Having hearty doses of caffeine over the course of a night’s worth of gaming is an essential. If that caffeine comes in a tasty package – even better! We have tried things like Guarana drinks and Yerba Matte teas… Nothing, however, comes close to coffee. We recently got the chance to check out the Ninja Coffee Bar, and found it to be a refreshing venture back into brewed coffee.

We have gotten so used to “pod” or “cup” based coffee makers, the rich flavors of hot water filtered through fresh ground coffee has become lost to our palates. The Ninja Coffee Bar gives you that fresh taste coupled with the ease of use found in the pod/cup units. Functionally, it goes the extra mile and allows you to brew cold drinks as well! All will be explained in the usage of the Ninja Coffee Bar…

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Using the Ninja Coffee Bar is a straightforward affair. The user takes ground coffee and scoops it into the reusable filter area via included, pre-measured scoop. Water is poured into the reservoir and then the fun begins. You can select four different volumes of drink to dispense: cup, travel cup, half carafe, and full carafe. After that, you select your brew mode. The Ninja Coffee Bar has an “Auto-IQ” feature which allows you to select between four brewing modes: Classic brew, rich brew, over ice brew, and specialty brew.

  • Classic: Smooth, balanced flavor from your favorite coffee.
  • Rich: Richer, more intense than Classic, but not bitter coffee flavor that stands up to milk/cream.
  • Over Ice: Specially designed to brew hot over ice to lock in flavor for a freshly brewed iced coffee that is not watered down.
  • Specialty: Super-rich concentrate designed to create hot milk-based, iced, and frozen blended coffeehouse-style drinks.

While classic and rich modes are going to be what most users gravitate towards – essentially making a mild or bold coffee, the over ice and specialty mode are what truly set the Ninja Coffee Bar apart. The over ice mode increases the richness of the brew and actually uses less water than the other modes. It does this as it knows you are brewing over ice, which will add water to the drink when it melts. The result is a damn fine cup of iced coffee or tea – a brew which is not watered-down and has a great flavor profile.

Specialty mode blows the lid off the coffee maker market by providing users with a way to brew their own coffeehouse style drinks. It is pretty rad to make your own mochas and not have to pay $4.50 every time you want one. Of course, you will also need to use a milk frother to whip the dairy up a bit but that’s the additional surprise – the Ninja Coffee Bar comes with a milk frother! Here is a video detailing the process:

It takes a little more work than the classic or rich modes, but the results are well worth the effort. I had some frozen pumpkin spice syrup saved up and used it for the occasion. Having a foamy, delicious pumpkin spice latte topped with whip cream sure hit the spot, despite it being 90 degrees outside!

The Ninja Coffee Bar is available with either a glass carafe or double-walled, insulated thermal carafe. If you prefer the glass carafe, your box will include a warming plate which will help keep your drink hot prior to serving. The thermal carafe is able to keep your drink supply hot for about two hours according to the labeling.

Cleaning the Ninja Coffee Bar is not any more difficult than cleaning most coffee makers. You remove the filter and wash it out after use. The glass or thermal insulated carafes are washable as well. I recommend just getting a decent bottle brush and scrubbing them out after every use – it only takes a moment.

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Overall, the Ninja Coffee Bar is a great way to make some much-needed caffeine to get you through your long, overnight sessions of your favorite MMO or FPS. If I had this when I was younger, our “EverQuest Nights” during high school would have been a lot more lively, lol. Additionally, the Ninja Coffee Bar is economical, retailing between $149 and $199 depending on the carafe variant chosen and retailer. Here are some purchase links:

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Jerry Paxton

A long-time fan and reveler of all things Geek, I am also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of GamingShogun.com