DeLonghi ESAM3300 Magnifica Super-Automatic Espresso/Coffee Machine
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of DeLonghi ESAM3300 Magnifica Super-Automatic Espresso/Coffee Machine
Customer Review: Elegantly simple. Great espresso. Great frother. Easy maintenance.
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent reliable machine with an elegantly simple design that makes a good quality espresso and good quality cappiccino. My motto: Keep it simple for better reliability.
We've been through 4 Cupresso super-autos. The first one lasted for many years. Each subsequent replacement failed or broke within a year. Cupresso's are notoriously difficult to work on or clean due to hidden non-removable components and their steamers are not very strong. Every time there's a problem, Cupresso customer service wants you to ship it to the repair center. After the 4th Cupresso, I was ready for something that was simpler with a removable brew group for easier cleaning and minimal maintenance. William Sonoma took our broken Cuppresso in on a trade for this one, so it made the decision easier. I had bought a Gaggia for the office several years ago. I loved the removable brew group in the Gaggia. Delonghi took it one step further and improved the Gaggia design with an elegantly designed simpler brew group.
In it's favor:
1) Simple Design
2) Very easy to clean
3) Very simple removable/replacable brew group for easy maintenance
4) Good espresso
5) Powerful steamer with no gimmicks
6) Descaling indicator
7) Easy water filling
Minuses:
1) Very noisy grinder
2) The "works" behind the buttons feels fragile, so we take care not to press the buttons too hard
3) Iffy cup warmer (Have to leave the machine on for a while to heat up)
4) Some grounds sometimes miss the pressing cup and spill out inside the machine. Not a big deal.
Upon the death of our 4th Cuppresso, we ordered a Gaggia Titanium from WLL with high expectations. It was a disaster. Try as I might, with 10 years of experience using super-autos, I couldn't adjust the Titanium to produce a good rich cup of espresso and the bean chute was poorly designed, resulting in empty shots when the beans got stuck. The Titanium would also balk at heavy shots, so there was just no way to get a good shot from it. So I went to William Sonoma to see what they had. This one was the only one WS had with a reasonable price, and they took the Cupresso in on a trade. Given the simple design and somewhat lightweight build, my expectations weren't that high. I have to say I was a bit shocked at how noisy the grinder is. However, after a few shots fiddling around with settings, I was able to get a nice, rich, shot of espresso! Even when overloaded with grounds, it doesn't give up on the shot - it ramps up the pressure to meet the challenge.
I tend to hate the gimmicky steam wands you see on consumer cappuccino machines. This one isn't the standard metal wand that you see on professional units, so I wasn't expecting much. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. The steamer is very functional and easy to clean. I recommend that you keep the steaming wand deep into the milk until the milk is warm.
We have had this for over a year making 3-4 shots per day with no complaints. The noisy grinder was a bit of a surprise, but soon became part of the ritual. I use the bypass chute for whatever I'm in the mood for. My S.O. uses the built-in grinder for decaf.
Recommend that you keep a small cup under the machine when you turn it on or off to catch the power-on/power-off rinse (no biggie). I use the power-on rinse water to warm my espresso cup.
For the money, we're VERY pleased with this machine.
Highly recommended.
*** EDIT ***
Unfortunately, a few days after I posted this review, the price more than doubled. Now I will say, "Highly recommended at less than $500."
Customer Review: Love it!
Summary: 5 Stars
Before I got married - I had a Mr. Coffee Espresso maker - it did the job for me, but I had to grind the coffee myself, and I didn't know what I was missing...
When I got married - someone gave us a Krupps Espresso maker. I still had to grind the beans, but the coffee tasted a bit better and I was happy for about a week... then steam shot out of the sides (some seal blew), and we took it back to Bed/Bath/Beyond... Got another one that didn't work out of the box!
That was it for me - I wanted something that WORKED and that I wouldn't have to futz with (too much) any longer. We opted for the 3300 and haven't looked back since.
This thing makes an absolutely wonderful shot of espresso, and great cappucinos. Yeah, we had to play with the dials a bit to figure out just where we liked it - but that took a day or two to figure out. Once we got it set, I took a sharpie marker (fine tip) and added an extra dot on the dial. If you look really closely, you can see it - so we know what it's for, no one else would notice.
Cleanup is pretty simple - you have to (OMG!) move the wand, open the door, pull out the tray, and dump the collection bin... Then rinse out the whole thing - use a bit of soap if you really need to, and let 'er dry... Then reverse the process :-)
I set the water hardness when we first got it and after about 6 months of use, I finally had to descale it (we make 1-2 cups per day). It was very easy - empty the water container, dump in the Durgol and add 1L of water... Hold in the descale button (which was flashing) for 5 sec, then when it goes fully lit, turn the frothing handle until the water comes out of the froth wand... Shove a small Glad 1.6L container under it to catch the crud...
30 min later, the water tank is empty - so dump the Glad container... Turn the froth handle off. Rinse and refill the water tank. Turn the froth handle on. Let it rinse the machine again... takes about 5 or 6 mins... Turn the froth handle off. Empty the tank. Rinse again for good measure, and refill.
Turn off the machine. Then for good measure, open it up, remove the infuser and rinse it out under the sink. Dry it off, and reinstall.
That's it - you're done. Good to go for another zillion cups of great coffee...
We've used Illy's Dark Roast beans - they're very nice, along the lines of a Blue Mountain taste to me but at 60% of the price. We've run out of Illy and I've started using Shock Therapy Coffee (yeah, find it here on Amazon - it's GREAT stuff...).
As for the noise: Yeah, when it grinds, you get oh 10-15 seconds of grinding... boo hoo... If you don't like that, then pre-grind the stuff and use the slot in the middle to scoop it in (although, if you're doing that, it begs the question as to why you wanted the automatic anyway).
Frothing isn't too noisy - but works much better than anything I've ever had. Get one of those stainless steel froth containers and a thermometer and you're good to go (again, BBB has a combo with a thermometer that has the "Froth" temperature (about 160F).
Did I mention that I love the DeLonghi? Oh yeah, the fact that my wife and I don't have to blow $5 - $10/day on $tarbuck$ any longer means this sucker is paying for itself... Add in the fact that you don't have to drive over, stand (or wait) in line, listen to the gossipy drivel or inane music, then risk your life in the parking lot again for a fix and I was sold ;->
Compared to Starbucks - the DeLonghi tastes a bit better to me...
Customer Review: Nearly perfect.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an update after three years of using our Magnifica.
We bought our Magnifica after using a similar machine while visiting friends in Germany. We have been using it for over 3 years now, and are still quite happy with it. My wife and I both drink a lot of coffee -- tall Americanos most of the day. I am a full time telecommuter, so I will average 3-5 a day in winter, 2-4 in summer. We also love being able to fill a couple of 16 oz. insulated cups before leaving on a road trip. I would say this machine probably gets more use than the manufacturer intended.
The unit has been fairly trouble free. We have noticed a few occasions when water leaked from the tank where it connected to the machine, leaving a puddle on the counter. After a cleaning and more carefully aligning the tank, it ceased being a problem. We have run the de-liming process when the machine asked for it. So far no other problems. I would strongly recommend a complete, thorough cleaning inside and out every month or two, though. Use a brush and a vacuum.
The cup warmer seemed like a great idea; in reality it doesn't do much. I was going to disconnect it to save electricity, but as it turns out it's just a metal plate over the hot water tank -- it doesn't use any additional electricity. They just made a feature (cup warmer) out of an area where plastic would have probably warped and cracked by now.
It doesn't get any quieter with age. Once you push the button you can pretty much forget any ideas you had about conversation until your coffee is done (I am always sure to offer a cup to the in-laws when they visit). I finally removed the covers and added some Dynamat left over from my truck stereo installation to the areas that seemed to be vibrating; that helped a little but it's still pretty raucous.
I'm sure the guys who grind, tamp, press and adjust the pumps on the chrome semi-autos will turn up their noses at a machine like this, but it's such a huge step up from the typical drip coffee maker (and ground Folger's). If you're a coffee lover you really do owe it to yourself to try a machine like this. The price tag made the purchase a tough decision -- still 5x what we paid for the best drip machine we'd ever had -- but we're glad every day that we took the plunge.
Below is my original review, written a couple of months after we got it:
I wish I could give it a 4.5. As others have noted, it is a bit on the noisy side. We went from a Bunn drip machine (best drip coffee maker by far) to this after being blown away by the one our hosts had in Germany. It's been worth every penny. Speaking of pennies, a 20% off coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond is the ticket for low price and a VERY good return policy.
We have used Starbucks and Pears beans, and will continue to try others probably. Cleaning is a snap, my only real gripes are the water reservoir - obviously designed with coffee-sipping Europeans in mind, not us coffee-DRINKING Americans. Still, we haven't used the Bunn since we plugged in the Magnifica.
Likes:
Superb coffee!! Great crema, better than coffee houses
Easily adjusted cup size & coffee strength
FAST warm-up
Easy to clean
Everything works perfectly
Dislikes:
A little noisy.
No automatic timer (not a big deal, since it warms up fast)
Cup warmer not of much use, and no way to shut it off
Customer Review: Was A Nice Machine, But Look Out If It Stops Working--Out of Warranty Nightmare
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased the Delonghi Magnifica Automatic Espresso Coffee Machine from Amazon in November 2006. It just died one month ago, out of warranty of course. When I called Delonghi to inquire as to how I could get it repaired, they informed me that they have only two places in the US that fix them. One on the east coast, and one on the west coast. So you have to ship it at your expense and insured to the appliance repair shop. I shipped mine the same day it broke to the east coast location; it went to Cross-Bay Appliance in Howard Beach, NY. It took them an entire month to look at the machine and they have a very casual, unconcerned approach. They will say, "I'll try" to look at it for weeks until you start to get a little heated in your tone, then they will take a look at it. Well, after waiting the entire month, they looked at it only to tell me it will cost almost as much as it would to purchase a new one to repair it. I asked them to ship it back and not to bother adding the cost to insure it since, now, it's nothing but piece of junk. Well, they insist on charging over twice as much as it would cost to resend it back to me.
Delonghi apparently does not care in the least about your out of warranty repair needs. Even if you have a small problem, you better give your beloved espresso machine a long kiss goodbye because you won't see if for a while. In my case, it's junk. I've heard of others having mechanical failures with these machines, but if they are out of warranty, which is only one year, you are screwed. I searched and searched for a appliance repair shop locally, there is NO ONE who knows about these machines but Delonghi knows and they will send you to this operation which does not have to try to get business, could care less about the customers and you can tell they know the drill. I'm tempted to let them keep it, but then realized that probably many people do that and they end up probably refurbishing them and then selling them, which I will not allow.
So, as much as I loved the machine, I would never purchase another one from Delonghi simply because there is no way to reasonably get it repaired in a decent amount of time and for a fair cost. So, your machine, once something goes wrong with it, will end up in the garage until you or someone else you know decides to go to the Espresso Machine Repair School for broke down Delonghi Machines.
I was shocked that this was my ONLY option, and the repair shop Delonghi sent me to has unprofessional and callous morons running it. They know you either pay what they ask for or pay whatever they want to ship it back regardless of the actual cost to ship it back to you, which further aggravates you because you have no choice. It's abusive. I will be filing a BBB complaint for this repair shop and giving Delonghi two thumbs down. Your purchase will be short lived. I'm looking into the Pasquini Espresso machine now, but I will find out what process I will have to go through if it needs any type of repairs in the future--post-warranty. These machines are not cheap. At first I loved Delonghi, but now that I know I'm buying their products only to put them in the garbage later because of outrageous repair costs and inconvenience by the morons Delonghi sends you too, I will never buy another one.
Customer Review: Wonderfull Machine. Easy To Use and Clean
Summary: 5 Stars
Several months ago I researched espresso machines and decided on a Saeco Super Automatic. I liked it, but it only lasted slightly over a year. So then I bought a different model of Saeco. I liked it also, but that one went out in just 6 months. Needless to say I researched a different brand and decided on this Delonghi.
I have only had it for a short time, but I do like this one better than the Saecos. I will not go into details about this machine because you can read all the specs for yourself. However, I will give you some information not listed in the description and some things are not in the manual.
There are two of us in the household. I prefer mocha cappuccinos and the other prefers regular American coffee in a 10 oz cup. The problem with that is the machine only dispenses a max of 7 oz. However, there is a way to get around this. You can either put more hot water in the cup by using the water/steam wand, or you can do the following. After it has stopped dispensing the coffee/water, press and hold the coffee button and it will fill the cup with more hot water until you release the button. However, be quick. You must press the cup start button within 3 seconds after it stops dispensing your coffee. There is also a third way to get more than a 7 oz cup of coffee that is not in the manual. Instead of pressing and releasing the coffee start button, push and hold the 1 cup start button until the desired amount of water is dispensed then release the button. Of course, anything over 7 oz is going to be weaker. So, you will want to increase the amount of beans to grind.
The decaling light will tell you when to descal. This is set at the factory and may come on more often than you actually need. I use filtered water, so I can go longer without descaling. Read the manual. It will tell you how to adjust this setting. The machine comes with a hard water strip to tell you how hard your water is. It has 4 indicator squares. One to four squares may turn red. The more red strips you have the harder the water and therefore the more often you have to descal. The manual tells you how to adjust the lights, from 1 to 4 to set the time you must descal. Helpful hint: The fewer lights you set, the longer you can go without descaling. If you have, say, 4 lights set then you will descal the most often. The manual really does not explain this, but does tell you how to set the number of lights.
The machine does not have a setting to automatically turn it on in the morning, but this is not a problem. It heats up and ready to use in a little under 2 minutes. Although, it will turn itself off 3 hours after the last use.
I read a few reviews that complained about how loud it is. Well, it is a little noisy, but not that bad. And, it is not any louder than the other espresso machines I had.
Another helpful hint: When you first turn on or off the machine it will dispense 1 to 3 oz of water. This action helps prime the pump and clean the infuser. Put your cup under the dispenser when you first turn it on. This will help heat your cup a little. Then throw the water out and make your coffee.
I really do like this Delonghi machine and highly recommend it. I can only hope it lasts longer than the other two Saecos I had.