Ninja Hot And Cold Brew System Review: Overkill Or Just Right?

Can a do-it-all machine really do everything right?

Do you have 17 different coffee and tea-making appliances on your countertop? I get it. I’m right there with you. First, you get into coffee and buy a coffee maker. Then you want to try cold brew coffee. Someone suggests a milk frother. Your partner has a craving for iced tea…. It snowballs fast.

Evidently, the team at Ninja faced this same challenge and came up with the idea of an all-in-one brewer for hot and cold coffee and tea drinks. The result is the Ninja Hot and Cold Brew System, which I’ve been testing recently for this review. Here’s what I’ve found.

My Full Review Of The Ninja Hot And Cold Brew System

Complex devices that try to do everything often end up doing nothing well, so I was curious about the performance of this Ninja coffee bar. Ultimately, I came away impressed. It’s not perfect, but it is more than the sum of its parts.

A quick note on the name before we begin. Some sellers, including Amazon, list this as the Hot And Cold Brewed System, but after speaking with the Ninja brand, I have confirmed it is the Hot And Cold Brew System. In either case, you’re getting the Ninja CP307 coffee maker.

How We Rated It

• Design
• Features
• Coffee Flavor
• Ease Of Use
• Value For Money

3.9

• See On Amazon

A Truly Do-It-All Machine

This machine is packed with features, and that should be why you’re buying it. If you’re looking for a basic coffee maker, you can find better value elsewhere. But if you want what is essentially a tiny cafe on your countertop, you’ve come to the right place.

The Ninja Hot and Cold Brew System is designed to brew coffee or tea – either hot or cold. There are separate color-coded filter baskets and brewing modes for both. So don’t worry that the flavor of the herbal tea you brewed yesterday will affect this morning’s coffee.

Brewing Modes

There are five brewing modes, which is what sets this machine apart from more basic coffee makers.

• “Classic brew” is the most dilute and gives the traditional drip coffee machine flavor.
• “Rich brew” uses a slower brew cycle to enhance extraction and produce a more robust flavor.
• “Over ice” yields a more concentrated coffee that won’t taste watered down when poured over ice.
• “Cold brew” extracts the coffee using a cooler water temperature but still manages to brew in just 10 minutes.
• “Specialty brew” makes a concentrated hit of coffee designed to mimic espresso, which is to be used in milky drinks like lattes and cappuccinos.

While I described each of those as coffee brewing systems, you can equally use them to brew hot tea, cold tea, and tea concentrate.

Whether brewing coffee or tea, you can choose one of six brew sizes: one cup, an XL cup, a travel mug, a larger travel mug equivalent to about 3-4 cups, a half carafe, and a full carafe of coffee. The machine calibrates the brewing process to optimize the flavor and aroma at each of these sizes; it doesn’t just change the quantity of water.

Milk Frothing

The fold-away milk frothing arm is nothing more than a motorized whisk attachment, but it’s a useful add-on for those craving a cafe-style beverage like a latte or a cappuccino. That said, don’t confuse it with a steam wand on an espresso machine. It doesn’t heat the milk, and it can’t produce the sort of creamy microfoam you need for latte art. 

If you’re making a cold drink like iced coffee, it’s nice to have a cold milk foam topping, which is impossible with a steam wand. And if you’re making a hot drink, it’s easy to warm milk on the stovetop or in the microwave before frothing.

My main complaint here is it is a little awkward to get a milk pitcher at the right angle for a good frothing whirlpool, making it hard to control milk texture. A frothing wand is more practical and only costs around $10. So while the fold-away frother is handy on occasion, I wouldn’t say it’s a selling point.

Brewing Tea

Even though this is a coffee maker review, I’d be remiss not to mention that this system comes pre-programmed with the appropriate brewing recipes for five main types of tea: Herbal, Black, Oolong, White, and Green. Tea lovers know that each of these is best with a particular steeping time and brew temperature, and the team at Ninja knows this, too (1).

How To Use The Ninja Hot And Cold Brewed System

This Ninja coffee maker is surprisingly straightforward to use, especially given its many features. Sure, it’s a touch more complicated than a classic automatic coffee maker, but the touchscreen controls are intuitive and have some pretty neat, user-friendly features.

I definitely appreciated the Smart Basket Recognition System. It identifies whether you’ve inserted the tea or coffee brew basket, and the screen automatically displays the controls for that brewing method. You never need to worry about accidentally brewing your coffee grounds as though they’re green tea.

A programmable brew timer is hardly unique, but I’m always to see it included. You can prep in the evening and have a perfect cup or carafe of hot coffee ready and waiting when you wake up.

The Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System doesn’t use coffee pods, which might seem less convenient, but I think that’s a good thing. Plastic pods are expensive, bad for the environment, and generally make pretty poor coffee (2).

Freshly ground coffee yields a tastier cup of coffee than a pre-packaged pod, and you’ll have a much bigger variety of coffee bean options. When it comes to brewing tea, both loose tea leaves and tea bags are compatible with the filter.

The Coffee Scoop

One of the selling points of the Hot and Cold Brew System is its built-in coffee scoop. The scoop is nicely designed, with a variety of measurements for all different brewing scenarios, and the way it slots into the machine is very clever. Personally, I always prefer to brew by weight rather than volume for more consistent results, so it wasn’t a highlight for me. But if you haven’t yet invested in a coffee scale, it’s a nice option.

Cleaning Is Easy But Not Automatic

I was a  little surprised that there was no automated cleaning cycle, given the number of features on this machine. But it’s still an easy process. 

This coffee machine monitors the build-up of scale or other dirt and alerts you when it’s time for cleaning, and all the removable components are top-rack dishwasher safe. Descaling is as simple as running a few cycles with water and a cleaning solution when the time comes. Of course, wipe down the milk frother attachment after every use.

Let’s Talk About The Coffee Flavor

The Hot And Cold Brew System has five brew styles, as I already described, and I have varying opinions on each of them. Coffee is a matter of personal taste, however, so take my notes here with a grain of salt.

Both delivered coffees with a nicely balanced flavor profile – equal parts sweetness, bitterness, and acidity – even when I brewed lighter roasts. This tends to indicate a complete extraction.

The Classic Brew and the Cold Brew settings were the most disappointing. Both tasted weak and under-extracted unless I was brewing the oiliest dark roast. I admit, the issue with the Classic might just be my taste; I like a strong cup. But with the Cold Brew feature, I just don’t think cold brew can be properly extracted in the promised 10-minute time frame.

The Specialty coffee mode is fine. It’s not comparable to espresso if that’s what you’re expecting. It’s not even as bold or full-bodied as a Moka pot. But it’s a nice strong brew that pairs well with frothed milk – again, better with darker roasts.

A Modern Look In A Compact Frame 

The Ninja Hot and Cold Brew System is an attractive coffee maker with the clean, modern look common to all the best Ninja coffee makers. Compared to more traditional brewers, it looks like a piece of advanced technology, with smooth curves, chrome accents, and a flat touchscreen interface.

The design is surprisingly compact, especially considering the brewing versatility. It measures just 11.8 by 10 by 15 inches, a minimal footprint compared to owning different brewing equipment for hot coffee, cold brew, and tea. The built-in milk frother tucks away, keeping this machine’s practical rectangular shape.

I love that it is available with either a 10-cup thermal carafe or a glass carafe and warming plate. I’m a big thermal carafe fan, even if it is a touch more expensive. A thermal carafe will keep your coffee warm for hours without a hot plate (3). So the coffee never gets that burnt “office coffee” taste, and you’re saving energy. Plus, the stainless steel thermal carafe is virtually indestructible, while the glass carafe can easily shatter. So it might even save you money in the long run.

The retractable platform for brewing a single cup of coffee is a cool feature. A cup is much smaller than a carafe (duh), so it makes sense to have it closer to the coffee output to avoid splatter. These sorts of practical design additions give me confidence that the team behind this actually tested it.

At the back of the machine, you’ll find a 50-ounce removable water reservoir, which is the same capacity as the thermal or glass carafe. You either refill it each time you brew a pot of coffee, or it’s good for several single-cup cycles.

Is The Ninja Good Value For Money?

The value you get from the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System depends on how often you use its extra features. If you usually just brew a cup or carafe of coffee and only rarely make iced coffee, brew tea, or froth milk, you’re paying more than you should. There are some really good drip coffee makers, including SCA-certified models, for about the same price (4). 

On the other hand, if you like to mix up your coffee routine, you will get your money’s worth – and save counter and cupboard space. It’s a cost-effective way to enjoy a chai latte one morning and a cold brew the next. It’s certainly more affordable than buying a coffee maker, a cold brew coffee maker, a milk frother, a kettle for tea, and so on.

Don’t Buy the Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System If…

• You just want to brew regular drip coffee: If you’re not taking advantage of all the different brewing modes of the Ninja, you’re better off saving your money – or putting it towards a higher-quality coffee brewer. Check out an SCA-certified option like the basic Oxo drip coffee maker or the feature-packed Precision Brewer by Breville.

• You only want to make iced coffee: If you already have a normal drip coffee maker and just want to add iced coffee to your routine, take a look at my picks for the best iced coffee makers. The Gourmia iced coffee maker is a nice low-cost option.

• You want proper cafe-quality espresso drinks: The Ninja does an okay facsimile of a frothy milk drink, but it can’t compete with a real espresso machine (5). If you prefer lattes and capps to brewed coffee, check out the compact and surprisingly affordable Breville Bambino.

• You prefer a pod-based system: I already said that avoiding coffee pods is the best choice if you want to enjoy delicious coffee and protect the environment. But if you can’t resist the convenience of a single-serve brewer, I won’t judge. The Keurig K-Cafe doesn’t do quite as much as the Ninja system, but it is a versatile coffee maker that allows you to brew several drink sizes and froth milk. And you can avoid most of the pitfalls of K-Cup brewing by investing in a refillable K-Cup.

The Verdict

The Ninja Hot and Cold Brew System is for you if you find yourself pulling out multiple appliances daily to make your family’s favorite tea and coffee drinks. With an easy-to-use touchscreen, this all-in-one brewer makes it simple to prepare various beverages, each customized to your taste. It’s more affordable than owning a collection of different appliances, and it barely takes up more space on your countertop than a traditional coffee machine.

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