specifications of the Luxe Cafe Mini:

– Dimensions: 10.08 in L x 12.17 in W x 13.43 in H

– Weight: 19.4 pounds

– 1650 watt machine

– Build Materials: mixture of plastic and metal

– 47 ounce (1.3 liter) water tank

– 250 gram hoppers

– Country of Origin: China

Settings of the Mini:

The settings are a little unintuitive, so I will list them below for you to reference back to:

More Resources:

Amazon Reviews