Illy Francis Francis Y5 Milk Model Comparison and Review
Our Verdict
It'southward non cheap, merely Illy's Y5 espresso and coffee automobile makes a pretty good cup of espresso.
For
- Attractive design
- Brews adept espresso
- Tin can customize brews
Against
- Expensive
- Bulky capsules
- Involved recycling process
Tom's Guide Verdict
It's not cheap, only Illy'southward Y5 espresso and java auto makes a pretty good cup of espresso.
Pros
- +
Bonny blueprint
- +
Brews practiced espresso
- +
Tin customize brews
Cons
- -
Expensive
- -
Bulky capsules
- -
Involved recycling process
One of the simple pleasures of being in Italy is popping into a cafe midafternoon and getting a quick jolt of caffeine from a shot of espresso. I'm stuck a k miles away, but the Illy Y5 espresso and java motorcar ($299) does a skillful task of replicating that experience, if only a pocket-sized part of it.
Blueprint
If Frank Lloyd Wright had designed a coffee machine, information technology might accept looked like the Y5. The all-black Y5 has a minimalist, mod blueprint. It has a large rectangular trunk, with a smaller rectangle cantilevered out the forepart. Two chromed platforms sit below that; the upper one, made for an espresso cup, flips upwardly then you tin can identify a larger mug on the lower platform.
On the very height of the smaller rectangle is a chrome lever, which opens the top to have the coffee pods. The machinery is designed to flip any used pod into a chamber inside the machine, which yous tin can empty at your convenience. Information technology's not the smoothest of actions — information technology takes a bit of force to pop open — but it works.
The right half of the Y5's torso contains the h2o reservoir. Information technology'due south made of a articulate plastic, so you tin easily see when it needs a refill.
App
The rather uncomplicated app for the Y5 gives yous a few ways to customize your mash. You tin cull between ristretto (a smaller, but stronger espresso shot) or lungo (double the water), and you lot tin can set up the h2o temperature. Hit on a combo you like, and you can create a custom mash. However, the Y5's Scheduling characteristic merely reminds you lot to make a cup, and there'due south no style to connect the machine to Alexa or any other smart assistant.
Stats evidence how many cups you've brewed, and a maintenance bill of fare lets you descale the automobile to remove mineral deposits. (The Y5 will tell you when this needs to be done).
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The app also connects to Amazon Dash, and it tin automatically gild new capsules when it detects that you're running low.
Performance
No doubt, the Y5 makes a slap-up espresso. The beverage had a bold, potent flavour, and the requisite crema floated gently on the surface of every demitasse I fabricated. All the same, you have to look a few minutes for the machine to warm upwardly, which is a drag.
With the app set to a medium h2o temperature and a medium-size pour, the Y5 filled an espresso cup virtually halfway. The coffee itself was about 148 degrees Fahrenheit, which is considerably lower than the 190-200 degrees recommended by well-nigh coffee experts. To be sure, I was measuring the temperature of the coffee in the cup, non at the bespeak where it striking the grounds, but I'd be surprised if there was a l-degree loss in between.
By comparison, a unmarried shot from the office Nespresso machine (using the "lungo forte" sheathing) produced about two-thirds of the amount that the Illy put in the cup, and the temperature of the espresso was a lower 135 degrees at its hottest point. Nespresso's loving cup, too, had a prissy crema on elevation, though.
I and so put the Y5 at its highest temperature setting, which boosted it to about 160 degrees. Doing so improved the taste a bit.
When brewing espresso, the Y5 makes a buzzing dissonance, and the car vibrated plenty that my espresso cup moved around the platform like the brawl on an electric football game.
The Y5 tin can also brew regular coffee; at the machine's medium setting, the coffee came out at around 150 degrees. Afterward I'd been drinking nothing but espressos, this regular brew tasted weak, just at that place was little bitterness.
Capsules
The Y5'due south hopper tin fit about a dozen used capsules; after that, it's time to empty it out. Different the thin, plastic K-Cups, Illy's capsules are fabricated of thick, substantial plastic, but are roughly the aforementioned size. They are recyclable (more on that below), but I wish they were more than meaty, like the small foil packets used by the Nespresso machine in my company's pantry.
Currently, you lot tin can choose from 1 of several varieties of java: Lungo, Guatemala, Decaffeinated, Ethiopia, Medium Roast, Dark Roast, Idillyum, India, Colombia, Brazil and Costa Rica. I wish Illy wrote the proper name of the coffee type on the outside of the capsule, rather than making it color-coded.
A container of 21 5-ounce capsules costs about $17, or fourscore cents per espresso. That'southward an OK toll; an 18-pack of Keurig'due south Original Donut Shop G-Cup pods costs $20, and I would argue that Illy'south coffee is superior. Still, a 24 pack of Eight O'Clock Coffee for Keurig machines is just $13. Considering that a single shot of espresso at Starbucks costs $2.45, if yous had just one per day, you could pay off the machine plus the price of the capsules in half a year.
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I've frequently had qualms nearly using these cups for coffee, as they're very wasteful. Illy'due south capsules are made from recyclable No. 5 polypropylene plastic, but you lot can't just toss them in the recycling bin with your cans and bottles. Rather, y'all accept to sign upward for a gratis Illy a Casa membership, and the company volition transport you lot bags and return labels the adjacent time you order coffee. While a timeline has not been announced, in the future the company will also let you drop off used capsules at its retail locations. (Yous can besides purchase a recycling kit by calling 1-877-469-4559). Illy will recycle the plastic and mix the grounds into compost.
Toll
At $299, Illy's Y5 automobile falls somewhere in the centre for espresso machine prices. You're as well paying a premium for this device's smarts. On Amazon, some of the top-rated nonsmart espresso machines, such as the Breville ESP8XL, price about $100 less and include milk frothers, something the Y5 lacks. The Illy Y3.2, which is more or less a nonsmart version of the Y5, costs only $99. Illy also sells a version of the Y5 that has a milk reservoir to make cappuccinos and lattes, but this model has received more often than not unfavorable reviews online.
Bottom Line
Until I tin convince my boss to open the Tom's Guide Italia office, I'll have to become my prepare of la bella vita wherever I tin can. The Illy Y5 does a pretty good task of this, and for not likewise outrageous a toll. I wish there were an easier way to recycle the device'due south canisters, just if yous're looking for an espresso machine that'south smarter than the others, the Illy Y5 is a good place to offset.
Credit: Tom'southward Guide
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/illy-y5-espresso,review-5572.html