At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Compact
- Easy to use
- Good eco-credentials
- Quick to heat up
Cons
- No automatic stop
- Small water tank
Our Verdict
If simplicity and sustainability are high up your list for a coffee machine then this will fit the bill. It won’t cost you much either but it’s limited when it comes to features.
Best Prices Today: Lavazza A Modo Mio Tiny Eco
We’re big fans of eco-friendly products and that’s the ethos of the latest pod coffee machine from Lavazza, the A Modo Mio Tiny Eco.
This is the first Lavazza product to be made from recycled plastic and you can also get eco-friendly pods to go with it.
The simple and compact pod espresso and lungo machine is also very affordable with an RRP of just £89 so let’s get brewing.
Design & Build
- Compact
- Recycled plastic
- Simple to use
The Tiny Eco, to give it a shorter name, is Lavazza’s smallest machine to date. It measures just 26 x 13.9 x 27cm and weighs 3.7kg.
It’s the size that stands out, or doesn’t as the case may be, so you can tuck the Tiny Eco into places you would otherwise struggle to fit a coffee machine. This makes it perfect for anyone with a small kitchen where worktop space is at a premium.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Or, like me, you want a coffee machine in your office but essentially have nowhere to put one. With a small water tank, you don’t even need much space around it to get it out for refills, or you could simply remove the lid and fill it via a jug.
So it lives up to the ‘tiny’ part of its name but what about ‘eco’? Well, the machine is made from recycled plastic.
It’s 61% for the black model tested here. However, the amount of recycled material is lower for the coloured models with white, green, pink and red at 57.2-, 52.8-, 52.8- and 52.2% respectively.
None of these other options are available at the time of writing should you want a splash of colour.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Of course, we’d rather they were all 100% recycled but a step towards sustainability is still a welcome one. The packaging is 100% recycled but that’s not as impressive or difficult to achieve.
Moving on, the design is simple and intuitive to use. You are unlikely to need the instruction manual much, if at all.
The water tank simply lifts off, there’s a single button with a white circular LED, the pod tray sits underneath the logo and can be a little tricky to put back in but magnets help out there.
Finally, the drip tray has a two-tier cup stand on it so you can fit a larger mug when needed.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Performance & Pods
- Quick to get ready
- Fairly slow brewing
- Only makes espresso and lungo
- No automatic stop
Push the power button and the white LED ring will flash while the Tiny Eco gets ready. It doesn’t take long as it doesn’t run any water through the system like a more complex machine. In my experience, it only takes 10-20 seconds to be ready to brew, depending on how cold the room is.
Then all you need to do is pop your chosen pod into the drawer and hit the button again to make a coffee.
Chris Martin / Foundry
With a single stream of coffee coming out, it’s not a fast process – although Lavazza says that slow coffee extraction at a high temperature enhances flavour.
In my testing, a single espresso takes about 30 seconds and a double takes, well, about a minute unsurprisingly.
The Tiny Eco doesn’t have any different modes, it can’t heat or froth milk or anything other than simply making coffee. If you need more options, the Idola and Deséa will be more suitable.
So, if you want a lungo, you have to wait for it and stop the machine when it’s brewed the correct amount. It will just keep brewing until you say stop so you must keep an eye on it.
Chris Martin / Foundry
It’s a shame that it doesn’t even have the intelligence to stop when the water tank is empty. And that will happen fairly regularly (depending on the size and frequency of use) since the tank is only 0.6L in capacity.
The Tiny Eco will automatically switch off after inactivity and is on the quieter side of coffee machine when brewing.
As you might have gathered, the Tiny Eco is compatible with A Modo Mio capsules. There are a range of strengths and flavours available and the ‘Eco Caps’ are both industrially compostable and carbon neutral, adding to the eco-credentials here.
I tried three different ones and they all tasted very nice, and the Tiny Eco brewed at a nice temperature and my coffee arrived with a decent amount of crema on top.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Price & Availability
However, you’re better off buying from the official Lavazza store where you can get the coffee machine in a bundle that’s been available since launch. It’s only £69 for the machine and comes with three boxes of pods of your choosing.
With boxes of 16 pods costing £4.99 each, this bundle saves you a total of £35 and is excellent value for money.
Check out our chart of the best pod coffee machines for more options.
Should you buy the Lavazza A Modo Mio Tiny Eco?
If you’re looking for a compact and eco-friendly coffee machine that won’t break the bank, then the Tiny Eco is an excellent choice.
You will have to be ok with it being very simple but if you’re an espresso or lungo drinker then it will do the job just fine.
Best Prices Today: Lavazza A Modo Mio Tiny Eco
Author: Chris Martin, Managing Editor, Tech Advisor
Tech Advisor Managing Editor Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been with us for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.
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