Starting my day with a latte has become a sacred ritual for me. The delightful jolt of caffeine from a well-crafted coffee never fails to put me in a good mood. So when I had the chance to try out the “bean-to-cup” fully automatic De’Longhi Eletta Explore, I couldn’t resist. My husband, on the other hand, wasn’t as enthusiastic.
De’Longhi Eletta Explore Review:
We already owned a manual coffee machine at home (the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte, to be precise), and he firmly believed that an automatic machine couldn’t replicate the taste and texture of a manually made barista-style coffee. He needed some convincing.
I must admit that, after the first couple of uses, I shared his scepticism. It took me a couple of days of tinkering with the coffee machine before I discovered the perfect blend, but after that, it was smooth sailing.
The more I experimented with different settings and coffee styles, the more I grew to love the Eletta Explore. Eventually, I managed to dial in the perfect cuppa with just a touch of a button. Life was good.
Pros – De’Longhi Eletta Explore
The Eletta Explore boasts the most advanced interface and guided user experience among all De’Longhi machines, offering a gateway to a whole new world of coffee. From classic café beverages to refreshing iced coffees, from creative cocktails to smooth cold brews, making a delicious and personalised coffee has never been easier.
Some of my favourite features include:
- 50+ presets: With over 50 presets to choose from, you can effortlessly create a variety of hot, cold, or even iced coffee recipes.
- Bean adapt technology: This feature allows you to input information about your beans, which then advises the correct grind setting and automatically adjusts the dose and brewing temperature.
- Smart interface: The smart interface is a remarkable feature that enables easy selection of different coffee types, creation of user profiles, and saving of your favourites. It provides a guided and fully customisable coffee experience.
- WiFi connectivity: This smart feature allows you to remotely operate the machine, plan your next coffees, and adjust preferences through the app.
- To-Go Function: With three different coffee sizes to choose from and a liftable tray, the machine accommodates mugs of all shapes and sizes. Additionally, the De’Longhi travel mug that comes with it is a nice extra touch.
- Clean and mess-free: The Eletta Explore performs a quick self-clean rinse before and after each coffee, ensuring the machine and its surroundings stay clean and mess-free. With a manual machine, it’s nearly impossible to avoid a mess with fine coffee grounds getting on the counter and surrounds, so this was a big win for me.
De’Longhi Eletta Explore Cons
While I can’t say anything bad about the Eletta Explore, there is one feature that initially excited me but ended up disappointing, albeit due to my own misconception of its capability. The coffee machine can be controlled via an app, and I envisioned waking up in the morning, using the app from the comfort of my bed to turn on the machine and start brewing my coffee, ready for me to pick up.
However, while it can be fully controlled remotely via the app, the machine automatically does a quick self-clean and spits out water from the coffee spouts each time it is turned on. Although the self-clean feature is great, it does hinder the convenience I had imagined. Additionally, if you drink a milk-based coffee, you need to get up anyway to add fresh milk to the milk jug. That said, it’s still a whole lot more convenient than anything I’ve tried before.
De’Longhi Eletta Explore Price
If there is one to be said about the De’Longhi Eletta Explore, it’s that the all-in-one automatic coffee machine doesn’t come cheap. Priced at a solid AUD$1,799, the Eletta Explore hovers around the upper echelon of home appliances. Of course, it comes loaded with preset options, accessories and the ability to essentially handle anything the most fervent of caffeine lovers will throw at it, but you can’t help but think it’s out of reach for most families. If you’ve got the money to drop, however, you can’t really go wrong with this automatic De’Longhi coffee machine.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, the De’Longhi Eletta Explore is a fantastic coffee machine designed with convenience at its core. It particularly shines for individuals leading busy lifestyles, craving quick and effortless solutions. It’s also an excellent choice for households with multiple coffee enthusiasts, as you can create personalised coffee profiles and easily switch between them to ensure everyone enjoys their preferred brew.
Once you’ve figured out your ideal settings, this machine delivers a delicious cup of coffee with just the touch of a button and comes impressively close to a manually made coffee. The mess-free operation, hassle-free maintenance, and significant time savings make the Eletta Explore a coffee machine that’s worth every penny of its price tag.
Disclaimer: The author of this article, Denise Barnes, was provided a De’Longhi Eletta Explore unit for the purposes of this review.
