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Ninja Luxe Café Mini ES301UK: manual steam wand
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The Ninja Luxe Café Mini ES301UK is for someone in a smaller kitchen who wants Ninja's guided espresso and filter coffee, but would rather texture milk by hand than leave it to a machine. That is the key difference on the listing: this Café Mini has a manual steam wand, where its ES351UK sibling has hands-free automatic frothing.
- Drinks
- Espresso, filter
- Grinder
- Burr, settings not stated
- Milk frothing
- Manual steam wand
- Scale
- Built in
- Water tank
- 1.3 L
In its favour
- The manual steam wand lets you control milk texture yourself for lattes and cappuccinos.
- Barista Assist Technology suggests grind settings and monitors the brew.
- Dishwasher-safe removable parts and a wipe-clean steam wand are listed.
Good to know
- Milk frothing takes practice, as nothing is automated.
- The number of grind settings is not stated on this listing.
Our take
Espresso and filter in a compact body
Ninja calls it a compact 2-in-1 that switches between bold espresso and filter coffee. The listing gives the size as 26 cm deep, 30.9 cm wide and 34.1 cm high, with a weight of 10.2 kg.
A burr grinder, precision scale and frothing system are all built in. There are three strengths and three temperatures to choose from.
Barista Assist on the coffee side
Barista Assist Technology recommends grind settings and monitors the brew. In practice that means less trial and error when you open a new bag of beans. The listing does not state how many grind settings the burr grinder has.
Milk your way
Milk is textured with a manual steam wand. You control how much air goes in and how hot the milk gets, which is the skill behind good latte art. It takes some practice to get silky microfoam, but it gives more control than an automatic wand.
The steam wand is described as wipe-clean, and removable parts go in the dishwasher.
Using a stainless steel jug and watching the milk spin is the usual way to learn, and the manual wand rewards that practice over time.
Power, tank and guarantee
The listing gives 1,650 W of power and 240 V, so it is built for a UK supply. The water tank holds 1.3 litres, which is fine for espresso but means more refills if you brew filter coffee for several people. Ninja offers a free 2-year guarantee upon registration.
ES301UK or ES351UK
The Ninja Luxe Café Mini ES351UK has the same 2-in-1 design but adds a hands-free steam wand that makes microfoam automatically, plus a stainless steel milk jug and 250 g bean hopper in the listed box contents. The larger Ninja Luxe Premier ES601UK adds cold brew and 25 stated grind settings.
Verdict
Buy the Luxe Café Mini ES301UK if you want guided espresso and filter coffee in a small space and enjoy steaming milk yourself. If you would rather the machine handled milk for you, the Luxe Café Mini ES351UK is the hands-free version, and the Ninja Luxe Premier ES601UK suits anyone who also wants cold brew.
Compared with alternatives in: Ninja Luxe Café machines compared: Pro, Premier and Mini
Amazon listing title: Ninja Luxe Café Mini 2-in-1 Espresso and Filter Coffee Machine with Built in Bean Grinder, Manual Milk Frother ES301UK