De’Longhi Rivelia Review
A smart bean-to-cup coffee machine that lets you swap beans at will
Verdict
A product for coffee lovers, the De’Longhi Rivelia has swappable hoppers so that you can change beans on the fly. The switchover process is easy, although it does require some planning if you don’t want to waste coffee beans. Quality espresso and decent automatic frothing, combined with an excellent touchscreen interface, make this a great bean-to-cup machine for those who love coffee but don’t want the hassle of a manual machine.
Pros
- Can swap beans
- High quality coffee
- Excellent interface
Cons
- Needs a bit of planning to swap beans
Key Features
- TypeThis is an automatic bean-to-cup machine with automated milk frothing, with swappable bean hoppers.
- Water tankThere’s a large 1.4-litre water tank, so you can make a fair number of coffees before having to refill.
Introduction
I always say that coffee is more like wine: the choice of beans and how they’re roasted makes a huge difference. Having a coffee machine like the De’Longhi Rivelia can help you explore more, as it lets you have more than one coffee on the go at a time, with its clever Bean Switch System that lets you swap hoppers of coffee when you like.
Having the option to stack up multiple coffees is good, and the De’Longhi Rivelia produces great coffee and froths automatically well. It does take some getting used to the switching system, particularly if you don’t want to waste coffee.
Design and features
- Up to four profiles
- Clever Bean Switch System
- Lots of recipes
Although the De’Longhi Rivelia looks much like other bean-to-cup coffee machines, this model ships with two bean hoppers in the box. Each is capable of taking 250g of beans, and the hoppers are interchangeable, so you can switch between beans when you like.
That could be so that you can have normal and decaffeinated coffee, or because you’ve got different beans that you want to get through, such as a more expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain and an everyday coffee.
Not that you’re limited to the two hoppers. You can buy additional hoppers for £16.99 each if you’d like to have even more choice. Just be aware that roasted coffee beans will last for about a month before they’re no longer fresh.
Powered by a clever LCD system, the De’Longhi Rivelia is incredibly easy to use. When it’s powered on the first time, it asks you how many people are in your home, so that it can set up profiles. Up to four profiles are supported; with each profile, you can set the coffee strength and volume for each person, by drink type, so that everyone gets their coffee the way that they want.
The touchscreen menu has choices for black coffee (espresso, americano, long black, iced Americano, lungo, double espresso, espresso and iced coffee) and for milk drinks (caffe latte, cappuccino, flat white, espresso macchiato, cortado and hot milk), with the latter using the plug-in milk carafe.
Everything you need to know is shown on the screen, making this one of the easiest coffee machines that I have used.
When switching between bean hoppers, some beans are left in the top of the grinder, so the De’Longhi Rivelia gives you a choice of what to do: you can make one final drink, or you can grind the remaining beans and dump them out to prevent cross-contamination.
I think making a coffee makes more sense, as it’s less wasteful, but it does need some planning: you almost need to know you want to switch one drink before you do. The Melitta Caffeo Barista TS Smart, with its dual hoppers, handles a switch better: when using one of the hoppers, the coffee machine locks off the grinder when it has taken enough beans; the grinder is only opened up to the chosen hopper for the next drink.
A 1.4-litre water tank sits on the side of the coffee machine, and can take a plug-in filter, which is recommended to get the best taste from your coffee beans.
Melitta Caffeo Barista TS Smart
Coffee quality
- Spot on temperature
- Good crema on espresso
- Smooth results
I started off by making an espresso using my Peruvian Fairtrade beans. I found that I had to adjust the grind a little, going for a finer setting, to get the best results. With this in mind, you should note the grinder position for each type of bean, so you can adjust this as you swap beans.
With the De’Longhi Rivelia set up correctly, I found that it poured an espresso at 64°C, which is about spot on.
There was a nice crema, with an oily finish to it, that stayed for a few minutes. Overall, the taste was good, with the bold acidity and smooth finish coming through. If I’m to be overly critical, a manual machine with a manual grinder can pour a better shot, with more developed flavours, but you’ll have to spend a lot more to do this.
Milk frothing
- Machine tells you which setting to use
- Good foam
Using the milk frother means replacing the water spout. The milk frother has a dial on top that controls the level of foam produced. Don’t worry, when making any milk-based drink, the De’Longhi Rivelia’s screen tells you which setting to use, taking any guesswork out of the equation.
I made a flat white, which required the De’Longhi Rivelia to pour a shot of espresso and then add milk into the mix, resulting in a nice cup of coffee at the end with good microbubbles in the milk.
Of course, there’s no way to pour latte art with a machine that manually froths, but then if you’re more about convenience, this won’t bother you.
Maintenance
- Automatically rinses
- Brew unit easy to reach
- Warns you about descaling
The De’Longhi Rivelia makes maintenance easy. Where it can, the machine takes care of things automatically, rinsing the system and telling you how to use the clean option on the milk frother.
There are some manual jobs, including emptying the used coffee bin and washing out the drip tray.
Every week, it’s worth getting into the side of the coffee machine and removing the brew unit for cleaning.
For descaling, the De’Longhi Rivelia will warn you when it’s time to do the job, talking you through the process. How often you have to do this will depend on the water hardness level that you’ve set.
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Should you buy it?
You want an easy-to-use machine that takes different coffees
Swappable hoppers make it easy to change the coffee you’re using, and the touch interface is a joy to use.
You want straightforward coffee from one type of bean
If you want to use one type of coffee at a time, then there are cheaper options that produce just as good coffee.
Final Thoughts
This is really a machine for those who want to enjoy different coffees or who have a need to swap between regular and decaffeinated coffee. I think that the Melitta Caffeo Barista TS Smart makes it easier to use two coffees, but it’s not as easy to use and has a smaller screen, and it can’t be upgraded to add even more hoppers.
With the De’Longhi Rivelia, you get the benefit of multiple coffees with a bright and easy-to-use touchscreen interface. Fancy a manual machine instead? Check out my guide to the best coffee machines.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every coffee machine we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main coffee machine for the review period
Tested for at least a week
We roast our own beans for regular coffee machines, so we can fairly compare each machine; pod machines are tested with a variety of compatible capsules
Depending on capabilities, we test each machine’s ability to make espresso and cappuccino
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FAQs
Whole coffee beans will last about a month from opening until they’re past their best.
There are two hoppers in the box, but you can buy additional ones if you want more on the go.
Full specs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
