I tested the brand-new Lavazza Tablì — it's better than Nespresso and Keurig and ten times easier than traditional manual espresso machines, making it perfect for coffee beginners

Pod espresso machines are often reviled by serious coffee snobs. Nespresso, Keurig, and everything in between — it’s just not “real coffee”. Their words, not mine. But the Lavazza Tablì is the closest to “real coffee” a pod machine has ever got.

I’ve not been this excited about a coffee machine in a while. The Tablì doesn’t use plastic-encased or aluminum-bound pods, but 100% coffee “Tabs”. It’s as pure as you can get. At first, I wondered if this was more a gimmick than an actual innovation, but after testing the Tablì for over a week (and using up all my Tabs), I have to say: the Lavazza Tablì is seriously special.

Is this enough to make the Lavazza Tablì one of the best espresso machines? Yes, without a doubt. I’m a tough crowd, but the Tablì has done the impossible: foolproof usability, affordability, and genuinely lip-smacking coffee. It’s a home run. Still not convinced? Find out the full story in this Lavazza Tablì review.

Lavazza Tablì review: Specs

Lavazza Tablì review: Price & availability

The Lavazza Tablì is available in a few different variants. The machine alone costs $129 from Amazon U.S. and £199 from John Lewis in the U.K, which is incredibly affordable (especially in the U.S., where list prices are typically higher than in Britain). When I saw the U.S. price, I actually gasped.

You can also buy the Tablì with a Lavazza milk frother (which is the version Lavazza sent me). This will set you back $199 from Amazon U.S. You can’t buy this bundle in the U.K., but the milk frother is an extra £79 from John Lewis, making it £278 overall. I’m unsure why it’s so much more expensive in the U.K., but it is what it is.

In the U.S., you can also get the full set: Tablì, milk frother, and 60 Tabs for $249 from Amazon U.S. A similar variant in the U.K. is: Tablì, milk frother, and 48 Tabs for £199 — but only directly from Lavazza.

I will do my very best to explain just how affordable this is. $129 for the Tablì is fantastic. I was honestly expecting $200-$250 when I unboxed it. Similar Nespresso machines would be the CitiZ or Pixie, $319 and $179, respectively. Add the Nespresso Aeroccino on top of that and you’re looking at an extra $100.

True, Nespresso Vertuo machines are cheaper: you’ve got the $129 Nespresso Vertuo Pop+ and the $229 Nespresso Vertuo Up. Still, the $100 price difference between the Tablì and Vertuo Up might not be enough to justify the latter’s ice mode if you’re on a tight budget.

Lavazza Tablì review: Design

The Lavazza Tablì is gorgeous. While it’s quite large — 15 inches deep and 13 inches tall — nothing about its design suggests “bulky”. This is a modern, stylish piece of tech that’ll elicit some interested questions from houseguests. I can’t count the times my colleagues directed “Oooh” or “Aaah” sounds towards it. Of all the coffee machines I’ve tested, this received the most interested comments — matched only by the beautiful Lelit MaraX3.

On the machine itself are four buttons: one for power, one for a double shot, one for a single shot, and one for a long shot.

Three lights on top of the machine correspond to the water tank, grounds drawer, and cleaning. These light up should you need to refill the tank, empty the drawer, or run a cleaning cycle.

There’s nothing confusing about the Tablì. It’s a straightforward, simple machine that doesn’t skimp on aesthetics or charisma.

The sole negative is the small space between the pouring spout and drip tray. You must use a shot glass or small mug as your receptacle; normal-sized mugs will not fit.

I’ll quickly mention the Tablì app. Yes, there’s an app. No, you don’t need to download it. I would recommend avoiding the app — not because it’s horrendous, but because it’s completely superfluous.

You can make espresso recipes, but because this is literally just a pod coffee machine, the only thing you can do is adjust temperature and volume. You can save said recipes, as you can see in my screenshots, and you can send these recipes to the machine. At first, I thought the app was glitchy, but it just takes a bit of experimenting to find out how to actually navigate it. Of course, you can buy Tabs in the app, which is probably the only genuinely useful feature.

I’d skip the app unless you’re a smart home fiend.

Lavazza Tablì review: Espresso

Now onto the good stuff: taste. As mentioned earlier, the Tablì is extremely easy to use. All you do is slide up the top, insert the Tab, and press the brew button. That’s it. The shots come out as two single shots or one double, which you can control by flipping up the pouring spout (single) or leaving it down (double).

At the time of writing, you can get five flavors of coffee: espresso intenso, qualita rossa, qualita oro, ristretto, and decaf. Of the bunch, my favorite was oro. I’d like to see Lavazza introduce some new flavors in time: ideally, some kind of juicy, fruity African bean. Those who’ve been here long enough know that I much prefer a lighter-roasted Ethiopian coffee to a dark-roasted Brazilian coffee. Obviously, this is just personal preference, and if you like those rich, full-bodied, chocolatey espressos, you’re the perfect candidate for Lavazza’s default beans anyway.

I do wonder if, assuming the Tablì (rightly) takes off, we’ll start seeing some third-party “Tabs”. Or if some coffee whiz will invent a way to make your own tabs. Or if Lavazza will introduce a Tab-making product itself, so you could theoretically grind your own beans, then compact them into a tab. However, that’s a lot of effort, and the Tablì isn’t really a lots-of-effort type of machine.

As for the coffee itself, well, it tastes so much better than any other pod machine I’ve tried. Although it’s definitely over-pressurized espresso — you can tell by how aerated and fluffy the crema is — it tastes wonderful. There’s zero bitterness whatsoever, and a well-rounded, strong coffee flavor.

I tested the Lavazza Tablì and the $1,999 Philips Cafe Aromis 8000 Series back to back, and which one tasted better? The Tablì, and boy, it wasn’t even close.

The prevailing issue holding the Tablì back — right now — is the lack of variety in the pods. Sorry, Tabs. Nespresso makes a huge variety of flavors, using every type of bean from around the world, and even has special Christmas, fall, and summer flavors. If you’re the kind of coffee drinker who jumps at the chance to try maple praline or pumpkin spice-flavored pods, then I might recommend sticking with Nespresso.

However, it’s still early days for the Tablì, and you never know what Lavazza might be cooking up behind the scenes.

Even though it doesn’t come by default, I’ll quickly discuss the milk frother. If you get the Tablì with the milk frother, you won’t be disappointed. Here’s a photo of the gorgeous milk texture.

As you can see, the bubbles are velvety and small, with no textural unevenness. While I can’t classify this as an explicit “Pro” — the Tablì doesn’t come with the milk frother — I would recommend grabbing the milk frother too if you like milk drinks. You don’t even have to use it with the Tablì; you could make hot chocolates or cold foam.

Lavazza Tablì review: Storage & maintenance

As I’ve mentioned, the Tablì isn’t exactly a compact machine. The Nespresso CitiZ is relatively smaller, at 11 x 12 inches compared to the Tablì’s 15 x 13. If you need a seriously small coffee maker, I might suggest the Nespresso instead.

However, the Tablì wins in every other contest. It’s prettier, tastes so much better, and is better for the environment. Nespresso pods can be recycled for free, which is better than Keurig charging $10 to recycle 96 pods (I still can’t believe that; it’s horrifying). However, manufacturing and recycling aluminum pods still generates waste and uses resources.

The Tablì’s Tabs are 100% coffee. No aluminum wrapping, no plastic casing. You can literally take the pucks out of the machine and throw them on the garden compost, or in your food waste. They’re just coffee. Of course, the Tabs come in a little cardboard box — that looks like a little chocolate box — but everything comes in a package. Whole coffee beans come in plastic bags.

Tabs cost around $1 a pop. This is par for the course with pod machines — Nespresso pods will set you back around $0.90 each, and Vertuo pods are around $1.40 (flavour dependent).

As the water tank is filled from above, you’ll need a decent amount of clearance space. However, like every other coffee machine I’ve ever reviewed, the grounds drawer is removed from the front.

Lavazza offers a 2-year warranty, which is the same as Nespresso, De’Longhi, Breville, and Ninja.

Lavazza Tablì review: Verdict

I’m sure you can tell from this review, but I adore the Lavazza Tablì. I’ve not been this excited by a coffee machine since I tested the Lelit MaraX3 earlier in the year. I’ve never been this excited by a pod machine.

And it’s just $129? How? How is this possible? $129 for a machine capable of producing this quality of espresso is unheard of. Sure, Nespresso Vertuo machines can be found for around $129, too, but none taste as good as the Tablì. Vertuo pods are extracted by centrifugal force, while Tablì uses traditional espresso pressure (espresso literally means pressure in Italian).

Want a pod machine that makes actually delicious espresso? The Lavazza Tablì is for you. I can’t wait to see how this innovation transforms the coffee machine world.