The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

After months of an agonizing search for a new coffee system, I finally decided to purchase the Ninja Coffee Bar.

It arrived at my house last week, and we have already gotten our money’s worth out of it. I had a latte in bed on Sunday before heading out to help make 220 gallons of beer. It was wonderful! No one had to witness my ‘going to play with milled grains and hot water’ attire.

The Coffee Bar has multiple settings: A classic option for the drip lovers, a rich option for those of us who need a real wake-up call, an option for iced coffee, and a specialty option, which brews a concentrated shot for specialty drinks.

There are also multiple brew size settings; you can brew an entire carafe, half carafe, travel mug, XL coffee mug, small mug, and a shot. It’s almost as good as coffee from Ten Ton Coffee (but I doubt any at-home machine will ever beat baristas who have my drink ready before I turn my car off).

The coffee bar comes with a two-sided scoop, with suggested measurements for each mug size and a fold-out stand to place smaller mugs under the drip to reduce splash. One of my favorite parts, which I did not realize it had when I purchased it, is the milk frother.

My only complaint is that this system is huge! It has been over a year since I have used anything other than a French Press or a pour-over system, so I was a little shocked when I saw the box. I did, however, happily give up the counter space. Aside from that, I haven’t found anything to knock.

I purchased the Ninja coffee system on Amazon for $139.99, a much more affordable option than the De’Longhi equivalent I was also considering. The system is widely available at major retailers, including Walmart, Best Buy, and Kohls, as well as on http://www.ninjakitchen.com.