It’s no secret, Australians are the coffee snobs of the world. The café culture is world-renowned, but with the impacts of COVID-19 and what feels like never-ending lockdowns, more and more people are opting to bring the café experience into their homes. And to do this, you need just two things, perfect avocados, and a good quality coffee machine.
While we can’t help you track down the perfect avocado, we can offer some advice in the coffee machine department (and right in time for International Coffee Day on the 1st of October). Enter the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte.
Table of Contents
Overview
Compact & stylish, the latest addition to the La Specialista family was designed with the Australian consumer in mind to get a barista-quality coffee in the comfort of your own home. If you’re used to using an automatic coffee machine or have not previously owned one, all the settings and features may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but playing around with it is part of the fun. The included user manuals are also pretty easy to follow to get it all set up and ready for your first brew. But what is it that makes the La Specialista Arte different?
We Love:
- Compact size
- Complete barista kit included
- Easy to clean & maintain
- Genuine cafe-quality coffee at home
- Practising latte art has been a fun lockdown hobby
- Using the steam wand to also make delicious, silky hot chocolates
- Saving money from not buying a daily latte
Smaller and more compact than other La Specialista models, the size of the Arte machine allows it to fit more comfortably into your home or apartment. It also has a lower RRP meaning you’re well on your way to start saving $$ even quicker from not having to buy your daily latte. But just because it comes in at a more affordable price, does not mean it lacks in offering.
In fact, it has many of the same capabilities as other models and comes with a complete barista kit to not only deliver a delicious barista-style coffee every time, but it will also make you feel like one. While it claims to be mess-free, we did still find some coffee ground mess between the roasting and brewing process, although very minor compared to what we’ve experienced with other coffee machines. It’s also worth mentioning that this mess has gotten less and less as time has passed and our skills have improved. We also found the cleaning relatively easy and would consider it low maintenance coffee machine.
Inclusions & Features
We were very impressed with the features of the machine and the contents of the box. Below is a bit of a breakdown of what you can expect:
- Premium Barista Kit – When you buy a La Specialista Arte, it comes standard with a premium barista kit that includes a professional tamper, a tamping mat, a dosing and tamping guide, a milk jug, and two sizes of single-wall filters.
- My LatteArt system – You can’t achieve barista-quality coffee without silky smooth microfoam and crafty latte art. The fun part is playing around with it and practising your skills to create patterns, pictures, and more. We also love using the steam wand to make the occasional silky hot chocolate. It just tastes better than simply heating up the milk in the microwave.
- Active Temperature Control – Different types of coffee beans call for different types of temperature profiles which is why the La Specialista Arte comes standard with three and has built-in advanced temperature control to ensure the perfect brew.
- 8 Setting Grinder – The integrated 8 setting grinder is so handy because, let’s be honest, nothing beats freshly ground beans. Not only because it tastes so much better in your coffee, but few things beat that captivating smell, especially early in the morning. The settings range from very fine to a coarse grind, which you can select based on your preferences and the types of beans you use, and you can also set it to grind just enough beans for a single or double-shot so there is no waste.
- Three pre-set recipes – Choose between an espresso, a long-black, or just hot water with the press of a button.
- Espresso Cup Support – When you want espresso in a smaller espresso cup, the La Specialista Arte comes standard with espresso cup support so that your glass is raised to avoid the coffee from splashing all over the place. This also ensures the crema is reserved that allows for a more authentic taste.
Final Verdict
If nothing does the trick for you quite like a good barista coffee, you will love having this in your house as it genuinely gives you the opportunity to recreate an authentic cafe cuppa at home. From playing around with different settings to practice your latte art, this is the start of your at-home barista journey. We’ve used the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte machine for about 3 weeks now and can confidently say our at-home flat whites and lattes are cafe quality.
The best part is, based on an estimation, we’ve already saved about $200 from making our daily coffees at home (not to mention the take-away coffee cups saved). What a win. Available now with an RRP of $799, you can find the La Specialista Arte on the De’Longhi website and most good retailers.
