Xiaomi has launched a crowdfunding project for a two-in-one coffee machine that can make espressos, macchiatos, cappuccinos and lattes in just three minutes. Kind of.
The Seven & Me comprises a hot plate, a milk frother, and the coffee maker itself. According to Xiaomi, this will produce "authentic Italian espresso", but as Deirdre O'Donnell of Notebookcheck points out, the fact that the water is heated from the bottom and forced up through the grounds rather than pushed down means that this is actually a moka pot rather than an espresso machine.
A moka pot, as coffee grinder company JavaPresse notes, produces a much stronger brew than the best drip coffee maker, but the flavor profile isn't the same because the pressure is much lower (around two bars compared for nine for the best espresso machines).
Silky milks
The milk frother seems to work in a similar way to the Dreo Baristamaker I reviewed recently. Rather than using pressurized steam to force air into milk while heating it, the Seven & Me appears to warm the milk from below, while whisking it to create foam. I found that the Baristamaker tended to create large bubbles rather than silky microfoam, which wasn't ideal for latte art, but perhaps Xiaomi's machine will perform better.
Like the Baristamaker, the Seven & Me has presets for different types of plant milk, including that are notoriously tricky to steam well. The Seven & Me's brew time, pressure, and heating can be adjusted depending on your choice of drink as well, but despite Xiaomi's assertion that this is the "smartest" coffee machine in the world, there are no features like wireless connectivity that I'd normally associate with such a claim.
Nevertheless, the idea is clearly proving popular. At the time of writing, the crowdfunding project only has one machine remaining at the early bird price of $199 (about £150 / AU$300) - a discount of 33% off the list price.
Strangely, the machine appears to be almost, if not entirely, identical to the Xiaomi Household Mini Latte Coffee Machine, which is currently available for only £38 in the UK from Xiaomi wholesaler MiOT (fitted with an EU plug), and has reviews on Amazon.com dating back to 2021. The company has even re-used some of the same promotional images.
Looking for something more conventional? Our roundup of the best coffee makers has lots of options, including plenty of budget-friendly picks.
