De'Longhi's newest manual coffee machine has the stainless steel looks to rival Sage – here's why it's a big deal for at-home baristas

The release of a sleek new coffee machine is always welcome news on the Ideal Home desk, and this week it's the news of a new De'Longhi machine, namely the De'Longhi La Specialista Opera that's turning heads in our office.

This manual machine, which is of the best bean-to-cup coffee machine variety, is available to buy now from retailers such as John Lewis for £799.99. For your money, you get a machine which boasts 15 different grind settings, a Smart Tamping Station, and options for hot and cold coffees at home.

The recent De'Longhi launches that we've tried and tested here at Ideal Home, including the Eletta Explore and the Rivelia have been a huge 5-star hit with our expert reviewer. While those two machines are both automatic, this is a manual espresso offering from the brand. Here, we're going to take a first look to see how it shapes up.

The new De'Longhi La Specialista Opera coffee machine

If you're unsure on the difference between automatic and manual bean-to-cup coffee machines, then what you need to know is that while the former usually just invovles the pressing of a button on a screen, the latter is a hands-on affair. With a manual machine, you'll be in charge of the grinding process, tamp your grinds and pull your own espresso shot.

That makes the De'Longhi Specialista Opera fit for those who want to tweak the brewing process of their morning coffee down to the tiniest detail. This machine has 15 grind settings to choose from in total and you can choose from hot or cold brew profiles.

Our top-rated pick of the best coffee machines ever, the Sage Barista Express Impress, has a similarly involved design, including a one-armed bandit you use to tamp your grinds. While it would take a seriously special machine to sway me from my beloved Sage, I do love the look of the included HomeCafé kit you get with the La Specialista Opera.

Featured in the kit is a vacuum sealed canister to keep your beans in, glasses that suit hot and cold coffee and a knock box for you to dispose of your used grounds into. Usually if you're forking out for a bean-to-cup coffee machine, these are the things you'd have to fork out extra for, so it's great to see them included for the (rather hefty) price tag here.

As with all of the coffee machines we recommend in our buying guides, we're hoping to test out this De'Longhi machine to see how it shapes up next to our current favourite picks. If it performs as well as it impresses us looks-wise, we think it'll be a winner.