Lavazza Deséa – black or milk capsule coffee maker with extras (update coffee review)

The Lavazza Deséa is the next step up from the Lavazza Jolie and Milk, specially designed for Espresso and milk coffees. It is the mark of a great machine when it can make an excellent coffee using standard settings out of the box.

The next step up means it has a little more intelligence (five milk-based recipes or four different coffee doses) and options via a touch-button interface. It still uses the Lavazza A Modo Mio capsule system, but milk is steamed and frothed by a magnetic stirrer in a glass mixing mug.

Update: We have been using this machine for several months in our office and are increasingly impressed with its flexibility and coffee quality.

Lavazza Deséa – intelligent capsule coffee maker

Lavazza Website	Lavazza site and Product page
RRP	$349 (black or cream) but look for promotional pricing.
From	All good CE retailers
Warranty	One year ACL
Country of manufacture	Poland
Company	Est 1895 in Turin in 1895 by Luigi Lavazza. Initially run from a small grocery store at Via San Tommaso, today it is run by the third and fourth generations of the Lavazza family.
More	Cybershack Guide How to make good coffee at home

First impression – a little overwhelming, but read the instructions

It is not the most elegant, with a significant proboscis  (nose) housing the touch buttons. You have to wonder how it makes milk from the glass mug. Well, it is streamed and frothed in the glass mug – just like a barista.

Given you will use it a few times daily, it is 280 (H) x 380 (D) x 145 (W) x 4.5kg, so it sits neatly on the bench. The water reservoir is at the back, so leave a little room to remove and refill it. At the top is a large chrome tongue-like lever that you lift to insert a Pod – you need to have about 45mm height to do that.

At the front is an adjustable drip tray for two cup heights. The lower setting accommodates the milk mixing cup and standard cups, and the top setting is for very small cups. The tray does not hold much wastewater (it does not need to with the milk cup). It is quiet at about 45dB.

Let’s start with Espresso – excellent

For black coffee (Espresso), you use an appropriately sized standard coffee cup – it will fit cups up to 12cm high, but it seems to be programmed for smaller cups 120/210ml (4-7 oz).

The left side has four touch buttons

• Espresso (30ml shot)
• Long Espresso (60ml)
• Long black (same capsule with approx. 100ml water)
• Free dose (press to start/stop).

Given that you are using the same capsule, the single 30ml dose is best for short Espresso – the double tends to make it a bit weak for our taste. You can also program dose sizes. But if you want a double/tripl;e shot etc, use two/three pods consecutively.

Our experience is that if you are using a 280ml/8oz or 400ml/12oz cup, you will need two (60l) or three capsules (90ml), depending on the capsule strength and your coffee taste preference. If you make a long black, it is too watery in a 280/400ml cup.

Lesson: One pod = one shot/dose that a barista would use. Ask your barista how many shots he used in your coffee.

Now milk coffee – far better than a servo coffee

The right side has four touch buttons for Cappuccino (standard), Cappuccino (large), Milk Macchiato (more like a Café au Lait) and hot/cold frothed milk. It heats milk to about 65° using steam – quite different from Lavazza Jolie and Milk – great black or milk capsule coffee induction heating.

In the centre are power (from sleep), temperature boost and froth control. You use the glass mixing mug for milk coffee, and once done, optionally pour it into a coffee cup. It steam heats and froths the milk first, then releases a shot of coffee into the mug. To be clear, the glass mixing mug holds the finished milk coffee.

Our experience is that

• Cappucino standard uses 100ml of milk and one shot (160ml), and that bulks up with a nice bit of froth.
• Cappucino large uses 150ml of milk and one shot (210ml) – ditto
• Mlk Macchiato uses 200ml of milk and one shot (230ml) – ditto
• Use Milk Macchiato and the Foam control set it to low for a flat white.

We tested with fresh full-cream milk and skinny milk. UHT lactose-free, Almond, Oat, Soy and more – all are fine, but it is best if the milk is straight from the fridge.

Make sure you only fill the milk to the cup size you need. Once it has been steam heated and frothed, it should not go back in the fridge. It has three levels – cappuccino, large cappuccino, and Latte Macchiato/frothed milk.

Lesson: Milk coffee only uses one capsule regardless of how much milk. If you find it too weak, use a second capsule and the Espresso button to increase coffee strength.

Coffee Pods – Excellent choice and value

Lavazza Coffee has been around since 1895. Although the range is narrower than the much-copied Nestle-style Pod, it makes excellent coffee. Interestingly, Lavazza uses 7.5g doses versus 4g in other brand pods. It guarantees that the Pod contains just ground coffee – no fillers, fats (for flavour), extenders and sodium. It also ensures the consistency of the Pod. If it cannot, then it will introduce a newly named style.

It comes with a nine-pod variety starter pack to determine what suits you. We started making 60ml extractions (from one pod), but the coffee was weak and watery. Use multiple 30ml single shots to make a far better cup. I suspect that the 10-bar water pressure gets almost everything out of the Pod on the first extraction, and the Crema on top is excellent.

For milk coffee, we suggest 10+ intensity coffees. For Espresso (black), you can go to a lower intensity to avoid any potential bitterness. There are Decaf pods that make pretty good black and milk coffee.

Interestingly, we settled on Passionale (11/13) for the daytime and a Dek Cremoso Decaf (7/13) for the night. Although when I want a strong shot, I go for the Cream E Gusto 12/13.

Now a hint. These usually sell for about $12.50 for 16 pods – 78 cents each. Both Coles and Woolworths have specials, and you will find them up to half-price at least every other month. So, after you find the one you like, wait for the specials and buy up big.

Maintenance

• Descale light glows when it is time (we have used this for over a year, and it has not flashed a warning light yet). We cannot find Lavazza Descaler 250ml in Australia, but the generic coffee-machine descaler from Coles or Woolworths is fine (and cheap).
• Low water reservoir warning
• Empty used Pods container

The glass mug and stirrer are dishwasher safe, but remember to clean them after use – at least under hot water, as steamed milk cannot be kept.

Cybershack view – Lavazza Deséa – capsule coffee maker makes a great black or milk coffee

Our test for capsule machines is how easy it is to make good coffee. After all, it should be pretty hard to stuff up a capsule machine coffee.

But you can – the wrong Pod/coffee type, using double water for a single pod, and with milk either too much or too little froth – and let’s not go down the ideal temperature path.

The Lavazza Deséa is one of the best pod machines capable of making a near-barista quality coffee. It is initially a little daunting with all the buttons, but any half-intelligent person can master it – the first coffee was excellent. And hundreds of coffees later, we have saved a fortune. Highly recommended.