Six months after my review, here's 3 things I've learned about the Ninja Luxe Café Premier Pro Series coffee machine

When buying a hugely expensive coffee machine for your home, you often rely on reviews, both from journalists and everyday users, to give you a sense of what it's like to unbox and set up. But what about how well it lasts after it's out of the box and, crucially, whether you'll actually use a bean-to-cup coffee machine at home?

I've chosen to revisit my Ninja Luxe Café Pro series coffee machine review to try and answer exactly that, six months after installing it in my kitchen. This is the more expensive version of the OG Luxe Café, which I gave five stars to in my review back in September, though I've been testing it since last May.

Here are three things I've learnt over time with this espresso machine.

1. It will genuinely save you on trips to a coffee shop

I've been testing this coffee machine while living at my sister's house, an important detail because it's given me an insight into whether it can actually help people cut down on their coffee shop habits.

Before the machine arrived for testing, my sister and her partner would buy coffees out everyday – mostly from places like Costa or Starbucks – with costs easily racking up within a week. That spending on coffee has dropped significantly – though there is still a cost to the beans and milk, of course – and the promise of an easily achieved latte is always enough to get them out of bed too.

The cost per use argument is wheeled out every time someone is debating whether getting a bean-to-cup coffee machine is worth it, but testing this machine in this environment has allowed me to see it play out for real.

2. But you really can't slack on cleaning

One of my gripes with this machine during the initial review process was the high frequency with which you need to empty the drip tray, which is pretty small in capacity.

This is a frequent complaint on the user reviews for this product via Ninja's website too. Over the course of a few months, the problem only intensifies, meaning you must keep up with emptying the machine every time you use it to avoid leaks onto your worktop.

Every time you go to make a coffee, make sure to lift the drip tray out and position it over the sink to drain. This is easy enough to do, but remembering it every time can be a pain.

If you know that everyday (everytime, even) cleaning isn't for you, look at other models with larger water tanks. I'm also a long time user of the Sage Barista Express Impress, which has to be emptied much less frequently.

3. It might be worth playing the waiting game

Sure, technically the RRP of this machine is still £699.99 (which is still a bit of a bargain compared to the Sage Barista Express Impress at £730 which does not have an automatic milk frother) but it's been dropping steadily in the sales.

Right now, you can buy it from Amazon for just £494.99 which is a total steal. It's lowest ever price via Amazon has been even lower, £489, so I think we can expect good things in the next sales period with this machine if you can hold out for Prime Day or Black Friday.

If you can grab it under £500, this machine will make a huge difference to your coffee drinking habits at home. Can you see yourself investing?