De'Longhi's Newest Super-Automatic Espresso Machine Is Probably Its Best Yet
There are maybe two schools of home espresso people. Some want it perfect, classic, maybe even a little difficult. They want to stick their hands in the gears and make fine adjustments, until the coffee is the most beauteous expression of its bean and its roaster. Some want it nice and easy, with maybe a little frothy milk in the bargain.
Photograph: De'Longhi
The new bean-to-cup Rivelia machine from Italian coffee titan De'Longhi, which arrived in the United States this month, is squarely meant for those who want it easy. Indeed, the Rivelia immediately ranks among the most modern, impressive, and capable super-automatic espresso machines I've seen—the sort that has you dump a half-bag of beans into a hopper, and will grind, brew, then froth up milk for a flat white with the press of a button.
The Rivelia's crisply minimalist design and slim profile—less than 10 inches across—belies a whole lot of functionality. This includes an unholy array of 18 espresso and latte and iced-coffee drink options, a button-press milk frother that makes actual microfoam, and bean guidance that allows you to optimize your strength and grind for each bean. And yet despite the complicated options, the thing is pretty simple to use. I barely needed the manual.
Like Breville's excellent Oracle Jet ($2,000), a more traditional pressurized-basket espresso machine that I've also been testing, the Rivelia is a device seemingly made for the generation that grew up with tablets and screens. About the only traditional button you'll actually need is the on switch. Pretty much everything else happens on a touchscreen that remains blessedly impervious to a little water spillage.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
The Rivelia is self-consciously designed to be a friendly little machine, right down to the occasional uncanny use of the first person. 'I'll use some hot water to heat everything up,' reads the screen as you turn the machine on, moments before twin jets of water spurt into the drip tray.
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