The De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic is an espresso machine with a personality, and after a week we are already best friends
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In April, De’Longhi launched a new Smart Bean-to-Cup Espresso machine that can learn your drink preferences during the day: the De’Longhi Primadonna Aromatic . I use it for about a week now, and it actually feels like a super-aattenive barista that remembers your order every day and waves it with a smile and that happens to live in your kitchen.
At first glance, the Primadonna Aromatic is very similar De’Longhi Eletta Explore. The most obvious difference is the extra large touchscreen, with which you can browse through a huge menu with hot and cold drinks and offer super-simple instructions to help you set up your new machine and make your first espresso.
The screen is even so fresh and clear that De’longhi has been able to replace the usual dry step -by -step lessons with a slick small video that shows how easy it is to select and make your chosen drink. And that is just the beginning …
The entire package is very beginners-friendly and does not accept any prior knowledge of coffee-making terminology. Things as simple as referring to the hopper as a ‘bean container’ are a well -considered touch, and the tone of the interface is refreshing.
For example, instead of just displaying the word ‘heating’ when it is switched on (or messing away without telling you what is happening), the Primadonna Aromatic tells generated: “I will use some hot water to warm everything up” (it communicates via text on the screen; unfortunately one of the few things that cannot do is talk). Instead of saying that you have to attach the milk container before you make a cappuccino, it asks you nicely.
De’Longhi’s handy bean adapt system, which adjusts the brewing settings to match your chosen beans, is present and accessible with a quick tap on the button, but its use is completely optional, and the machine risks not overwhelming new users by first introducing it. If you just want to continue making an espresso as quickly as possible, just browse through the menu, choose a drink and leave.
Morning! The usual?
This virtual barista even knows your name. Most of the Best bean-to-cup coffee machines Let us make user profiles and save favorites for every person in your household, but it is usually a rather impersonal process and is sometimes buried in a list of menus.
Not so with the Primadonna Aromatic. During the installation, the machine will ask how many people will use it and then automatically make profiles for each. You can choose an avatar for each and enter a name, but there is nothing more complicated than that.
What is especially fun is that the profile information you enter is not only used to distinguish between user profiles. The machine also refers to you by name. There is something nice to switch on the Primadonna Aromatic to see a friendly ‘Hello cat’ in the morning. All it doesn’t do is write on your cup.
I still have to test all settings of the machine (the menu has more than 30 warm and cold options), but my first impressions of the coffee are also very positive. Even without going into the Bean Adapt settings, the standard brewing options produced a balanced espresso that came in about 35 seconds (ideal for a double shot).
I am also impressed by both the warm and cold foamed milk. There are two carvee (understandable because cold foam does not use steam), which you can store in the fridge until you need them. Each has three texture settings and the machine will tell you which one to select when you choose a drink from the menu.
The thick foam setting creates foam ideal for a cappuccino or cortado, while the middle option makes a creamier texture for lattes and macchiatos (my personal favorite).
You can use any type of milk for hot drinks, but the Longhi recommends that you only use low-fat dairy or plant milk for cold foam. I made several ice drinks with the help of oat milk, and the results were excellent; The foam is creamy and sits nicely on top of the drink without solving.
The only drawback that I can see so far is the price. For £ 1,549.99 (around $ 2,000 / au $ 3,200) this is more expensive than most machines in our roundup of the Best coffee makersBut so far it works hard to justify the costs.
I will continue to test the Primadonna Aromatic for a few more weeks, and I will give you a complete review soon.
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