De'Longhi - 10-Cup Coffee Maker and Espresso Maker with 15 bars of pressure - Stainless steel

While this would not be my first choice for a coffee machine as I prefer a Mr.Coffee machine for $25.00, this does make a pretty good combination 2 in 1 coffee machine & espresso maker. I have had this machine for two weeks to fully test it out before writing this review. My girlfriend loves espresso, so getting this combo unit was a good choice overall. It takes about 8 1/2 minutes to brew a full pot (10 cups) and the espresso brews instantly after the water heats up which takes less than a minute. For coffee, there is a small active carbon filter that came with the machine, and it seems to help the coffee flavor when using tap water. Generally I prefer a bottled water for making my coffee as it just tastes better. For drip coffee, included is a very fine gold mesh filter that you can used instead of a paper filter. To me, this made my coffee a bit metal tasting, so after using it twice, I now just use a paper filter and my coffee taste great. And yes, I did wash all the removable parts first as well as brewing three cycles through the coffee & espresso sides before making espresso or coffee. As for the espresso, I don't drink it, but my girlfriend loves it. There are coffee pods available for espresso, but you need to make sure that they will fit your machine. My girlfriend has not bought any pods yet as she loves her Starbucks coffee and fills the espresso container with that and says that while this is not as good as espresso from a professional machine, this is still very good as it's way cheaper, and you can stay at home too. The espresso side has a removable 40 ounce plastic water reservoir that you can remove by lifting up a hinged door on the top left rear of the machine, a swiveling jet frother, two different size coffee holders and one coffee handle thing to hold the coffee and a combo measuring spoon and coffee tapping down tool. The coffee side has a removable plastic coffee ground basket along with a very fine mesh filter that is contained in a swing out compartment where you also pour in the water for the coffee. There is also a 24-hour programmable timer so you can have your coffee ready when you get up in the morning. Overall, I give this combo coffee and espresso maker 4 stars and recommend it. It seems well made and the combination black and stainless will go with just about any kitchen and makes it appear more expensive that it is.

The DeLonghi Coffee Center (Coffee, Espresso, and Cappuccino Maker) came well-padded in Styrofoam with extra bubble-wrap around the carafe. There was tape on the machine in key places to keep everything stable. The machine came with an espresso filter holder and 2 espresso filters (1 cup and 2 cup sizes). The filter will also hold E.S.E. pods. It also comes with a coffee measurer/presser tool that measures out the correct amount of coffee grounds for a single cup on one side of the tool and a coffee presser on the other side. For the drip coffee part of the machine, it comes with a gold-tone mesh permanent coffee filter. There is also an anti-chlorine filter included. The water softener filter is optional, but I didn’t get one since my home has a water softener already. The stainless steel design is elegant and looks good sitting out on the counter top. The machine comes with a manual which is very easy to understand and the sections are clearly marked for whatever you want to do. Of course, it has the installation and “first use” sections. Other sections include drip coffee, espresso, cappuccino, cleaning, descaling, and troubleshooting. Everything is very clear and easy to follow. Once you set the clock on the display in front, you can program the machine to start brewing at the time you choose. You can program it for up to 24 hours in advance. When your coffee is brewed, the default for the machine is to keep the carafe warm for 2 hours, but you can reset that time to anywhere between 1 minute and 11 hours and 59 minutes. A great feature that I love with this machine is the “1-4” button. You can use this feature even when using the AUTO function. The water will be released more slowly into the filter basket, thereby saturating the coffee grounds a little at a time and extracting the best flavor and aroma from your coffee. You cannot use this feature if making an entire carafe of coffee (10 cups.) The name of the feature “1-4” means that it is to be used when making 1 to 4 cups of coffee. Another feature that is convenient is having the drip coffee filter and water tank accessible at the front of the machine so that you don’t have to move the machine to fill it. The espresso tank is at the back of the machine on the top, but the tank comes out and can be filled at your sink and then replaced into the machine. However, I placed mine within reach of my faucet's spray hose and I just don't press the "spray" button when filling. The top of the machine also doubles as a coffee cup warmer to warm your coffee cups before you pour your coffee - or to help keep your coffee cup warm after pouring while working on frothing your milk. This feature works on either side of the machine. You can place the cups on the espresso side of the machine when using the espresso and on the drip coffee side of the machine when using the drip side. Only the side you are using will be warm because it is the hot water in the machine that is heating up the top of the machine. It isn't too hot to touch, so there is no danger there. Also, I tested it out to see if I could use the espresso side and the drip side at the same time and it worked. I started making a carafe of coffee on the drip side and then made an espresso while I was waiting for the drip side to finish. I would recommend this machine to either a novice user as well as an experienced one. Whether you've used espresso machines before and can quickly run through the steps, or if you have to read the easy to understand instructions step-by-step, this machine will work wonderfully for you. My only other comments that I could add is to make sure your coffee is the right grind when making an espresso or cappuccino (fine grind) and that your milk is cold enough when making a cappuccino so that it will froth properly. If your espresso or cappuccino doesn't turn out right, it's probably one of those factors and not due to the machine. If your coffee is the right grind and you are grinding it yourself, make sure you are using a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder. Pre-ground coffee from the grocery store will actually give you better results than grinding your own coffee with a blade grinder. We own a burr grinder but our grocery store has a huge assortment of coffee bean flavors that I can grind in the store using their burr grinder. I cannot emphasize this enough in the importance of having wonderful flavorful coffee as your end result. Your espresso grind should be fine. It should like the consistency of a mixture of sand and sugar. Too fine and your water will not filter through properly. Too coarse and it will run through too quickly.

I’ve had DeLonghi products in the past and not had any problems with them, thought I would give this combo maker a shot. The brewer is mostly plastic with metal trim and the build seems solid. I have limited counter space and the smaller compact size of this brewer fits in nicely. It ships with what I believe is a standard sized charcoal water filter (same as I've seen in Cuisinart machines) that slides in a holder in the back of the machine. There is also a permanent “gold tone” coffee filter and a combo espresso measure scoop/tamper. The instructions say to clean the unit by running numerous pots of water though the brewer and several containers of water though the espresso maker prior to using for the first time. My first coffee was an espresso and the machine did a nice job. There was a nice crema on the espresso and the flavor was as expected. It did seem to take longer than expected for the unit to heat and it light went out fast than I thought it should. Also, the grind/filter basket only fits in the holder one way. Their should have been a locking feature to this rather than the swing up wire holder. Dumping hot grinds from this is messy and the filter ultimately falls out and/or makes a mess with the grinds, which retain quite a bit of moisture after the brew. The frother worked but took a while. There is a steam button which makes the boiler hotter to make steam but this to cooled off quickly. There is no pump assist for the frother so the steam isn’t as strong as it could be. To brew a regular pot of coffee you need to pull the drawer out to pour the water in and fill the coffee basket. Brewing a 10 cup pot of coffee took longer than expected however, the resulting coffee tasted decent and not burnt or over brewed. There is a button to press for 4 cups or less which makes a big difference in the taste of smaller pots. Pros: Compact size Nice crema on espresso Included permanent filter Water filter for brewed coffee. (it's flimsy and not sure how long it will last, but it's included) Pump style espresso, not steam pressure based Cons: Slow brewing for regular coffee Slow heating for espresso No pressure/weak steam from frother Espresso grind holder Overall, this is just a so-so coffee machine. It attempted to be high end but misses the mark. It makes decent coffee, as it should, but I’m just not impressed with the whole package and believe it is overpriced for the experience it offers. I would have a difficult time recommending this to a friend unless they could get it on sale for a deep discount, otherwise, I believe you would be better served with separate machines.

It came in a nice medium sized box, however its very compact. I like that you can make your regular drip coffee and you get a decent sized holder (about 10 cups). Now, the start was a little rough as the instructions aren't that clear, however once you get a hold of it (you must go back a couple of pages to see the figures stated on each step) it is a breeze. Just make sure you follow the instructions! You must make about 4 "fake" coffees (2 dripping rounds without any coffee and 2 cappuccino rounds without any coffee or milk either), that way you prep the machine and any after factory plastic taste should go away! The espresso is amazing, just like your regular coffee shop, I liked that you can make yourself 1 or 2 cups of espressos. Me, being a coffee addict, just used the two cup one (I didn't have those small cups for espresso so just used a regular one, I need to buy me some). Now, remember the quality of your coffee depends also of the quality of the coffee grounds you buys. The best thing is to go to your favorite grocery store and ground it yourself there, and choose a good variety for expressos. I recommend 40% Brazil Dry-process, 40% Colombian and 20%+ Centrals, like Guatemalan. For bite, syrupy or winey fruit, and earthiness you can use a DP Ethiopian. In short, these little machine has made make my own coffee shop, I never going to spend money on overpriced coffee shops! I hope this thing lasts, I guess as long as you clean it periodically, oh, and I forgot, it has a water chlorine filter that must be changed to every 200 or so cycles.

I enjoy lattes and cappuccinos but I’ve never had a machine in my home that could make them until now. I was super excited to get this machine and see if I could save some dough and time by making these drinks myself. The DeLonghi is actually a combination machine that does both espressos/cappuccinos and drip coffee. Although the machine looks large in the photograph it is actually quite compact for what it is. It will definitely save counter space versus having separate espresso and coffee maker machines. However, is is about twice as wide as your typical coffee maker and you need a little bit of extra space to the right of the unit to access the drip coffee filter and water reservoir so keep this in mind when deciding where to place it. Let’s talk about the drip or right side of the unit first. It works very similar to any other drip coffee maker. Pull out the tray on the right and add your coffee grinds and water. Note that it includes a metal filter. I didn’t try a paper filter but due to the design of the filter’s holder I don’t know if it would work that well. Anyhow, close the tray and press the on/off button. I was very impressed with how fast the system brewed coffee, also the temperature of the coffee came out to my liking. You can remove the carafe while it is brewing and the drip stop will prevent *most* coffee from landing on the hot pad. In reality, I found it still drips a little bit. So why did I only give it four stars? Two reasons, one, the instructions are lacking. Being that I was new to doing this at home I was unable to figure out the espresso side of the machine without a video conference with a friend who makes his own espresso drinks. Note, he does not have a DeLonghi unit but was able to guide me through the process. The issue I had was I was not putting enough ground coffee into the portafilter. If the manual would have told me or given better examples of how to fill and tamp it properly I might have saved my friend and I some time. Another example is no where in the instructions for making an espresso does it tell you to actually fill the espresso reservoir with water. There are no details on basic features of the device or coffee recipes that I would expect to come with a product like this. Secondly, the espresso machine could be simpler to use. Some standalone models (including those from DeLonghi) have buttons that automatically pour a one or two shot of espresso. This machine does not, you have to turn off the espresso pour yourself. With the instructions that were given I was unsure of how this worked. Once I got past the initial learning curve you can actually make really good drinks with the espresso and steamer. The wife said the drink I made on my third or so attempt was very close to what she drinks at the local coffee shop. Like I mentioned above you need to make sure you are using enough grinds and that you tamp it properly. Then you attach the portafilter to the espresso maker (with a little force to get a good seal) and press the button to start the process. Once your espresso is made you can froth milk using the steamer which hangs off the left side of the unit. I do wish the steamer was more flexible in where it can be placed. It only swings in and out the unit. All in all, it’s a good machine but it’s a shame the poor documentation can make it frustrating to use, especially for beginners.

I purchased this unit knowing it wasn’t “the best” because espresso machines are really expensive so I wasn’t expecting sooo much out of this. To my surprise this machine is amazing both the espresso and the drip are impressive and they deliver really good coffee. Only reason I’m taking away a star is because of the milk frother, it really doesn’t do much for the milk other then warm it up, it can’t really foam that well, I tried different types of milk and the only one that was semi foamy was non-fat. All around great unit, I would highly recommend it

You’ve become addicted to the joys of fresh coffee Maybe your tastes include a drink that is frothy An invigorating flavor that stays on the tongue A lovely start to a day just begun The DeLonghi BCO430 comes carefully packaged, protecting the very attractive appliance and it’s glass carafe and various other accessories. Setup on the counter, it takes up no more space than some single purpose coffee machines. It’s totally practical to place the DeLonghi under a kitchen cabinet because the access to the (2) water reservoirs and other top access areas are unimpeded. (See photo.) In fact, the larger cappuccino water reservoir is easily removed and filled under the faucet. The front drip reservoir is filed in place using any small container. This is very thoughtfully designed. The overflow area under the cappuccino nozzles provides a floating indicator if it fills too high. The top of the machine provides a warming surface. The coffee filter is the permanent gold type that rotates out and back for filling. The water is treated by a refillable carbon filter. The included scoop and tapper is a nice addition to the espresso feature. Everything looks and feels like quality. My wife is having a blast. The learning curve is not very high, The coffee and cappuccino are lovely. I’d share a cup with you, if that were possible. If you’re asking yourself, what about the cost? Be honest and add up the time you’ve lost. BUCK the daily temptation to make yourself a STAR Save effort and gas and become your own barista. In the final analysis when making this decision You’ll be the family member showing your vision I can think of no better way to wake him or wake her Than buying a Delonghi coffee and cappuccino maker

SUMMARY: This attractive machine performs double duty as an exceptional coffee machine and average espresso machine. PROS: -Compact formfactor with stainless steel desk -Reusable coffee filter -Easy to use and setup -removable water tank CONS: -Instructions are mildly confusing OVERALL: I really like this coffee machine. It looks good and formfactor is shallow enough so that it doesn’t take up a bunch of counter space. The design has quite a bit of plastic, but the machine feels very solid. The instructions for the unit are a bit confusing if this is your first coffee/espresso machine, but veterans should find themselves right at home. In my testing of the unit, the coffee side produces a solid cup of joe. The espresso side pulls a great shot with great color and frothy crema, however the frothing wand could have better pressure. BOTTOM LINE: If you are looking to satisfy the regular coffee drinker and the espresso drink lover, this machine should impress both parties at a reasonable price point.