DeLonghi EC5 Steam-Driven 4-Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, Black
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of DeLonghi EC5 Steam-Driven 4-Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, Black
Customer Review: Great Little Machine for Hot Coffee
Summary: 5 Stars
Every morning my wife and I brew beans ground from her family's coffee farm in Honduras. All we really want is a small machine that brews really hot coffee. We had a small Krups expresso machine, purchased in the 90's, which worked great for many years. It had a metal tank, brewed quickly, and didn't leak. When that machine got tired, we figured Krups had treated us well, so we got the Krups replacement model (Krups XP1020). Somewhere in the intervening years, Krups must have fired their engineers and outsourced design and manufacturing to create what the industry euphemistically calls an "entry-level model." The new Krups had a plastic tank, took up more space with useless stylistic flourishes, didn't brew as hot as the previous model, and leaked pressure around the gasket. We suffered its tyranny unbelievably for two years until we called it quits and ordered this DeLonghi from Amazon. For brewing home-ground coffee hot and quick, the DeLonghi cannot be beat. The Amazon price was great too (fully painless with the forgotten $25 Christmas gift certificate pinned to the cork board). The metal tank and overall design, switch, etc. just seem better than the the discarded Krups. Note, we don't froth our coffee, so I cannot comment on the short frothing stem, which seems to bother some reviewers. However, in all regards that matter to us, the Delonghi works great. After two weeks use, I recommend it.Customer Review: Using for 5 years and love it, bought a second for the office
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this little machine! I purchased the first one in 2004 after reading excellent reviews on the "crema" quality. We've used this machine everyday for the last 5 years and look forward to it every morning. I'm an Americano drinker and have found the way to get the strongest, smoothest flavor from this machine is to pull a double shot, then add half an inch of boiling water, then cream. Delicious! Here in Seattle, I use local Lighthouse Roasters or Longbeach Roasters coffee beans at home. The freshness of these high quality coffees makes our home espresso drinks as good as we'd get at a cafe. The second machine I just bought today is for the office, where I've been spending way too much money running to the corner cafe for coffee in the afternoon. Since I purchased our first machine 5 years ago, the price of this unit has dropped by half (I paid $65 for the first one). I'm hoping the popularity of the machine has allowed DeLonghi to drop the price and not the quality.
Side Note: I have never used the frothing wand on this machine and have heard the milk steaming/frothing capacity is low. The steam pressure, in relation to coffee quality, creates the most flavorful shots the first 2 runs. Give the machine a break of 10 minutes or so before turning on another steam cycle. For us at home, this is the amount of time it takes to drink our first cup, so the timing works out perfectly.
Customer Review: Very good deal for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I also own one of these machines.
As a former barista, I don't think this machine is bad at all, especially for the price. It's efficient, relatively fast (for what it does), and it's easy to clean.
As far as the espresso taste, I know that because it's a steam machine it doesn't crank out the same delicious crema that pump machines do, so I am still working on making my perfect espresso shots on this device (I'll be happy to take grind/brand advice on anyone who might have found it).
I agree that the steam wand is on the shorter side, and, in my opinion, should be able to rotate out a little further out. However, I don't think about this too much, because I am happy with its milk-steaming capabilities. I can steam 4 to 6 ounces of milk both for a latte and a cappuccino, but I could see how some people without experience in steaming milk, or people who try to steam a larger quantity of milk could have complaints. What I do to get longer steaming for a latte is to fill the water between the steam and IFD lines, and at times I even have a little extra steam to bleed out after the shot is done pouring.
The other night I had a party, and at the end of the night, everyone wanted coffee, and I'm happy to report that the machine handled making 14 espressos (overall 7 runs) in a row, without any problems or mishaps.
Customer Review: Just what I wanted
Summary: 4 Stars
This machine is exactly what I was looking for. It creates Cappuccinos and Espressos very well. I originally purchased it for the purpose of making cappuccinos because I really don't like the taste of coffee. This DeLonghi makes great cappuccinos in very little time.
Pros:
```Instructions are very clear
```Has attached frother
```Makes as much Espresso as advertised
```With the right coffee, can be strong (first time using it, I actually got the jitters)
```Friend of mine said it tastes the same, if not better than the cappuccinos he bought/made in Italy on industrial machines
``` Do not need to purchase paper filters
``` After 1st time using, was able to grasp how to use it completely (very easy)
``` Very inexpensive, but receive a quality product.
Cons:
``` Like most people said, the frother could be longer
Ending comments:
As you may have noticed, I have truly enjoyed this machine. With a quality coffee and cappuccino mix (with milk to froth of course), this can save you plenty of money. I've already gotten my value out of it after only a few days. I may buy one for my brother's home as well. As a graduate student, this was much needed and it has performed as advertised.
Customer Review: Died after 3 1/2 months
Summary: 1 Stars
Good basic machine - the steamer was always a little tricky to get working right, but overall a perfectly decent machine, used carefully and kept clean. But this morning it produced a single teaspoon of ice-cold espresso and nothing more. No noise, no shaking, no indication anywhere of what might be wrong; I just measured out the right amounts of coffee and water, loaded it up, flipped the "on" switch, waited half an hour, then sighed and went back to the Melitta drip.
Purchased it September 8th and got it around the 15th. So just about exactly three and a half months. It's well past the Amazon return period but still well within warranty; I called the DeLonghi service # and got a message stating that they're unable to answer the phone due to an unexpectedly high volume of calls. So I'll try again next week. If the service people manage to do something to make me rethink the 1 star review, I'll update; if, as I expect, not... well, there it stands. One star.
Our first espresso machine, a simple but sturdy little all-metal Braun (long since discontinued), lasted over a decade; since it gave up the ghost, we've gone through three in the last two years. Very discouraging.