Coffeemakers

Comment:

This is a great coffee machine but beware of warranty repair issues. <br /><br />Mine has been in the shop for 4 months now and no end in site. Delonghi is out of parts for this machine in the whole North America. They have to order them from Italy, and after 3 months wait, the parts were not good. So my wait continues, with no solution offered by Delonghi. <br /><br />Go with another brand if warranty and service turn-around is important to you.

How long have you owned it:

More than six months

Bottom Line

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

Comment:

The provided DVD was very helpful to learn the features. Still, it took a few days to become comfortable with the various settings and options. It's basically set it and forget it, and clear messages light up whenever maintenance is needed. A minor nuisance is that the chute for adding pre-ground coffee is narrow, and the grounds easily clump up and need to be pushed through (I use a chopstick). After almost a year of daily use, there haven't been any mechanical problems. The latch on the plastic front access door became non-working so the door would come slightly ajar and trigger error messages. I solved this by wrapping some adhesive tape around the catch, and that seems to have fixed the problem. Still, for such a costly piece of equipment this seemed disappointing. For periodic cleaning/decalcifying, the recommended product is quite expensive, and so <br />I have been using a solution of white vinegar and water, and this seems to work just fine. I wish that the coffee bean hopper's lid and the exterior of the water container were transparent, to visually monitor when they get low. When the coffee or water containers are empty, the machine stops in mid-cycle and signals that they need to be filled, but that is a nuisance which could be avoided if the water level and bean hopper could be seen. The machine is very noisy when grinding coffee beans, frothing milk, and brewing - my house-mate goes running into the next room until I've finished with brewing and steam cleaning the frothing tube. The thing I like best is how simple it is to insert the milk container, push a button to steam clean the tube, and then put the remaining milk in the refrigerator without any cleanup or dealing with hoses. I also like the consistent and predictable heat and strength settings; unlike some of the others who reviewed this product, I find that the coffee and frothed milk have been sufficiently hot.

How long have you owned it:

More than six months

Bottom Line

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

Comment:

My machine is a UK version of this machine, which I bought for use in China (220V/50Hz). Interesting that in the USA these machines are about double the price. The going rate in the USA is still about only half the price in China. Go figure.I use this everyday for espresso or latte. It replaced a manual DeLonghi that I had been using for 5 years. The manual one died, and I decided to try an automatic. I planned to buy a Jura and a voltage converter in the USA, but then I ran across this one in the UK.I bought a smaller DeLonghi for my UK friend that we have been using for a year. It had some problems with dumping the used grounds a month after we got it, which DeLonghi fixed in about a week. I don't think the market is as large in the USA as in Europe for these machines and DeLonghi's service is better in the UK at least. In a month of daily use I have not had problems with the new machine, but it does not make really hot espresso or latte (unless you steam the milk yourself). The third shot or so finally gets pretty hot, but unless you are a caffeine fiend you likely will be drinking tepid coffee.Overall I would recommend it,if you are willing to live with both the reliability of this class of machine and the lack of temperature control. The one-button convenience is really amazing.

How long have you owned it:

A month or less

Bottom Line

Yes, I would recommend this to a friend.

By

brianreg

User has 10 Months of experience with this product

Buyer Beware. This machine puts up a good front, however, after about six months it stops working. Cheaply made. Sent off for repairs and after two months it was sent back to me only to work for another two weeks before breaking again. Delonghi seems to be content with having the machine in transit and repair longer than in my kitchen. Very poor product. Very high price. Stick with your local gourmet coffee shop.

Source: Price Grabber