I Traded My Usual Coffee Ritual For This Speedy Automatic Machine – And The De’Longhi Rivelia Start Has Made Me Fall Back In Love With My Coffee Break

TL;DR

Before you orderOffer from Amazon

Get home appliances delivered free with Prime

• Fast, free delivery on millions of items
• Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
• Member-only deals all year

Start your free Prime trial →Free trial for eligible customers · Cancel anytime

As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.Hide

Ideal Home reviewer Lindsey Davis tested the De’Longhi Rivelia Start automatic bean-to-cup machine for a month in September 2026. She reported that it made a flat white in a couple of minutes and offered hot and cold drinks, while omitting the touchscreen and smart bean-adaptation features of the pricier Rivelia.

Ideal Home reviewer Lindsey Davis tested De’Longhi’s Rivelia Start, a lower-priced automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine, for a month and said it made her usual flat white in a couple of minutes. The review presents the machine as a quicker alternative to her manual espresso routine, while noting that its setup takes longer than making the first drink and that it omits some features found on the more expensive Rivelia.

Davis said she had been using a manual De’Longhi Scultura and that preparing coffee with it during work-from-home days could take as long as 15 minutes. She wanted to see whether an automatic machine could meet her preferences, particularly for a double-shot oat flat white. In her account, the Rivelia Start delivered convenience without disappointing her on taste, although the assessment reflects one reviewer’s experience rather than a controlled comparison.

The machine’s listed UK recommended retail price is £599.99. It has a 1.4-litre water tank, a 15-bar pump and measures 38.5 centimetres high, 24.5 centimetres wide and 43 centimetres deep. The package includes a milk-frothing carafe and two 250-gram bean hoppers, which can be swapped to use different beans. Listed colours are Sand Beige, Umber Brown, Jade Green, Onyx Black and Arctic White.

According to the review, drink choices include flat white, latte, cappuccino, espresso, Americano, filter-style coffee, cold brew and iced coffee. The machine can also dispense hot water or steamed milk. Davis described the design as compact and said it has concealed storage for accessories and coffee grounds. Its control panel sits on top, so placement and viewing access may matter for some users.

A Faster Route to Daily Coffee

The review focuses on a practical trade-off for people choosing between manual espresso equipment and a fully automatic machine: less hands-on preparation in exchange for letting the machine handle more of the process. Davis’s reported couple-of-minutes brew time could matter to people who want a quick drink during a workday, particularly if their current routine involves grinding, dosing, tamping and milk preparation.

The Rivelia Start also aims to serve households with different preferences, with hot and cold drinks and two interchangeable bean hoppers. But the supplied review does not establish how its speed, taste or reliability compare across users, nor does it provide independently measured brewing times. The findings are best read as a single tester’s month-long experience, not a general guarantee of results.

Its price and feature choices also matter to buyers weighing up the Start against the original Rivelia. Ideal Home says the cheaper model leaves out a touchscreen display and smart bean-adaptation technology. The review regards the remaining drink range and convenience as strong value, but does not give a detailed side-by-side test or quantify the price difference in the material provided.

How the Start Differs from Rivelia

Ideal Home says De’Longhi introduced the Rivelia Start as a cheaper alternative to its Rivelia, which the publication had previously rated five stars. That earlier rating is Ideal Home’s assessment; it is not an independent industry-wide score. The supplied review does not state the original Rivelia’s current price, so readers cannot use this material alone to calculate the savings.

Davis brought relevant experience to the test: she had used a manual De’Longhi espresso machine for more than five years and had tested other bean-to-cup machines. The review says this was her first assessment of a fully automatic machine. She tested the Rivelia Start during September 2026, when the weather allowed her to try both hot and cold coffee options.

Initial setup was not as quick as making a drink once the machine was ready. Davis said unpacking and assembling the parts took under 10 minutes, but configuring and cleaning the machine before brewing took about 40 minutes. That process included testing water hardness, setting the machine accordingly and following the instructions; she also watched De’Longhi videos to clarify steps. The review cautions that people new to bean-to-cup machines may need longer.

“The De’Longhi Rivelia Start has not only impressed me for convenience, making my flat white in just a couple of minutes, but the taste leaves no complaints.”

— Lindsey Davis, Ideal Home reviewer

Questions Beyond One Month’s Test

The source material gives one reviewer’s impressions, not results from a larger user test or laboratory assessment. It does not provide measured temperature consistency, extraction data, noise levels, running costs or long-term reliability information. Davis reports that taste met her expectations, but the review does not specify beans, recipe settings or a blind comparison against her manual machine.

It is also not clear from the supplied material how the Start’s price compares with the original Rivelia at the time of publication, or whether the UK recommended retail price is the price consumers would typically pay. The excerpt ends during the setup discussion, so it does not include all findings that may appear in the full review. Claims about performance and value should be understood within those limits.

What Buyers Should Check

People considering the machine can compare the £599.99 recommended price with current retailer listings and the original Rivelia’s feature set before buying. They should also check the available colour, dimensions and counter clearance: the review notes that the machine needs headroom for the bean hopper and space to view its top-mounted controls.

For users who want a quick first coffee, the reported 40-minute setup is a separate factor from the machine’s later brewing speed. Buyers should consult the complete setup instructions and consider whether the interchangeable hoppers and cold-drink options suit their routine. The source provides no announced follow-up test or product update, so longer-term durability and broader user feedback remain open.

Key Questions

How quickly did the Rivelia Start make coffee in the review?

Davis said it made her flat white in a couple of minutes. That is her reported experience, not a published standardized timing test.

What drinks can the machine make?

The listed options include flat white, latte, cappuccino, espresso, Americano, filter-style coffee, cold brew and iced coffee. It can also dispense hot water or steamed milk.

What is the Rivelia Start’s recommended price?

The review lists a UK recommended retail price of £599.99. The supplied material does not say what retailers were charging or give the original Rivelia’s price for a direct comparison.

How long does setup take?

Davis said unpacking and construction took under 10 minutes, while configuration and cleaning before the first drink took about 40 minutes. She noted that newcomers to bean-to-cup machines may need more time.

What does the Start leave out compared with the Rivelia?

According to Ideal Home, the lower-priced Start omits a touchscreen display and smart bean-adaptation technology. The supplied excerpt does not detail every difference between the models.

Source: rss