De Longhi ECAM 21.117 B

 

This being my first bean to cup coffee machine I didn’t want to spend too much on one, but at the same time I didn’t want to buy something cheap that I might want to replace soon. This machine suits me down to the ground, it does what I need it to and does it well. Now, I am no coffee aficionado but I do enjoy a good cappuccino and this machine makes them to the standard I would expect from a good coffee shop.

It was relatively straight forward to set up by following the instructions which also told me how to set the water hardness and change the temperature settings.

I’ve read a few reviews that say it is messy or hard to clean, but can’t say I’ve had any problems. I clean it regularly and most of the time there is a few bits of coffee grind to clean up, but what do you expect it’s a messy business grinding all those beans.

I would recommend this machine for those folk not wanting to spend a fortune on a bean to cup coffee machine who like a decent coffee without seeking the full barista experience.

 

I bought my machine from Amazon Warehouse so it came with some cosmetic scratches and no manual. I wasn’t actually aware I was purchasing a ‘used’ item but I am entirely to blame for not reading properly. However for the cut price and how well the machine works I am thoroughly happy with my mistake.

When setting up the machine, follow the instructions carefully. The black plastic box catches the used coffee and needs to slot into the drip tray as one to shut the machine properly.

When I first tried using it the machine said there was no water and made a terrible noise but after attaching the water tank again it worked fine. If this happens persevere. I’ve read reviews where people sent the machine back due to it making a loud noise and not working during set up but I think this is an initial issue with water flow connection and once you ensure the water tank is all the way in and connected it will work.

The coffee from this machine tastes great and it’s really easy to use. You can adjust temperature and cup size and can pour two coffees at once. The espresso is great.

As others have pointed out, if making a coffee using the milk frother make sure you dispense your espresso first as the machine takes time to cool down after dispensing steam for the frother. However if you forget you can open the valve when off steam mode to speed up the process.

There are people moaning about the quality for the price but for me it’s been more than reasonable for its capability. I’m really impressed and so happy with my lockdown purchase.

 

We bought a De’Longhi Magnifica EAM 3200 more than 10 years ago and it worked beautifully until a few days ago when steam and water started spewing out the side of the machine. My guess is a seal on the heating element gave up the ghost. Long story short I google’d “best bean to cup coffee machines uk” and on the first page alone this machine De’Longhi Magnifica ESAM 4200 was quoted as the best in most of the reviews.

Having now purchased it I am not disappointed. The design hasn’t changed much over the years and there are now a few extra features I don’t remember having or recall seeing in the old model, i.e. setting the water hardness and the ECO function, but by and large the mechanism is the same.

After unpacking and setting up the machine using the same beans, obviously the water supply is the same, we are now getting a much richer, stronger and creamer coffee than we did with the previous model. My guess is that it is milling the coffee slightly finer. I might even have to adjust it to set it to make a weaker cup of coffee and hence saving myself some beans in the long run.

Yes the machine is mostly plastic but by no means does that mean this isn’t a quality machine. It is most certainly durable and I am very pleased with my purchase and can only recommend i

 

This was my Christmas present to myself when I saw it’d been reduced on Black Friday as I’d wanted a proper coffee machine for a long time – not a pod thing – a really proper grown up coffee machine! I read a lot of reviews before choosing this model which seemed to have everything I wanted which was for it to be able to grind beans itself and from there produce a variety of coffees. And that means making the changes myself by having more or less coffee, adding milk, froth, etc. This isn’t a machine that’ll give you ready made Latte for example, you need to put in the effort yourself but it’s well worth it for a genuinely tasty and satisfying drink. It froths soya and almond milk easily for Cappuccino et al as well so if you’re a non-dairy person that’s handy. I would think it will froth most liquids to be honest although I’ve only tried the two above and cow’s milk.

It’s proving easy to clean too, it tells you when it wants water filling, grounds emptying etc but note that nothing is dishwasher safe. Not a problem for me as I’d like to take care of it rather than subject it to the ferocity of a dishwasher!

A quick rundown on making a coffee – it takes getting to know your machine. Don’t assume you’ll get something amazing from the first serving but be patient! You have to give it a few runs to get it up to spec and then you have several factors to get the drink you want:

– the strength/intensity/amount of coffee
– the amount of water you use in relation to it
– the size of the ground coffee pieces
– the coffee beans and roast you choose

… so you can see there are a lot of variations you can get from simply beans and water! And what a bonus to have those variations. It means I can cater to any taste at all rather than be limited to whatever the pod machine manufacturer thinks is the average request. Thats not for me – I’m not average!!

It’s taken me about 20 cups to find my personal favourite but now I’m there it’s pure bliss to simply switch the machine on and wait for it to do its magic each morning. From this base I can make variations to the serving for myself and others very easily.

It’s a pricey machine but you do get what you pay for and looked after properly it should last for years so could well end up being more economical than a cheaper machine. If you can get it on an offer like I did then all the better! It’s quite large but you’d expect that from a quality machine with the amount of stuff it has in it. Finally a note for DeLonghi – UK drinkers tend to drink coffee from mugs not cups (even espresso sometimes) and my one small gripe is that I can only just fit my mug under the spouts… can you make a slightly higher (.5cm) spout level in time for my next machine please?!!! 😉

 

When I realised how much better coffee tasted when the beans were freshly ground, I decided to treat myself to a bean-to-cup machine. It was a real indulgence, as I previously wouldn’t have dreamt of spending over 200 on a coffee maker. I have no regrets though, as it is typically used a minimum of twice every day, and I know I can offer guests a lovely cup of coffee. I’m rarely ever tempted to buy ‘to go’ coffee when I’m out anymore, so I’m pretty sure the machine has paid for itself by now.

I don’t think I’ve had to descale the machine more that twice a year, and I give the inside a good brushing out every couple of months to remove any coffee grinds that may have escaped the collection box. Be aware that the machine is a bit large and will occupy more that half of the depth of a standard worktop. I was able to push it into a corner on my worktop (space which was otherwise rather awkward to use) and it works quite well there without getting in my way. I quite like that I can buy bags of coffee beans which make numerous cups of coffee, as it seems much more environmentally friendly that opening a single-serving plastic or foil packet for each cup as in many coffee makers currently on the market. Thankfully I haven’t had any problems with this machine at all, so I would quite happily recommend it.

Some additional info: I’ve been using Coffee Masters Triple Certified, Organic, Fairtrade, Arabica Coffee Beans for the last year or so, and I’ve been quite happy with this coffee.

 

Wanted a bean to cup machine after many filter coffee machines previously. I stayed with a friend who had one, and it made me jealous. 2 years later, after reading many reviews… I decided on this one….

I was so excited when it arrived a day early, and stayed up past my bed time reading the manual and testing out the expresso strengths..

To be honest, the manual didn’t make much sense at first…. But after 4 attempts, I’ve got the hang of things.

I was very impressed with the frothy coffee I made today.

Just hoping I don’t overdose on caffeine…. Water? What’s that when you can make a cappuccino.

Other people have commented about the plastic look and feel. But as my first bean to cup… And looking at the price you could pay…. I am very happy with my purchase.

 

Received mine this afternoon. setup took about 20 mins and wasn’t paticularly difficult. So far I’m very impressed with this. I was worried it would look and feel a bit cheap with it being mostly plastic but that’s not the case at all, I actually quite like the aesthetics of it.

It does make a bit of noise as others have suggested however even the professional ones do too, you can’t grind coffee beans without actually doing some grinding!

It seems pretty easy to use too. I’ve not messed about with the settings too much and within about 30 mins from opening the box I was able to make a lovely cappacino that was easily the equal of something you’d buy in a costa or starbucks. Once I faff about with the settings a biut more, I’m sure I’ll enjoy it even more.

Overall, I was quite dubious about this but have always wanted a bean to cup machine and took the plunge with this and I’m so far very happy that I did!

 

I have been impressed by everything about this machine. First Amazon delivered it next day with Prime. There are video instructions on the product page, but just used the one about the water hardness so far. There are clear instructions on initial set up as well as detailed instructions for cleaning and maintenance and comes with descaling tablets.

Without changing any settings, right away the first coffee was hot but not strong enough. So I changed the strength settings and now it’s fine. The milk frother does what it should and heats the milk, you can do it a bit longer to produce a more creamy foamy mix.

The only other thing I would do is make the coffee it a bit hotter to match the coffee shops so I will have a play with the settings and see how it goes. You can easily change the strength, drink volume and fill 1 or 2 cups at the same time.

This machine is excellent, it’s only day one but I hope the machine continues to produce lattes, expressos, cappucinos and americanos for the next few years!

 

Took a few days to master it, trial and error to make the perfect coffee for myself, but I got there in a day or two and it’s superb! Instructions are a bit of a nightmare. You Tube and Google have helped me loads! Ive had this for two months now. Wish I had broke the bank and brought one of these machines many moons ago. I have it in my small office, everyone who visits have remarked on what a fantastic full mug of coffee it makes. My only niggles… It is quite loud, but well worth the noise when you sip the coffee! The descaling process is a bit daft as it goes by how many cups it has poured rather than built up scale??? We only use bottled water so when the descaling light comes on we just descale with water and not the descaling liquid as we figured it will only need descaling every 6mths after looking at some coffee website forums. Apart from that it’s easy to clean, flushes through before its first use when you switch it on and before it shuts down when you switch it off. Huge water tank too which is a bonus!….Tried the Cappuccino / Latte using the milk frother, and found it very easy to use/clean etc…, again coffee website forums are worth a look before trying it out, but it only took a few goes to fathom how to make a perfect Cappuccino and Latte style drink. … I’ve boxed up and gave away my Tassimo, Nespresso and Senseo machines after buying this. Pretty sure you will too!

 

I have been happily using a De Longhi Dedica espresso machine and KG79 grinder for many years but have become increasing aware of how much time I spend faffing about to get those all important flat whites before I go to work. I bought the Magnifica as an experiment to see if it would save time and also as a benchmark to gauge my barista skills against.

The results are that, yes, the bean to cup machine is much quicker (and cleaner) than doing things manually. Results are consistent and adequate, as you might expect from a machine, once you’ve got the settings right for your particular beans. Probably the trickiest bit is getting the grind correct as you can only adjust whilst grinding is active but you don’t see the result until about two cups later.

I can still make a better cup of coffee by hand but this machine is certainly more convenient, especially if you are making coffee for more than one person.

 

This bean-to-cup coffee machine is generally a really good thing. The machine is nicely made in combination of smart, robust, black plastic, silver-coloured plastic, and stainless steel. Fingerprints do seem to show quite a lot on all parts of this, and the metal cover for the drip tray smudges and marks more than you might expect.

There is a bit of set up required before first use – including water testing and, if relevant, the installation into the tank of a water filter. We live a hard water area, so for us installing the filter is a must when it comes to increasing the longevity of the machine – unless we’ve pre-filtered the water – and filtered does seem to improve the flavour of the coffee. Coffee beans go into an inbuilt hopper in the top of the machine. Open the lid, lift out the cover, pour in beans, replace the cover, and close the lid. I keep forgetting to put the cover back – it hasn’t been a problem so far, the machine works even without this part in place, but perhaps its absence could lead to beans/bits of beans ‘jumping’ and ending up where they shouldn’t inside the machine. If you have cupboards above your worktop, the top loading may be a bit inconvenient – in our low-ceilinged kitchen the wall mounted cabinets are low enough that there isn’t sufficient clearance to open the bean container, so we had to rethink positioning.

The machine works through a combination of pre-programmed buttons (power; one short coffee, two short coffees, one long coffee, two long coffees) and dials – for steam and to vary the strength of the coffee (grind is pre-set, but can be altered inside the hopper, if wished). The manual makes it all look quite complicated, with lots of labelled parts, but the basic coffee making functions are pre-programmed and straightforward. So straightforward that, according to the manual, in a domestic setting the machine can be used by a supervised 8 year old, who has been appropriately shown how! The cappuccino steam function works well, making dense-bubbled foam (with skimmed/semi-skimmed milk) that doesn’t collapse.

The machine comes with a replaceable water filter, a single use descaler – manufacturer original descaling solution can be bought in multi-use bottles that are better value and work out less packaging-heavy, and a measure for ground coffee. No milk steaming jug is included, so you may need to buy one.

The only negative comments I have surrounding the machine relate to how awkward it is to change from one variety of coffee to another and the lack of adjustment possibilities for pre-ground coffee. As age has crept up on me, I find myself increasingly sensitive to caffeine. I can cope with 1-2 cups of ‘proper’ coffee in the morning, before needing to switch to decaffeinated. It is a nuisance to switch beans in this machine – something that’s particularly annoying when family members (or guests) have differing requirements. The bean grinder has quite a long feeder chute, and it takes several cups to clean this out. Swapping from one variety of coffee to another isn’t hugely well supported. Without picking beans out of the hopper and running the machine through a few times, the only real way to do this is to use pre-ground coffee. Support for pre-ground coffee really feels like an afterthought. There is only one strength setting for pre-ground coffee, and you can only add one (provided) scoopful of coffee at a time – so in effect the only ways you can adjust pre-ground coffee are by changing the variety of coffee used, or by increasing the number of ‘shots’.

As a small business owner, something I did note is that safety warnings at the beginning of the manual include a statement that this is intended for domestic use only: it’s not meant for (and presumably warranty could be invalidated/ there would be no liability on the manufacturer’s part in the event of an incident that occurred as a result of) use in staff kitchens in shops/offices, farm houses, by hotel guests, or in B&Bs, or other similar businesses.

 

Having used coffee capsules for the last two years we looked forward to making the real thing, particularly a decent cappuccino and to be honest this De’Longhi Magnifica coffee maker does just that. Three things that are slightly annoying though:-
1. We’ve actually been using the machine approx. 2 months making an average of 4/5 cups of coffee most days and although we have the machine set up for the hardest water it still came up with the warning to descale the machine already. At 3-4 per time to descale the machine if it has to be done every month or so if our coffee intake goes up it could work out expensive.

2. As per the video the water spout and milk frother is close to the machine so you will need a container that is not tall and of a thin material to get it under the spout head.

3. Not sure of the content size of the water tank but it does appear to be on the small size.

 

I have been using this for only 6 weeks and I am very happy so far. I have moved up from a much smaller delonghi model that only used ground coffee & wasn’t automatic. I have had that one for years and so wanted to stick with the brand.
I had been looking at another been to cup machine, endorsed by a celebrity chef . This machine does not quite have all the whistles and bells of the other but thanks to an amazing Amazon discount was about a third of the price.
Admittedly, the plastic casing means it doesn’t win the beauty contest, and I was surprised at how noisy it is. However, I can set it to make coffee that satisfies the requirements of all the family, and can treat my visitors to a really decent cup of freshly ground. All with very little fuss or effort on my part. It is also very easy to clean and maintain.

 

I’ve had a more basic DeLonghi Magnifica machine for about three years and it makes great coffee. This machine also makes great coffee but it has some great features which make it even better.

The specific features of this machine that I particularly like allow you to adjust the temperature of the coffee (great for me because I prefer it hotter than standard) and it includes a water filter to further soften the water. Our water is not particularly hard but I think the filter makes a difference. The water filter does add further cost (about 8 a filter, which should be changed every month), but you can leave it out if you want.

The machine is really easy to use – with espresso single and double shots, and long coffee single or double shots. Coffee strength is adjusted with a dial. The grinder is said to be “silent” but it certainly makes a noise. It is quieter than my previous machine though.

The cappuccino frother is easy to use to get a great froth.

The only flaw is the finish (both the black and the silver tray) are very easy to mark. Even buffing the black to remove marks resulted in small (only noticeable very close up) scuffs. The silver tray is marked where cups have been placed. However, it looks a smart machine from a normal viewing distance.

I would recommend this machine for its great coffee.

 

Bean-to-cup – the apex of the coffee machine triangle (filter at the bottom, capsule systems like Nespresso in the middle and bean-to-cup at the top. Keep the hopper topped up with fresh beans and the reservoir with fresh water and you really are a button away from fresh expresso.

DiLonghi make a wide range of bean-to-cup machines, many of which share similar components and specifications with only minor variations in features and with more emphasis on variance in design. This is a great ‘entry level’ bean to cup machine – it makes great coffee, the steamer works well for lattes etc and it’s aesthetically fine.

A few things to bear in mind:

1. The bean hopper is quite small, which is good for domestic use as you don’t want you beans oxidising but not so good for a heavier use setting such as an office.

2. It’s fairly noisy when it starts up, though fairly quiet when actually making the coffee.

3. It’s easy, but it is more work than a capsule based machine. The innards are essentially self-cleaning after each use (you’ll need to occasionally descale, but that’s the same with a capsule machine) but you do need to regularly pull out, empty and clean the drip tray and grinds bin (when the machine self-cleans before and after use, water goes into the drip tray.

4. It’s big. I went from a first generation Nespresso espresso maker to this and the size difference did strike me – this felt like a late 1990s stereo in terms of size and build compared to the little Nespresso.

5. Style – not something I’m that fussed about, but I reckon its one of the key things that makes the difference between a 300 odd home machine and a 600 odd one – the construction here uses a lot of plastic with some chrome additions but the higher end machines are more metal in finish.

6. Milk – the other distinguishing factor between these and the much pricier Delonghi models. If you want a cappuccino or a latte etc you are going to have to steam the milk ‘by hand’ using the steam wand and then add it to the coffee (as a barista would) whereas the much pricier models have a milk reservoir and will make cappuccino at the touch of a button. Hold your horses on going for such models for the home though – milk goes off.

Finally, Delonghi are market leaders in the bean-to-cup game and have a lot of experience at making these machines – they aren’t cheap, but they really do work. I’ve messed around for years with filter machines and pod systems (feeling guilty about the latter because of waste) but in the end it would have been cheaper and better to go straight for one of these bad-boys.

 

This 15 bar pressure coffee machine has loads of reasons for owning it. I already have a similar model to it which I’ve had for 4 years the only difference I can detect is the colour of the machine. The one I bought was the ECAM22.110.SB
This machine under review the ECAM.21.117.B has an identical service manual to that one with exception to the pictures which were not as glossy, which tells you it’s an older model, but it performs the same as far as I can tell so you could save yourself some money by going for this older model. I even swapped out the trays and tank with the ECAM.22.110.SB ones and they fitted perfectly so I don’t think there’s going to be an issue with lack of parts with this older model.

I do prefer the black as it’s more practical as doesn’t show coffee splashes near the spout area.

The 15 bar pressure means the coffee is rich with good crema (creamy top) which you won’t get with cafetiere coffee or regular coffee makers with filters or lower pressure as it gets filtered out or doesn’t get generated.

High pressure milk frother and heater gives professional quality lattes. You can use the steam spout to do a little rinse of hot water after milk frothing use to remove milk traces from inside the spout and on the tip. I keep a kitchen towel handy to first wipe the outside before this step.

The large water tank means you can make more coffee with less topping up of water. When I bought the one I mentioned I did look for machines that plumb in to the mains but decided for flexibility it was better to have free standing with a large water tank. It means I can resite it easy if I want to change the kitchen around or use it in another room which we did when I had work done in the kitchen. It has a large grounds receiver likewise which means.no need to empty out the grounds holder after each coffee make as it is automatic and just needs emptying when you can be bothered or are told to by the light!

Eco mode to save energy. There is a setting which you can choose that turns the machine off after 15 minutes or various other time intervals. If you don’t choose this eco setting it stays on 2 hours then turns off. I use 15 mins as I prefer to get the hot water from turning machine on to preheat into the cups.

Adjustable setting for your water hardness
You get a stick to test the water hardness which determines the setting of the machine and that determines the frequency of descales. This is important as you don’t want the machine to furr up so I do recommend you use it and make the appropriate hardness setting. I use jug filtered water so tested that. When it is time to do a descale, I use the Delonghi descaler as other products could damage the machine. If you buy the bulk size of these and several to save on the postage it is better value. The A and B reference letters for descales written on the water tank are not that easy to read so I make a line for each with a marker pen as it’s on the inside of it and won’t be visible until the tank is removed and saves time squinting at it!!

It can create two cups of coffee at the same time or single cup with tall or short cup height adjustment for if expresso or latte for example.

Bean to cup means you choose the coffee you want and have it fresh ground. There is the option for filter coffee to cup if you are stuck and cannot find beans anywhere but it is tedious as only can add one cup worth coffee to the machine a time but as this machine is bean to cup why would you want to use ground anyway. Good to know it has this as back up anyway.

Good adjustment potential. You can alter fineness of grind, and amount of coffee per cup, and the amount water. I love the usability of this machine. I am in total control of the coffee making yet it does most of the work for me.

(Note about the model bought by me 4 years ago which is relavent as has same parts (ECAM22.110.SB ) the steam lever top left of the machine cracked after about a year and had to be replaced but you can buy one off ebay probably now for around 7 quid Delonghi part number 5513222441 It went in to be fixed for a noisy mechanical valve about a year and a half ago. Cost was 130 pounds including postage but they serviced it and cleaned it and their service was excellent and a smooth process. It was a good decision to have it repaired and serviced as it’s been trouble free since – no weird noises anymore – and they cleaned it inside and out which I would not have been able to do as well given it looked almost like new again when it arrived back with the exception of some crazing to drip tray interior plastic. For 4 years of 4 or 5 times a day use I think it is still good value for the ease of use and high quality coffee it provides.

 

This is a smart bean-to-cup coffee machine and, although it ranks towards the lower end of the De’Longhi range, the coffee you can produce is just as good as the machines that are higher up the pecking order, albeit with a little more user effort needed for milk options.

The act of producing one or two espresso or longer coffees at a time is automatic, with four button press options to choose from. You can even sit one cup under the nozzles and select the two-cup option for a longer drink. The options can be adjusted for temperature and strength of the resultant coffee but production of frothed milk to make a cappuccino is a manual task using the steam nozzle — although that does mean you can heat the milk to the temperature you desire and thus get a really hot drink, which can sometimes be a problem with higher end De’Longhi machines.

The water tank is accessed at the front, so topping up will not be a problem. The beans go in at the back, so that is trickier if you place this under a wall cupboard; it is easier if you have cupboard-free worktop. You will need to descale from time to time, frequency depending on use and it is worth keeping all packaging as it will be needed to send it off for a service or repair.

It is a good coffee machine and, although you need to be a bit more hands on to produce a cappuccino, you can get your drink exactly how you want it, which is not always the case with the higher end, fully automatic machines.

 

I knew my 10 year old manual delonghi espresso machine wasn’t really doing the business any more, but the comparison to what this machine gave me blew me away. It is VERY close to coffee shop quality espresso and probably capable of better if I spend the time to tune it. That said, the fact that it uses non-graduated dials to set strength and volume means switching between my wife’s an my preferences is not as user friendly as it might be. It is VERY easy to use. put cup under outlet, turn on, let machine flush itself (delivers some ‘dirty’ hot water to cup) throw this away, then deliver excellent espresso to now warmed cup. Switch off machine (or let eco function do this automatically). that’s it. Start your day. So convenient and such a nice espresso to start the day with. Easy to clean, fill etc. and at 200 a bargain. Easy to see why it’s a best seller. Only other criticism or hint really is to make coffee before using steam wand if that’s what you need to do, as once the machine reaches steam temp it is too hot to make coffee and needs quite a bit of time to cool down again to make coffees.

 

It was either going to gather dust or I’d become addicted to coffee and, worryingly, it’s the latter. I must be drinking about 4 cups a day and it’s all delicious. This machine is so easy to use, after a few attempts I was away. I just left it on its factory settings and it’s been fine. The milk frother thing isn’t fantastic, I used to work in a cafe and the commercial machines are way more powerful. However, I’m happy just adding milk and the coffee is absolutely lovely. I will just add, am lucky enough to live practically next door to a coffee bean stockist and they advised that oily beans are no good in bean to coffee machines. They recommend a dryer bean as oily beans can clog the machine. It’s hard to know which beans are dry or oily from a supermarket, but you can buy the following dry beans online: Daterra Sunrise (espresso strength – deeply, nutty flavour which is clean and crisp with strong aroma), Kenya AA (strong bean – flavoursome with a bright, fruity acidity), Guatemala Huehuetenango (medium flavour, smooth with a rich, chocolatey aroma). They work fantastically in the machine.

 

I don’t think I could live without this coffee machine anymore. THe usually messy process of grinding, loading the machine, disposing of spent beans and rinsing the stuff out has been replaced by two buttons!!! I love it, especially in the morning when I’m half asleep.
It is a sleek design that does not show dirt and matches most of my stainless steel stuff in the kitchen without actually being made of it. The drip tray is very roomy and so you can empty it at the same time as the container for spent beans, so no mess/trouble there! ALso ectremely easy to fill with water as the tank is front loading.
Beware however if you put the thing under kitchen cupboards it will be tight (although shouldn’t be impossible if they are the usual hight) to fill the bean compartment as it opens at the top.
The only future improvement that I can think of is that this machine does not alert you to lack of beans in the compartment and so it will make a nasty noise and proceed to make a watery brew rather than refuse to work until you refill. But it is an extremely small point.

 

I never drank coffee at home, always been a tea man, but as someone doing 38000 miles a year driving good coffee on the road is a must. So I pondered long and hard on buying this machine, 3 months in fact – OMG why oh why did I wait so long!!! Three of us in the household use this morning noon an night now, I like straight Americano, the other two love their Cappuccino, with practice they have become self styled Barista’s :-). For variety in coffee tastes it is difficult to empty the bean reservoir if you want to change (we currently have 5 blends of beans in a very aromatic cupboard) so if you are trying it out buy ground coffee and make one cup at a time until you find your perfect blend. Strength is a “learning curve” but once you know where the settings are for your preference its so simple to get a perfect coffee every time. We don’t have issues with hard or soft water so not had any issues in over 4 months with lime scale so I cannot help you with advice on that issue, sorry. If you love frothy milk I definitely recommend a quality frothing jug (we bought the Andrew James .33L one after using cups for a few weeks ) as it really does impact the quality of the froth and this week we got 100 x 8oz takeaway cups for coffee on the go. If you love coffee, you will love this machine!!!
The machine is very economical on beans too, I have been amazed how long a 1kg bag lasts.
If you were to ask me would I recommend this, my answer would be “why the heck are you waiting”!

 

This is my first bean-to-cup espresso machine and after a month of using it I can clearly say I love it.

I like playing and testing my kitchen helpers so I did few test for you if you want to know more read below.

First thing after de-boxing read the manual carefully it is very important to understand how everything is working, how to adjust things and also what those flashing lights mean.

So I read the manual and straight away switched ECO mode OFF and water temperature to MAX level. Then I tested my water with strip provided and our water is very soft in the area and I also use Brita it didn’t colour the testing strip at all.

First using was trial-and-error and it took me while to get right setting for almost perfect espresso and here it is:

– always pre-heat your cup with hot water
– flush your machine so everything is heated up inside
– set your grinder to level 1.5 (do this only when grinder is working)
– set the amount of water to about 11 o’clock
– set the amount of coffee just below 9 o’clock
– press single cup button on panel

This will use 8.5 to 9g (tested) of coffee ideal for single espresso, coffee will flow slowly into the cup and you’ll get 40ml in about 30 seconds.
I always stop it by pressing the cup button when it starts blonding to get ideal espresso.

You can also make double-shot (great for cappuccino or cafe late) by pressing two cups button but be aware now its gonna grind 14g of coffee (tested) and the water will flow much slower/harder trough the coffee so ideally set the grinder to 2 – 2.5 otherwise you’ll see drop at the time and the machine will suffer to push that water through very fine grounds.

Cleaning is simple I do it once a week for trays and every fortnight for infuser unit.

I can only recommend buying this machine, go ahead and enjoy great tasting coffee (I was instant coffee drinker before and now I cannot taste it).

I hope this will help some of you at home. Cheers

 

Bought one of these in early Dec 2014 and am writing this late Jan 2015 so 6 or so weeks of pretty intensive use. We have lived in Italy for the past four years so are used to proper cappucinos which are rare in the UK (and expensive out). Fair to say we have used for some years a manual expresso machine but lacked a grinder and were using pre-ground beans.
Build quality – externally this machines feels like a ink jet printer – so I imagine will benefit from being treated with some respect when opening and closing the cover, removing/replacing the water tank etc. Internally it sounds robust and the parts that need to be taken out and clean eg the filter, feel robust.
Ease of use – do read the manual. There are a number of display and warning lights which indicate what needs attending to eg coffee ground container needs emptying etc. Once mastered the machine is easy to use to make coffee, and 95% of the cappucinos we produce are far better then the ones bought out in UK coffee shops. Foaming milk is a doddle and the steamer works really well compared with other machines. Do take heed of the other reviewers who recommend googling or watching YouTube videos on frothing milk to perfect your technique. Also it does take a few attempts to get the bean grind setting correct, and it will vary if you change the beans you use and take a couple of uses after changing the grind setting for the full effects of the change to work through. All this is in the handbook. At under 300 (and when we bought it was nearer to 200) this machine leads on the price front. The next step up takes you to nearer 500 and while the casing of those machines may be better and the controls more automated, and the possibility that the machine will sort of froth the milk for you, I doubt the expresso is any better. And in my experience none of the fully automatic machine froth the milk really well as the foam is always too “open”. We would certainly buy this machine again based on experience so far, and if it stands the test of time will be highly delighted.

 

I love this machine because I love coffee and wanted a bean to cup machine and this one was very affordable. It does also make lovely coffee and very easily I did have difficulty at first with the instructions but went to YouTube and found videos for the machine which sorted me out very quickly.The downside of the machine is that if there’s more than one person wanting a milky coffee at any one time you are stuck, because once you have used the milk frother, the machine has to cool down for 10 minutes before it’s able to make another coffee. (Not correct – see update below) Mostly this does not bother me as I’m the only one using the machine in my house most of the time, but last week I did have a guest and we both wanted lattes so I made hers and she’s drunk hers before I could even make mine. The warning lights do go off a lot; the water tank is fairly small so it lights up when that is getting empty, the grounds tray can only cope with grounds from about 4-5 coffees so it lights up when it gets “full” and the other main thing it lights up for is when you’re out of beans. It uses more of those than i thought it would but still works out half the price per cup of coffee as a capsule machine. One last thing, a week or 2 after having the coffee had a strange smell and I couldn’t really smell the coffee any more, it was the smell that you get in the water that cleans the machine out. If your coffee smell and flavour is getting tainted just use the rinse button to give it an extra rinse or two and this should solve the problem, it did for me, plus properly washing the jug after the rinse water has been in it, it’s a horrible smell and can taint the milk too if you use the same jug for warming the milk.
Just as an update: The smelly water I talked about was just because I hadn’t washed out the water tank properly each time because I wasn’t sure if the top came off it, I had been trying to clean it through the hole in the top! One day however I just put the tank in a bowl of washing up water and the lid came off in the water – really easily, I felt a bit silly that it was so easy, but at least I don’t get smelly water (and therefore coffee) anymore! To remove the lid of the water tank easily, just put your fingers through the hole in the top and lift off.
Update 2: See comments – you can make more than 1 frothy coffee at a time; you just press the steam button so that it is off and let some steam out of the spout and the machine is ready to make more coffee in under a minute!

 

I love this machine because I love coffee and wanted a bean to cup machine and this one was very affordable. It does also make lovely coffee and very easily I did have difficulty at first with the instructions but went to YouTube and found videos for the machine which sorted me out very quickly.The downside of the machine is that if there’s more than one person wanting a milky coffee at any one time you are stuck, because once you have used the milk frother, the machine has to cool down for 10 minutes before it’s able to make another coffee. (Not correct – see update below) Mostly this does not bother me as I’m the only one using the machine in my house most of the time, but last week I did have a guest and we both wanted lattes so I made hers and she’s drunk hers before I could even make mine. The warning lights do go off a lot; the water tank is fairly small so it lights up when that is getting empty, the grounds tray can only cope with grounds from about 4-5 coffees so it lights up when it gets “full” and the other main thing it lights up for is when you’re out of beans. It uses more of those than i thought it would but still works out half the price per cup of coffee as a capsule machine. One last thing, a week or 2 after having the coffee had a strange smell and I couldn’t really smell the coffee any more, it was the smell that you get in the water that cleans the machine out. If your coffee smell and flavour is getting tainted just use the rinse button to give it an extra rinse or two and this should solve the problem, it did for me, plus properly washing the jug after the rinse water has been in it, it’s a horrible smell and can taint the milk too if you use the same jug for warming the milk.
Just as an update: The smelly water I talked about was just because I hadn’t washed out the water tank properly each time because I wasn’t sure if the top came off it, I had been trying to clean it through the hole in the top! One day however I just put the tank in a bowl of washing up water and the lid came off in the water – really easily, I felt a bit silly that it was so easy, but at least I don’t get smelly water (and therefore coffee) anymore! To remove the lid of the water tank easily, just put your fingers through the hole in the top and lift off.
Update 2: See comments – you can make more than 1 frothy coffee at a time; you just press the steam button so that it is off and let some steam out of the spout and the machine is ready to make more coffee in under a minute!

 

I’ve had this machine for a few weeks now and so far I love it. It is very easy to use and makes a lovely, creamy coffee. It took a few goes to get to know the various settings but now I have a good feel for the machine and know how much to adjust the knobs to get the strength I want.

I’m marking down one star because the coffee does not come out at the intolerably hot temperature that I would like. If you add cold milk then, in my opinion, what you get is not hot enough. I am fussy with hot coffee though and like it to be so hot I have no choice but to sip slowly. This issue can easily be worked around by making an espresso and then adding hot water from a kettle (like they would in a cafe) OR by steaming up some lovely, frothy hot milk!

The second reason I’m marking down one star is because after you use the steam function the machine requires a few minutes to cool before you can make another coffee. This is really only an issue if you make yourself delicious drink without asking your wife if she would like one too and then you have to go back and make another… There’s probably a solution to this particular difficulty too but I haven’t thought of it yet…

 

All in all, great machine makes very nice coffee. Nice looking addition to any kitchen despite the cheap plasticyness of the silver finish. It makes noise a lot of noise but I bought this machine to wake me up in the early mornings not lullaby me back to sleep. The one thing that is why this machine does it for me >> Press a button, makes you coffee = Awesome.

There are two annoying features. 1. Coffee initially not hot enough and the instructions only give you ‘tips’ towards making it hotter. I don’t want tips. I want settings. I found out later that there are settings by the way for increasing temperature of the hot water not disclosed in my version of the manual. WHY De’longhi!?
With the machine in standby/off mode > You press and hold the One cup button until the row of lights come on below you should see the default 2 lights show > Press the two cup button repeatedly to select your desired setting out of a possible 4 settings > Press the 1 cup button again to save your setting > machine goes back to ‘off’.

Message to De’longhi: Not the best design of temperature selection, it should be a dial.

I hope the above helps

2. Every time the machine decides to switch itself off after use it spouts water into the tray, I have to clean it out…This is fine, I like the fact that machine cleans itself. But emptying out the tray is annoying. My current solution is to leave a cup under the spout to collect the waste water. The cup is easier to drain and clean than the tray.

The milk steam frother is amazing. I make hot chocolate milk with it. Fill the mug half way with semi-skimmed milk >add desired cocoa powder> then steam until the foam reaches the top of the mug. Admittedly its not a full mug of hot chocolate, despite appearances, but it tastes really good. Make sure you clean the steamer spout thoroughly after this. It comes off so rinse under the tap and reinsert.

 

I bought this machine to replace a five year old bean-to-cup machine which had reached the end of its useful life. Compared with that machine this one gives great coffee (though the old one was great when we first got it). It is also easier to use and day-to-day maintenance is simpler because the design allows both the water reservoir and the used grounds collector to be removed from the front of the machine. Cleaning the brew mechanism has also proved to be simpler as it’s a simple shape that can easily be cleaned thoroughly (unlike the old machine which had a very complex mechanism that took some time to clean thoroughly).

On the down side there are a couple of things that the old machine had that this machine really probably should;

* The bean hopper has no sensor for when it empties so the machine is happy to make a nice cup of hot water
* The bean hopper lid has no sensor so you can open it whilst it is grinding beans which seems a little risky, though the design of the bean grinder makes access to the mechanism more restricted

Overall I like this machine, it’s easy to use, makes good coffee whether you want it short or long and is more controllable than our older machine due to the strength and volume dials. I also like that the machine will switch itself off after a preset period of time; no more forgetting to switch off. It also warms up faster.

 

Up until now I owned a kettle (obviously) for instant coffee and latterly a caftiere as I wanted to drink nice coffee at home. Lately I was interested in getting some sort of coffee maker and had a look at some options (filter coffee maker, espresso maker etc). I was most interested in getting something that made great tasting coffee but was hassle free.

I’ve used this coffee maker now a lot over the last week so here’s what I like:

– Super convenient – 90% it’s just pushing 1 button and it grinds the beans and makes the cup of coffee (other 10% is using the steamer to froth the milk for cappuccino)
– Coffee tastes really good! (of course it helps to buy nice coffee, I bought the 1 Kg bag of Lavazza beans, be interesting to see how long the 11 bag of beans lasts compared with the 16 month I usually spend on instant coffee)
– It’s actually really quick… I watched a few YouTube videos just to get a sense of reality but you never know until you use it yourself and I was surprised at how quickly it warms up and makes a cup of coffee
– Topping up – front loading water reservoir!! When the red light comes on to indicate “low water” you just pull the reservoir out from the front, fill it up and pop it back in… Emptying the waste grinds is pretty easy as is lifting the top flap to fill it with beans
– Looks good in the kitchen (although it is all plastic)
– Price… I thought the price was pretty good considering I normally spend 2.50 every morning on an overpriced Americano.

Any downsides? (nothing major and none of them would stop me from buying this machine)
– Noise… so quite a few reviews state it’s noisy so I was preparing myself for this dreadful machine noise – it’s actually not that noisy. The most noise happens on a cold start up sequence when it does a self clean. Seriously its not that bad. Compare this to how noisy your kettle is and it’s typically on for a minute or two. I suppose this is a subjective point overall (I like the grinding noise when friends/family are round as everyone is surprised that it makes the coffee from beans)
– Plastic buttons, knobs – doesn’t affect using machine but I suppose we would all like metal as it lasts longer. That said most machines with metal features start around 500 mark

What made me laugh?
– The so called “cup warmer” on the top. Takes forever to heat up so absolutely pointless (read below “tips”)

Some helpful tips:
– Read the manual… especially to make sure you do the water hardness test and it also explains how to increase the default temperature if coffee needs to be warmer
– Make a few test cups to get the hang of quantities and strength of coffee to suit taste
– Use the steamer nozzle to warm your cups (takes a few seconds, just turn steamer dial and it spits out hot water)
– Buy some cappuccino style cups… just doesn’t feel right drinking nice coffee out of a mug 😉

I spent 2 weeks researching coffee makers before settling on this one. Best thing I’ve bought in a long time!

 

I recieved the item in good time and well packaged. It took a while to find a spot for it in the kitchen (may still have to relocate it… it is quite a space filler! not recommended for small kitchens) but looks good.

The operating instructions are clear, but a little bit… involved. Not confusing… but there are a lot of instructions for basically fairly straight-forward operation. This is the first coffee machine i’ve owned so my experience is limited.

The first few cups were a bit rubbish, but now that i have sorted out the setting, i am getting consistently silky smooth coffee and nicely frothed steamed milk. It does take some getting used to but so far, i am very pleased with it. As for the long term, my only worry is that mixing beans will be a bit odd… though i may not even notice.

Some of the components seem a little plasticky, but nothing so far has caused me concern, and a lot of it can be simply deconstructed for easy cleaning etc.

The reason i am not giving it 5/5 is due to the plasticky feel and the overly elaborate instructions… and also because it is my first coffee machine, to call it perfect would be unfair.

 

Seemingly like many other reviewers I bought this machine to replace a ten year old Gaggia automatic that had offered sterling service.

This unit is smaller and more compact, which is a definite plus for a kitchen machine. This does come at a cost however – the discarded puck hopper and the water tank are both smaller than I’d like. It’s also mandatory to remove the water tank to fill it which isn’t the case with my other two automatics which could both be jug filled. I think I’ll be replacing those seals before too long.

As with a lot of automatics the coffee isn’t really hot enough for many. It does a rinse on start up and shutdown which means you’re pulling the water tank a lot to fill it. The delivery volume is a pain, as it doesn’t quite pour a long enough coffee for me. There is a useful undocumented feature that allows you to top up your coffee – you just press and hold the coffee delivery button within three seconds of the initial coffee delivery finishing. That does mean you have to stand over the machine whilst it makes your coffee though.

The case and finish of the materials and buttons is cheap, which is a real shame as it does let the product down. Still, if handsome is as handsome does then it does make great tasting coffee.

If you’ve not had an automatic before then you won’t be disappointed. If you’re migrating from a different machine then it might not be everything you expect. On the whole though, it’s an honest product that does a good job.

 

Since living in Italy for 3 years, I decided I had to have a way of making good quality espresso. I had a Gaggia bean to cup machine which was excellent, but sad to say it was not particularly robust and needed constant attention (how wonderfully Italian). After a little over 4 years, it gave up and would not be coaxed back into life. I spent a month on instant coffee or cafetiere coffee whilst researching an alternative. In Italy, De’Longhi had the reputation for being the poor man’s answer so I concentrated my research on Gaggia, but finding the Gaggia machines outside my budget, I had to look elsewhere. Finally I decided on the Magnifica, particularly as the pressure was 15 bar, equal to the closest Gaggia models, but also because it had an economy option. I really don’t like capuccino, so that wasn’t an important feature, but it’s a good to have for guests.

My opinion after a week of use is that it is a surprisingly good machine. If anything, the flavour, with the same beans is even better. Perhaps my old machine had been getting tired for a long time. The machine itself is sensibly and robustly built (much better than the Gaggia) and includes several really nice features, like the ground coffee spoon which is tucked neatly into the top of the machine under a coffee where the ground coffee is added (if required). The water container is really easy to remove and refill, and the drip tray and used coffee container are equally easy to remove, the used coffee container sitting inside the back of the drip tray.

It is quieter than the Gaggia, but slower. Having said that, it is worth waiting for.

In Italy, I would buy Italian blends, but the better ones are hard or impossible to find in the UK. I have shopped around in the UK to find beans in a flavour I like including expensive Italian blends that I could find, Portuguese blends (bought online and very expensive) and the ones in the UK supermarkets. My choice settled on and remains good old Sainsbury’s own continental style beans.