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When financial experts bemoan millennials spending $6 on a single oat milk latte, they’re talking about me. “Why don’t they just make coffee at home?” Fiscal responsibility has only ever pushed me so far—my expensive coffeeshop habit transformed into an only-slightly-less-expensive reliance on K-cups or, more often, bottles of pre-made Starbucks iced coffee from the grocery store. In addition to the expense, this convenience also cost me in confidence. The last time I brewed a pot of coffee on a traditional machine was as an intern (I was forbidden to make the office coffee ever again), and the one time someone tried to walk me through the multi-step process of using their espresso machine, my soul left my body.
When given the chance to review the newly launched De’Longhi La Specialista Touch (please do it the respect of using its full government name), I assumed I would enjoy the end product – who doesn’t love an oat milk latte macchiato from the comfort of their own home?—but that the 20-minute, 14-step process (I assumed) would be prohibitive for daily use.
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Color me wrong. The De’Longhi La Specialista Touch bridges the gap between barista-level machines that require barista-level skills and the ease of use of pod-based espresso machines. From the jump, the machine walks you through setup and optimization so you can get professional results with novice skills.
The walkthrough could not have been easier to follow. When the grounds are distributed and it’s time to tamp—aka shmush the loose grounds into a dense puck– there’s a mat to balance the portafilter (the handle and filter where grounds go) and the provided tamp includes a visual guide so you can see if you need more (the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch can provide a top-off) or less (a flat, plastic shaver is included to skim grounds off the top). My first go-around took quite a few attempts to find the perfect coarseness. With each espresso shot, I was informed that the flow of water through the grounds was too slow for an ideal result. It took six adjustments, but once you’ve got the settings perfected, you can save the bean’s profile to pull up quickly in the future.
None of this tweaking is anything I would have the knowledge to adjust by sight or, frankly, taste, and the results cannot be argued with. Once your bean settings have been perfected, you can access any of the pre-programmed drinks. Choose from café classics like cappuccinos, flat whites, lattes, americanos, and even cold brew. Each drink is dosed out with step-by-step instructions, and the built-in steamer and frother can automatically whip up dairy or plant-based creamers (you can switch to a manual mode, but why?).
When I say I am hooked, I am hooked. I’m whipping up more caffeinated drinks than is medically advisable, and there have been no misses. I’ve made double lavender cappuccinos with oat milk: amazing. I’ve been astounded by the actually cold cold brew: I’ve noticed many companies try to dupe iced coffee by brewing extra strong hot coffee over ice and hoping it doesn’t dilute too much (it always does). When the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch is finished making cold brew, the ice is still unmelted. And the taste! It puts my bottled beverage to shame.
One would like to imagine that a $1,000 machine like the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch could never be considered the budget-friendly choice. But if you’re truly a daily $6 latte person, it would take less than six months of switching for it to pay for itself. If your household has started averaging four espresso drinks per day (don’t judge me, it’s really that good), it’s a shocking forty-one days. So hear me when I say you can pry the De’Longhi La Specialista Touch, long may she reign, from my cold, dead, jittery hands.
