Last week, Lavazza launched its first-ever bean-to-cup coffee machine, the Assoluta. Intrigued by the promise that it could deliver barista-style results with the ease of a pod coffee machine, I was among the first in the UK to try out this new coffee machine.
If you want to learn all about the features of this new machine, you can find out more in our sneak peek preview of the launch. But, as we all know, specs on paper only mean so much, and my first try of the Assoluta, which is vying to be one of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines out there, was eye-opening to say the least.
My current coffee machine that I use every day is the Ninja Luxe Café Pro (which I recently reviewed), it has the same RRP as the Assoluta of £699.99. But when I put the two side by side, they were pretty different. This is what I discovered and how they compared.
Features of the Assoluta include a hands-free milk frother, tech to help you adjust grind size to suit Lavazza beans and a super sleek design.
This Pro version of Ninja's exceedingly popular espresso machine has an assisted tamp to prevent mess and an automatic milk wand with plant milk settings built in.
My morning routine when making a latte usually (with the Ninja machine) involves pressing a button to grind the beans, tamping and then pulling the espresso shot and then choosing a setting for the automatic milk frother. It's a semi-automatic machine, so it's less involved than something like a classic espresso maker but still has some level of input.
With the Assoluta, things are pretty different from any other machine. For a latte, you pour your milk into the included glass mug and plug it into the machine. Then you need to press one button and simply wait for your latte to dispense.
Attached to the glass mug is a 'frothing cover' which whisks and heats the milk at the same time before dispensing the espresso. I've seen this tech before when testing the Lavazza Desea (which is a pod machine) and on the whole, find it to be very effective. It creates a lovely frothy coffee, with a clear top foam layer.
There are three fill lines on the glass mug, one for a single cappuccino, one for an XL cappuccino and one for a latte macchiato, so the volume of milk you can get is customisable.
I can foresee some potential problems with the glass mug system for a bean-to-cup machine like this, especially if its in use in a busy household. You need this particular vessel with the lid to froth the milk, which creates issues with making multiple frothy drinks in a row. You'll have to transfer your latte to another mug and then wash the glass one before you use it again.
There's no denying that this is a fantastically easy machine to use, however. It's also far sleeker than it looks in photos, taking up less space than my Ninja machine and with a profile that's probably easier to match to your current interiors. Visitors to my house while I've been testing it have mistaken it for a pod machine thanks to its polished profile.
Though I'm yet to fully explore the Perfect Bean Match Technology on the machine, the chance to tweak various settings through the app will also appeal to people who do want to get more hands on.
My full review of this machine will be coming up soon, but it's hard not to be impressed during my first try with how seamless the experience of using it to get a delicious coffee in the morning.
Do you have any questions you'd like me to dig into more in my upcoming review about this machine?
