Monday coffee talk – Reviewing the Ninja Hot & Cold Brewing System

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an extremely extra person when it comes to most things I do in life haha. However, coffee is not one of them. I could truly care less about how fancy a machine is to me. I have had the same coffee maker for six years and told myself I wouldn’t upgrade until it broke. Kyler is a saint and on Mother’s Day he surprised me with the Ninja Hot & Cold Brewing System. I can still say that I’m not extra when it comes to coffee…maybe just not with my coffee makers.

So for the last six years I have used the Keurig K-cup coffee machine. Since it is so old, there’s obviously no cool feature on it other than being able to set a time for your coffee to auto-brew each morning and then controlling the water temperature. The only thing I personally didn’t care about with the Keurig is that it required extra cleaning and new water filters pretty consistently. Cleaning an appliance is a standard thing, so I’m not complaining haha. It was more of a hassle remembering to get a new filter and to clean it than anything.

The only thing I required when it came to a new coffee machine was that it didn’t take single use cups. I’m trying my best to be eco-friendly in everything I do so this switch was a no brainer. Saving money was also a big reason I wanted a new coffee maker. The bag of coffee I prefer is $6 (linked at the very bottom) and a box of 12 cups is double that. I left my options incredibly open on brands and I owe it all to Kyler for this incredible coffee machine!

The one I ended up getting was the Ninja Hot & Cold Brewing System and it’s so perfect for me. If you’re a coffee connoisseur then listen to nothing I say haha. I am able to do all the basics that a typical coffee machine would offer, but because this model also brews cold I have a little more flexibility. I’ve actually turned to youtube a couple times to watch people make special drinks with this machine. The model I have is actually now a little older and the newer model can be found here. The only difference in the new one is that it looks a little different where the coffee grounds go.

It just so happened that right before we got this machine my milk frother suddenly stopped working and the frother on this thing pops out from the back, can easily be removed for cleaning, and goes right back in the back out of view! From the photo above you can also see that the scoop for the coffee grounds is also attached to the side. The spoon itself actually says how much to use per type of cup/pot which is really nice.

In the second photo there’s a little arm that comes down to support a single cup of coffee. This feature is one of my favorites and just adds a little bit extra to the whole maker. The ‘no drip’ switch keeps any coffee/water from dripping out after brewing and when taking out the filter to rinse.

My favorite thing about this machine by far is all buttons. More buttons usually mean more features and this one is very black and white with the buttons. There’s no way I’ll be able to mess it up or do something wrong haha. Here’s a little break down of what each one does.

Classic – the basic of basic brews, or known as the weak brew. You put your coffee in the filter and for a nice cup of coffee, you click classic.

Rich – a little more intense but not as strong as an espresso shot.

Over ice Brew – specially designed for over ice to lock in flavor and freshness without tasting watered down. I really like using this setting and adding some caramel flavor to my coffee!

Specialty – this is a super-rich concentrate to help create all kinds of hot milk-based, iced, and frozen blended coffeehouse-style drinks.

Cafe Forte – this is where the espresso shot comes in!

Clean – this machine self cleans and is so dang nice!!!!

Stay warm – when making a larger pot you can use this to keep it warm! Have pressed the ‘keep warm’ and walked away a few times and I never feel like it gets too hot and it will shut itself off after a while.

My typical cup of coffee

carmel macchiato grounds from target $5.99 a bag | natural cane sugar $3.19 a box | cinnamon on top

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