Delonghi Eletta Ultra Review: Guided Bean-to-Cup Versatility

The Eletta Ultra marks a significant shift in Delonghi's line-up. The Italian brand has taken the Eletta Explore and produced a more compact version with step-by-step guidance, with the aim of making a bean-to-cup machine genuinely approachable.

Delonghi keeps adding to its already extensive catalogue of automatic machines with an integrated grinder. Positioned at the premium end, the Eletta Ultra sets out to simplify life for users who can be intimidated by the many settings that come with a sophisticated machine. To do that, the manufacturer borrows an approach that has proved itself elsewhere in small kitchen appliances, and particularly among multifunction cooking robots: step-by-step guidance. The machine carries an extended catalogue of hot and cold recipes and made-to-measure milk preparations, all orchestrated by a central interface designed to take the user by the hand at every stage.

Compared with the Eletta Explore, which had an imposing footprint, Delonghi has clearly refined its work. The brand has shaved 2.5 cm off the width, taking the Eletta Ultra down to 23.5 cm against 26 cm for its predecessor, which is far from trivial on a worktop.

Where premium automatic machines often amount to genuine monsters, this model manages to accommodate two milk carafes, one for hot milk and one for cold. As is usually the case with Delonghi, the construction inspires confidence thanks to quality materials, a nicely worked front panel and chromed keys that give it a more flattering look than more affordable models such as the Magnifica Evo.

Capacities are generous. There is a 1.8 litre water tank accessible directly from the front, a 300 g bean hopper with a grind adjustment dial, and a ground coffee chute that is genuinely useful for the occasional decaffeinated cup.

The Eletta Ultra carries a handsome 4.3-inch touchscreen. Navigation is particularly smooth and legible. To avoid the jumble effect that 50 available recipes could easily produce, ranging from a traditional espresso to a flat white by way of a latte macchiato, Delonghi has had the good idea of sorting the drinks into themed collections.

Every parameter remains adjustable, including the volume in the cup, intensity across 5 levels, temperature and foam density, and settings can be saved to individual profiles. The machine goes further with its Coffee Routine function, which suggests particular preparations according to the time of day and the household's habits. It sounds like nothing much, but it proves very practical.

Bean Adapt is naturally integrated as standard, and it is driven directly from the screen. Entering the type of bean and its roast level is enough for the machine to adjust its extraction parameters automatically.

Versatility carries through to the cup. The Eletta Ultra ships with two separate carafes using the LatteCrema Hot & Cool system to fine-tune milk texture for hot or cold drinks. The machine also stands out for its rapid cold brew extraction, which takes only a few minutes and delivers a cold drink without the several hours a traditional slow infusion demands.

Delonghi sticks to its established maintenance instructions. As on the Magnifica Evo Next and Rivelia ranges, the brew unit stays easy to reach through a side hatch and needs regular cleaning under lukewarm water so that grounds residue does not build up.

To keep the dispensing nozzles clear from cup to cup, the machine runs automatic rinses when it starts up and when it shuts down.

Weighed in the laboratory, those operations proved particularly reasonable in their water use. The Eletta Ultra takes exactly 30.50 ml of water at start-up to purge its nozzles, while the shutdown procedure calls for a smaller 21.00 ml. Those controlled quantities keep the system clear without forcing the user to empty the drip tray or refill the water tank at a relentless pace.

The machine needs only 20 seconds to extract a standard espresso, a time that places this model among the quickest on the market.

Intensity levels

The spread offered by the 5 coffee intensity levels shows up directly on the scales when the puck is weighed. At the minimum intensity setting, the machine doses a moderate 7.1 g of grounds. The default intermediate position raises that to 12.9 g. Curiously, moving up to maximum intensity brings only an imperceptible gain, with a ceiling dose weighed at 13.0 g, just 0.1 g more than the medium setting. If the gap between the last two intensity steps is negligible, the overall range from 7.1 g to 13 g is still wide enough to suit both light cups and a properly concentrated espresso.

Extraction temperature

Temperature management is one of this model's real strengths. With 3 adjustable temperature levels in the menus, the Eletta Ultra delivered perfectly consistent results at the nozzle across the series of measurements.

At the lowest level, coffee flowed at a measured temperature between 77.0 °C and 78.4 °C depending on the shot. The intermediate setting offered exemplary stability with readings between 83.0 °C and 84.1 °C, taken at 83.0 °C, 83.1 °C and 84.1 °C, which is the ideal temperature for drinking straight away. The maximum position climbed progressively from 88.2 °C to 89.6 °C, with two identical readings at 88.2 °C and a peak at 89.6 °C. The machine comes neatly close to the critical 90 °C threshold without ever crossing it, so the delicate aromas of the bean are not scorched.

Volume in the cup

Dosing precision in the cup is there as well. For a recipe set to a theoretical volume of 40 ml, the laboratory scales recorded an effective weighed volume of 42 ml. That minimal deviation of only 2 ml demonstrates excellent control of flow by the pump and means drinks stay very faithful to the saved settings.

The Delonghi Eletta Ultra runs particularly quietly. During grinding, traditionally the noisiest phase on an automatic coffee machine, it climbs only to 56 dB(A). That is an excellent result and lets the Eletta Ultra compete with the most discreet machines in the sector. The extraction phase drives the point home at 45 dB(A), a level that will be forgotten in an open-plan kitchen even first thing in the morning.