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How to use a Ninja Luxe Café: first setup to your first latte

Ninja Luxe Café how to use guide from Ninja's UK owner's guide: first setup, Barista Assist grind settings, dosing and tamping, espresso, filter and cold drinks, the frother, and cleaning.

By Hoppin Hopper editorial teamUpdated Prices checked 6 min read

This Ninja Luxe Café how to use guide takes you from unboxing to your first milky coffee. The Luxe Café sits between a bean-to-cup and a manual espresso machine. It grinds, weighs and suggests a grind size for you, but you still lock in the portafilter, tamp and steam the milk with the jug. We haven’t tested this in person. Everything below comes from Ninja’s UK owner’s guide for the Luxe Café Premier Series (ES600 series, including the ES601UK), which we read on 3 Oct 2026. If you have the Pro Series, some controls may differ, so check your own guide. Read how we compare.

Short answer: how to use a Ninja Luxe Café

Set the water hardness, fit the water filter and run a water flush before your first drink. Then choose a basket, turn the centre dial to your drink and match the grind dial to the RECOMMENDED setting. Press START GRIND, tamp when the panel flashes TAMP, lock the portafilter into the group head and press START BREW. For milk, fill the jug, pick a froth style and milk type, and press START FROTH.

Who it isn’t for: anyone who wants one-touch drinks with no handling. A fully automatic bean-to-cup suits you better.

First setup

  1. Water hardness. Dip the test strip in your water for 5 to 10 seconds, shake it and count the purple squares. Plug in, and the left of the panel shows “hd 5”. Turn the centre dial to match your result and press it to confirm.
  2. Water filter. Soak the filter for 5 minutes, rinse the filter and mesh for 60 seconds, then fit it in the housing. Set the date dial 2 months ahead and install the housing in the reservoir.
  3. Fill up. Fill the reservoir with cold or room-temperature water, up to but not over the max line. Fill the bean hopper and make sure it’s locked in place. Never put water in the grinder.
  4. Water flush. With the double basket fitted, lock the portafilter into the group head. Turn the dial to CLASSIC, set the size to M+ and put a cup of at least 415 ml underneath. Press START BREW, then throw the water away.

Choosing a basket and drink

The machine comes with baskets for different drinks: single (not on every model), double and Luxe Quad. When you fit a basket, the machine detects it, tares the portafilter and only lights up the drinks that basket can make. The double basket comes fitted.

Ninja’s preset espresso doses are:

Drink Grounds Output
Single espresso 9 g 22.5 ml
Double espresso or cold-pressed 18 g 45 ml
Quad espresso or cold-pressed 40 g 90 ml

For coffee, the styles are Classic, Rich, Over Ice and Cold Brew. Sizes run from S (175 ml) to XL (530 ml). For Over Ice and Cold Brew, fill your cup with ice before you brew.

Grinding with Barista Assist

  1. Clip the funnel onto the portafilter and push it into the grinding cradle. It needs to be level, and you should let go so it can be weighed.
  2. Once you’ve chosen a drink, Barista Assist recommends a grind size. Use the dial on the side of the machine to match the CURRENT setting to the RECOMMENDED one. The scale runs from 1 (finest) to 25 (coarsest). Finer settings suit espresso and coarser ones suit coffee.
  3. Press START GRIND. The machine beeps when it starts and again when it’s finished.

With new beans, Ninja says it can take 2 or 3 brews to find the best setting. The recommendation may also change as beans age, which is normal.

Tamping and brewing

  • Tamp. When the panel flashes TAMP, take the portafilter out and stand it on a firm, level, protected surface. Put the assisted tamper in the funnel and press it all the way down. Then remove the tamper and funnel. For a quad, tamp once with the funnel on, then take the funnel off and tamp again.
  • When to tamp. Ninja says to tamp all espresso drinks and L+ and XL coffee. For S to L coffee, just shake the portafilter gently to level the grounds.
  • Brew. Lock the portafilter in, put a cup underneath and press START BREW. A good shot pours slowly and steadily, with a caramel-coloured crema on top.

If you change your mind after grinding, you’ll need to tip out the grounds and turn the machine off and on to choose another drink. Brew cold drinks before hot ones, or the machine will ask you to run a RINSE first.

Adjusting strength and temperature

  • Strength. Press STRENGTH. For espresso, it switches between 4:1, 2.5:1 (default) and 2:1 water-to-grounds ratios. For coffee, it grinds fewer or more beans.
  • Temperature. Hold SIZE for 3 seconds, turn the dial to h06, then choose LO, M (default) or HI. Ninja suggests low or medium for darker roasts and medium or high for lighter roasts. It’s not available for cold drinks.

Using the frother

  1. Fill the milk jug with the whisk fitted, keeping below the max line. Dry the bottom of the jug and put it on the platform with the steam wand inside.
  2. Choose a froth style with the froth dial: Steamed Milk, Thin Froth (lattes), Thick Froth (cappuccinos), Extra-Thick Froth (not on every model) or Cold Foam.
  3. Press MILK TYPE to choose DAIRY or PLANT-BASED, then START FROTH.
  4. When it’s done, tap and swirl the jug and pour the milk onto your coffee. Never froth straight into the cup.
  5. Wipe the wand with a damp cloth, then push it down. This starts an automatic purge.

You can queue the froth while the coffee brews, and Cold Foam can froth while brewing. For hand steaming, choose Steamed Milk, hold START FROTH for 3 seconds and work the wand yourself.

For milk, Ninja recommends whole dairy milk, or the barista or full-fat versions of plant milks. It says coconut milk heats up but won’t make a stable froth.

Common problems and cleaning

  • Weak or watery shot: match the current grind to the recommended one, and give it 2 or 3 brews with new beans.
  • Water on the puck after a quad: Ninja says this is normal.
  • Portafilter not detected: take it out of the cradle, turn the machine off and on, and refit it level and fully pushed in.
  • After every brew: knock out the puck and wash the basket and portafilter in soapy water.
  • Drip tray: empty it when the orange indicator shows.
  • Dishwasher-safe parts: the funnel, whisk, cleaning disc, reservoir, bean hopper and drip tray parts.
  • Regular jobs: run the CLEAN cycle when the light comes on (about 6 minutes) and descale when DESCALE lights up. Replace the filter every 2 months.

Downsides

  • More involved than a one-touch bean-to-cup machine.
  • Choosing a drink before you grind means a mistake costs you a dose of coffee.

Where to go next

FAQ

What grind setting should a Ninja Luxe Café use? Follow the RECOMMENDED number Barista Assist shows. The scale runs from 1 (finest) to 25 (coarsest).

Do you need to tamp on a Ninja Luxe Café? Yes for espresso and for L+ and XL coffee, using the assisted tamper.

Can the Ninja Luxe Café make cold foam? Yes. Choose Cold Foam on the froth dial.

Why does the machine ask for a RINSE? It does this if you make a cold drink straight after a hot one.

Sources

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Topics

  • Espresso at home

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