De'Longhi Eletta Explore Review (2026): Cold Brew, Cold Foam and the $1,000 Question

Quick Answer: The De’Longhi Eletta Explore (ECAM45086S) is a $1,999.95 super-automatic built around cold drinks: it ships with two milk carafes (LatteCrema Hot and LatteCrema Cool), makes a cold brew in under 3 minutes per De’Longhi, lists 52 one-touch drinks, and adds Wi-Fi app control and a 16 oz travel mug. Buy it if your household drinks iced lattes, cold foam and hot cappuccinos in equal measure and wants the app. Skip it if you mainly want cold foam and cold brew: the $999.95 Magnifica Duo has both for $1,000 less.

The Eletta Explore has been on this site’s best super-automatic and best De’Longhi lists for months, but it hadn’t had its own review. This one is built from De’Longhi’s US product specifications and instruction manual (ECAM45X8Y), its US warranty terms, current US retail prices, and published reviews by TechRadar, Expert Reviews and Tech Advisor. We don’t test machines ourselves, so every measured figure below is credited to the publication that measured it. Where sources disagree, we say so.

The Eletta Explore, by the numbers

Two spec notes before you compare listings. De’Longhi’s US page gives two weights: 26.89 lb for the machine and 35.28 lb for the boxed shipment. TechRadar weighed it at 24.68 lb. TechRadar’s review also counts 7 grind settings, while De’Longhi’s US specs say 13, so we use De’Longhi’s figure, as we did for the Rivelia. And Expert Reviews counted 28 drinks on the UK model’s screen against De’Longhi US’s 52, because the US count includes the cold and To Go versions of each drink.

The De’Longhi Eletta Explore, reviewed

The coffee is good super-automatic coffee. TechRadar’s reviewer found the espresso “well-balanced” with “a well-formed crema”, the cappuccinos had “great microfoam with impressive staying power”, and drinks came out at the right drinking temperature. The same review notes an occasional “very acidic espresso” when beans had sat too long in the hopper, which isn’t airtight. Expert Reviews’ Danielle Amato found the default shots “too long and watery” until she ran Bean Adapt, after which they went “from mediocre to very good”, at the cost of “a fair few beans”.

It starts fast but isn’t quiet. Expert Reviews timed just over 60 seconds from switching on to the first espresso. TechRadar measured about 70 dB in use, “fairly loud” but “not the loudest” it had reviewed. Expert Reviews also found the machine flushes water at start-up, after milk drinks and at switch-off, so the drip tray fills faster than you’d expect. She refilled the tank every five to nine coffees.

The two-carafe system is the main complaint. Hot and cold foam need different nozzles, so De’Longhi ships two carafes rather than one. TechRadar called the arrangement “frustrating” because you swap jugs whenever you switch between hot and cold milk drinks during the day. Expert Reviews called the carafes “irritating to clean” and said they “often came out needing an additional scrub” after the dishwasher. TechRadar also warns that the carafe nozzles sit well forward of the coffee spout, so slim, tall glasses can be awkward.

The tank pulls out from the front, which Tech Advisor counted as a plus for tight counters. TechRadar found it didn’t always seat squarely after a full removal and ended up using the small fill hole in the lid. At 10.25 in wide it fits most counters, but it is 17.5 in deep.

Cold brew in 3 minutes: what you actually get

De’Longhi’s “Cold Extraction Technology” isn’t a traditional cold brew, which steeps for 12 to 24 hours. De’Longhi says it uses controlled water flow, pressure and temperature to make a cold brew “in less than 3 minutes”. The instruction manual is more modest and calls it “a slow extraction” that “will take some minutes”. The steps it gives are worth knowing before you buy:

1. Empty, rinse and refill the tank with fresh water before cold brew drinks. The manual says this for every Cold Brew recipe.
2. Expect a cold-rinse prompt after hot drinks. The machine suggests rinsing into a container to bring the system temperature down. You can skip it, but the drink comes out warmer.
3. Choose Original or Intense, then add the number of ice cubes the screen suggests. An ice cube tray comes in the box. TechRadar found the suggested ice count “the perfect amount every time”.
4. Use whole beans. Cold brew can’t be made from pre-ground coffee, and neither can Doppio+, 2x Espresso, Coffee Pot or Cappuccino+.

How cold is it? Expert Reviews measured its cold brew at 28°C (82°F) in the cup, against 64°C (147°F) for an espresso. In other words, it’s room temperature, not iced, until you add the ice. On taste, Expert Reviews found it “smooth, balanced” with “little bitterness”, and TechRadar said it came out “deliciously, with only a hint of bitterness”.

The cold-foam carafe has a milk rule

This is the detail most Eletta Explore reviews leave out. The milk table in De’Longhi’s instruction manual treats the two carafes differently:

For cold foam, use fat-free milk or a plant milk. US whole milk must contain at least 3.25% milkfat under the FDA’s standard of identity (21 CFR 131.110), and 2% milk is 2%. Neither falls in the only cow’s-milk band the manual marks for the Cool carafe. If your household drinks iced lattes with whole milk, the hot carafe takes it, but cold foam is a skim or oat-milk job. The manual also says to use milk straight from the fridge (5°C/41°F) for the best froth, and the machine asks you to run the carafe’s Clean cycle after every milk drink.

TechRadar’s verdict on the foam itself: cold cappuccinos had “excellent foam”, though “never quite as good as foam created by heating the milk”.

The app, Bean Adapt and the To Go menu

You don’t need the app for daily drinks, which you choose on the touchscreen. You do need De’Longhi’s Coffee Link app for two things. One is Bean Adapt Technology, which asks about your beans and adjusts grind, temperature and intensity. Per the manual, the saved result shows up on the machine as an “Espresso SOUL” drink. The other is building your own recipes. That’s a difference from the De’Longhi Rivelia, which runs Bean Adapt on its own touchscreen and has no app. Tech Advisor also pointed out that the machine rinses its brew unit before each drink, so remote brewing only works if a cup is already under the spout.

The To Go menu is a real feature, not a gimmick. The included insulated travel mug holds 16 fl oz (473 ml) and stands 160 mm (6.3 in) tall, and De’Longhi says it works with 15 hot and cold recipes. The first time, you pick a Small, Medium or Large mug, and you can correct the volume once so it fills your mug exactly. Two rules from the manual: drink it within 2 hours, and don’t put the metal mug in the dishwasher (only the lid, once a week).

Personalization is limited to 4 profiles, which Tech Advisor listed as one of only two cons. The “My” function, which saves a custom volume and intensity to your profile, works on hot drinks only.

What the Eletta Explore costs, then and now

The Eletta Explore costs $200 more than in 2023, about 11% more. That runs opposite to its sibling: the Rivelia has dropped from the $1,500 Popular Science quoted in 2025 to $1,299.95. TechRadar already called the US price “horrifically more expensive” than the £999.99 UK list price in 2024. De’Longhi wasn’t running a promotion on it when we checked, and Target’s price matched within 4 cents.

Running costs and extras at De’Longhi US: a replacement water filter (DLSC002) is $19.95, a 500 ml bottle of De’Longhi descaler with 5 doses (DLSC500) is $19.95, and the optional 25 oz Double Wall Coffee Pot (DLSC078) is $49.95. The pot isn’t in the US box, and Tech Advisor couldn’t find it for sale in the US in 2023. With it, the Coffee Pot and Cold Brew Pot recipes make 2 to 6 cups (up to 25.36 fl oz hot or 24.35 fl oz cold, per the manual). The manual warns that after a hot pot, you should let the machine cool for 5 minutes before the next drink.

Eletta Explore vs. Magnifica Duo vs. Rivelia

All prices and specs below come from De’Longhi’s US store on November 4, 2026.

Magnifica Duo ($999.95): This is the comparison that matters. The Duo includes the same Hot and Cool carafes and Cold Extraction cold brew that De’Longhi says takes under 3 minutes, for half the price. What the extra $1,000 buys on the Eletta is 32 more one-touch drinks, the app with custom recipes and Bean Adapt, the To Go menu and travel mug, and a bigger hopper. The 19-bar vs 15-bar pump difference matters less than it sounds, since both pumps are rated well above the roughly 9 bar an espresso is brewed at. If you drink three or four favorite drinks, buy the Duo.

Rivelia ($1,299.95): Pick the Rivelia if two people drink different beans, since it swaps two hoppers onto one grinder. It has no cold brew and needs a $129.95 kit for cold foam. Even with that kit it costs $570.05 less than the Eletta Explore. Our Rivelia review covers how Bean Switch works.

Outside De’Longhi, our best super-automatic espresso machine guide covers Philips, Jura and Gaggia, and our Jura vs De’Longhi comparison explains how the two brands’ lineups differ. For more ways to make iced drinks, including manual machines, see the best espresso machine for iced coffee.

Who should buy the De’Longhi Eletta Explore

Buy it if your household drinks hot cappuccinos in the morning and iced lattes or cold brew in the afternoon, wants a different drink for each person (4 profiles, 52 drinks), and will use the app and the travel mug. It is the most complete hot-and-cold super-automatic De’Longhi sells in the US, and it doesn’t need a single add-on to do everything on the box.

Skip it if you mostly want cold foam and cold brew. The Magnifica Duo does both for $999.95. Skip it, too, if you want whole-milk cold foam (the manual rules it out), if you hate washing two milk jugs, or if you’d rather pull shots yourself. In that case, an assisted machine from our best automatic espresso machine guide keeps a real portafilter in the loop. Our best De’Longhi espresso machine guide ranks the rest of the lineup.

Whatever you choose, keep up with descaling. The Eletta Explore has programmable water hardness, a water softener filter and a descale alert, and our espresso machine descaling guide explains the cycle. For beans that suit a built-in grinder, see our best espresso beans guide.

The bottom line

The De’Longhi Eletta Explore is the most complete hot-and-cold super-automatic De’Longhi sells in the US: two milk carafes in the box, cold brew in minutes, 52 drinks, app control and a travel mug. Reviewers liked the coffee and, especially, the cold drinks. But at $1,999.95 it costs $200 more than in 2023 and exactly $1,000 more than the Magnifica Duo, which shares its cold-foam carafe and cold brew. Its cold brew comes out at about room temperature until you add ice, its cold-foam carafe is meant for skim or plant milk only, and you’ll wash two jugs. If the app, the To Go mug and the long drink menu are worth $1,000 to you, it’s an excellent machine. If not, the Duo is the smarter buy.

Sources, checked November 4, 2026: De’Longhi US product pages and specifications (Eletta Explore ECAM45086S, Magnifica Duo ECAM33080SXB, Rivelia EXAM44055, Double Wall Coffee Pot DLSC078, water filter DLSC002, Decalk descaler DLSC500); De’Longhi ECAM45X8Y instruction manual and ECAM45086S quick-start guide; De’Longhi America warranty terms for automatic espresso machines; Target US listing; TechRadar review (June 5, 2024); Expert Reviews review by Danielle Amato (November 7, 2024); Tech Advisor review by Alex Greenwood (June 27, 2023); FDA standard of identity for milk, 21 CFR 131.110. CPSC’s recall database lists no De’Longhi espresso machine recalls.