Ninja - Coffee Brewer with 43 oz. Carafe - Black/Stainless Steel

Pros Provides full bodied flavor Offers multiple options from Standard, to Rich, to Iced Iced coffee option makes sure it’s not watered down Offers cup, thermos, half carafe, and full carafe options Burner keeps coffee warm without burning Includes scoop with recommendations for sizes Twist on/off water tank feels more secure Removal water tank eases refilling Lever allows brew to stop for pouring Cons Coffee can be a bit cool after a while on the warmer Scoop doesn’t have a place to set or hang The filter area always drips on the carafe when pulling open Icon for full carafe looks almost half full leading to initial confusion Over the past few years the trend has been towards one serving, convenient pod or cup style coffee makers. Cost and arguably flavor was sacrificed in favor of convenience. The Ninja Coffee Brewer doesn’t follow these trends and focused on the taste of the coffee first and it looks like they have succeeded. At first glance, the appearance of the Ninja Coffee Brewer can be a little odd compared to other coffeemakers. It is distinctly the style of Ninja products. After unboxing and putting in place the look seems to be much better and overall seems to take up less space. In fact, it took up nearly half the space of the previous pod style brewer. A scoop is included with two sizes and recommended scoops for each cup size. A place to hang the spoon would have been a nice final touch. The carafe carries the same unique design which Ninja describes is intended to keep as much coffee near the warmer as possible to keep coffee warm without burning. This task is achieved for the most part but if left long enough the coffee will get cool instead of burning and the flavor will still change. Thankfully the coffee is not ruined during this process like traditional pots. If you expect to not have another cup for more than an hour, it would be best to make a single cup or half carafe to get the best flavor. Regarding the flavor, it seems Ninja has been able to live up to their better tasting coffee. The way it brews coffee is a little slower since it must first soak the grounds and let them sit but the slightly longer wait is worth it. In blind taste testing, the Ninja Coffee Brewer won out over pod style coffeemakers each time. The flavor was as strong or as weak as the way it was made but it always had more flavor than pod style brewers while also tasting smoother. In a group of avid coffee lovers, every one of them found themselves drinking more coffee and enjoying it more. For those who love coffee extremely dark, this coffeemaker seems capable of accommodating. If you put extra grounds and put it on rich brew it can make a cup so rich and smooth that choice coffee shops don’t seem to even compete on standard drip coffee. Overall it seems capable of pleasing both the dark and light coffee fans equally. There is a small sacrifice in convenience but a huge gain in flavor and customization of brew. If you like iced coffee this coffee pot has you covered. There is an iced coffee setting that, when used, adjusts the brewing cycle to reduce how much water is used while retaining flavor. You fill your cup full of ice, choose iced coffee, and once done the ice is almost completed melted but you don’t have watered down coffee. Add some chocolate syrup, half and half, and liquid sugar and you have a highly addictive iced coffee to help you cool down after working outside. The bonus is you spend far less than buying it at a chain coffee shop while having all the flavor, unlike the old way of pouring regular hot coffee over ice. Convenience is the main area where the Ninja Coffee Brewer falls short but only slightly. There is of course the normal cleanup of the filter but the good thing is the filter is reusable. No trips to the store to get more filters right when you want a cup. The water reservoir conveniently twists off allow you to secure attach and remove for easy refilling. The size of the reservoir matches a full pot so there is no worry about overfilling the carafe. It’s a small but thoughtful touch. A small oddity is that the reservoir has a built in handle which held blocks the markings for pot size. If the markings were moved 90 degrees in either direction it would be more intuitive. The twist method of removing and installing the reservoir means that you know exactly if it is fully secured and working. Some other traditional coffee pot water reservoir attachment systems have a less secure mount and, if set on a timer, could lead to a pot not being brewed because the water could not come out. The Ninja had a distinct click feeling as it is secured letting you know it is installed correctly. A small negative in the convenience factor, besides cleaning, is that the filter basket leaks when moved even well after the brew is complete. The carafe can be filled and the brewer off and yet the moment you pull out the pot a few drips come out. If you pull out the filter basket, coffee will drip over the handle of the pot and in front of the coffee pot. It can be an inconvenience but thankfully there is an easy workaround. If you turn the switch on the bottom of the filter basket to closed you don’t get any drips. Pod/cup style brewers may be what most people see today but given a chance, the Ninja Coffee Brewer would likely convert many. Coffee drinking has turned from more of a daily habit into an enjoyable experience. Our entire family has doubled the amount of coffee they drink while saving money.

We like to be able to brew a single cup of coffee on our own schedule, so have been using a Keurig for a couple of years. The convenience of the Keurig is nice, but it just isn’t the same as a fresh-brewed cup of coffee. There’s always that slight plastic taste to most K-cup pods. The Ninja combines the convenience with the fresh brew. Our review is largely a comparison to the Keurig. Even though we’re all about the individual cup of coffee, we did try brewing a carafe as well. We also tested the iced coffee feature. Pros: - Brews hot enough to really get a rich cup of coffee. If you have to foo your coffee before you can drink it, that’s a good sign. - Taste is highly influenced by the coffee you have, so it is hard to say how much the Ninja contributed beyond the brew heat. I like a very bold cup of coffee. I expected to have to use the Rich Brew setting to get a regular cup of coffee to my liking, but the Classic Brew did just fine (I did use the higher number of scoops recommended). - Warming tray keeps the carafe hot. Booklet says it will stay on for 2 hours. We didn’t leave it that long, but unlike many coffee makers with warming trays, the coffee in the carafe stayed at brew heat (most warming trays do just that – keep it warm, not hot). This was impressive. 45 minutes after brewing, the coffee was as hot as it was when it just finished brewing. It was even still warm an hour after turning the warmer off (so beware that it is not an instant cool down). - System is smart enough to know when the carafe is not on the warming tray and does not turn it on. I have a tall coffee cup that I set on the warming tray (not the cup stand) and the warming tray did not come on. - Ninja lived up to its promise regarding iced coffee. I did brew it in such a way that it tasted as rich as the same cup not over ice (see Con note about instructions). Cons: - Does take a little longer to brew than the Keurig. Single cup was 3 ½ minutes to the Keurig’s 2. That time does NOT include preheat. Half carafe took 10 minutes - Preheat takes a good 3 minutes. Just hit the preheat and then prep your coffee so the wait doesn’t feel as long. There is also no beep when preheat is done as the instructions indicate. So, just watch for when “pre-heat” turns to the time again. - (Because I think these time factors actually contribute to a good cup of coffee, I am not dropping my rating. It is just something to be aware if you’re a Keurig user and don’t want to wait any longer for your cup-o-joe). - The beep DOES NOT mean done. It continues to drip 30-60 seconds after the beep. The beep is just that the brewing is done. The green instruction booklet does not mention this, but the other included material does. I learned the hard way, so just be a little patient after the beep to let the drip finish. - There are no explicit instructions for iced coffee, just to fill your container with ice. You essentially brew like you would a hot coffee, but need a container larger than what you’re brewing. So for a cup, a mug twice as large as what you normally brew a single cup in if your regular brew fills that cup (if your regular cup is 8 oz., then fill a 16 oz. container with ice).

Design: The Ninja Coffee Bar Brewer has a sleek and modern design that is very appealing. Upon opening the box, I had a positive first impression of the brewer. I like the combination of stainless steel and black, which looks great in our kitchen. I also like that this Ninja brewer is not very wide. It fit perfectly on our kitchen countertop and does not take up much space. The only possible downside to the design is that the brewer is somewhat tall (about 14 inches), so if you do not have that much space between your countertop and cabinets, it will not fit. However, this was not an issue for us. Our family really loves the design! Functionality & Versatility: Setup for this Ninja brewer is simple. The brewer comes ready to go with no assembly required. Be sure to read the quick start guide though because there are instructions for priming the brewer, which is basically brewing two carafes with water only. After you are ready to brew, there are four brew sizes (cup, travel mug, half carafe, and full carafe), as well as three brew types (classic, rich, and over ice). Our family likes that this brewer is easy to use even with multiple options and features. We have different tastes, so it is great that the versatility allows us to brew to our preferences. Brew Quality: So, does this appealing coffee maker that is functional and versatile also make quality coffee brews? Yes, it does! I have been impressed with how smooth and flavorful each cup of coffee is. Ninja advertises their “Thermal Flavor Extraction Technology”, which uses automated temperature calibration, coffee saturation, and pre-infusion. Although the difference in coffee brew quality is not drastic, I have noticed an improvement over our previous brewer. Whether it is a single cup or full carafe that is brewed, there is no compromise in the quality of the brew! Verdict: With its appealing design, functionality, versatility, and quality coffee brews, the Ninja Coffee Bar Brewer has earned its spot in our kitchen over our previous coffee maker. There is not a day that goes by where the brewer is not used. We know we can rely on the Ninja Coffee Bar Brewer for a smooth and flavorful cup or carafe of coffee!

The Ninja coffee brewer system is an all in one for coffee lovers, you have 3 choices (classic, rich and iced) coffee choices. I found the initial cleaning of the unit before first use a snap, as future cleanings were as well. All you do is add white vinegar and hit the clean button. For my first run I put in the time and set it to delay until 7:30 am. I filled the reservoir up, placed the grounds in the supplied Permanent filter (can be used in place of paper and is just as good. but lasts for years) As a safety feature if you leave the filter open and start a sequence it will beep and shut down. This will save you from some big overspill messes. The next day at precisely 7:30 am the Ninja kicked off and made coffee for my wife and I, It was wonderful. Just like I love it. The rich was a little stronger than I care for but is great for adding milk and additional flavors. The wife tried the iced Caramel coffee and it tasted as good as certain coffee stores and it didn’t cost $6. The ninja can make as little as a cup to a travel mug and up to a whole pot, depending on your needs with the supplied Carafe. If you choose just a cup, you can use the cup platform or flip it up for a travel mug. A neat little feature that is located on the filter house is the anti-drip you get when you remove the pot or cup making a mess. Just flip it to off. Should you leave this closed the Ninja will let you know via a light on the control panel. You can hit a “Stay warm” button and set a time of up to 4 hours to keep the pot warm. This only works with a full or half a pot to ensure no accidental burn occurs. Otherwise the stock setting will auto shut off in 2 hours. Overall I am impressed with the quality and taste of the Ninja. It is a great improvement over our old pod brewer. I would recommend to family and friends.

This is my first higher-level coffee brewer, having used the economy model “hot water drip” pot for years. I was expecting to have to go through a lot of fiddling and a challenging learning curve to deal with the more complex Ninja brewing process, but was pleasantly surprised that using the Ninja system is pretty much “1-2-3” buttons and everything else is taken care of by the Ninja. Watching the Ninja “walk through” video on YTube was helpful, and other than going through the quick start manual it is really a simple process to choose the preferred strength and amount. 1 – power on; 2 – choose the size from single cup to full carafe; 3 – choose the coffee strength; 4 – good to go! The Ninja preheats the water, wets down the grounds to infuse, and then starts to brew. The water reservoir is easy to remove and fill at the sink – no more “pour and spill” water on the counter. This is one of the nicer features as you can fill up the reservoir and then brew a single cup (nice flip-down cup holder), travel mug, half carafe, or a full carafe. Permanent coffee filter pops right out and is easy to clean. One of the nicest things about the Ninja is keeping the coffee nice and hot, from the first cup to the last cup after several hours. I had gotten used to having the first cup pretty hot and then having less heat from one cup to the next. The shape of the Ninja carafe (more at the bottom) and the improved warmer plate keep the coffee piping hot all the way to the last cup. The warmer plate can be set to turn off automatically from 1 to 4 hours after brewing. Another very nice feature is being able to brew just one cup or a larger sized travel mug with the Ninja automatically using the right amount of water from the reservoir. Just put the cup on the flip-down stand or travel mug on the warmer plate (doesn’t turn on unless you are using the carafe – nice touch!) and very convenient and a lot less fiddling around with the coffee pot to make a quick pick-me-up cup at lunch or after work. Of course you will have to refresh the coffee grounds, but the “prepackaged” one-cup systems really don’t make a very good cup of coffee anyway. Wife has always preferred the “percolator” type pot, and that means 2 coffee pots on the counter. The hope was that the Ninja brewer would replace both pots and keep both of us happy, and it has worked out well so far! Pairing the Ninja with a bean grinder seems to be the right combination to satisfy the coffee tastes for the whole house. She has always said that the percolator makes the best coffee, but the Ninja seems to be changing her mind and is certainly a lot easier to use. Overall, the Ninja makes brewing much easier, the coffee is hotter and tastes better – with a good range of choices to fine tune the brew to your personal taste, is simple to use, and can’t be beat for the “single cup” or “travel mug” choices. There are a lot of simple recipes that come along with the user’s manual and they sound pretty tasty, so will give a few of those a try over the holiday season to impress the dinner guests!

As a coffee aficionado, I've owned 2 super automatic machines in the past dozen years - one for $600, the other $750. While these look very impressive on your counter, and offer an array of features, one has to ask oneself "am i really using all these options?" I just want a good cup of coffee that's not weak; not burnt. Get a Keurig you say? I don't quite understand how these machines have endeared themselves to the public. Pay $10 for what amounts to a few ounces of coffee for the sake of convenience? Not me? And if you're the least bit environmentally conscious, what about the waste of all the packaging? I think the Ninja people have recognized a market niche and have gone in headfirst. This machine, the CF021 is on the lower end of their product line, but still has some very nice features. It has the timer for those into that (as a usual 1 cupper, i prefer to wait for the brew as opposed to those mornings i want to sleep in a little longer only to have a lukewarm cup waiting for me.) You get the choice of size - one cup, half carafe, full carafe. You get the choice of brew - classic (mild), or rich (bold) . And I love the inclusion of the over ice setting - no more weak iced coffee at home. So what am i giving up over my expensive super automatic machine? Suppose i want a latte? Well, I could go for a higher end Ninja with a built in frother, but really, I have one of those battery powered frothers you can buy for $10 or $15, and they do a fine job. Also much neater than playing with the steam coming out of a full service machine. I will say being a diehard, i do miss the grinding function of a fully automatic, but after i thought about it, as long as you buy ground coffee fresh, it'll taste great. I had just gotten in the habit of ordering 5 lbs of beans at a time, and storing them in the freezer. Now i have more freezer space! The one time i really don't miss the super automatic is when we have a family gathering. At dessert time, I felt like a Starbucks barista grinding out single cups on order while everyone enjoyed their pies & cakes. I was never impressed with carafe style coffee makers, but this one does very well. I did some research on the Ninja, and came across a technical review of how it extracts the various brews. These guys used refractometers to measure total dissolved solids, extraction percentage, etc. Serious coffee guys! For the bottom end of the Ninja lineup, this machine produces a good cup of coffee at a good price. I think i'll be taking a look at some of their higher end machines; right now i have my eye on one that does specialty brews (read espresso.) Then i'll be able to pass down this one to a needy relative that's going broke buying k-cups!

Disclosure: I had a Mr. Coffee that was perfectly fine when I replaced it with the Coffee Ninja. Comparisons will be noted where appropriate. The Coffee Ninja looks the part of a premium coffee maker. It arrives well packed and thankfully it has an actual printed instruction manual. You'd be surprised how many new products think everyone can work a smartphone and wants to read tiny print on that screen to learn how to operate a product. Setup was quite easy following the instructions. As I brew pots of coffee instead of just a cup, I haven't tested the functionality of the ability of the Coffee Ninja to automatically adjust to the difference in brew receptacles. I like the removable water tank on the Coffee Ninja, but it does not hold as much water as the Mr. Coffee nor does it end up brewing as much coffee as the Coffee Ninja carafe does not hold as much as the glass pot of the Mr Coffee. I had a chance to test the two brew settings "classic" and "rich" and really could not tell the difference in the output. I used freshly ground coffee from a burr grinder in both instances. The result in both occasions was a rich flavor that was quite appealing. Classic might have been weaker in flavor - perhaps I am just searching for a difference in the two settings? The one thing I did not like about the Coffee Ninja is the warmer seems to stay on (at least the red indicator light remains on) when I turn the unit off; and you have to have the unit on to operate on the time delayed brew - something that even the Mr. Coffee maker does not need. The basket for the ground coffee is reusable/rinse and clean - though my first attempt at cleaning had me taking the entire "drawer" out and it is a pain to reinstall - apparently you don't need to pull the coffee ground holder/drawer out all the way - and there is a handle on the ground basket so look for it to prevent my first incident with the machine. Overall it is a very nice unit though I don't really see much difference in the usability over my Mr. Coffee with brew delay timer. If you want something more versatile or you want just a cup of coffee to brew at a time, then the Coffee Ninja would be a good choice - you can preheat water to compensate for the cup drawing heat out of the brewed product.

This Ninja Coffeemaker is perfect! My wife loves to drink coffee and she usually drinks two or more cups per day. She loves all the features and options that this machine provides. 1) Number one option is that she can make 1 cup for herself or a few if more people are drinking. When doing for one person there is the option of just using a cup or insulated container. This is great because you do not have to buy expensive pods like the Keurig coffee maker. 2) I have three kids love Ice Coffee so this machine does an excellent job to make sure the coffee does not come out watery. All they need is flavored syrup with non-dairy creamer. 3) Very important is the taste and my wife is a professional coffee drinker. She can tell when the coffee is not fresh when it is preheated in the microwave, and the flavor. I can’t taste the difference. She said the older coffee maker the coffee had burned flavor. This coffee tasted very good from the Ninja. And (0ther points) The water reservoir container is easy to remove, fill and insert into the machine. It is very easy to clean and with clear instruction label located behind the machine. It looks like it does a good job of cleaning itself. The process takes 60 minutes to complete. My wife loves this Ninja coffee maker. Happy Wife… Happy Life.