The successor to the Ninja Coffee Bar adds versatility and fun to your morning coffee routine
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The Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker is the Ninja Coffee Bar in all but name. The company changed the name, but the two brewers are almost identical, offering multiple brewing sizes, a handful of brewing modes, and even a built-in milk frother. All of these features combine to allow you to brew anything from a caramel macchiato to a simple carafe of black coffee.
Thanks to its increased versatility over plain old drip coffee makers, the Ninja Coffee Bar has arguably left its mark on the industry, with other combination coffee makers from Keurig and Nespresso coming to market in the years since the Coffee Bar’s launch. At $170, the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker isn’t cheap, but considering simpler drip-coffee makers can cost just as much, it provides plenty of value.
Specialty Brew is Ninja’s signature, one-touch brew designed to deliver the same volume each time. Regardless of what size selection is illuminated, your Specialty Brew will deliver approximately 4 oz.
How Well Does the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker Work?
We ran the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker through CR’s lab tests and used it in real-world situations at home. Here’s what we found:
Our engineers tested the glass-carafe version of the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker (model #CM401) and reported that it offers superb brew performance, whipping up a full carafe of coffee in 7 minutes. Its carafe is also very easy to hold and pour coffee, and the brewer does well in our convenience tests, which evaluate how seamlessly you can fill the water reservoir, place the filter, clean the machine, and more.
At home, we set up and used the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker’s thermal-carafe version (model #CM407) in place of our usual coffee maker. The machine was very easy to get up and running, but we found ourselves having to refer back to the included user guide multiple times to get used to all of the machine’s modes and features. That said, the guide was very easy to follow and the machine worked flawlessly, allowing us to brew iced coffees, lattes, and just plain hot joe with ease. We also loved having so many size options and being able to brew richer cups of coffee if we needed an extra jolt of caffeine in the morning.
However, to be honest, the espresso drinks, while tasty, didn’t rival those from our favorite coffee bar.
Consumer Reports has full test results for the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker and more than 140 other coffee makers.
Who Is the Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker For?
The Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker is for consumers who are tired of having the same old pot of black coffee every morning and want the versatility of being able to brew a full carafe one day and a travel mug’s worth the next, or a latte in the morning and an iced coffee in the afternoon. It’s also great for consumers who want a single-serve brewer that doesn’t use wasteful coffee pods.
Ninja Specialty Coffee maker 2022 With milk frother
FAQ
What does specialty do on Ninja coffee maker?
Is Ninja specialty brew like espresso?
What does specialty brew mean?
What is the difference between Ninja Cafe Forte and Specialty Brew?