How to Clean the Ninja Luxe Café – Step-by-Step Guide for All Models

The Ninja Luxe Cafe range of coffee machines has taken the world by storm. They're very clever machines, which allow normal coffee drinkers to produce cafe-quality espresso-based drinks at home, using whole coffee beans.

They're great machines, they're very easy to use, but it's important to understand that, like all coffee machines, they'll only continue to produce great-tasting espresso and espresso-based milk drinks if you keep them clean. Knowing how to use your Ninja Luxe Cafe is important, but knowing how to clean it is equally crucial.

New here? I should probably introduce myself. I'm Kev, Coffee Kev to my mates. I review coffee machines here at Coffeeblog.co.uk, on the Coffee Kev YouTube channel, and over at CoffeeKev.com for our cousins across the pond.

I'm also the founder & Director of Coffee at Cworks, so if you were wondering where to buy freshly roasted coffee beans for the Ninja Luxe Cafe, now you know.

Now that the introductions are out of the way, let's talk about cleaning the Ninja Luxe Cafe. By the way, this applies to all Ninja Luxe Cafe models, including the 501 Essentials, Ninja Luxe 601 Premier, and Ninja Luxe Cafe 701 Pro.

The main focus of this post is going to be on the Ninja Luxe cleaning cycle, which means backflushing, both with detergent when the Ninja Luxe Cafe prompts you to, and with water only on a more regular basis to keep everything clean and therefore keep your coffee tasting great.

To clarify things as much as possible, I’ve also created a detailed, step-by-step video on my YouTube channel, which is embedded right here in the article. Additionally, I’ve included my own photos, which provide a more detailed visual representation of each stage of the process, allowing you to follow along visually, whether you prefer video or written instructions.

I’m also going to cover cleaning the grinder and hopper, the steam wand, what to do if the grinder jams, and more. Let’s get on with it:

Quick Menu

• Running a Cleaning Cycle (Backflushing)
  • How often should you backflush
  • How to run a full detergent backflush
  • How to run a water-only backflush
• Cleaning the Grinder
  • How to clean the hopper & lid
  • How to clean the outer burr
  • How to clean the inner burr & impeller
• Cleaning the Steam Wand
  • Auto steam wand purge
  • Deeper steam wand cleaning
• Daily Cleaning
  • After steaming milk
  • After each coffee
  • End-of-day rinse & wipe
• Deeper Cleaning
• Descaling
• Cleaning FAQs
• Final Thoughts

Running a Cleaning Cycle / Backflushing The Ninja Luxe Cafe

Backflushing, or what Ninja simply refers to as “Cleaning” with the Luxe Cafe, is where you blank off the basket with a blind disk to push water and cleaning detergent back through the shower screen and brew path, flushing the 3-way solenoid valve and ultimately landing in the drip tray.

If you're wondering why Ninja refer to this as a cleaning cycle, Sage do this too, I'm not really sure why they do it – but “cleaning cycle” just means “backflush cycle”, and the point of backflushing is really to get detergent through the 3-way solenoid valve to clean it of coffee oils.

How Often Should You Backflush the Ninja Luxe?

I recommend doing a full backflush cycle with detergent when the machine prompts you to, indicated by the CLEAN light, which should illuminate every couple of hundred shots. There's no real harm in doing a detergent backflush more frequently than this; it's just a bit of a waste of time, energy and money, especially if you use the official Ninja cleaning tablets.

How to Run a Full Cleaning Cycle or Backflush, With Detergent

1. When the CLEAN light appears, fit the double-shot basket and drop in the silicone backflush disk
2. Add either one official Ninja cleaning tablet or ~5 g of powder (e.g., Puly Caff or Urnex Cafiza)
3. Make sure the drip tray is empty, as it'll fill up during cleaning
4. Lock in the portafilter and press the brew button. It will fill, pause to dissolve, then run multiple detergent cycles through the valve into the drip tray
5. When prompted to rinse, empty the basket, re-fit with the disk, and press the brew button
6. Optionally, run a few manual water-only backflushes (5–10 seconds each) until you’re confident all detergent is cleared
7. Finish by pulling a couple of blank water shots into a cup to rinse the shower screen

Note: I usually use Puly Caff (cost-effective and reliable). Use Ninja’s tablets if you prefer; it's totally up to you. They'll cost you about 80 pence each time you do it. Using Puly Caff, it'll cost you about 7 pence, and the powder is a bit easier to dissolve, too.

How to Run a Water Only Backflush Cycle

1. With the double-shot basket in the portafilter, insert the silicone backflush disk
2. Lock in the portafilter and press the brew button, as if you're making an espresso
3. Listen for the pump starting to run after the heat-up cycle, and allow it to run for around 5-10 seconds, then press the brew button to stop
4. Repeat a few times

This rinses water through the brew path and the solenoid valve, so it's a great way to flush out residual coffee oils at the end of each day.

Cleaning the Ninja Luxe Cafe Grinder

Keeping the hopper and the burrs clean is good practice, and it'll help to prevent the grinder from jamming up, which is very annoying when you're rushing in the morning and you desperately need coffee!

How often you'd need to do this would largely depend on the darkness of your coffee beans. Darker beans, which are roasted beyond second crack, release more of their oils before being extracted, allowing them to coat the hopper and burrs more.

So if you're a fan of medium/dark beans which have a matt finish, just do this when you have a few spare minutes, but if you're a fan of darker roasts, with a glossy sheen, you'd be well advised to really keep on top of cleaning the integrated grinder in your Ninja Luxe Cafe.

Cleaning the Ninja Luxe Hopper & Lid

• Remove the hopper by twisting anticlockwise.
• Empty any remaining beans
• Wipe the inside of the hopper and lid with a microfibre cloth
• Wipe with a wet cloth if necessary, and then dry

Some people will put the entire hopper in hot soapy water, and then rinse. This is OK, but only as long as you thoroughly dry it. Personally, I'd do my best to dry clean the hopper, and if you can't shift the embedded coffee oils, I'd use a wet cloth and then dry with a dry cloth, rather than soaking the hopper.

Some people will even put the hopper in the dishwasher, and Ninja do say it's dishwasher safe. Personally, I wouldn't bother – I'd just dry wipe, and wet wipe if that's not doing the trick.

The reason I don't like to properly wash hoppers is that I just don't feel it's needed, and if it's not needed, I'd rather not put water & detergent in the hopper, leaving me with the task of making sure all the soap is rinsed out and it's all completely dry before using it again.

Cleaning The Ninja Luxe Cafe Outer Burrs

• Lift up the wire on the top burr, and turn anticlockwise, then pull to remove
• Give them a knock, and then brush to remove grounds & oils
• Re-align the red arrows, and then twist clockwise to lock in the outer burrs

While you're doing this, you may as well grab a handheld vacuum cleaner and hoover the burr chamber before reinstalling the outer burr.

This takes very little time to do, and is something you can do as often as you like.

Cleaning The Ninja Luxe Cafe Inner Burrs & Impeller

While cleaning the outer burrs is something you should probably do quite frequently, depending on the roast level of the beans you use, you should also occasionally remove and clean the inner burrs and the impeller to give the grinder a deeper clean.

This is also something to do if your burrs jam up: clean everything, including the inner and outer burrs, as well as the impeller.

• Remove the inner burr with a 10 mm (3/8″) socket — turn clockwise to loosen (righty-loosey, lefty-tighty, for the nut on the inner burr)
• Collect all the washers from both sides of the burr (don’t lose them!)
• Brush the inner burr and the impeller (the ninja-star-looking bit), then reassemble securely.

Cleaning the Ninja Luxe Cafe Steam Wand

The wand auto-purges when you push it back down, which is helpful, but I'd recommend getting into the habit of always thoroughly wiping the wand too after steaming milk.

By the way, have you ever walked into a cafe, seen their white steam wand encrusted with baked-on milk, and backed straight out again? Crusty steam wands are not a good look!

Deeper Ninja Luxe Cafe Steam Wand Cleaning

• Use the wand tip-removal tool (stored in the side compartment) to remove the steam tip
• Pull the top off the tool to expose the pin and use it to clear the tip hole
• Optionally, soak the tip in your cleaning solution during deep cleans (see below).

Ninja Luxe Cafe Daily Cleaning

After steaming milk:

• Allow the auto-purge, then wipe the wand.
• Rinse the milk jug and the spring whisk

After each coffee:

• Wipe the basket & portafilter with a clean cloth (not the one you wipe the wand with, use a separate cloth)
• Check whether the drip tray needs emptying; it often does

After your last coffee of the day:

• Run water through the group, and then give the shower screen a wipe
• Empty and rinse the drip tray
• Empty and rinse the water tank
• Run a few water-only backflushes
• Give the machine a quick wipe

My comment on the water tank may surprise some, as many people will just leave water in the water tank and top it up when it's empty.

You can do that, of course, it's completely up to you. Don't forget, however, that most of your coffee is made up of water. So, if you use fresh water instead of water that's been sitting in the tank overnight, you're giving yourself a better chance of making great-tasting coffee.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Deeper Cleaning

How often you'd do this is simply a matter of choice. A cleaner machine, generally speaking, will make better-tasting coffee, certainly when it comes to parts involved in making coffee, so if you do have the time to do a deeper clean fortnightly or monthly, your taste buds will probably thank you.

1. Dissolve ~10 g of Puly Caff or Urnex Cafiza in hot water.
2. Soak metal parts in the solution for ~10 minutes: baskets, steam-wand tip, spring whisk, and the shower screen (remove with a cross-head screwdriver).
3. Stand the portafilter in the solution, aiming to keep the handle out of the water.
4. Cup riser and drip-tray lids can go in too.
5. While those soak, use the solution to clean the stainless-steel surfaces (avoid plastic), then rinse with hot clean water and dry.

A Note on Descaling

I'm going to do a full, dedicated video and blog post on descaling the Ninja Luxe Cafe, rather than lumping it into the Ninja Luxe cleaning guide. In the meantime, though, all I'd say about descaling is that it's evil, but not necessarily necessary.

This involves running acid through your machine to remove limescale buildup. It's necessary if you're using hard water, but running acid through your coffee machine is also bad for your machine, not as bad as limescale buildup, maybe, but still bad.

If you live in a hard water area, most parts of London, for example, are notoriously hard water (hard meaning high in calcium carbonate and magnesium), and you're using your tap water and not treating it, then if you don't regularly descale, your Ninja Luxe (or any coffee machine) probably won't last very long.

But you don't have to use untreated tap water. You can use a water distiller or reverse osmosis system to purify water & then add the minerals back in, to a specific solution, using a DIY approach or a pre-made mineral solution like Coffee Water or Third Wave Water.

Ninja Luxe Cafe Cleaning FAQs

How often should I run the backflush (cleaning) cycle?

A: When the CLEAN light appears (roughly every couple of hundred shots). Between those, feel free to do manual water-only backflushes after your last shot of the day.

Can frequent detergent backflushes damage seals or O-rings?

A: If you're using the Ninja cleaning tablets or something like Puly Caff or Urnex Cafiza, it shouldn't cause any issues with seals, gaskets or O-rings. This isn't an E61 group machine with lubrication that would be dried up during detergent cycles. Just always make sure you rinse well after backflushing.

What cleaner should I use, and how much?

A: One Ninja cleaning tablet or ~5 g of espresso machine cleaner such as Puly Caff or Urnex Cafiza in the backflush disk. Always follow with a rinse cycle and a couple of blank water shots.

Do I need a blind/backflush disk?

A: Yes. Use the silicone backflush disk in the double basket for detergent and water-only backflushes.

The CLEAN light didn’t go off after I ran the cycle. What now?

A: Empty the portafilter, re-fit the disk, and run the rinse step again. If the light remains on, try the good old “turn it off and on again” trick. If no joy, get in touch with Ninja Kitchen Support.

Can I use vinegar for cleaning cycles?

A: No. If you've heard about using white vinegar, this is for descaling, not for cleaning cycles. A cleaning cycle means a backflush cycle, and for this, we need an alkaline detergent, such as the backflush tablets or backflush powder.

How often should I clean the grinder if I’m using dark, oily beans?

A: Wipe the hopper every refill. Clean the top/outer burr weekly, and clean both burrs and the impeller roughly every 2-4 weeks, or whenever you notice any kind of issues with the grinder.

Can I put the Ninja Luxe Cafe hopper and lid in the dishwasher?

A: In theory, yes. Ninja states they're dishwasher-safe. Personally, I'd never put a hopper with a locking mechanism in a dishwasher due to the difficulty of removing water from the locking part.

Can I put the Ninja Luxe drip tray in the dishwasher?

A: Yes, although I'd say you really don't need to. If you put some washing up liquid and hot water in the drip tray, let it soak for 10 minutes or so, and then wipe clean and rinse, this should do the trick without covering pots, cutlery & so on with coffee oils.

What’s the best way to clear a blocked steam tip?

A: There's a lid on the top of the multi-tool, which doubles as a steam tip removal tool & brush. Remove the lid to expose the pin, and use this to clear the tip.

Can I soak the portafilter, baskets and shower screen?

A: Yes. You can soak them in hot soapy water, or better-still, in a solution of espresso cleaner such as the aforementioned Puly Caff or Urnex Cafiza.

Can I run cleaning tablets through the grinder?

A: You can run grinder cleaner pellets such as Puly Grind, or Urnex Grindz through the grinder, but I don't see the point, personally. All this does is the same thing as removing the burrs and cleaning them. If you have a machine without removable burrs, then you'd have to resort to using something like this to clean the burrs, but since the Ninja Luxe Cafe has removable burrs, it's much easier and more cost-effective to simply remove and clean the burrs.

How To Clean The Ninja Luxe Cafe – Final Thoughts

In a nutshell, when the CLEAN light appears, insert the silicone backflush disk, slap in a cleaning tablet or backflush powder, run the cycle, then do the same again to rinse (just without powder or a tablet), and then give it a couple of blank shots to make sure it's properly rinsed.

In addition, you can do a handful of water-only backflushes after the last coffee of every day in order to keep the brew path and solenoid rinsed.

You also now know how to keep your hopper and your burrs clean, and what to do if you experience a grinder jam.

Hopefully, you'll find the other general daily and deep cleaning tips useful, and if you do need to descale your Ninja Luxe, hopefully I'll have done that video and blog post by the time your machine prompts you to do that.

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