Espresso Machine Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely satisfied and surprised
I have never owned an espresso maker so I will not be able to compare it with other models and the more expensive ones out there.

I owned the maker for a while. It’s far better than many of the Krups and other models typically for sale at department stores. If you want an espresso, you’ll need a pump machine. Many cheap machines will say “steam driven” or otherwise have “steam” in the title: what this means is that they lack a pump and merely use steam pressure to get now overly superheated water to flow through the fine espresso grinds. (By the way, “espresso” is, for all intents and purposes, a grind, not a roast. It is a very fine powdery grind, just shy of Turkish grind.) This results in charred burnt espresso, with little or no crema.

This DeLonghi, by contrast, does a fine little job of pumping. In addition, it uses a small stainless steel boiler — not a superheated “thermoblock” [which means the water is run over a heating coil, not heated within a boiler].

That said, the only way to get an espresso, meaning a coffee drink in which properly heated water is compressed through a powdery grind of freshly roasted beans, and thus producing a chemical reaction which releases a frothy caramel colored liquid (called “crema”), is by using a very good grinder to produce a very fine, even grind. This machine, when coupled with a Gaggia MDF or Rancilio Rocky, or at the most economical, an Innova Lux or Solis Maestro Plus, and beans roasted within two weeks prior, can produce good espresso.

As to cappuccino, the machine does a fine job for the price in steaming milk. In order to do this, though, you must “temperature surf” the thermostat. What this means is that you steam while the boiler is heating. It’s simple: start steaming your milk and you’ll find that the steam power will run out in about 15 seconds. At that time the light for the boiler will come on, indicating the boiler is engaged. Instead of closing the steam valve and waiting for the light to go off, just close the steam valve for a few seconds, and then open it again, as you continue steaming the milk with the light still on (and hence the boiler still heating). This will give adequate steaming power.

I don’t believe you can really get a better espresso or cappuccino maker for under $150. If you want to go for a huge step up, consider buying a Gaggia Carreza. It’s worth the extra money.

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.

I bought my Delonghi machine in August and as of yesterday it has died. While it was working I was quite happy though – great coffee latte. The only thing was that it was leaking through the steam wand and made a big mess on the counter but I took care of theat by moving the wand above the drip tray. I’m disappointed that it didn’t last longer. I’m upgrading to a Gaggia.
One thing I learned: Don’t write reviews right after purchase and don’t trust reviews written right after purchase

2.0 out of 5 stars
Good for the price
My old machine bit the dust and I needed a quick replacement. Ran across this one at a local department store and it looked good.

4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent espresso machine for the price (and a lesson learned)
I see that one can now buy a DeLonghi EC140B for less than 50$: that’s a real deal (I originally paid 99$ for it). I have owned and used one daily for years (forgot how many).

3.0 out of 5 stars
makes good lattes but leaks
We really like our cappucino maker but it is starting to leak when we use it. Not sure why have been maintaining it well. It is easy to use, claen and makes good expresso