De'Longhi Scultura Traditional Barista Pump Espresso Machine, Coffee and Cappuccino Maker, ECZ351BK, 1.4 liters, Black

I've only had this for four days, but I couldn't be happier. It arrived swiftly and in perfect condition. After running the required two tanks of water through it, it made perfect espressos and hot frothed/textured milk. I had a Kenwood Cafe Retro before this that had put in a decade of great service, but this machine takes coffee-making to a whole new level. I'm not using particularly special coffee or even anything new to us - it was a surprise to receive this so quickly so we've been using our every day (but still great!) local ground coffee, Bean 14's Joyful Cliff Path if you're in Guernsey/fancy ordering some. Without a doubt, it's the best homemade coffee I've ever produced. I'd done extensive research before purchasing - including Which? magazine's extended reviews and Best Buys. This was very much one of them and I can see why. It's incredibly easy to use and easy to clean. I defy anyone to made a bad coffee with it. The drip tray removes very easily to reveal a molded plastic section that accommodates a normal mug and is contained enough to catch any drips/moderate overflows. It's also easy to clean. The main drip tray has a great feature (as yet untested IRL) that shows you the drip tray is getting full, rather than when it's too late to safely empty the contents without a spillage. The milk wand is easy to use and clean too, making excellent hot/frothed/textured milk even when I was using it for the first couple of times. We've drunk a lot of coffee over the bank holiday weekend, so we've put it through its paces. My partner refused to touch my old machine but has been happy to give this one a try. Even he's made good drinks with it! After reading other reviews here I've ordered an extra filter handle, but so far I've not needed it. I've found that if I leave the coffee in place until the drips have stopped (into a warm espresso cup), when I remove to make the next cup/finish using it the grounds have easily dried out enough to be tapped out without the filter popping out into the bin. Of course, anything could go wrong from here on in - and if it does I'll add a follow-up review - but for now I'm delighted with it and am happy to recommend this machine. It arrived with a standard British plug and was in perfect condition (despite being left out in the rain by our postman). Thanks for double boxing with care, Amazon!

I’ve had this machine for a little over 4 weeks, using it 4-6 times a day and I am delighted with it. Some reviewers have said it drips, yes it does but this is a machine costing approx £150, not £1k. You also have to turn off the flow rather than it being automatic but that isn’t a problem. Removing the drip tray to fit a mug underneath is no issue either, I just place a small cup under the dispenser to catch the drips afterwards. I mostly make Americanos and know that the water goes into the cup before the coffee, this helps to create a very smooth coffee with a nice bit of froth, or crema. Making a latte or cappuccino is easy enough, it would be nice if the frothing wand was a little bit longer, but that is the only minor point for me. If you use the frother, you do need to remember to turn off the bottom button otherwise you can’t turn it on later to make another drink. I also use the textured milk to make a hot chocolate, which is great. Cleaning the 2 parts of the wand is a bit fiddly but still not enough to knock a star off. I don’t use capsules so can’t comment on that. This is my first barista machine and for the price, it’s great.

As a former barista I've really been missing being able to make my own coffee the way I like it, so decided to treat myself! Got it for £100 and it was definitely worth it, you do have to get the right type of barista style milk jug to get a good microfoam to make latte art or more complicated milk based drinks like a flat white or macchiato. But the steam wand has some good power, not as great as a professional machine but definitely excellent for the money. The espresso runs really well and smooth, I've had no issues with my drinks tasting like plastic I've noticed some people complain about. It's really straight forward to use and although I haven't needed to properly descale it yet, it cleans pretty easily. Definitely a good addition to the kitchen and would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a quality coffee in their own house. The only issue I had was it turning off immediately when I first opened it, but that issue seems to have resolved itself so no more complaints.

I love this machine, it looks beautiful, makes great coffee and is easy to use once you get used to it BUT this sounds basic but you need to switch the steam button off after use. The light comes on, you use your steam, the light is off, So you assume it is off, you switch off the machine and next time you go to use it, it doesn’t work. Power button keeps switching off and it appears to be broken. All you need to do is push the steam button back off. I don’t think this is that clear. Anyhoo, once this dawned on me all good, love it.

UPDATE MAY 2021 THE BOILER/PUMP GAVE UP THE GHOST 2.5 YEARS INTO OWNERSHIP. We are not frequent coffee drinkers, which is why we went for a manual machine. However, I estimate that over the 2.5 years of ownership, we have made less than 100 coffees. It’s a Sunday morning, croissants and coffee thing we do, perhaps once or twice a month. Last Sunday, was one such occasion. Typically, my wife got hers, but when it came to make mine, it made a gurgling sound and then died. I’m not meaning to be offensive, but it is an observation, that whilst Italians are probably the most stylish nationality, their electrical prowess leaves a lot to be desired. I used to always buy Italian cars, until one day, I was sick of the electrical problems. I will only ever buy Mercedes now. Thus, having contacted customer service, the best I could get was a telephone number for their service centre. If you can’t afford (or like us are infrequent drinkers so don’t want) to buy a Miele or similar quality product, buy a stove top espresso machine. If you’ve got a good immersion blender you create excellent micro foam with a good technique. I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND OR BUY ANOTHER DE LONGHI PRODUCT. Yes, it’s not a lot, but manufacturers are constantly building in failure to their products, Apple are probably the worst for this. Buy De Longhi, at your peril. ========================================== PROS: 1) Easy to use 2) Makes great coffee 3) Black and chrome looks great 4) Quick to come up to temperature. 5) Easy to clean 6) Exceptional value for money versus capsule/pod machines CONS: 1) Plastic water reservoir feels flimsy 2) Combined measure and tamper feels cheap IMPORTANT TIP: IF YOUR MACHINE WAS WORKING THE FIRST TIME YOU USED IT, AND THEN APPEARS TO TURN ITSELF OFF, READ THIS: Other less precise reviewers have complained about a fault where the machine turns on, then turns itself off again. THIS IS NOT A FAULT! I had the same problem, but systematically diagnosed the problem and found out the cause: THE STEAM BUTTON IS DEPRESSED. Therefore, you should release the steam button after you use it (or before you use it again) and then press the on/off button. YOUR MACHINE WILL THEN WORK! I bought one of these for my daughter and her boyfriend as a Christmas/house warming present and decided to get one for our house. They were on special offer and both cost £115 each. Unfortunately for my daughter, she got a champagne and chrome coloured one, and my wife and I got the black and chrome one. It was only that we ordered the machines on different days and therefore there were different offers on. The black and chrome looks infinitely better and more expensive. The Scultura is easy to use, with a water reservoir that can be removed to fill up and slots back easily into the machine. The reservoir feels somewhat flimsy, especially the hinged cover. There’s what is supposed to be a handle on the inside of the reservoir below the cover. However, this feels somewhat inadequate and so we always carry the full reservoir without using the handle. The machine itself looks more expensive than £115 (which was the offer price we paid). The black parts are plastic, but the plastic seems to be reasonable quality. There is extensive use of chrome, though some appears to be chromed plastic. The top of the machine has a stainless steel warming wrack for cups. This is actually metal as is the top of the drip tray. The machine comes with the handle/brewer, three coffee receptacles (apologies if I’m not using the correct terminology!) and a combined tamper/measure. In theory you can make two cups at once. However, I’ve found that if using standard mugs, the nozzles are two close together to be certain that each cup gets its share. Therefore, I usually make a mug full and split it between the two cups. You can remove the drip tray to allow standard mugs to sit comfortably under the brewing nozzles. The crema is rich and plentiful. Others have complained about weak coffee and no/little crema. If this happens when you make an espresso, it’s not the machine, but as usual on Amazon, it’s operator error. Coffee has to be tamped/pressed quite hard into the receptacle. This ensures that the correct pressure is applied to force the water through extremely tightly packed coffee. The milk frother is excellent. My son’s girlfriend is Italian and an ex-barista not from one of the awful Starbucks or similar, but from a proper Italian cafe in Italy when she was doing her degree. She says that the machine frothed the milk brilliantly. She also said that the trick is to use full fat milk, because the foam is thicker and more velvety. She inserted the steam wand tip slightly into cold milk and let the milk double in volume. Then she gently swirled the milk and gave it full steam. She didn’t use the thermometer I bought, but could tell by touching the stainless steel jug (also bought off amazon) and looking at the milk. She then swirled it after frothing and tapped the milk jug on the counter. She says the milk should be shiny and smooth looking before pouring. Cleaning is easy and here is another tip: The receptacle does fall out of the handle when banging out the grinds. However, if you bang the “handle” against the inside vertical edge of the sink and then tap it out in your food waste bin, the receptacle won’t fall in the bin. Am I not a helpful reviewer?!! When cleaning the steam wand, you can remove the outer sleeve by gently twisting it anti-clockwise and pulling downwards at the same time. You can also remove the nozzle from inside the wand by gently pulling down the nozzle. Refitting is the reverse of removal for both parts of the steam wand. The coffee she made me out of the £115 Scultura was as good as any coffee I’ve had in London Italian restaurants. I am going to buy a proper tamping tool as the supplied plastic one lets the machine down. Overall, a great value, good looking and excellent coffee machine.

A great coffee machine for the price. It is very simple to set up and use. I also like the fact it is easy to clean and maintain too. IT makes a good espresso and and coffee which is what I have used it for mainly. I have not used that the pressurised milk frother but I am sure this will deliver as good or certainly similar results as the coffee part. The only slight downside to be warned of, is the height between the drip tray and the nozzle where the coffee comes out. You may need to either do what I do and use a low rise mug or you might have to use an expresso cup to pour the coffee into then decant this in to a tall mug. Failing this you can remove the drip try and fit a full sized cup in underneath. However apart from this minor issue the machine is great and works very well indeed

This is my first coffee machine. I’m not a coffee connosieur but during lockdown I was missing my coffee shop latte. I did not like the idea of coffee pods so decided to spend my saved petrol money on a coffee machine. Most were really expensive and way out of my budget, so, I was very concerned choosing a lower priced machine. However, I liked the look of it and decided to give it a try. I will unlikely to be buying takeaway coffees in the future. The coffee at home tastes just as good and sometimes better. My only gripe is a slight drip from the milk frother and the lack of my barista skills. Despite many you tube viewings I am still not improving and there will be no pretty patterns on my coffee. Luckily it tastes great 👍

This replaced a basic d’longhi espresso maker I have had for 15 years or so. The scultura is nicely designed and good quality. However, it doesn’t seem to be to me a true 15 bar machine. It just doesn’t seem to have the pressure. I don’t think it gets the same flavour out of the coffee (Illy). The tamper needs the touch of an angel; a tiny bit too much tamping means the machine struggles to pump the water through the coffee. Once finished my old machine had a tab to keep the holder in whilst the grounds were banged out. Not on the scultura which meant I lost the two cup holder in two days. Lost in the bin! Also you must Romberg to switch off the steam button once finished. It is easy to forget this if the steamer is the last thing you use but if it is left on the machine will keep switching itself off next time it’s used. Got this from reviews - no mention in instructions. Overall more decorative but less functional than my old one.

IL PRDOTTO SI PRESENTA MOLTO BENE,ALLA PRIMA OCCHIATA DA SICUREZZA IN MERITO ALLA ROBUSTEZZA E IN PIU HA UNA BELLA ESTETICA.... LE MISURE DEL PRODOTTO CORRISPONDONO ALLA DESCRIZIONE COSI COME I COMPONENTI CHE ARRIVANO CON ESSA... IL MONTAGGIO RISULTA MOLTO FACILE COSI COME LA MANUTENZIONE A LIVELLO DI PULIZIA ..... AL SUO INTERNO VI E IL MANUALE CON TUTTE LE INFORMAZIONI A RIGUARDO.... SPERO DURI NEL TEMPO MA PER IL MOMENTO NON HO TROVATO NESSUN DIFETTO,E BEN ASSEMBLATA... IL PRODOTTO ARRIVA CON LA PROPIA SCATOLA,MOLTO CURATO L IMBALLO ALL INTERNO CHE GARANTISCE SICUREZZA AL PRODOTTO DURANTE IL TRASPORTO.... PER QUANTO RIGUARDA LA RIESCITA DEL CAFFE DIREI CHE SE LA CAVA BENISSSIMO....PRODUCE UNA BUONA CREMA AL CAFFE CON UNA TEMPERATURA PIU CHE GIUSTA,ANCHE CON IL CAPPUCCINO S ELA CAVA BENISSIMO....OTTIMO SCHIUMATORE !!!!! IN CONCLUSIONE DIREI CHE IL RAPPORTO QUALITA PREZZO E PIU CHE OTTIMO!!!!! LA SPEDIZIONE COME SEMPRE E STATA VELOCE E PRECISA... RIBADISCO CHE L IMBALLO E PERFETTAMENTE ADEGUATO AL PRODOTTO.... MI RISERVO DI AGGIORNARE LA RECENZIONE IN CASO DI CAMBIAMENTI.... PER ADESSO STRACONSIGLIO L ACQUISTO!!!!!

Item is perfect, exactly what I wanted. Chic looking, makes great coffee. The seller made extra miles to make it happen. 100% SATISFACTION!

Genial!

Die große Kunst eine vernünftige Siebträgermaschine für sich zu finden ist eine der letzten Herausforderungen der man sich in der heutigen Zeit noch stellen kann. Dabei ist das gar nicht so schwer. Man sollte sich nur nicht gleich ins Boxhorn jagen lassen. Gaggia und Co beeindrucken nicht nur mit ihren Edelstahlhüllen. Ganz wichtig dabei ist: Je teurer desto besser ist quatsch und noch wichtiger: Ein gutes Ausgangsprodukt(und damit meine ich das Espressopulver) macht viel wett. Die hier vorgestellte DeLonghi ist meine dritte Siebträgermaschine des Herstellers. Die hier vorgestellte Modell ist die Nachfolgerin der beiden. Sie sieht etwas anders aus. Die Technik ist aber absolut identisch. Das war auch für mich der Kaufgrund. Die 300er Serie des Herstellers ist einfach aufgebaut, robust und im Bedarfsfall auch mit wenig Aufwand reparabel. Ich heb mir das mal für später auf. Im Gegensatz zur Edelstahloptik der Vorgängerin wirkt die 351 schon etwas edler. Mein weisses Exemplar ist richtig schick und macht sich gut auf der Küchenzeile. Die Verarbeitung für ein Gerät dieser Preisklasse ist mit "Italienisch unperfekt" ganz gut beschrieben. Gerade die hochglänzenden Oberflächen haben leichte Finishmängel. Aber das ist mir egal. Das für mich geniale an den Siebträgermodellen ist das Handling. Leicht zu bedienen und auch leicht zu reinigen. Wer hier meint eine vollautomatische Espressokocherin mit Display ist da leichter zu bedienen, hat noch keinen Vollautomaten gereinigt, geschweige denn nach einem halben Jahr von innen gesehen. Die DeLonghi hat drei Knöpfe und ein Drehrad. Letzteres schäumt die Milch. Die drei Knöpfe aktivieren das Gerät, brühen, bzw. heizen für den Milchschäumer. Einfacher gehts nicht. Als Ausgangsmaterial nutze ich einen bereits gemahlenen(Mahlgrad 5) Lavazza Rossa aus der Dose. Der ist für das Sieb der DeLonghi wie gemacht. Oder gemahlen wenn man so will. Ob man es nun glauben mag oder nicht, das gibt sogar eine Crema. Jedenfalls ist das was aus der 351 kommt um Welten besser als eine gebrühte Discountermischung aus einer Lelit oder eine La Pavoni. Garantiert. Eine meiner geschätztesten Kolleginnen, stolze Besitzerin einer dreimal so teuren Lelit, verzweifelt regelmäßig wenn sie von mir einen Capo serviert bekommt. Wenn Sie sich nun entscheiden wollen einmal ein "Low Budget" Gerät auszuprobieren machen Sie sich folgendes bewusst: Mit zunehmenden Alter tropft es mal hier und mal da(auch bei den teureren Geräten). Meine zweite DeLonghi dampfte beim Aufheizen wie eine alte kohlenbetriebene Lok, was nach kurzer Zeit vorbei war. Erst danach hab ich den Siebträger eingesetzt. Kurzum sie haben auch ihre Schwächen. Vollautomaten haben das in der Regel nicht mehr. Die ECZ 351 kann zumindest ihre hin und wieder tropfende Milchschaumdüse nach innen klappen. Das konnte die Vorgängerin nicht. Dafür sind die anstehenden Reparaturen meist überschauhbar. Ich hatte bisher erst zwei Defekte. In beiden Fällen war es die Pumpe. Die kostet hier bei Amazon als Ersatzteil 11 Euro nochwas. Wohl dem der etwas Werkzeug im Haus hat. Die hier rezensierte Maschine habe ich aus den Amazon Warehausdeals für knapp unter 100 Euro gekauft. An meinem Arbeitsplatz haben die Maschinen eine Standzeit von ca zwei Jahren und machen so im Schnitt 5-10 mal Capo am Tag. Das ist keine schlechte Quote. Die Kosten halten sich in Grenzen. Mein Fazit: Besser als ihr Ruf.

Très belle cafetière expresso avec des accessoire en ABS Chromés ; manche du porte filtre et chauffe tasse et un repose tasse en inox. celui ci est du reste assez fragile aux rayures qui altèrent son bel aspect initial. de plus les inscriptions sur les boutons s'effacent au bout d'une semaine mais cela n'a pas de conséquence (seulement 3 boutons) Ces quelques points négatifs mais non rédhibitoires ne pèsent pas dans la balance des points positifs. En effet, elle produit un nectar de café très chaud malgré la très petite chaudière dont elle dispose. (d'après les spécialiste du site de Maxicoffee . "je vous invite à voir vidéo") L'expresso est crémeux à souhait et la saveur du café est complétement extirpée de la moulure pour délivrer un café gouteux. Pour un amateur de café que je suis, le résultat n'a rien à voir avec les senseo et tassimo et autres cafetières qui delivrent 4 bars. (je sais de quoi je parle car j'en ai une de chaque). L'entretien régulier par détartrage et l'utilisation d'une eau filtrée (carafe brita) est recommandée pour faire durer le percolateur. Celui ci ne perd pas sa pression de service et la qualité en eau chaude est régulière. Je recommande vivement cette expresso Delonghi que j'ai commandé chez AMAZON à un prix défiant toute concurrence ( près de 2 fois moins cher qu'ailleurs). Il faut savoir le dire quand cela ne va pas mais in faut aussi le dire quand c'est parfait. Alors, merci Amazon, merci Delonghi