Ninja CE251 Review: Brew Time, Problems and Who It Suits

Ninja CE251 review from published data: CNET timed 8 cups at 10:30, CNN timed a full pot at almost 9 min, and owners report carafe and brew failures.

By Maksud · Published Oct 3, 2026

This Ninja CE251 review starts with the verdict: it is the budget drip pick of both labs that measured it, CNET (“best coffee maker under $100”) and CNN Underscored (“best budget drip coffee maker”). The trade-offs are speed and build. CNET timed 10 min 30 s for 8 cups and CNN Underscored almost 9 min for a full carafe, while Ninja’s manual says about 12 to 15 min. Owners most often report broken carafes and units that stop brewing.

It holds the budget slot on our best coffee makers ranking. I did not use this machine. This page compiles CNET’s and CNN Underscored’s measurements, Ninja’s owner’s guide and Amazon’s owner-review summary, and credits each claim.

Ninja CE251 at a glance: specs and lab measurements

The Ninja 12 cup programmable coffee brewer is the same machine as the CE251; Amazon now lists it as the “Ninja Fresh Brew Coffee Maker.” Specs below come from Ninja’s CE251 owner’s guide and are labeled manufacturer spec. The 8-cup timings and hourly coffee temperatures are CNET’s measurements; the full-carafe time, full-carafe temperature and warming-plate reading are from CNN Underscored.

One conflict to flag: the Amazon listing title says 70 oz reservoir, while its own bullet points and Ninja’s guide say 60 fl oz. The table uses the guide.

How long does the Ninja CE251 take to brew a pot?

The sources disagree. CNET timed the Ninja CE251 at 10 minutes 30 seconds to brew 8 cups of water. CNN Underscored’s Michelle Rae Uy timed a full 12-cup carafe at almost 9 minutes, delivered at 195°F. Ninja’s owner’s guide says a full carafe takes about 12 to 15 minutes, and that one taking longer may need descaling.

Neither outlet explains why its time differs, so treat 9 to 15 minutes for a full pot as the range on record.

CNET says it took longer to brew than others. In CNET’s table, the OXO Brew 8-Cup took 4 min 35 s and the Breville Luxe 4 min 41 s, while the Cuisinart PerfecTemp, Mr. Coffee Simple Brew and Melitta Vision each took 12 min. So the CE251 beat the other 12-cup glass-carafe machines CNET timed but took more than twice as long as the fastest brewers. CNN Underscored also calls the brew cycle the one thing its reviewer did not like.

CNET judges against the Specialty Coffee Association’s guideline of 4 to 8 minutes of contact time and 197 to 205°F water. CNET says it measures temperature inside the brew chamber, but its page does not publish the CE251’s brew temperature, so none is given here. Coffeeness.de reports the machine brews at “around 200 degrees Fahrenheit” without describing how it measured that, so treat it as thin evidence. For what the SCA standard means, see what an SCA-certified coffee maker is.

The guide also notes the brew starts, pauses, then continues to saturate the grounds. That pause is by design, not a fault.

How hot does the Ninja CE251 keep coffee on the warming plate?

CNET measured the coffee at 178°F right after brewing, 175°F at 15 minutes, 174°F at 30 minutes and 173°F at 60 minutes. CNET lists “kept temperature stable for more than two hours” among its pros.

The hot plate is the reason, and it has a cost. CNN Underscored reports the warming plate maintaining 188 to 192°F, and its reviewer felt that hurt the taste. That is CNN’s opinion of the flavor, attached to a temperature CNN reports.

Per Ninja’s guide, the plate switches off after 2 hours by default and can be programmed for up to 4 hours by holding STAY WARM. If you would rather have no hot plate at all, see thermal vs glass carafe.

Ninja CE251 brew modes and features: Classic, Rich, Small Batch, delay brew

All of these come from Ninja’s CE251 owner’s guide:

• Classic and Rich brews. Ninja describes Classic as smooth and balanced, and Rich as richer than Classic but still smooth, to stand up to milk or cream.
• Small Batch for 4 cups or fewer. The guide warns the machine uses all the water in the reservoir regardless, so add only as much as you want to drink.
• 24-hour delay brew. The brewer stays preheated until the programmed time.
• Mid-brew pause. Removing the carafe stops the flow so you can pour a cup.
• Clean function for descaling, suggested when a full carafe takes more than 12 to 15 minutes.
• Thermal Flavor Extraction. This is a manufacturer claim: Ninja says it blends automated controls for temperature, pre-infusion, saturation and flavor richness. No source opened for this page measures it.
• Integrated scoop equal to 1 tbsp, with the guide’s ratio of one scoop per cup.

What CNET and CNN Underscored liked and disliked about the CE251

CNET says the CE251 makes “smooth, balanced coffee,” and calls it the best option among the models it tested for buyers who want plenty of settings. CNET found the digital controls intuitive. The cons are flimsier plastic and thinner glass than more expensive picks, plus the longer brew.

CNN Underscored’s Michelle Rae Uy says it was the only budget model in her test that consistently produced decent brews. She also says its extractions run “on the mild side” next to the Moccamaster and Fellow Aiden. She used more grounds than Ninja suggests because she likes a more robust cup, and she praises the intuitive control panel and easy cleaning. These taste and use judgments are the publications’, not ours.

What problems do Ninja CE251 owners report, and how does the manual fix them?

Amazon’s listing showed 29,205 ratings on Oct 3, 2026, with 75% five-star and 7% one-star. Its “Customers say” summary is AI-generated from review text, so it shows what owners talk about, not a failure rate. It names durability as a concern, with customers reporting the carafe breaking at about 10 months. Reliability is mixed: some owners say the machine works well, others say it stopped brewing.

The counts behind those labels: 991 reviews mention durability, 782 of them negatively; 1,496 mention reliability, 662 negatively. Coffee temperature is mostly praised, with 745 of 1,035 mentions positive.

Ninja’s owner’s guide has a fix or an answer for most of these:

• Slow brew or no brew. Descale with the Clean cycle: 16 oz white vinegar plus water to the 12-cup line, or a descaling solution, Small Batch off, about 25 to 35 minutes, then a water-only Classic brew. If it won’t start, check power, water and that the carafe is in place; if it still won’t start, the guide says to run a clean cycle. See how to descale a coffee maker and vinegar vs descaler.
• Sediment in the cup. Use a slightly coarser grind or a paper filter, but never paper and the permanent filter together.
• Basket drips after brewing. Rinse the filter holder and press its valve repeatedly to clear the clog.
• Paper filter folds over. The machine takes a #4 cone filter; larger sizes fold.
• Broken carafe. The guide says normal wear and tear of wearable parts, carafes included, is not covered by the 1-year warranty, with replacement parts sold separately. So the carafe complaint Amazon’s summary names is one the warranty is unlikely to help with.

Who should buy the CE251, and who should skip it

Buy it if you want programmable brewing, a Small Batch setting and delay start for under $100. Those are the reasons CNET and CNN Underscored picked it.

Skip it if you want a one- or two-button machine; CNET names that buyer as someone to avoid it. Skip it too if you want a fast pot: CNET timed the OXO Brew 8-Cup at 4 min 35 s.

If you want no hot plate or a sturdier carafe, CNET’s thin-glass note and the warranty exclusion both point elsewhere. CNN Underscored also says the Ninja’s coffee is not as good as the Moccamaster KBGV’s (see our Moccamaster KBGV Select review). And if you want SCA-certified brewing, no source opened for this page shows the CE251 on the SCA list, and Ninja does not claim it. All of these sit on our best coffee makers list.

Is the Ninja CE251 faster than the Cuisinart DCC-3200?

In CNET’s table the two are close. The Ninja brewed 8 cups in 10 min 30 s against the Cuisinart PerfecTemp’s 12 min, and both held similar temperatures: 178°F falling to 173°F for the Ninja, 176°F to 172°F for the Cuisinart over an hour. CNN Underscored timed full pots at almost 9 min for the Ninja and 11 min for the Cuisinart. For capacity, features and owner complaints side by side, see Ninja CE251 vs Cuisinart DCC-3200.

Ninja CE251 price: what CNET and CNN Underscored listed on Oct 3, 2026

CNET says it is often on sale for under $70; its page showed $90 at Amazon on Oct 3, 2026. CNN Underscored’s page showed $65 at Walmart and $90 at Amazon and Best Buy on Oct 3, 2026. Prices on this model move often, so check the current price before buying.

How this Ninja CE251 review was researched

I did not use the CE251. This page compiles CNET’s and CNN Underscored’s measurements, Ninja’s owner’s guide and Amazon’s AI-generated owner-review summary, read on Oct 3, 2026. Where CNET, CNN Underscored and Ninja give different brew times, the page shows all three. Where a source is thin, as with coffeeness.de’s brew temperature, the page says so. More on our method at how we research.

More on the Ninja CE251 and drip coffee makers

• Best coffee makers, ranked by weight of evidence
• Ninja CE251 vs Cuisinart DCC-3200
• OXO Brew 8-Cup review
• How to descale a coffee maker
• Thermal vs glass carafe