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In my mid-20s, I had a job that required me to be in the office from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was then that I started my current 20 to 40 ounces per day coffee habit. It was also around this time that I first saw refillable K-Cups; the kind that allowed you to add your own coffee grounds, and thus experience more bean variety. Even as a noob who didn’t know much about coffee yet, I was confident anything would be preferable to the early edition prepackaged cups. And it was. Those 6 a.m. cups were limited by the brewing technology at the time (they were also not particularly convenient to make because filling an empty K-Cup is a nightmare), but using a nice bag of coffee beans was an improvement over the normal single-serve coffee experience.
A decade and a half later the single-serve is still, mysteriously to me, dominated by prepackaged cups. Even the nice single-serve machines we’ve covered at Epi like the Nespresso Vertuo and the Bruvi still rely on single-use pods of one kind or another. That’s why I was interested in getting my hands on DeLonghi’s new entry to the single-serve coffee space, the TrueBrew.
The TrueBrew is designed to be as convenient as any single-serve coffee maker, but adds a built-in conical burr grinder so that every cup is made from freshly ground beans instead of a vacuum-packed pod.
Does the DeLonghi TrueBrew make good coffee?
It does, but it has some of the shortcomings we’ve encountered with other automatic drip coffee makers, first and foremost that the coffee can come out a little too hot, making it hard to taste as well-rounded or nuanced a flavor as you might get from well-made pour-over or espresso shot. That said, particularly when I used the “gold” setting, which uses the water-to-coffee ratios specified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), and I gave it a minute to cool off, I got nice, flavorful cups. Personally, the light and bold settings are not for me, the former I found a bit watery, the latter reminded me of the French roast coffee I used to drink as a teenager that I’ve sworn off. But the three options do produce distinctly different coffee flavors that people who don’t prefer their coffee black and potently bright like I do might enjoy.
I wish the “over ice” option brewed a slightly stronger cup. The process is similar to the Japanese iced coffee method of brewing hot coffee over ice, which can produce iced coffee with lots of fruity notes to it, but the flavor comes closer to a smooth cup of cold brew. Again, that will be a plus for anyone who likes smoother, mellower coffee.
Still, the combination of freshly ground coffee and one-button brewing simplicity makes this coffee machine worth considering. It is as easy to use as any Nespresso or Keurig, but it’s cleaner (no pods to throw out or store) and puts no limitations on the coffee beans you can brew with.
Is the DeLonghi TrueBrew versatile?
In addition to the three hot methods mentioned above and the “over ice” option, the TrueBrew can brew “espresso”—though, this is really just a small coffee with a thin layer of crema on top; if you’re looking for an easy option for actual espresso (or at least something close) try DeLonghi’s Magnifica or the Nespresso Vertuo Plus.
The TrueBrew does offer several useful brew sizes that go from a small 8-ounce cup, to a 16-ounce mug, and a 24-ounce travel tumbler. The big win for me was its ability to brew into a 40-ounce thermal carafe. Having the option to brew one or two cups of coffee in the morning, or make a pot of coffee if company is coming over, is the kind of range most machines don’t offer, particularly machines that brew with freshly ground coffee.
Is the DeLonghi TrueBrew easy to use?
It couldn’t be much easier. Just select your cup size and your brew strength. Then put a cup under the spout and press brew. To clean the machine, just slide the compartment in the middle of the machine out and dump the water collection and coffee grounds. Also, like any good drip coffee maker, the TrueBrew can be set to brew at a specific time so you can walk downstairs to an already-brewed cup of coffee.
Is the DeLonghi TrueBrew a good value?
At $600 (at the time of writing) the TrueBrew with the thermal carafe included looks like it has a high sticker price, but it is in line price-wise with other drip coffee makers we’ve tested that brew to the SCA’s gold standard. Particularly when you factor in that, with those other machines, you also have to buy a burr grinder, which comes built-in with the DeLonghi. Add in the ease of never having to set a grinder or measure your coffee again and it’s worth it for a coffee drinker who doesn’t want to work too hard.
A note on built-in grinders
After some extended testing of other coffee makers with built-in grinders (not DeLonghis), we found that they can have issues with longevity. This is, of course, a bigger problem for a built-in grinder because you can’t just get a new one, you need to have it replaced by the manufacturer. Since I’ve only used the TrueBrew for a few months I can’t say if the issues might be the same here, but would caution not to use beans that are too lightly roasted. Built-in grinders are typically less powerful and super light roasts don’t break down as easily, putting more strain on the grinder.
