Review: De’Longhi Rivelia Espresso Machine

The Rivelia has a nifty little bean swap system that lets you uncork one hopper full of beans and swap in a second, with minimal fuss and no mixing of beans. It works like this: When you turn the bean hopper to the unlock position, the Rivelia’s screen will simply ask you what you want to do with the excess beanage, which amounts to around 5 grams, or half a shot.

You can choose to get a mini-drink from the excess, or ask the Rivelia to dispose of your little bean problem, sight unseen and no questions asked. Then, just swap out one color-coded bean hopper for the other, and here you are drinking decaf instead of your morning rocket fuel.

The bean swap is a simple and deft solution to an irritating problem that has dogged bean-to-cup machines since their inception. It’s also indicative of the thoughtfulness of this device overall.

Easy, Button-Press Customization

Swapping out beans is all well and good, but how’s the coffee? The answer isn’t straightforward. Bean-to-cup machines like the Rivelia, and other De’Longhi models like the Magnifica Evo ($650) and Dinamica ($1,300), exert just as much pressure as a traditional espresso machine. But they also tend to grind a little less finely than espresso made with a pressurized portafilter.

This coarser grind makes the resulting cup a whole lot less finicky, and less likely to be overbitter or deeply acidic, but also less intense. It’s a smooth cup, with some of the edges shaved off. It’s perfect for those who’d like to just press a button and be ensured a frothy cappuccino without looking at pressure gauges or worrying they’ll botch a shot completely.

And so the Rivelia won’t rival a more difficult, fussier portafilter machine. But it does make cups as good as any bean-to-cup maker I’ve tried, in part because of its helpful “bean adapt” function. The machine can be programmed with up to six different bean profiles. When you want to add a new bean, the machine will have you put it through the paces.