De'Longhi - La Specialista Espresso Machine with 19 bars of pressure and Milk Frother - Stainless Steel

Up until now, I've never been much of a pure espresso drinker; nor have I given the process of making it much thought. While I love and enjoy a good cup of coffee, I've always chosen the convenience of one-touch machines over what seems like a laborious process of perfecting the art of making the perfect cup of coffee or shot of espresso . I had never quite pursued sourcing whole quality beans, grinding the beans, and then attempting to achieve the right temperature/pressure to ensure my efforts were not in vain. The reason for never chasing the art of making coffee was simple; it seemed complicated and lengthy. The terms alone (e.g. tamping, portafilter, fine or coarse grind) gave me a headache. I'm a busy person and this was something that I did not want complicating my daily routine. And then this "De'Longhi La Specialista" espresso machine made it into my life. It has completely changed my mind, it's part of my daily routine, and there's no turning back now. My daily routine has involved using a very popular swiss one-touch pod machine that I think most of us are familiar with. I've been using it for about 2 years and to give it credit, it makes a pretty good cup of coffee with good textured crema. Most importantly, it's been convenient and makes my coffee in very little time. I've been using the De'Longhi La Specialista for a little over two weeks now and...my oh my is it something special. I've been hooked and a double shot of espresso is now part of my daily routine. It's not just the ease of use of this La Specialista machine that has pleasantly surprised me but how easy and quick the actual process of brewing high quality espresso is. Yes, there is initially a bit of a learning curve involved but boy is it worth it. If you're just starting to explore the art of making better espresso and coffee this machine will be a lovely addition to your life. For those that are turned off by what seems like an ardous process of grinding beans, tamping, etc., this machine will be perfect for you. Visit De'Longhi's youtube channel and type in "De'Longhi - La Specialista". Watching their youtube videos will make the process of using the machine extremely easy. I very quickly became familiar with terms such as "tamping" and "grind level". They also do a great job of showing you how to brew high quality espresso shots, coffee, lattes, americanos, etc with the machine. I would recommend searching for local coffee roasters in your area and getting quality medium roast non-oily whole beans. You may initially need to play with the grind level and the grind dose amount knob on the machine to get the right amount of grind in your portafilter. Once you've achieved the right amount, you don't need to touch it again until you eventually run out of whole coffee beans and want to try a new roast (watch De'Longhi's youtube video on "making espresso for the first time" for this machine). One of my favorite features about this machine is the "smart tamping" station. It's built right into the machine. As soon as you place the portafilter into the machine, the grinder immediately starts grinding the beans. You simply push down on the tamping station lever while the portafilter is in the machine and you're done! You then simply take out the portafilter, insert into the espresso outlet on the machine and press the "OK" button. You can use the pressure gauge to strive to hit the "optimal zone" to get closer and closer to your perfect shot of espresso. So far I've made espressos, lattes, coffee, and iced lattes. I don't think I've ever gone this long without going to Starbucks. Not only does everything that I have brewed on this machine taste far superior but it's certainly much more convenient not having to leave the house! When making lattes, the milk spout is a joy to use. You can choose between flat or foam depending if you're making a latte or cappuccino. The steam knob on the machine instantly delivers steam to your milk as you reach your desired texture. The De'Longhi La Specialista is one of the most beautiful espresso machines I've ever seen. It's even more impressive in person. The all stainless steel build quality with it's glossy black front panel is sleek, contemporary, and classy. I've had several friends come over for espresso and they all thought the machine was three times it's price. The machine is a bit on the taller side so make sure you note the dimensions and plan accordingly. The machine comes with a portafilter, 2 portafilter baskets (i.e. single shot, double shot), a small stainless steel milk pitcher, descaling solution, a water container, and a drip tray. The machine does not come with a knock box. I would highly recommend picking up a De'Longhi knock box. It makes a HUGE difference when it comes to clean up and discarding your coffee waste. De'Longhi's knock box also looks stunning and compliments the machine perfectly! I've had a blast making espressos, lattes, iced lattes, and coffee with this machine. I never thought it would be as easy and as quick as it has proven to be. It's easily worth the very slight learning curve in the beginning. Although some may see having to drive to your local coffee roaster to pick up whole beans more inconvenient than just ordering pods online, in my opinion, it's a quick trip that you'll only be doing maybe twice a month. For me, it's well worth it. Since I love coffee, I've actually enjoyed taking a trip to my local coffee roaster and indulging in some new roasts. If you're looking to ge

My wife and I are big coffee drinkers, she prefers hot/iced Caramel Macchiato. I've been driving to SB's just about daily all summer. I finally decided to take the plunge and try to do it myself. I tried a less expensive machine that claimed to make iced coffee beverages. I thought they looked good, but in the end they failed the taste test, too thin, not flavorful enough. Which brings us to the De'Longhi - La Specialista Espresso machine. First I'd never made Espresso before. I think I can safely say that this machine takes some adjustments and breaking in before you "get it right". First the machines instructuctions have you initially run a liter of water through the machine to begin with, I don't think this is sufficient. A ran over a liter through, and I thought the first 3 or 4 test Espresso's I made all tasted bitter and metallic. And some were under extracted, but most were over extracted. The other thing I found is don't make your test cups in a coffee mug, find a smaller narrower vessel. The wider cup does not let the crema distribute itself properly. I went through almost 8oz of fresh beans before I finally got the machine set up properly for the beans I was using. I found that I needed to grind to about 2.5 (on a 1-5 scale, 1 being the finest) and set the Dosage size to be a bit less than 1 notch above the minimum (far left). I also found that the smart tampling work best if I did not quite move it to the maximum pressure. I did remove the portafilter once before tampling to see how much coffee was in the portafilter, and it was a good 1/2" over the top. The grinder on the top left of the machine does a great job, set to fine, it's really fine, set to medium it's pretty fine, but set to 5 it fairly course, better for coffee than espresso. The grind really matter in the process, and I suspect it varies with the type of bean your using (I'm saying you will need to experiment to get it right). Visually inspecting the dosage is also important, there are 3 indentations on the portafilters to let you know the proper fill, once you get the grind and fill set right getting the tamping correct is pretty easy, but it will take some practice - plan on it. After I got the hang of getting my espresso right I tried to make a cafe americano (2oz Espresso + 6oz hot water added), here's my only real complaint about the machine, the cafe americano causes some splashing when the water is discharged it tends to "spit out" making a bit of a mess (every time), I don't know why this can't be a smoother operation. The frothing works well, as does the flat option (just heats milk, does not froth it); they advise you clean the frothing wand after every use. The stainless steel wand does get milk slashed inside, you must pull on the tube pretty hard (once it's cooled down) to remove it, there is a notch in the top of it that you must alight to get it back on (not much mention of this in the instructions - although it's covered in one of the videos). Speaking of which there are quite a few YouTube videos by Delonghi and third parties available to help you get started/improve your Barista skills. I've watched several and I'm still learning. But I'm now confident that I can get the Espresso shot(s) right, I made my wife a Iced Caramel Macchiato, she said it was much better than with the prior machine we'd tried, but not quite what she's used to, she thinks it has to do with the coffee I'm using and it tastes different then what SB's uses in their Caramel Macchiato. But I'm on the right track, it has the richness she was looking for, but still a few variables to get it right. I really like the way the De'Longhi - La Specialista Espresso Machine looks, it's big and heavy, but needs to be to handle the pressure and the tamping required. It makes more of a mess than I think it should for beverages than need water added, but other than that it makes nice Espresso (with some practice).

The first thing you realize when you get the La Specialista is the size of the box! This machine is huge and heavy, just under 40 pounds. Never fear however, getting it out of the box will be the most difficult thing you will have to do to get excellent coffee drinks from this machine. The build is stainless steel and somewhat commercial looking. This is a quality machine that you should expect to last for years. Speaking of that, De’Longhi has a 2 year warranty which if you register the machine with them, will be extended to 3 years. Generally anything over 90 days is unheard of, let alone 3 years! The next hurdle you will have is finding counter space for it; the La Specialista is just over 17 inches tall with the bean hopper. Once you get it placed and plugged in, place the bean hopper and fill with beans and fill the 2 liter water tank. Flip the power switch in the back of the machine next to the plug and push the power button on the front of the machine. It will do a pre-flight system check and prompt you to prime it by pushing the tea button. Once the machine is primed you’re good to go. Making espresso is as easy as grinding, tamping and pressing a button! Once you find the right combination of grind coarsness and portafilter fill level, you simply place the filter into the grinder head and turn the handle to the right, the grinder begins and stops automatically. Next, and what I think is the BEST feature of the De’Longhi La Specialista is the tamping handle. Give it a pull and your coffee is tamped, no mess on your counter! Remove the portafilter and move it to the brewing head and push ok. That’s it. Along with the espresso selection, there is also a coffee, (a long espresso) and an americano selection, (a long espresso with added hot water). The great thing about the La Specialista is the separate heaters so when you draw an americano, there is a separate spout that tops off the hot water. If you prefer cappuccino, frothing and steaming milk is just as simple. Pour some milk into the included frothing pitcher, select flat or foam on the steaming wand, put the pitcher under it and turn the knob. This is a professional grade espresso maker built for your kitchen, not a Keurig, and there is no comparison between the two. I’ve had many espresso machines, from the sub $50 range to $1200+ fully automatic models and I have to say that once I got the settings perfected, the De’Longhi La Specialista is by far the best machine I’ve ever used! A few things to be cautious of. First, the size of the machine, at over 17 inches high, it may not fit where you want it. Second, the placement of the water tank is in the rear. You will need to have access to the rear of the machine to refill the water and will have to pull it out to accomplish this. Third, this machine uses 1450 watts of power. If it’s on the same circuit as a toaster oven or larger microwave, you may blow a fuse or circuit breaker. Fourth, this is a technical machine and does have a slight learning curve while you get the settings just right, work through it, the result is worth the practice. At this price point, this machine is an investment and not for everyone. If you like coffee shop drinks and like the idea of making them easily in your home, this machine is for you. My only complaint about this machine is that it did not include a knock box. At this price point, including the $30 item with the frothing pitcher would go a long way. Yes, I would recommend this to all coffee drinking friends!

I can sum up this entire review by just telling you that this machine is incredible. From the machine itself, to the quick start manual, to all of the included accessories, everything is just designed with a heft and quality that screams "high-class". I have been nothing but please with the experience of this machine but let me just tell you now, if you are new to espresso machines, this will definitely take a bit of practice. Alas, the results (delicious, tasty results) are worth it! First of all, the packaging of the machine is incredible. Every accessory and trinket is lovingly packed into this box with pride. Next, the quick start manual for getting this thing up and running is excellent, complete with helpful tips and pictures for those of us who prefer the cartoons part of a newspaper to the front page. Finally, the caffinated-bliss that comes out of this thing. Ohhh myyy gooodness. Standing in my kitchen enjoying such rich pulls of espresso with frothed-milk (whole or 2% for best results) is just too awesome to behold. This is a high-dollar item, no question about it. But when you want beauty, quality, and results all wrapped into a single package, this machine is simply unbeatable. 5 out of 5 stars, most definitely recommend this for purchase! Thanks for reading!

Great Espresso! First get the best beans, if you like to be hands on this is the perfect machine for you. I call it the Ferrari it loves to be handed like one and it will give you the best start to your day. Tip watch all the how to videos

The best machine I ever have, I will recommend for people who love real coffee

This De’Longhi machine has replaced my name brand store front coffee needs. Set up was easy. Just put the machine together, prime it and start using. Lets start from the top, the actual top. The bean hopper is a perfect size and holds half of a normal size bag O beans. They do recommend only putting the amount of beans you plan on grinding for that day. You will get a fresher taste of coffee. I am confused though on which beans are oily and which aren’t. Still trying to figure that out but oil isn’t good for the grinding portion of the machine. Finding your grind strength and portion fill for a single cup and double cub will vary, so be prepared to waste a little coffee. Once you grind the perfect about of coffee in your cup handle, don’t take it out, tamp it. The tamper is a perfect size and place to use. I love it. I also chose to clean out the tamping hole/grinded beans outlet after each use. Move the ground coffee to the right and strong but firmly clamp it in. Pick espresso, American or coffee and place your cup underneath. The instructions give you pictures of what exactly you are looking for in color for a perfect taste. I will say if you don’t have a specific cup you wont be able to achieve a good crèma. While this coffee is finished but still dripping I fill my canteen with milk and start frothing/steaming. After a few uses, I noticed I like super hot milk so I use the steamer a lot longer than I should and it gets super loud to were I give up and turn it off. Don’t wanna break anything. Then I take my coffee cup and heat that up in the microwave, for it to be super hot. Add the milk and I’m on my way. No lie, it’s a long process and you must clean everything after each use but the taste of your own cappuccino and espresso and so on are really worth it. And I save money! WINNING. I love this machine. I hope it last for years to come.

Love the customization aspects while still being somewhat automatic. It's easy to set your grind size and amount and repeat what you liked over and over again. I came from the Gaggia Accedemia (fully automatic) and even though it was a wonderful machine I wanted to have more control and feel like I was making the coffee. Would absolutely recommend