| Savor a burst of true Italian flavor at home with this DeLonghi espresso and cappuccino maker. With a durable stainless-steel boiler, two thermostats (for water and steam), 35-ounce water reservoir (which removes for easy filling and cleaning), and two nozzles, this self-priming pump machine brews up single or double shots of espresso in just minutes. As for taste, the machine’s ‘sempre crema’ filter holder produces a perfect, caramel-colored crema, the essence of great espresso. Before brewing, a built-in tamper levels and presses the grounds before use; some practice is usually required to tamp at just the right pressure. After brewing, a lever on the filter holder flips up to hold the metal basket in place in order to knock out the used grounds. Three switches make the entire brewing process intuitive: on/off, espresso/water delivery, and steam: the machine preheats cups and filter holder with hot water and also froths milk for cappuccino using a swivel steamer and adjustable steam control knob. An "OK" light illuminates when the machine is fully heated and ready to go. A drip tray under the nozzles holds two espresso shot glasses or cups (not included), and removes for dishwasher cleaning. The machine measures 11-1/2 by 8-1/2 by 7-1/4 inches, and is covered by a one-year warranty against defects. --Ann Bieri |
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 Excellent combination of low price + high quality |
| Review Date: October 2, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Jose Mario Vides, |
When i read the opinions of the "experts" about the needed of heat exchanger espresso machines to obtain good espresso at home and see the price of this machines in the range of $600 to $1000, i think it hurts to spend this quantity of money in a machine for your home, then i asked to an Italian friend who owns a caffé near to my house about:
What machine do they use in Italy at home to make a real espresso? and the answer was "Delonghi".
I ordered one in amazon.com and coupled with a cheap La Pavoni burr grinder and the bodum canteen double wall espresso glasses plus recently roasted espresso coffee beans and without so much dollars invested i enjoy of the best espresso at my home, better than the espressos i drink in any caffé of my country El Salvador, even better than the Espressos that my Italian friend makes in his Caffé with a professional Nuova Simonelli machine, you can obtain excellent espresso with tons of crema and better taste than any commercial caffé, my espresso is not bitter and with tons of crema.
I am an Espresso purist, i make double ristrettos and drink it without sugar and this machine is really an excellent combination of low price with the highest quality.
Is important to use recently roasted coffee, the right blend for espresso, recently grinded coffee, 30 lb tamping, to obtain excellent espressos with this machine.
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Solid performer at a reasonable price with minimum of fuss
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| Review Date: February 2, 2007 |
| Reviewer: J. Webster, Ohio |
I just re-checked my original receipt and found that I purchased this DeLonghi in Nov. 2000 for $179 from the Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog. At that time, it was featured as their "BEST" coffee maker, and since I have been using this little machine for over 6 years, I think it deserves a 5-star rating!
Here are my tricks so that this machine performs at it's best (remember, it is NOT the $1,000 machine!). My focus is on a very good expresso with a minimum of fuss, and here's how I do it:
- I ground the beans for a couple years (getting the grind exactly right is of key importance with ALL expresso machines), but then I discovered expresso "pods". Pods are individual servings of expresso powder vacuum packed between thin sheets of filter paper. You insert a single pod in the filter holder (designed for pods). After brewing, the used pod drops out and you discard it - with NO mess! A box of 12 pods (regular or decaf) is sold at Starbucks for about $5.00.
- in the morning, when I am bleary-eyed, it takes me a total of 3 minutes to have my latte (2 min. warm-up, about 1 min. pump-through)
- use the supplied spout diverter so that you are making 2 shots with ONE portion of coffee (grinds or pods). Don't expect to put a huge coffee mug under the spout - if you don't want to splurge on the little expresso glass (about $4 at Starbucks) then just use any liquor shot glass, maybe one with a little vacation spot logo on it to make you smile in the morning!
- here is probably the biggest tip of all if you are a latte person - these small machines (under $100 type) are not the best or the quickest at frothing milk to a very hot temperature with a very stiff foam, which is what I like. So here's what I do...I put 1/2 cup of milk in my coffee mug and put it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes (just shy of boiling). I do this while my expresso is running through the machine to save time. Then I put that hot milk, in the mug, under the frother spout for the final frothing. Now the machine doesn't have the long task of warming up the cold milk first - all it needs to do is to finish off the frothing (to get the most foam, repeatedly dunk the whooshing steam wand in and out of the top 1/2" of milk).
So there you have it - all the tips I have come up with after using this machine for 6 years. I could have spent much more on a more delux machine, and I know the expresso could be even better, but I am incredibly pleased with this purchase. The key for me is that it was reasonably priced, has lasted 6 years, is quick, takes a minimum of space/effort, and produces a very good cup of expresso. |
Impressed
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| Review Date: May 10, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Michael J. Khorsandi, Brooklyn, NY |
| For the price this machine brews some amazing espresso. I used to have a steam driven machine, from which I obtained reasonably good results. This new pump machine blows that old machine away. I am impressed with the consistent coffee. The color and amount of crema is consistent. The coffee flows quickly and the steamed milk is consistently frothy. The built in tamper is located nicely on the machine. It is made of plastic, but it does not feel flimsy. I may upgrade to a separate tamper soon. I am still a graduate student, so this machine was a nice upgrade over my previous machine. It does not cramp my small kitchen's counter compared to larger machines, and it did not kill my wallet. |
Great espresso for so little money!
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| Review Date: April 10, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Theresa Evans, Seattle |
| I highly recommend this machine for its great espresso and ease of use. You can certainly spend more money on a machine but it won't make better espresso and froth milk any better than the Delonghi does. I've owned the "Grand" DeLonghi" for over 10 years and finally retired it due to a leaky gasket. This one is smaller but just as powerful and easy to use. Get yourself a decent burr grinder to make a fine grind and a temperature probe for the milk and you are set to make a great latte that rivels the best in Seattle. Make sure you don't leave the machine on for hours at a time as this dries up the internal seals. |
Excellent for the Money
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| Review Date: December 26, 2004 |
| Reviewer: R. Carmichael, KC, MO USA |
| This is a great espresso machine for the money. I originally bought a Mr. Coffee (made by Sunbeam) from another store and it was a total disaster. It dripped, the pump was weak, and I had to wait for minutes between shots or the pressure blew grounds all over the place when I unscrewed the cup. This machine, however, has been excellent. I have been drinking a double con-panna from Starbucks almost every day for awhile and this brews espresso every bit as good. I can brew multiple shots quickly because the pump pressure is quickly dissipated after the switch is turned off. The steamer heats quickly (1-1.5 minutes for me) and I just rotate the knob a little, wait for a minute or so, and milk is perfectly steamed. I don't pull the water container out to fill it, I just pour water in it, so I don't have a problem with the tubes. Clean up has been easy for me as well. I also don't grind my own beans, I let Starbucks do it - I have them grind it 1 notch above their finest setting and I get 2 perfect shots with great crema in 20 seconds. I'd reccommend this machine to anyone. |
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US $174.99
