The coffee gadget situation at my house had become untenable. We had an Aeropress, Chemex, espresso machine, dedicated grinder, iced coffee machine—if it was designed to mix hot water and ground beans, we had it. What we didn’t have, however, was any space left. That may be about to change, however, thanks to one machine that could let us retire the rest. De’Longhi’s latest, the Rivelia, is a caffeinated Voltron that makes tons of different drinks, from traditional espresso to iced coffee and even milk-based drinks like cappuccino. It automates and manages every step of the process with tons of customizable options, a pair of interchangeable bean hoppers, and even user profiles to provide the experience of a coffee shop on your counter.
It’s a truly smart coffee maker that doesn’t require a finicky app or a clunky voice assistant.
This chunky machine looks great, but picks up fingerprints.
Stan Horaczek
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Verdict: This machine is an investment, but with the price of a Venti Starbucks Americano nearing $6 (before tax and tip), this automated barista will likely pay for itself in short order. It’s quick, quiet, easy to navigate, and does an excellent job with just about every drink on its built-in menu.
Getting started with the Rivelia
You’ll find some quick start instructions in the Rivelia’s box, but the machine’s built-in 3.5-inch TFT touchscreen guides users through the meaty part of the setup process. It offers clear instructions about how to set up and install accessories, then assists in creating user profiles for everyone who will be using the machine (more on that later). It then goes through a quick test grind and rinse before it’s ready to go. All told, roughly 15 minutes elapsed between opening the box and making our first cup of coffee.
It’s a thorough setup. The kit comes with a water hardness tester so the built-in software can specifically tailor its maintenance routines to your usage. I have fairly hard water, so I need to do deeper cleanings more often to avoid build-up that could damage the machine.
Once the setup process is complete, the screen offers up its extensive drink menu. Available options include standard espresso and espresso-based drinks like Americanos and lattes. There are 18 total recipes, each of which allows users to customize their grinds, strengths, and even temperature. So, if you like your espresso to taste like caffeinated jet fuel, you can make it happen.
Built-in “Bean Adapt” technology can recommend grind and temperature settings based on what you’re brewing. The machine remembers your preferences and syncs them with your user profile (it even lets you know by name that your drink is ready). You won’t have to remember any changes you made to your drinks, which is crucial for a machine you’ll use while still bleary after waking up.
Getting to the brew
Once one of the 8.8-oz bean hoppers is snapped in place, a single button press starts the espresso-making process. It quickly heats up and quietly grinds the beans in its 13-setting burr grinder before packing the grounds and pouring the shot. It’s much faster than doing the steps by hand and produces an espresso that’s on par or better than any other consumer-grade machine I have used. We made espresso for seven other friends, and they all agreed that the quality was fantastic, even though most also found that the standard strength was slightly weak for their tastes. That’s easily remedied with a simple adjustment.
To get the most authentic espresso taste, dial the grind down as fine as it will go, opt for the strongest brew, and pick the smallest volume. That will get you the closest version to a dedicated machine.
My wife’s drink of choice is typically an Americano, which she has made almost every morning during our two-week review process. She has her preferred settings dialed in and found the results more consistent and pleasing than those at the local coffee shop.
I typically drink iced coffee, and Rivelia makes that as well. Unlike my wife, I don’t need super-strong coffee, so the standard settings worked just fine for me out of the gate, and I haven’t felt the need to adjust them. The simple fact that it’s made from fresh-ground beans and I don’t need to clean up annoying filters makes the whole process superior to my typical drip coffee ritual.
Milk-based drinks
In addition to black coffee drinks, Rivelia can also create milk-based beverages using a modular milk container. The milk tank slides into the front of the machine where the higher spout typically resides. It creates instantly frothed milk—whether from a cow or a plant-based process. We made a variety of cappuccinos, flat whites, and lattes, with a variety of different milk types. The machine’s “LatteCrema Hot technology” offers guidance on specific preparation times for different kinds of milk because they all handle slightly differently.
The removable milk frother is nice because you can store the container itself in the fridge between cups. You’re not going to be wasting extra milk every time you make a drink. You’ll also not have to deep clean the hopper each time, which is maybe even more important.
Time to clean up
Rivelia does an excellent job communicating when it needs cleaning. After a brew, the machine dumps the grounds into an easy-to-remove receptacle that you can simply dump out and wipe with a paper towel. The machine lets you know when to clean it via a message on the touchscreen. It also rinses and cleans itself when you turn it on and off to keep things tidy.
If you go away and don’t use the machine for more than three days, it runs an automatic deep clean process to ensure no stale water or grounds hang around in the works. It’s a nice touch, though it likely won’t be much of an issue since it’s a machine you’ll use daily.
You will need to perform occasional deep cleans, which include more elbow grease. While it’s compact for an automatic espresso machine, it’s still a big machine, and moving it isn’t simple, so make sure you have plenty of counterspace available before moving it to access the sides and back.
So, who would buy the De’Longhi Rivelia Espresso Machine?
With a retail price of $1,500, De’Longhi’s one-touch bean-to-cup machine is meant for serious coffee consumption. But the Italian kitchen appliance maker’s latest is a gadget that can replace an entire cabinet full of brewing gear. The swappable bean hoppers and multiple user profiles make it fantastic for a house—or even a small office—with multiple serious coffee drinkers. Every step of the process feels premium, including the resulting coffee.
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