The De’Longhi Rivelia belongs to a new generation of super-automatic coffee machines that De’Longhi launched in 2022. In the short time it has been on the market, it has become one of the brand’s most popular and sought-after coffee machines, mainly because of a very powerful selling point: it is the first super-automatic under €1,000 to offer a dual interchangeable coffee bean hopper.
De'Longhi Rivelia
| Power | 1450 W |
| Bars | 19 |
| Heating system | Thermoblock |
| Grinder | Conical, stainless steel |
| Grind settings | 14 |
| Coffee bean hopper | 250 gr x2 |
| Water tank | 1.4 L |
| Ground coffee chute |  |
| Frother | Manual and automatic, depending on the model |
| Control panel | 3.5″ touch screen |
| Pre-programmed recipes | 8 to 16 |
| App connectivity | |
| Instruction manual | Download |
| Dimensions | 24.5 x 43 x 38.5 cm |
| Weight | 9.7 Kg |
Unboxing, box contents, first impressions
The De’Longhi Rivelia is presented properly in the box. The first thing you’ll see upon opening it is this other box where some components and accessories come: the manual and a promotional leaflet, the two bean hoppers, the milk container, a bottle of descaler, and a water filter.
When you take the Rivelia out of the box, what surprises you the most is how lightweight it is. It is one of the lightest super-automatics I’ve had. Also very compact. The housing is all plastic, which is what makes it so light. It is not a very solid build, for my taste you can notice the plastic too much, but I acknowledge that the appearance is original, innovative, different from any other super-automatic, and certainly from what De’Longhi has designed so far.
In the top part, I can already see one of this coffee machine’s peculiarities: there is no hopper installed, and there’s a cover protecting the grinder entry that I must remove in order to put in either of the two hoppers included.
That is very easy to do. There is an indicator to correctly place the hopper and another one for the position in which it is locked.
The grind adjustment dial is a pleasant surprise and one of the things I liked most about the Rivelia, as it is much easier to handle and adjust than those tiny adjustment wheels found on almost all super-automatics, which can be a real hassle when adjusting the grind.
Next to the hopper and the grinder, there is a small compartment with three elements: a space to store the measuring spoon for ground coffee and the water spout, the actual ground coffee hopper, and some grates where the Rivelia expels the steam generated when frothing milk.
On the right side is the water tank. The Rivelia’s novelty compared to other De’Longhi super-automatics is that this tank is on the outside and easily accessible, much more convenient and practical than in other models where the tank is inside the machine and you have to pull it out.
As with other De’Longhi models, by removing the water tank we have access to the brew unit panel, which we can remove to rinse with water (recommended once a week).
On the front, I find the spout block, which can be moved up and down to fit cups of different heights. Of course, it has a double coffee outlet. On the left is the hot water outlet: here you can connect the water spout whenever you want to serve hot water, or connect the milk container when you are going to froth milk.
The drip tray is made of plastic. It has a stainless-steel grate, and underneath it another plastic grate with a fill indicator. Inside, it also houses the coffee grounds drawer, where the brew unit expels the used coffee puck after serving the coffee.
I’ll end this first look at the Rivelia with its control panel. As you can see, there is a 3.5-inch touch screen, but on both sides of the screen there are four buttons: the on/off button, the user profile button, and two quick-access buttons for black coffee recipes and milk coffee recipes.
Recipes, settings, making coffee
When you turn on the machine, it performs a series of water rinses, which is common in super-automatics. Meanwhile, the screen shows a welcome animation. The first time you start it up, it guides you through a series of basic settings to configure the language, water hardness, water filter, and so on. Once everything is set, it shows you the recipe menu.
The available recipes are espresso, lungo, long coffee, and americano, in terms of hot coffee. Then you have cold espresso, cold long coffee, and cold americano. Note that these are not cold brew; the Rivelia simply extracts coffee at a lower temperature so you can serve these drinks with ice.
The milk-based recipes are the traditional cappuccino, latte macchiato, flat white, and cortado. Also espresso macchiato, caffelatte, and cappuccino mix, which are no more than very similar variations.
Within each recipe, you have settings for volume and strength. The volume is the amount of beverage in the cup, and there are five levels: S, M, L, and XL. The strength is the amount of ground coffee that the Rivelia grinds to prepare the coffee, and there are another five levels.
At strength level 5, I’ve measured about 16 grams of coffee, which is not bad at all. It’s roughly the dose used in specialty coffee nowadays for a cup of espresso. However, there are other De’Longhi super-automatics that use higher doses. At the end of the review, when discussing alternatives, I’ll mention which ones they are.
In any case, 16 grams is fine, as long as the coffee machine allows you to grind as finely as possible. The combination of a fine grind that provides enough resistance for the pump, plus a high dose of ground coffee, is the winning combo to get an intense, flavorful espresso, and not the watery coffee that many low-end super-automatics produce. The De’Longhi Rivelia fulfills this aspect and yields a very decent espresso, even using medium-roast specialty coffee beans.
Using medium-roast coffee, I got the best espresso with grind setting 3, strength level 5 (16 grams), volume M (35 ml of beverage) for an approximate ratio of 1:2, achieving an extraction of 22 seconds. Probably, by using dark-roast coffee you can grind even finer and get an even more intense espresso (that is one of the reasons why dark-roast coffee is the most recommended for a super-automatic).
Milk-based recipes, automatic frother
One of the strongest points of the Rivelia is its milk container, with an automatic frother and a selector for three milk textures. In addition, you can also use plant-based milks and supposedly get a good milk foam, although I have not personally tested this and have only prepared recipes with cow’s milk. As I mentioned earlier, the milk container attaches at the hot water spout.
The texture is honestly very good. Texture level 2 is the most convincing and has always given me the best results, producing finely textured milk that integrates well. Level 1 is suitable for very light recipes, such as cafelatte or cortado. Setting 3 is the worst, leaving milk with a very dense foam, large bubbly and airy, which I personally hate, but it might appeal to you if you like the traditional Italian cappuccino.
After you serve a milk-based drink, a cleaning warning will always appear on the screen, indicating that a rinse of the milk circuit will be performed. Make sure to remove the cup you served and place another one underneath. You can remove the milk container and store it in the fridge with whatever milk remains inside.
Other functions worth mentioning
It is clear that one of the Rivelia’s strong points is that you can try different varieties by swapping out the hoppers at any time. The change can be done easily, as long as there are not too many coffee beans in the grinder’s entry. When you swap out the bean hopper, the Rivelia asks if you want to prepare a drink right away or grind and empty first, to ensure that from now on you’ll only use the beans in the hopper you just installed.
An interesting function is Bean Adapt, which De’Longhi has already used in other coffee machines in the brand. What it does is guide you through a series of questions to advise you on which grind level to use depending on the type of coffee bean you are using. It also automatically adjusts the strength and volume of the drink, and even the temperature.
There are four user profiles, so if there are several of you at home, each can have their own profile with customized settings, without disturbing the others. Each profile is assigned its own color.
The Rivelia has a descaling program that will automatically prompt you based on the number of coffees you have brewed, the water hardness you set at the time, and whether you have installed a water filter. You can also run descaling at any time by accessing the additional settings menu (gear icon), where you also have other settings, such as configuring the auto-off time, performing water rinses, adjusting extraction temperature, and changing the language.
All the parts of the drip tray can be put in the dishwasher, although since they are plastic components, it’s perhaps wise to be cautious and not use a very high washing temperature. The milk container can also be disassembled and placed in the dishwasher.
As I mentioned before, it is recommended to remove the brew unit at least once a week and rinse it under the tap. The De’Longhi brew unit is one of the easiest to rinse, and in general, the brand’s coffee machines require little maintenance and are easy to clean; another point in their favor.
Alternatives
Surely, the best alternative to the Rivelia is the Magnifica Plus, a coffee machine I was able to review at the time and which left me with a very good impression, no pun intended: my opinion is that the Magnifica Plus extracts the best espresso of all the super-automatics I’ve tried, and at the same price I think it is a superior coffee machine to the Rivelia. In this comparison between the two you can find more details on why I believe this.
The Eletta Explore is another more expensive model than the Rivelia, but it also offers a wider variety of recipes, including cold brew. But watch out, because with this little trick you can also have cold coffee recipes on the Rivelia.
