Not sure about Nespresso? Baristas swear by the Lavazza A Modo Mio Deśea Coffee Machine

The most popular pod machines are Nespressos, but I'm here to tell you that the Lavazza A Modo Mio Deśea is mocha-ing, its way to the top. It makes cafe-quality brews in one, simple, stylish machine. I love it. Prego. 

Everyone drinks their coffee in a very specific way. Whether you're an extra hot double shot Americano lady or more of a dark roast espresso sipper, you'll know that it can be hard to get even the best coffee machines to make coffee that hits the sweet spot for you, especially using pods.

That's why Lavazza's A Modo Mio Deśea offers some hope. The 'A Modo Mio' literally translates to 'my way' and the machine offers eight customisable ways to make your coffee. It froths milk incredibly well (you don't need a separate appliance) and the pods are eco-friendly. As a barista and a bit of a coffee snob, I would recommend giving the Deśea a shot, no pun intended. 

Specifications

Unboxing

The Deśea is simple. The curved edges and coffee-inspired colourways would look at home in any kitchen. When you shop for the Deśea, you get to choose black ink (inspired by the espresso), brown walnut (cultivating the hues of cappuccino) and white cream (a latte like the other milky coffees we enjoy). They're all executed really nicely. I tested the white cream, which has a lovely glossy finish. Unsurprisingly, it's a really tasteful machine.

The set-up is easy. It'll need to be plugged in, which is one of the biggest problems some readers face. I have plugs aplenty in my kitchen, so I found it easy to pick a spot, but other people have found the power cord to be a bit short. That's nothing a subtle extension cord wouldn't solve if you really struggle for plugs in your kitchen, but obviously, it isn't ideal.

After that, I gave the machine a quick rinse-through. You'll probably want to consult the machine's manual because the two dials do very different things. It's really simple and easy to use, but whenever I move onto a completely different system of machines, I like to get to know exactly what's going on. 

Who would it suit?

There are a lot of people that the Deśea suits. Of course, you've got the biggest discriminator, which is the fact that this is a pod machine. It's an easy, speedy way to make nice coffee at home. Of course, the flavours won't quite be the same as the freshly brewed coffee from your local barista, but I think this does a pretty good job of giving it a good shot.

There's no escaping that this is a little more expensive than most other pod machines, but it performs exactly as you would expect. This is the best pod machine that I've tested for steaming and texturing milk, hands down. The coffee it extracts is delicious, once you've found the right pod. And it looks the part too.

One of my favourite aspects of the Deśea actually is the way the capsules work. Lavazza offers a great selection of different roasts and strengths, all of which come in eco capsules. These aren't compostable in your garden (illy takes the award for that), but they're not as expensive as Nespresso's (Lavazza's are 7p cheaper per pod) and I think they taste better too. My only qualm is that these aren't available in supermarkets, so you'll need to set up a subscription.

What is it like to use?

The Deśea has two circular menus. One works for black coffees and the other for milk-based options. The instructions and icons make it really easy to understand which is which, so you won't struggle to get the coffee that you like. Don't worry.

The Deśea works a lot like most pod coffee machines. You pull the silver cap up on top, insert a pod, pull down the lever, and select the coffee that you want. It'll whirr and steam, though not too loudly, and will extract your coffee. I generally found that this errs on the side of frugality with its water, but you can reprogram how much it uses if you press and hold a button, or you can free dose and add more water anyway.

With the basics settled, I'll get into the details of my coffee tests.

Test 1: espresso

Espressos fall into the category of 'necessities' in Italy, so I was pretty sure that the Deśea would do a decent job of one of these. The machine warmed up and was ready to go in well under one minute. I adjusted the height of the drip tray, so that I could sit my espresso close to the brew head, and pressed on the button.

Sure enough, thirty seconds later, I had the perfect espresso. You can see the gorgeous ombré of chocolate brown up to the vanilla-hazelnut crema on top. The crema is always great to see because this indicates that the coffee oils have been well-extracted. On a Nespresso, the machine spins the coffee to artificially create one of these, but as far as I know, Lavazza's is authentic. 

The espresso itself was punchy. I love flavours that knock you in the face, so the pods that I was testing with were perfect. I could really get the chocolatey tones through, which isn't always a given with espressos, especially when they come from pods.

Test 2: Americano

The next test I give all coffee machines is making an Americano. This looks simple if you write down what an Americano is: an espresso and hot water. However, plenty of machines add water that's too hot, scalding the delicious coffee oils, making them taste bitter or sour. The Deśea did a perfect job, expertly tempering the espresso with hot water, delivering a nutty, chocolatey espresso that would please even the most discerning coffee drinker.

Test 3: cappuccino

Most pod machines require you to buy a stand-alone milk frother. Think of the Aeroccino and the Nespresso. That's where the Deśea really comes into its own. The milk frother is integrated into the whole design, promising to make a silky, milky drink, without needing you to lift a finger.

To make my cappuccino, I filled the mug up with my milk (you get to choose how much), add syrup (if you want), put the lid on, and press the button. In less than a minute, you'll be able to watch your milk steam and then coffee marble its way through until you're ready to drink.

When I used dairy milk, my cappuccinos were delicious. The foam tasted super smooth and silky. It's the closest that I've come to a barista's steamed milk made at home. My only caution would be that the milk can get quite hot, especially if you use non-dairy milk. My almond milk was steaming hot and difficult to drink initially, but it did cool down. 

Cleaning

Nobody enjoys cleaning a coffee machine, which is why I love models that make life easy. All you need to do is empty and clean the drink tray, rinse out the bin, and dispose of the pods. If you want yours to look ultra shiny and sparkly, you might also give some of the surfaces a polish, because these can get coffee splatters or fingerprint marks on them, but it's generally really low maintenance.

Lavazza recommends also descaling the machine every couple of months. I'd always recommend setting yourself a calendar reminder for this stuff, but you will get a teardrop icon flash-up to remind you when you need to do a little more maintenance.

How does it compare?

Flavour-wise, it doesn't get better than this. The closest I've come to Lavazza's pod flavours is illy's Iperespresso capsules, which are also compostable and super delicious. The illy coffee machines have a slightly different aesthetic, but I still love them.

There are two illy machines that it's worth looking into. First, there's the illy E.S.E machine. This is only £115, the coffee capsules are completely compostable (like teabags) and it's tiny. I could make a good Americano and espresso in here, so if you won't be texturing milk, this is a great, cheaper alternative.

If you want to steam milk (and have a little more style on your worktops), I'd recommend the illy X7.1 Iperespresso. This steams milk, uses coffee capsules, and feels almost like an espresso machine. I fell in love with it for its looks, but it's just as wonderful at making coffee. The compromises that you make by opting for this (a cheaper model in comparison to the Desea) are on flavours. Illy's pods have a little less variety and the milk steamer is manual. Baristas won't break a sweat hearing this, but the average coffee drinker will need to do some training if they want to texture milk like the Desea can.

Should you buy it?

Even though the Lavazza A Modo Mio Deśea is expensive, I think it pays for itself in a lot of ways. The coffee that it makes is good enough to replace your local coffee shops. To cover the cost of the Deśea, you'd only need to swap out your freshly made speciality cup of coffee just over 60 times. You get good variety and customizability, especially with milky coffees, and a stylish machine. I'd recommend it to the latte and cappuccino drinkers of the world in particular for that reason. Espresso drinkers might be able to get similar results elsewhere, but I'm a barista and I'm sold.

How we test

As a former barista, I take woman&home's coffee tests incredibly seriously. Each coffee machine that comes in for a review is scrutinised down to the (coffee) ground. I have three special coffees that I test in each machine: an espresso, an Americano, and a cappuccino, because this gives me a good idea of the breadth of capabilities that a machine boasts. They show whether it's good on simple flavours and extraction (espresso), with heat and water (Americano), and with texturing or steaming milk (cappuccino). You won't be surprised to know that I test a lot more than just one of each coffee. 

I'll make at least five of each type of coffee to make sure that the machine is consistent with its timings, temperatures, and flavours. In most cases, I will keep using the coffee machine for months, so that I can give you longer-term updates on what it's like. 

Whilst the whole review process is running, I'll think about packaging, set-up, maintenance, cleaning, and more. I also naturally end up comparing the machine to others (I've tested over 200), so I let you know where I think it sits in the market. I compare the price and performance so that you know what it's like to shop around.

I'll come to a conclusion on the value of the product as well as whether I think it's good value or not.