Review: De'Longhi TrueBrew - The Best Drip Brewer We've Ever Used!

Grinds and Brews - With Excellent Results

The De'Longhi TrueBrew is a drip coffeemake with a built-in Burr grinder.  It's an  intelligent and intriguing brewer, not only for its excellent flavor, but for all the choices you have in a convenient and easy-to-use touch screen panel.

We've been using this for a couple weeks and this is an in-depth review of their Truebrew system.    We rate this machine a 5 out of 5; it consistently gives a great cup.

De'Longhi says that TrueBrew 'Bean Extract' technology is their proprietary way to extract the best flavor from the beans.  They have clearly done a great job at this - the drip coffee from this machine is as good as any brewer we have ever tried!  I especially liked the smaller 3oz size, with a strong brew; it is 'expresso-like', without the work of an espresso machine.  It is black with stainlless, and is (necessarily) a arge coffee maker.
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Our Favorite Part:
​The Control Panel

 
​The control panel is impressive.  There are a variety of cup sizes (3oz, 8oz, 12oz, 16oz, and 24oz).  You can choose 3 levels of brewing (Light, Gold, Bold), as well as an Iced coffee mode, and finally to add your own ground beans.  Adding your own beans means you could choose for example an Espresso roast, the 3oz size cup, and the strongest brew - for a near-Espresso like cup.  I liked this very much.

​There are icons on the panel if the machine is low on beans or water, or needs servicing.  The user interface is excellent; very clear and easy to use.
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The Grinder

The grinder is a true conical Burr grinder, the best kind.  It is built in and fully automated.  Grinding coffee fresh, with each cup, is how you get the very best in a gourmet coffee.  Being automated, it saves you a lot of time.  There are no direct grind settings; that is also automated, depending on your choices in the control panel.  Grinding your own, instead of using plastic pods like pod brewers, makes sense and is so much more sustainable. 
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Espresso-Style, Anyone?

We have an Espresso (or two) each morning. Its a necessary part of staring the day.  While the De'Longhi Truebrew is not an actual espresso machine, it has a mode that is 'Espresso Style' - and works very well.

You choose the 3oz cup size, the Bold intensity, and use your favorite espresso beans.  The result is a cup of very strong coffee that is similar to Espresso.  I find it much quicker to pull a cup this way, than to use the Espresso machine; that time savings, and the simplicity, can help a lot on those busy (or sleepy) mornings.
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Stone Street Coffee Sample Bag

This brewer comes with a bag of coffee beans, from Stone Street Coffee Company in New York. It is our first time with these beans, and they are ideal for drip coffee, just perfect. 

It is the first time we have seen a brewer come with beans!
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And Some Other Surprises

The Truebrew comes with a water-hardness test strip. This is rare; and important.  Adjusting the machine for your water hardness means a better tasting cup of coffee. VERY few coffee brewers do this; and in point of fact, few coffee shops do either.

In terms of speed and noise, the Truebrew grinder is quieter than most - that surprised us, yet it is not slow. In fact overall, Truebrew seems faster than many Keurig type machines - and does not use plastic pods.  Do you want older, potentially stale coffee grounds, and plastic pods for landfills - or do you want freshly ground coffee?  We have compared; there really is a significant taste difference.  If you have a chance to compare, try and comment below.  You can also make delicious iced coffees with this unit.

One of the most sustainable brewers you will find; no filters, no plastic capsules, and easily-composted grounds.

Servicing the Machine

Any coffee machine needs servicing.  We found this one to be easier than our Espresso machine. You just slide out front section, to empty the grounds hopper and the used-water container.  The machines uses water internally as part of its brewing process, and that is collected in a container that you have to empty.  Someone not familiar with coffee machines might think this is more work than they expected - but it is less work than any brewers, especially espresso machines.  Our favorite pourover brewer producers excellent coffee also but is a lot more work - you have to grind separately, do the pourover again and again until it is done, and clean the vessel afterwards.  The De'Longhi TrueBrew saves a lot of time compared to that!
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Drawbacks

Truebrew has very few drawbacks.  Yes it is a large machine but not really when you consider a grinder is included.  The water supply could be larger.  But these are small things, and do not affect our rating or appreciation of this brewer.  It really is the best drip brewer we have used!
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Who Should Buy This Brewer?

The Truebrew is ideal for people who want a really great cup of drip coffee.  You will need some space for it; it has a large footprint.  It is ideal for a family with several people who drink coffee - since it has so many choices.  It could also work in a small office where the employees, but not customers, are making daily coffee.  Howwever, for a customer-facing machine you would probably want something with larger capacities.  
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Long Term Maintenance

De'Longhi has a good manual, with clear instructions, so that will help long term cleaning and maintenance.  We will post a long term review later with our final impressions for consistency, cleaning, and dependability of this fine brewer.
 

Buy Online

You can buy the De'Longhi Truebrew online at Amazon.  They are our favorite retailer because of fast shipping, and the best customer service of any retailer, if there are any problems.  Check it out on Amazon!