An automatic coffee machine can promise a barista experience at home, but the proof is in whether it gets both the coffee and the milk frothing right, and whether it can do that with as little maintenance as possible. That last part matters more than the spec sheet suggests. Plenty of capable machines end up gathering dust because the daily cleaning becomes a chore.
The De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul (model ECAM610.75.MB) sets out to tick all three boxes. It sits at the top of De’Longhi’s fully automatic range at $1,589, above the Magnifica, Dinamica and Eletta, and it is aimed at households that want a wide selection of hot and cold drinks in a more advanced, luxury package. It grinds, tamps, brews and froths at a single touch, stores preferences for up to five people, and looks after a lot of its own cleaning. Here is how it held up in daily use.
De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul specifications and price
| Price (RRP) | $1,589 |
| Model | ECAM610.75.MB (Metal Black) |
| Dimensions (W x D x H) | 262 x 485 x 390 mm |
| Weight | 13.7 kg |
| Display | 4.3-inch full-touch TFT colour |
| Beverages | Up to 21, one-touch |
| User profiles | 5 |
| Water tank | 2.2 litres |
| Bean hopper | 500 g |
| Grounds container | 14 pucks |
| Max cup / glass height | 140 mm |
| Pump pressure | 19 bar |
| Milk system | LatteCrema Hot and Cool carafes, self-cleaning |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi (2.4GHz), De’Longhi Coffee Link app |
| Power | 1450 W, 220 to 240 V |
| Online store | De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul (ECAM610.75.MB) |
Where the PrimaDonna Soul sits in De’Longhi’s range
De’Longhi’s automatic range steps up as you go. The Magnifica handles the basics, espresso and cappuccino. The Dinamica adds more milk drinks, and the Eletta brings in hot and cold options. The PrimaDonna Soul sits at the top.
The step up buys you Bean Adapt, the 4.3-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi and the Coffee Link app, five user profiles and the widest drinks menu. If you only make a coffee or two a day, a cheaper model in the range will do the job.
Design and build
The PrimaDonna Soul is a good-looking machine, finished in brushed metal and black with a large, full-colour touch display up front. Dedicated on-screen buttons filter the menu to just hot or just cold drinks, which makes finding what you want quicker than scrolling one long list.
The twin coffee spouts sit on a sliding assembly that rises to take taller glasses, up to 140mm, and drops down for smaller cups. There are two milk carafes, one for hot milk and one for cold, and the carafe spout extends to reach into the cup. Because the coffee spout is a twin, you can pull two espressos side by side at once, or run both spouts into a single large cup to fill it faster.
It is not a small machine. At roughly 26cm wide, 48.5cm deep and 39cm tall, and just under 14kg, it takes a permanent spot on the benchtop rather than something you tuck away between uses. It looks good enough that I did not mind, but the depth is worth measuring for before you buy.
What’s in the box
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Coffee machine | PrimaDonna Soul ECAM610.75.MB in Metal Black |
| LatteCrema Hot carafe | Thermal milk carafe for hot milk drinks, with self-cleaning |
| LatteCrema Cool carafe | Second carafe for cold milk foam, unlocks six one-touch cold milk drinks |
| Water filter | Softener / limescale reducer (DLSC002) |
| Water hardness test strip | To set the machine’s descaling schedule |
| Descaler | EcoDecalk starter pack |
| Measuring scoop | For pre-ground coffee |
| Cleaning brush | For routine cleaning |
Coffee taste and performance
Give it good beans and the results are worth it. My espressos poured with a rich aroma and a proper crema, and across weeks of use the coffee never turned bitter. Milk drinks came out with dense, creamy foam straight from the carafe, and it handles oat milk really well, which is what I care about most. Soy, almond and dairy all worked fine too.
The headline feature is Bean Adapt Technology. Rather than only adjusting the grind, it tunes the whole extraction to the beans you are using. In the Coffee Link app you set the roast level of your beans, and the machine sets the grind size, the dose it grinds, and the brewing temperature to match. A light, delicate roast and a dark, bold one each get settings suited to them. It is one of the few bean-to-cup machines that adapts brewing to the roast this way, and it is an easy way to refine the flavour without having to understand the mechanics yourself.
If you would rather not use beans for a particular cup, there is a separate chute for pre-ground coffee, so decaf or a different blend is easy to slot in without emptying the hopper.
Drinks menu and family profiles
The machine is fully automatic from start to finish. It grinds, tamps, brews the espresso and froths the milk without any help. You can choose different froth densities to suit the drink, and there is a hot water outlet for tea and other uses. I use it to add hot water to my bone broth drinks without boiling the kettle.
Here is the full drinks list, with cold options marked. The cold milk drinks come from fitting the LatteCrema Cool carafe, while Over Ice works straight from the machine.
| 1. Espresso | 14. Latte Macchiato |
| 2. Doppio+ | 15. Caffelatte |
| 3. Coffee | 16. Hot Milk |
| 4. Long | 17. Hot Water |
| 5. Long Black | 18. Tea Function |
| 6. Americano | 19. Mug To Go |
| 7. Coffee Pot | 20. Over Ice (cold) |
| 8. Cappuccino | 21. Cappuccino (cold) |
| 9. Cappuccino+ | 22. Latte Macchiato (cold) |
| 10. Cappuccino Mix | 23. Caffelatte (cold) |
| 11. Cortado | 24. Cappuccino Mix (cold) |
| 12. Espresso Macchiato | 25. Flat White (cold) |
| 13. Flat White | 26. Milk (cold) |
Up to five personas let each member of the household save their own preferences, including how strong they want the coffee and the cup size, stored per drink type. Everyone gets their coffee the way they like it from a single press, instead of re-customising every time.
Cold drinks
For warmer months, the PrimaDonna Soul is well set up. The Over Ice recipe brews a stronger, cold-optimised coffee that you pour straight over a glass of ice so it does not water down like a cooled shot would, which handles iced black coffee.
For cold milk drinks you swap the hot carafe for the LatteCrema Cool carafe that came in the box. The reason it is a separate carafe, rather than one doing both jobs, comes down to how foam is made. Hot foam relies on steam and heat to stretch the milk, and that method does not work on cold milk. The Cool carafe uses a frothing system built to aerate milk into a dense, stable foam at fridge temperature without warming it. Fitting it adds six one-touch cold options with proper cold foam: cappuccino, latte macchiato, caffelatte, cappuccino mix, flat white and cold milk. Between the two carafes, iced lattes and iced coffees are a single press, which suits an Australian summer.
The Coffee Link app
The machine connects over Wi-Fi to the De’Longhi Coffee Link app, which is where a lot of the Soul’s flexibility lives. Beyond setting Bean Adapt roast levels, the app lets you create and customise recipes, manage the family profiles, adjust machine settings, check maintenance and cleaning status, and find how-to guidance for using the machine. It is a useful companion rather than a gimmick. Most of it can be done on the touchscreen too, but the app makes deeper customisation and profile management easier.
Connecting to Wi-Fi was a little tricky, as the machine did not like my 5GHz Wi-Fi, but it worked on 2.4GHz instead. That matches De’Longhi’s own guidance, since the Coffee Link app only supports 2.4GHz networks. If you have a dual-band router, point the machine at the 2.4GHz band and connection is straightforward.
Cleaning, care and running costs
Cleaning is the part that usually puts me off these machines, and it is where the PrimaDonna Soul changed my mind. The milk system self-cleans after each use, rinsing the carafe and steam path automatically, and you can pop the carafe in the fridge until the next drink. It will still remind you now and then to take the milk unit apart and give it a proper soak, but the day-to-day effort is minimal.
The routine tasks are the familiar ones: refill the 2.2-litre water tank, empty and rinse the drip tray, and occasionally remove and rinse the internal brew unit under the tap before putting it back. The brew unit being removable is a real plus for hygiene and long-term upkeep.
The main scheduled job is descaling. De’Longhi recommends descaling roughly every two to three months, though the machine sets its own reminder based on the water hardness you program in. Hard-water areas will need it more often and soft-water areas less. Running the water filter reduces limescale and stretches the interval between descales.
Ongoing consumables are reasonable for a machine at this price:
- EcoDecalk Descaling Solution 500ml (DLSC500): $29.95, about five descaling cycles per bottle.
- Water Filter, Limescale Reducer (DLSC002): $29.95, replaced around every two months to keep limescale down and flavour consistent.
- Eco MultiClean Milk Solution 250ml: $15.95, for the periodic deep-clean of the milk system.
- Coffee Care Kit (Maintenance Essentials): $59.95, bundles the descaler, water filter and cleaner, and is the cheapest way to cover all three.
Who is it for?
The PrimaDonna Soul is at its best in a household or family that loves coffee and wants real variety, hot and cold, black and milk-based, each person’s way. If you mostly drink one style and want the smallest possible machine, a cheaper De’Longhi will do the job for less. But if variety, low-fuss maintenance and one-touch consistency for several people matter to you, this is the model that delivers them.
After living with it, the PrimaDonna Soul delivers on what it promises. It makes excellent coffee, the milk foam is consistently good even with oat milk, and it keeps the cleaning light enough that I actually reached for it every day. It is stylish, completely automatic, and the family profiles make it easy to share. The water tank could be larger for a busy household and the footprint is deep, but the hot and cold options make it a versatile pick for Australian conditions. If you want cafe variety at home without the maintenance headache, it is well worth the premium.
Frequently asked questions
The PrimaDonna Soul (ECAM610.75.MB) has an RRP of $1,589 in Australia.
Up to 21, including espresso, long black, cappuccino, flat white, cortado, caffelatte and an Over Ice cold coffee, plus hot water and a tea function.
Yes. The built-in Over Ice recipe brews a stronger, cold-optimised coffee to pour over ice without dilution, and the LatteCrema Cool carafe adds six one-touch cold milk drinks with proper cold foam, including cold cappuccino, latte macchiato and flat white.
De’Longhi recommends descaling roughly every two to three months. The machine sets its own reminder based on your programmed water hardness, and using the DLSC002 water filter extends the interval.
Yes. The LatteCrema milk system self-cleans after each use and the brew unit is removable for rinsing, so day-to-day maintenance is light, with a periodic milk-system soak and scheduled descaling.
You can find the De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul (ECAM610.75.MB) at the De’Longhi Australia online store.
The post De’Longhi PrimaDonna Soul review: premium coffee without the fuss? appeared first on GadgetGuy.
0 comments:
Post a Comment