De'LonghiLa Specialista Espresso Machine with Grinder, Milk Frother, 1450W, Barista Kit - Bean to Cup Coffee & Cappuccino Maker,Stainless Steel, Black

I've been using this machine for almost 3 years now and it's been perfect every day. It's solid and heavy, needs minimal cleaning and is easy to with water and beans. I simply wipe it down with a wet rag after use and it still looks perfect after almost three years. Once a week I'll take the bottom off and clean the drip pan out and use a brush on the extraction area.While there is a learning curve to make perfect coffee every time using these, a bit of effort will yield the perfect cup every time.The internet is full of "influencers" telling you how to make a cup of perfect espresso, I'm not one of them, I have a real job. So just stick with the basics. Pressure too high?? Grinder towards coarse. Pressure too low? Grinder towards fine. Of course this only works if you keep your tamping pressure the same. I tamp lightly, just enough to flatten the surface.It's not rocket surgery, you'll get it.

We had an okay espresso machine that wasn't super easy to use/clean. We used it maybe once a week. When it failed us, we bought this one...and what a difference! We now have cappuccino 2-3 times a week, sometimes more. People complained about the bean hopper not being removable, so swapping out coffee is a pain...that doesn't bother me because I don't use flavored beans or anything, so I just use them til I need to refill it.The accessories that come with this are good...a manual tamper, a tamping mat, and some others for normal use. The grinding works well, though you have to manually adjust it until you get it the way you want...and if you swap beans/brands, you may have to adjust it again. Again, for me, that doesn't bother me...I did it once, and I'm good.The cup sizes (amount of liquid it makes) are adjustable if you read the directions, so for my cups I had to use the double-shot and increase the liquid it produces. After testing with 5-10 cups after we bought it, I got the grind and portion figured out, and it makes some of the best cappuccino I've ever had. The milk frother works great and produces way better milk than my last machine. I recently used it to make americanos for my mom who drinks standard coffee and she said it was way better than she gets with her machine, so fortunately we don't need a second coffee pot for company.

I purchased and used this machine for three months. At the end of the third month, the grinder started to have problems and I did a video session with Delonghi to show them on video the problems I was having. They sent me instructions to send the unit out for repair and the repair location in Pennsylvania only cleaned the grinder but did not fix the problem. They tested the grinder to ensure the grinder does go around but did not test the grinder with coffee beans. upon return of the unit, I found the grinding worse than before I sent it for repair. The grinder still does not grind to the proper level for a dosage as indicated and now the grind is so off that the unit will not function in the optimal zone and over extracts coffee and it drips out slowly and takes several minutes to deliver a single shot of expresso. The cream on the coffee is limited and hardly there indicating once again that the extraction process is off. I am now returning the unit to Delonghi for a second repair and I expect it will come back unfixed. I would not recommend this product and ask potential buyers to seek out other manufacturers like Breville whom make similar models. This model is more of a toy and very fragile. I own many espresso machines and I find this hard to use to get the grounds right for the perfect espresso. The box comes with a guide for settings for dosage and grind level based the type of bean. I was only able to use the machine to grind 1 kilogram of coffee before the grinder failed. I believe if the grinder/dosage is this fragile that Delonghi should have tested their products longer before they were ready for the market. I have emailed and communicated via phone with Delonghi and can clearly state that they are not coffee aficionados nor are they concerned about providing customer support. Think twice before buying this model. The coffee grinder does not come off and there is little a consumer can do to clean the grinder. Recommend closing other products and read the reviews. This is a fragile toy and not a low end professional coffee machine.