Thanks Chris for your balanced and honest comparison. I have a Rivelia and my friends tell me that the quality of the drinks are better than Cafe quality, in fact many ask for a second drink so I am glad that the milk container is larger. Another advantage of the Rivelia is that the water container is more convenient to fill, all you need to do is lift the lid and pour the water in, you can do this at any time even when the machine is making a drink, where as other machines you have to stop the program and take the water container out and refill it, so it is quicker and more convenient even though the container in the Rivelia is smaller. Again thanks for your review Chris .
Cheers Tom, and nice tip re: filling the water container. It is cool you can do it while it is running as I get caught out all the time starting a coffee without checking the water. I didn't really have a problem wiith the milk container being so big, more that I was wondering if it needed to take up so much space. But many people have commented that they like the size, so it sounds like it's a positive for most consumers, which is good!
I just bought the Philips and I wish I had seen this video first. I saw many positive reviews of the Philips and found a good price. I think the promise of better foam and the second hopper are worth the price difference. Also the smaller footprint and color choices. The Philips is very easy to use. I think the coffee is Ok and the aroma is fabulous as you said. I’ve had my 5500 only a week now but I’m thinking of returning for the DeLonghi. Thanks for your review.
Hi Chris, I happen to have the Philips 3200 which is nearly identical but without the LCD screen and I'm looking to get the Rivelia once it's available in the US/Canada. One of the reasons why I'm looking at the Rivelia besides the obvious difference with the dual hoppers (we have decaf and non-decaf drinkers in the household), is the long term maintenance aspects being an annoyance on the Philips after owning it for 3 years. I find the bulky brew group to be tricky to clean entirely with all the hidden channels and corners, not to mention the monthly grease requirements. The interior where it sits although cavernous also has a lot of hidden pockets and nooks, especially around the door hinge so getting all the old coffee grounds out of there with a monthly cleaning is a pain. The more compact brew group of the Rivelia seems to be easier to clean, but I didn't get a chance to look at the interior during your comparison. Do you have any feedback or thoughts on how both machines fare for long term maintenance and ease of cleaning especially when it comes to the interior and brew group?
I have pulled out all the internals and cleaned them, but unfortunately didn't film it, as it was a fair bit after I completed the review. It's a bit of pain, more so from a time impact than anything else. It's not something we probably needed to do in the end though, and I'm not sure how often you'll actually need to get in there as it keeps itself in pretty good nick. I'm using a Elatta Explore at the moment, so don't have the Rivelia set up for testing otherwise I'd give it another look for you. Sorry about that!
@@motivatedtravel Appreciate the honest feedback! I still may wind up getting it (while still keeping the Philips) as I haven't yet seen a graceful approach to multiple bean types without a huge jump in price to machines with dual hoppers and grinders. Your review helped me make that decision. Thanks again!
@@phils5221 No worries! Yeah I tried the Jura J8 Twin, and it was good, but thousands of dollars more. The dual hopper system on the Rivelia is awesome. I'm a Decaf at night drinker, too.
@@motivatedtravel so u climbed up the top of the Delonghi range in the end : - ) (at least for me). but they all have the same brew unit and same internal design. from evo to rivelia to elatta. from rivelia to elatta pressure increases from 15 to 19bars if i m not mistaken. max is 15gr pressed still. have no idea what that pressure difference makes in taste but cleaning is identical i assume; so ur experience still counts.
@@erhanozgul5301 My current thoughts are that the Rivelia is a bit faster and much smaller for coffee that tastes awfully similar. The Elatta does cold brews, which is the main point of difference, as well as handling bigger travel mugs.
For the Rivileia there is a separate cold milk carafe made for the machine you can purchase or at least there is in the uk so this can do cold drinks the same way as the other delonghi machines. Think it’s not included because it gives people the choice of it’s something they actually want!
Great review and comparison Chris :) I bought the Rivelia a couple of weeks back and love it. I'm short but don't find the display on the top a problem, though I get your point that it would be better sloping forward. One thing the re the bean hopper capacity being lower on the Rivelia, I wouldn't store large quantities of beans in the hopper, so it's not an issue for me. I like the size of the milk carafe, as I fill it up in the morning and store in the fridge after each use and clean function. The dual hopper quick change feature on the Rivelia was the USP for me :) I also love the UI on the Rivelia and the ability to save settings to profiles using the 'my' functionality.
Thank you! And also thank you for adding your experience into the mix for other viewers. My issue with capacity was more to do with water and ground waste to be fair and I probably shouldn't have bundled beans into that. I never fill it up either. And I too have started to store my milk frother in the fridge as well. I don't have a problem with the size of it, other than it just taking up space that may have been better used for something else (even taking up space in the fridge). So glad you're enjoying the Rivelia. It's definitely a winner!
DeLonghi also has a decent range of accessories and replacement parts for the Rivelia. I've purchased extra hoppers, bean storage canisters, etc...basically nearly the entire machine is 'replaceable', a bonus if and when things wear out or fail.
Hey Chris, I’m looking for my partner as a gift. I have found a delongi magnifica plus and the evo. Would you recommend one ? She usually drinks iced coffee. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Depends if you want to be hands on or automatic. If it's the latter, then the Magnifica Plus would be the peferred option - although I haven't personally tested it. I'm currently reviewing th Elatta Explore, which does cold brews as well. It's quite good, but more money!
@@motivatedtravel Hi, thanks for your quick reply. The Rivelia received high ratings online, and when I couldn't find it in any store or on Amazon, I e-mailed Delonghi, who confirmed it was not available in the US. However, the Philips newest model, the 5500, received high ratings too and that was my other choice. So even though the Rivelia is not here yet, your video was helpful and informative to see the differences between the two models, assuming the 5500 is an upgrade from the 5400 that you reviewed. Thanks again!
dear Chris: i am thorn in between delonghi vs philips vs siemens : - ) as u ve both and if we put the convenience apart what about the ""TASTE" they can achive? in a comparison review for "expresso" some german guys said: "philips is more revealing/aromatic and delonghi is more strong and flat" another german guy: "Tom's Coffee Corner" says Delonghi presses 9gr in cheap and 15gr on expensive(including Rivelia) max so why it tasted 'strong and flat' ? whereas Philips(all) varies between 7-9gr max so why it tasted 'more revealing/aromatic' ? i.e. were they ignorants who does not have any idea what they were talking about or realy Philips has a magic trick under its sleeve? : - ) HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THEIR BEST/OPTIMUM TASTE IN COMPARISON? thank you for your review and after reading some comments enriched by your intimate responses i m very inclined for the Rivelia😊
Unforunately I have not used a Siemans, so I cannot had any thoughts on that one. I personally prefer the taste out of the Rivelia, mostly because it froths the milk better and that helps bring out the flavour a bit more (to me, at least). It also comes down to the kind of coffee beans you're using too, I suspect. And how many runs the grinders have already done I suspect. Both produce tasty coffee, but overall, the Rivelia is the better experience imo. But if you can get the Philips for a much cheaper price, it's not significantly worse.
Well, I don't know. I get your point, but they're also both for sale right now. So looking at right now, you got to compare what's on offer and people are deciding between. Philips could always release an updated model if it felt it was falling too far behind on the market. But I should have perhaps pointed out the age gap as well.
Or my travel cups! I'm reviewing the Elatta Explore at the moment, which has a nifty design that allows you to put in much bigger cups. It does make the drip tray more cumbersome, but the added flexibility certainly is handy.
If you don't have Explore or Rivelia for sale, come visit Russia. Rivelia (Delonghi EXAM440,55) $650, Explore (Delonghi Eletta Explore ECAM 450,55) $850
Great video, thank you. I have been debating these two for some time now and this massively helped!
Really happy to hear that! Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks Chris for your balanced and honest comparison. I have a Rivelia and my friends tell me that the quality of the drinks are better than Cafe quality, in fact many ask for a second drink so I am glad that the milk container is larger. Another advantage of the Rivelia is that the water container is more convenient to fill, all you need to do is lift the lid and pour the water in, you can do this at any time even when the machine is making a drink, where as other machines you have to stop the program and take the water container out and refill it, so it is quicker and more convenient even though the container in the Rivelia is smaller. Again thanks for your review Chris .
Cheers Tom, and nice tip re: filling the water container. It is cool you can do it while it is running as I get caught out all the time starting a coffee without checking the water.
I didn't really have a problem wiith the milk container being so big, more that I was wondering if it needed to take up so much space. But many people have commented that they like the size, so it sounds like it's a positive for most consumers, which is good!
I just bought the Philips and I wish I had seen this video first. I saw many positive reviews of the Philips and found a good price. I think the promise of better foam and the second hopper are worth the price difference. Also the smaller footprint and color choices. The Philips is very easy to use. I think the coffee is Ok and the aroma is fabulous as you said. I’ve had my 5500 only a week now but I’m thinking of returning for the DeLonghi. Thanks for your review.
No worries! I enjoyed the philips, it's not bad. But I thought the Rivelia was a touch better.
Hi Chris, I happen to have the Philips 3200 which is nearly identical but without the LCD screen and I'm looking to get the Rivelia once it's available in the US/Canada. One of the reasons why I'm looking at the Rivelia besides the obvious difference with the dual hoppers (we have decaf and non-decaf drinkers in the household), is the long term maintenance aspects being an annoyance on the Philips after owning it for 3 years. I find the bulky brew group to be tricky to clean entirely with all the hidden channels and corners, not to mention the monthly grease requirements. The interior where it sits although cavernous also has a lot of hidden pockets and nooks, especially around the door hinge so getting all the old coffee grounds out of there with a monthly cleaning is a pain.
The more compact brew group of the Rivelia seems to be easier to clean, but I didn't get a chance to look at the interior during your comparison. Do you have any feedback or thoughts on how both machines fare for long term maintenance and ease of cleaning especially when it comes to the interior and brew group?
I have pulled out all the internals and cleaned them, but unfortunately didn't film it, as it was a fair bit after I completed the review. It's a bit of pain, more so from a time impact than anything else. It's not something we probably needed to do in the end though, and I'm not sure how often you'll actually need to get in there as it keeps itself in pretty good nick.
I'm using a Elatta Explore at the moment, so don't have the Rivelia set up for testing otherwise I'd give it another look for you. Sorry about that!
@@motivatedtravel Appreciate the honest feedback! I still may wind up getting it (while still keeping the Philips) as I haven't yet seen a graceful approach to multiple bean types without a huge jump in price to machines with dual hoppers and grinders. Your review helped me make that decision. Thanks again!
@@phils5221 No worries! Yeah I tried the Jura J8 Twin, and it was good, but thousands of dollars more. The dual hopper system on the Rivelia is awesome. I'm a Decaf at night drinker, too.
@@motivatedtravel so u climbed up the top of the Delonghi range in the end : - ) (at least for me). but they all have the same brew unit and same internal design. from evo to rivelia to elatta. from rivelia to elatta pressure increases from 15 to 19bars if i m not mistaken. max is 15gr pressed still. have no idea what that pressure difference makes in taste
but cleaning is identical i assume; so ur experience still counts.
@@erhanozgul5301 My current thoughts are that the Rivelia is a bit faster and much smaller for coffee that tastes awfully similar. The Elatta does cold brews, which is the main point of difference, as well as handling bigger travel mugs.
For the Rivileia there is a separate cold milk carafe made for the machine you can purchase or at least there is in the uk so this can do cold drinks the same way as the other delonghi machines. Think it’s not included because it gives people the choice of it’s something they actually want!
You're right, yeah. It's actually the same cold brew carafe used by the Delonghi Eletta Explore as well. It seems like it's interchangeable.
Great review and comparison Chris :) I bought the Rivelia a couple of weeks back and love it. I'm short but don't find the display on the top a problem, though I get your point that it would be better sloping forward. One thing the re the bean hopper capacity being lower on the Rivelia, I wouldn't store large quantities of beans in the hopper, so it's not an issue for me. I like the size of the milk carafe, as I fill it up in the morning and store in the fridge after each use and clean function.
The dual hopper quick change feature on the Rivelia was the USP for me :) I also love the UI on the Rivelia and the ability to save settings to profiles using the 'my' functionality.
Thank you! And also thank you for adding your experience into the mix for other viewers. My issue with capacity was more to do with water and ground waste to be fair and I probably shouldn't have bundled beans into that. I never fill it up either. And I too have started to store my milk frother in the fridge as well. I don't have a problem with the size of it, other than it just taking up space that may have been better used for something else (even taking up space in the fridge).
So glad you're enjoying the Rivelia. It's definitely a winner!
Really good review, thanks a lot for that mate
Cheers Martin, appreciate you letting me know!
DeLonghi also has a decent range of accessories and replacement parts for the Rivelia. I've purchased extra hoppers, bean storage canisters, etc...basically nearly the entire machine is 'replaceable', a bonus if and when things wear out or fail.
Great point! Thanks for adding it to the conversation.
Hey Chris, I’m looking for my partner as a gift. I have found a delongi magnifica plus and the evo. Would you recommend one ? She usually drinks iced coffee. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Depends if you want to be hands on or automatic. If it's the latter, then the Magnifica Plus would be the peferred option - although I haven't personally tested it.
I'm currently reviewing th Elatta Explore, which does cold brews as well. It's quite good, but more money!
Don't think the Revelia is available in the US yet.
Ah, that's a bummer. I only get Aussie release dates from the local PR. But surely it will be in the US soon - you guys usually get it way beforre us!
@@motivatedtravel Hi, thanks for your quick reply. The Rivelia received high ratings online, and when I couldn't find it in any store or on Amazon, I e-mailed Delonghi, who confirmed it was not available in the US. However, the Philips newest model, the 5500, received high ratings too and that was my other choice. So even though the Rivelia is not here yet, your video was helpful and informative to see the differences between the two models, assuming the 5500 is an upgrade from the 5400 that you reviewed. Thanks again!
@@briangabriel2458 The Philips is definitely a good machine, I don't think you'll lose out with it. So glad the video could help.
@@motivatedtravel Great, and thanks again for all of your help.
dear Chris:
i am thorn in between delonghi vs philips vs siemens : - )
as u ve both and if we put the convenience apart
what about the ""TASTE" they can achive?
in a comparison review for "expresso" some german guys said:
"philips is more revealing/aromatic and delonghi is more strong and flat"
another german guy: "Tom's Coffee Corner" says
Delonghi presses 9gr in cheap and 15gr on expensive(including Rivelia) max
so why it tasted 'strong and flat' ?
whereas Philips(all) varies between 7-9gr max
so why it tasted 'more revealing/aromatic' ?
i.e. were they ignorants who does not have any idea what they were talking about
or realy Philips has a magic trick under its sleeve? : - )
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THEIR BEST/OPTIMUM TASTE IN COMPARISON?
thank you for your review and after reading some comments enriched by your intimate responses i m very inclined for the Rivelia😊
Unforunately I have not used a Siemans, so I cannot had any thoughts on that one. I personally prefer the taste out of the Rivelia, mostly because it froths the milk better and that helps bring out the flavour a bit more (to me, at least). It also comes down to the kind of coffee beans you're using too, I suspect. And how many runs the grinders have already done I suspect. Both produce tasty coffee, but overall, the Rivelia is the better experience imo. But if you can get the Philips for a much cheaper price, it's not significantly worse.
@@motivatedtravelthak you very much. I will go for the delonghi. And share my experience here if i ever buy it
@@erhanozgul5301 Sounds good!
good video, BUT you take a 3 years old and one from 2024, not fair to Phillips
Well, I don't know. I get your point, but they're also both for sale right now. So looking at right now, you got to compare what's on offer and people are deciding between. Philips could always release an updated model if it felt it was falling too far behind on the market. But I should have perhaps pointed out the age gap as well.
Big problem with Rivelia: not enough room for my latte cups
Or my travel cups! I'm reviewing the Elatta Explore at the moment, which has a nifty design that allows you to put in much bigger cups. It does make the drip tray more cumbersome, but the added flexibility certainly is handy.
If you don't have Explore or Rivelia for sale, come visit Russia. Rivelia (Delonghi EXAM440,55) $650, Explore (Delonghi Eletta Explore ECAM 450,55) $850
If that's US dollars, then it's comparable to AU prices. But I would love to visit Russia one day.