Fans of brewing coffee using a stovetop coffee maker rightly praise its ability to produce beautiful coffee that’s denser than filter coffee but not quite as intense as espresso. However, to make classic coffee beverages using a Moka pot, you’d typically need a separate milk pitcher and frother.
The Seven & Me combines those features in one touch-of-a-button coffee machine, offering milk-based drinks resembling latte, cappuccino, and macchiato in three minutes.
Launched via crowdsourcing website Indigogo, almost 4,000 backers suggest this is a coffee machine with plenty of demand. But can it produce gorgeous milk-based beverages without any hassle?
This article goes in depth on the Seven & Me coffee maker to answer those questions and more.
Seven And Me Coffee Maker Review
Design And Build Quality
The first to strike us about the coffee machine is its contemporary aesthetic. The Seven & Me consists of a smart-looking Moka Pot and milk frother sitting on a base that acts like a hot plate. The machine is made with food-grade FDA-standard materials. There’s a stainless steel milk frother with an easy-to-hold grip. Meanwhile, the Moka pot, which is the same white color, is Teflon-coated.
The minimalist base has designated areas to place the Moka Pot and frother. Meanwhile, the power button and five coffee symbols indicating the preset drink are at the top of the base. Plug the machine in, and those symbols illuminate, ready to use.
Overall, the machine looks sleek and sturdy, it will fit in any modern kitchen. However, at just 5.1lbs it’s lightweight enough to move easily – perfect if you want convenient milk-based Moka pot drinks on your travels.
Ease Of Use
Using the Seven & Me coffee maker could barely be easier. With a standard Moka pot, you’d need a heat source like a stovetop to heat your water, leaving you to determine the correct temperature. However, the Seven & Me automatically heats to the right temperature.
Meanwhile, if you wanted a milk-based drink using a standard Moka pot, you’d need a separate milk pitcher and foamer. This requires judgment and skill to achieve the desired result. The Seven & Me removes that hassle with the automatic milk frothing design. The frother has a symbol on the interior wall indicating which level to fill to for each beverage. Also, it automatically heats the milk to an optimal 150°F (65°C).
What’s more, if you don’t bother using the coffee grounds or grind the beans, they offer coffee capsules that are specially designed for the seven coffee maker.
Press the button, and the machine will brew coffee and heat and froth milk simultaneously in around three minutes.
The machine is equally easy to clean. First, remove the spent grounds from the Moka pot, rinse it and the frother under cold water. Finally, unplug the base and wipe it with a damp cloth.
How Does It Work?
You can make an impressive milky coffee drink in a few easy steps. If you are familiar with moka pot brewing method, the preparation is the same. Let’s go through them.
- Unscrew the Moka pot and add room temperature water to the fill line of the lower chamber.
- Drop the filter basket on top and add 16g of medium-fine grounds to it. Even out the grounds, but don’t compact them.
- Reattach the Moka pot and place it on the base.
- Take the milk frother and pour in milk to the correct level for your required drink.
- Place the frother on the base and attach the lid.
- On the heating base, press the power button for one second. The machine will beep, and the buttons will briefly illuminate. Next, select the appropriate drink symbol. The drink light will begin flashing. Press it again to confirm, and the Seven & Me coffee maker will brew your coffee and heat your milk. From there, the brewing process is automatically controlled by the machine.
- After around three minutes, the coffee will be ready. Remove the Moka pot, empty your coffee into your cup, and pour over your milk.
- Enjoy your coffee!
Coffee Quality
The coffee produced by the Seven & Me coffee maker is identical to standard Moka pot coffee. You’ll get a satisfying coffee that’s concentrated like an espresso. Meanwhile, there’s a thin layer of crema on top, thanks to the low pressure used during brewing.
The difference is that there’s no guesswork with the Seven & Me – the brewing time and temperature are all handled by the machine to make it almost entirely hassle-free, meaning you’ll also get consistent barista-quality coffee every time.
Overall, the Seven & Me brews beautiful coffee with none of the hassle or learning curve required with a standard Moka pot.
Milk Frothing Performance
The frother includes a small wheel at the base that spins at 5,000RPM for creating silky smooth milk foam. Meanwhile, the base acts like a hot plate to heat the milk simultaneously.
This consistent frothing speed combined with the precise temperature control means it’ll offer consistent frothed milk effortlessly each time.
The milk foam the machine produces is beautifully smooth for latte foam and appropriately and dense clean foam for a gorgeous cappuccino. However, we found that, while it is compatible with milk alternatives including oat, almond, and soy milk, the best foam comes from using whole dairy milk.
Value For Money
The Seven & Me coffee maker is not cheap. Indeed, with practice, you will be able to achieve similar results with a standard Moka pot, such as the Bialetti Express, and a separate milk frother, like the Nespresso Aeroccino3 – and for a fraction of the cost.
Also Read: Check our best moka pots and best milk frothers round-up.
However, there is a learning curve with those, so the extra expense pays for significantly more convenience. After all, those touch-of-a-button milk frothing options mean you can brew several milk-based coffee drinks without any expert barista skills. Not only that, but you can guarantee consistent results with the Seven & Me. Finally, the machine looks gorgeous and is easy to take with you on your travels. Overall, that extra convenience could well be worth the extra expense.
Drawbacks
Although most are relatively minor, there are a few issues with the Seven & Me coffee maker.
Aside from the expense, the silky smooth foam – while excellent – is not particularly conducive to making latte art. Also, it tends to struggle more with alternatives to dairy like oat and almond milk.
Meanwhile, even though you can use either coffee grounds or specially designed coffee pods, the latter is hard to get hold of on either Amazon or other marketplaces.
Various Milk-Based Recipes
The Seven & Me has scope for making several delicious specialty coffee recipes. Let’s examine some of the best.
Cafè Mocha
The Cafè mocha is a variation of a latte or cappuccino with a twist for sweet-toothed coffee lovers – chocolate. You would typically add chocolate using cocoa powder and sugar or chocolate syrup, making for an indulgent and delicious treat.
To make a beautiful mocha using the Seven & Me coffee maker, brew your coffee on the cappuccino setting as outlined above. While it’s doing that, add some chocolate syrup to a latte glass (you can choose your volume, but we suggest around 15-30ml). Add the coffee to the syrup and stir the mixture. Scoop a few dollops of the milk foam over the top, then pour in the remainder of the milk. Finally, swirl a little more chocolate sauce on top and enjoy!
Cappuccino
Cappuccino is a milk-based drink prepared with an espresso shot, milk foam, and hot milk. Making a cappuccino with the Seven & Me is similar to the Cafè mocha, albeit without the chocolate syrup. Prepare the coffee on the cappuccino setting, then pour the shot into a cup. Next, spoon on some of the milk foam, and top the cup with the remaining milk. The natural sweetness of the milk combines with the coffee espresso, now you can make your own specialty coffee that tastes like the one at your local coffee shop.
Hot Chocolate
If you fancy an alternative to coffee, hot chocolate is a comforting and delicious drink made with chocolate and whole milk. Pour around 350ml of full-cream milk into the milk cup and select the foam setting. Leave it to foam for around a minute, then add 40g of chocolate shavings. Pour the hot chocolate into your cup and enjoy.
Dalgona Coffee
Dalgona coffee consists of instant coffee powder, sugar, and hot water foamed until it becomes creamy, which you then scoop over hot or cold milk. Add 5g of coffee, 5g of sugar, and 30ml water to the frother. Activate non-heating mode on the Seven & Me coffee maker by pressing the power button on, then pressing it again until it flashes. Choose the milk foam setting and allow it to foam for 30 seconds. After that, you’ll have brown foam.
Finally, add milk to your glass, leaving room for the foam, then scoop it on top.
Besides the drinks above, you can also make Vanilla Chai latte, milk tea, matcha latte or any other café style beverage you like without learning new barista skills.
Our Verdict
The Seven & Me coffee maker is a convenient, easy-to-use, and portable coffee machine that’s perfect for anyone who loves Moka pot coffee but doesn’t want the hassle of using a standard Moka pot.
The machine is also well built and aesthetically pleasing with some fantastic milk-based presets that will more than cover the needs of many domestic brewers.
Nevertheless, the machine is expensive and not adept at producing foam suitable for latte art. However, it’s an excellent choice for anyone looking for a quick and easy coffee machine capable of brewing your morning coffee with one-click operation.
