I've owned this coffee maker over a month now and love it. Intuitive-to-operate controls and a very attractive appearance are among its virtues. Of course, hot water dripping over coffee grinds isn't rocket science and is something most coffee makers do comparably well, and the Ninja likewise makes excellent-tasting coffee.
Other reviews were mildly critical of the "sneak a cup" functionality, but I've found it on par with that of my last two coffee makers (Krups and Cuisinart). Yes, a couple of drops of coffee will still splash on the hot plate while you pull the carafe out, but I've never used or seen a pot yet that didn't do that, and the spring mechanism on this carafe is at least as robust as any I've seen on other coffee makers.
Where this pot really shines is in the clear, detachable water reservoir. That obviously offers you the (completely?) unique option of detaching the tank to fill it over the sink before brewing, which I've done a few times and anticipated doing regularly. Frankly, however, I find it unnecessary because the reservoir itself provides an unusually large opening/target for pouring directly from my filtered water pitcher.
But there are other benefits to the reservoir design, including the fact that it allows you to easily monitor the conditions inside . . . i.e., when the moist environment inevitably leads to mildew, you will know it (and, because the reservoir is transparent to any ambient sunlight, mold/mildew should theoretically take longer to manifest in many kitchens.) More importantly, you'll be able to easily clean the reservoir in a sink of hot soapy water (with a little bleach) without repeated electric cleaning and rinse cycles for the whole brewer, followed by awkward attempts to wipe the nooks and crannies of the integral, typically black reservoir with a white paper towel to see if any undesirable residues remain.
But perhaps the greatest advantage of this design is in what it will save you if you should *ahem* forget to put your carafe in place before you hit "brew." I've only done this twice in my life but, ironically, both times occurred within the last six weeks: once with my last Krups pot and once with this new Ninja. (Put aside for the moment what such forgetfulness might be saying about me.:-) At the very least, I gained valuable, first-hand experience in how the Ninja's design saved my a$$ while the typical integral design on the Krups resulted in a ruined coffee maker, which prompted my purchase of the Ninja in the first place.)
When you fail to put the carafe under the filter spout on a coffee maker that offers the increasingly ubiquitous "sneak a cup" feature, the spring mechanism on the filter holder is never engaged and the water that's dripping down over your grinds to make coffee is never given proper egress below. So your mistake may go unnoticed for quite some time since you won't hear the kind of gushing and sizzling sound that an older model without the sneak a cup feature would produce when dripping coffee is merrily dispensing and burning on the naked hotplate below. Instead, the water stays in the filter holder, eventually having nowhere to go but over the sides, which, on the vast majority of drip coffee makers, means that the brewed coffee--complete with floating grinds--will spill over and back into the reservoir itself. That is exactly what happened to my Krups, and, despite hours of repeated cleaning cycles and an aborted effort to dismantle the innards, I realized the pot was shot (no pun intended) and would never process water properly through its (clogged) pump pathway again.
Enter the Ninja. After making delicious coffee for a week or so, I, once again, got distracted by something (probably my Yorkie yapping to get out for a morning pee) and neglected to actually seat the carafe on the coffee maker before hitting brew. When I got back in, I noticed the problem just before the brewing coffee was about to overflow the filter holder. The difference was, even had I been a bit later, I would have only had to deal with a messy countertop and not a ruined $80+ coffee maker. In other words, if the Ninja coffee filter overflows, the brewed coffee will NOT go back into the reservoir because the latter is physically higher and isolated from the former in a way that would not permit that. So, should you repeat my negligence, you will hear coffee suddenly dripping on your hotplate and counter top, but you won't have to buy a new coffee maker.
The only "negative" to the pot is that the carafe lid does not flip up via the common thumb depression above the handle. You have to slide/turn it to remove, which is more easily done with two hands. But this is a very, very minor ding in my view and not worth deducting a star for an otherwise very well-designed, highly practical, and elegant-looking appliance.
Add to your order
-
Coverage for accidental damage including drops, spills, and broken parts, as well as breakdowns (plans vary) -
24/7 support when you need it. -
Quick, easy, and frustration-free claims.
Cover this product:
3-Year Protection Plan $9.99
4-Year Protection Plan $13.99
Cover all of your eligible devices:
Asurion Complete Protect: One plan covers all eligible past and future purchases (Renews Monthly Until Cancelled) $16.99/month
Select a plan
Add to your order
- Coverage for accidental damage including drops, spills, and broken parts, as well as breakdowns (plans vary)
- 24/7 support when you need it.
- Quick, easy, and frustration-free claims.
Cover this product:
Select a plan
Add Prime
to get Fast, Free delivery
Competitively priced item
Amazon's Choice
Buy this product as Renewed and save $15.04 off the current New price.
Ninja 12-Cup Programmable Brewer CE251 Coffee Maker, 60 oz, Black/Stainless Steel (Renewed) $64.95 & FREE Shipping
(790)
Works and looks like new and backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee
(790)
Works and looks like new and backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee
Frequently bought together
This item: Ninja 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Brewer, 2 Brew Styles, Adjustable Warm Plate, 60oz Water Reservoir, Delay Brew - Black/Stainless Steel
$79.99
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 25
In Stock
+
$13.99 ($0.07/Count)
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 25
In Stock
+
$12.47 ($6.24/Count)
Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 25
In Stock
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Discover similar items
No results available. Please adjust the filters and try again.
$59List:$79.00
$124
$69
$65
$34List:$49.99
$49
$45Typical:$64.99
$56
$92List:$99.99
$179
$99
$73
Frequently purchased items with fast delivery
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Compare with similar items
This Item  Ninja 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Brewer, 2 Brew Styles, Adjustable Warm Plate, 60oz Water Reservoir, Delay Brew - Black/Stainless Steel | Recommendations  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | $79.99 | -19% $64.99 List: $79.99 | -13% $199.99 List: $229.99 | -40% $59.95 New Price: $99.99 | -8% $84.67 Typical: $91.78 | $99.99 |
| Delivery | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 25 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 25 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 25 | — | Get it Apr 2 - 3 | Get it as soon as Tuesday, Mar 25 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sold By | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | electronics101deals | RETAIL PRIME【S/N Recorded】 | Amazon.com |
| capacity | 60 fluid ounces | 7 pints | 96 fluid ounces | 112 fluid ounces | 3.3 liters | 70 ounces |
| material | Glass, Plastic | Plastic, Glass | Plastic | Stainless Steel, Plastic | Stainless Steel | Stainless Steel, Glass |
| input interface | buttons | buttons | buttons | buttons | buttons | buttons |
| voltage | 110 volts | 230 volts of alternating current | — | 120 volts | — | — |
| wattage | 1100 watts | 900 watts | 1550 watts | 1100 watts | 1100 watts | 1100 watts |
| model name | Ninja CE251 Coffee Programmable Brewer | 14-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker | CFP301 | CRT2NJDCM201RB | DCM200C | Ninja DCM201BK |
Comparison with the Cuisinart
I've used a Cuisinart coffee maker for over 20 years, probably longer, way back to when Braun was the brand to have. My last one was the 14 cup version and it lasted 8 1/2 years before electrical death. Rather than buying another Cuisinart, I decided to try one of these Ninjas. This then is a story of the differences and how I learned to use a new machine.First, I realize the old machine was... old. That said, the new Ninja sure makes better coffee, there's clarity, excitement and layers that the old one simply had forgotten.My father taught me pour-over in 1967, with a white ceramic Melita holder over a coffee pot. He taught me the formula "1 tablespoon per cup, plus 1 for the pot" which has never let me down. My mom sent me Starbucks beans way back when they were just a local Seattle store. (She also turned me onto Amazon.)OK on to the comparison.The Ninja involves 100% more work to get started than the Cuisinart. You have to power up the machine AND hit the Brew button. With Cuisinart you just mash in that one button and you're good. With it you only have one lid to flip to get to the filter and water tank. Ninja has separate lids, and only one flips, the other lifts off.I prefer to fill the pot from the filtered water spigot, and use the pot to fill the tank. That's actually the way to do the Cuisinart. But Ninja's tank is removable, see through, and has the cup lines, and you're supposed to take it off and fill it. But I don't want to as think the gasket at the bottom that seals the thing is a point of failure that needs to be left alone.The pot doesn't have cup markers, but I find after the first time (when I also didn't know I had to hit both power and brew) I find I can eyeball it very accurately nonetheless. It pours out faster and more smoothly than the Cuisinart ever did. And doesn't drip. The lid is over engineered as you have to twist it in place rather than just snapping it on. And yanking it from under the filter one needs to be more considerate - out horizontally first rather than just snatching it up diagonally. But I have to say the new pot feels nicer than the old.The filter bit. Interestingly the filter crease goes side to side rather than front to back. Another surprise, but this setup is much nicer and aesthetically pleasing, one can just wrap ones fingers and plunge them, inside the paper cone, into the cavity of the filter holder. The old one needed a pivot of the arm and wrist or a two handed tuck of the filter.The Cuisinart slides on the counter while the Ninja has non-slip feet and I have to lift it to put it back under the cabinet after filling it.They are about equally noisy. The Cuisinart beeps much louder. You can turn off the beep though. Neither clock holds the time in a power out. I have used the timed brew twice in the last 67 years, but both machines will do that.What else? What was 'between 8 and 9 cups' on the Cuisinart is 'around 7 cups' on the Ninja, that is, those amounts comfortably fill 4 mugs with a little bit left over. Interestingly, though the volume of water is about the same, the cups marks work well with the 1 per cup + 1 for the pot formula, and the Ninja works with 8 spoons where the Cuisinart (at the end of its life) needed between 9 and 10. Oh, I use a '2 spoon' big scoop instead of those 1 spoon things that come with machines and sometimes with cans of coffee. Much more efficient and easy to keep count. You know how hard it is to count to 4, much less 8!So, the Ninja coffee is better, though I don't know if it would be better than with a brand new Cuisinart. How long the thing will last, we'll see. Overall I'm pleased.
