I have been meaning to write a review on this machine for a long time. I consider myself not just a heavy coffee drinker, but someone who appreciates the many forms you can make it. After a while drinking espresso drinks, like Americanos and lattes, I decided to invest in something for my home because I was spending too much money at coffee shops. Like most normal people, I don't have $500 plus to spend on one but I also was not interested in buying something completely cheap and wasteful for $35 like you will see some of these machines.When I purchased this machine it was about $200, and it looks like the price has dropped since then, but I will say that for someone on a budget, this was a really great purchase that gets you very close to what you would produce from a high-end machine if you learn to use it to practice. It took me a little bit of time to figure out exactly how to get my espresso the way I enjoyed it, but when I finally did I used it every single day for probably more than six months. It does not take very long to prepare when you turn on the machine so the water is hot and ready to go within a minute or two. It does come with a plastic tab and I do recommend getting some accessories to go with it so you get as close to high-quality espresso as possible. Through trial and error you will find how hard to pack the coffee, because if it is too compact you will not be able to run the steam through it as the pressure is not strong enough. It will come out dripping instead of flowing and when it comes out that slow it tends to be extremely bitter and usually ended up down the drain. Eventually you will find the Best way to pack the coffee, how much time to run the machine, and how to properly clean it. If at first you are not enjoying the product you were making I highly recommend continuing to practice until you find what suits your needs. When you turn on the machine after preheating, you flip the switch to make the espresso. It does not have an automatic off switch, meaning you can pull the coffee as long as you want depending on your preference. I discovered that the best way for me to make what I want was by using a particular size cop and when I reached the top of the cup that typically was the strength of espresso I wanted. It is a little difficult to clean, but it does have a function to run water through it to clean it and flush out remaining espresso grounds.I use this every single morning for probably at least six months. I made everything from quad shot Americanos to hot and iced mochas and lattes. The machine comes with two different kinds of cups to insert into the portafilter. I believe one is a 2 cup deep and the other is one cup. I always used the deeper cup so I could make strong espresso. One fun little tidbit about this machine is when you open the lid where the water reservoir is, there is a place to store the cup that you are not using. Removing the water reservoir and feeling it is completely simple. Occasionally if you do not press it into the machine well enough it will not seal and you will not be able to pull the water through, just make note of that when putting the water reservoir back in.One of the biggest pitfalls of this machine is the steam wand. It is very short, you can adjust length of wand to be made either for hot milk or cappuccinos. My big complaint about this is that it is a very small one. I had to buy the tiniest stainless steel frothing pitcher, because the steaming wand was so short you could not even reach the bottom otherwise. This resulted in your steamed milk exploding all over. In addition, there is a rubber seal inside the steaming wand and at some point mine just started to completely shoot off because the steam coming out was stronger than the seal so essentially, the steamy one was useless to me. Additionally, the steaming wand seemed to have trouble producing steam versus shooting out scalding hot water. It seems like you had to run it for quite a while before you would get steam only. This was the only part of the machine that I found to be too cheap to use. It was by no means a dealbreaker for me because I found that heating and frothing milk with a separate appliance was actually better quality milk anyway. If I could purchase a machine just like this and skip the steaming wanted to save money I would much prefer that. Next, is the temp that comes with the product. It is cheap plastic, and serves virtually no purpose. It is very cheap to just buy one here on Amazon. In the six months or so that I can use my machine every single day I never had to do a deep cleaning. However, I packed it up and moved across the country with it and when I attempted to use it one day it came out terrible. I'm hoping that although it was not used for quite a few months that it still has the ability to work by breaking it in again. If it doesn't, I still feel as though I got my moneys worth because of how much I did use it when it was working fine before I moved.Overall, I am extremely satisfied with this machine, keeping in mind that it is on the lower end of price but it produces relatively high quality espresso for being $200.To summarize:-Trial and error at the beginning is the best way to find your preference in strength and taste of espresso.-Part Of trial and error is figuring out how much coffee to put in and how hard to Tamp it.-If you remove the water reservoir to refill, make sure you press it back in very hard or it may not seal and you will not be able to suck up the water.-When pulling a shot, it does not turn off automatically. You need to watch it, and a few seconds before you decide the quantity of espresso is enough, you then turn it off, because it will drip for a few seconds longer.-For consistent espresso I recommend using a cup that you can use as a measuring tool so you know when to turn it off.-In my opinion, the steaming wand is useless, and you are better off getting a separate appliance if you are going to make cappuccinos, lattes, etc.-I did not do regular maintenance on cleaning and things turned out OK, but that could be why it does not work very well now that I have not used it in a few months. I'm eventually going to figure out if the espresso machine is completely useless after being retired or if there is a way to break it back in.-It can stand up to every day use, for how long I'm not sure, but for me it was 6+ months.-When you attach the Portafilter, take note that it has gone in correctly or it wilL not thread appropriately and it will make a huge mess, dripping out the sides.-When you thread the Portafilter on to the machine, eventually the handle can become loose from all the tightening and loosening. If the handle were to break I'm sure there are replacements that are easy to get.-It is relatively compact and I was very impressed with how little space it did take up on the counter.-If you want to do this "right" you will probably want to purchase other appliances to have the best experience possible.-If after months without use it no longer is functional, I will probably replace it with a second one similar or identical to this, because as far as I am concerned, I used it very heavily for a long time, which is worth $200.As many people will say, it does not make sense to buy a machine like this without investing in the accessories that really allow you to enjoy your espresso the way you should be able to. I'll put the recommended accessories below here:-Metal tamp (cheap on Amazon)-Small cup for your espresso. I like using one that is about the size of a small tea cup that you would use with sake or jasmine tea because it is the perfect size to gauge when I am finished making my shot.-Burr Grinder (I have Baratza Virtuoso for $229). This is obviously not necessary, but there is a reason why it is so expensive. It makes incredible ground coffee to your liking that you can adjust from extremely fine for espresso to extremely course for a French press. It was a big investment.-Automatic electric milk frother and warmer ( can run you about $30-$40 on Amazon)-Somethung to use to make boiling water. I prefer an electric kettle with various temperature settings because if you can't tell, I'm a pretty big enthusiast. But you can just boil water on the stove. I don't recommend running water through the espresso machine because I think it will come out tasting like old coffee grounds after you make your shot. I have a Cuisinart CPK-17 PerfecTemp appliance that was $85 but if he eats various temperatures for different kinds of tea and French press, and addition to boiling. It also has a keep warm function. I love it.-Espresso knock box for getting rid of used coffee grounds, but that is by no means necessary, you can also just use the trashcan but you might lose the little cup inside if you hit too hard (they are not very expensive, maybe $15, it may not be worth the space it takes up)-Torani syrups if you prefer flavored lattes. I buy the vanilla syrup because I use it not just in lattes but in making my own homemade whipped cream. It is especially delicious when making iced lattes.- when I made hot mochas I would use Penzey's Hot Chocolate Powder. I found it to be much more delicious than any kind of liquid syrup for chocolate, and really made incredible mochas, if not just hot chocolate alone-I decided to buy something to make homemade whipped cream, and an aluminum 1 pint whipped cream dispenser ran me about $40, but mind you, you need to purchase nitrous inserts. It seems like a lot, but when you love homemade whipped cream enough it truly is worth it. Sidenote, good organic heavy whipping cream with a splash of the vanilla syrup mentioned above is an excellent way to get thick delicious whipped cream. However, for whatever reason, you need to use all of that whip cream within a few days or it does turn sour fast. If you can't use it fast then I recommend getting a half pint dispenser.-Nitrous inserts are pretty cheap, inserts are pretty cheap, about $8 for a 10 pack. Each dispenser is good for 1 pint of whip cream.-Although I was really bad with maintenance, you will probably want to get a cleaning kit to remove hard water buildup etc. over time.Yes, that is a lot. Yes, the coffee grinder cost more than the espresso machine, yes those are a lot of accessories if you want to go espresso crazy. However, if you can maintain it you can have incredibly delicious drinks and stay out of coffee shops for a very long time. if you use it every single day like I did and pull anywhere from 2 to 6 shots a day that would have amounted to probably $4-$8 a day, if not more, and the best part is that I can always refill the whipped cream after I drink it off the top.This is a really great way to invest in being an at-home barista who not only takes interest in the art of making these drinks but also is looking to avoid expensive coffee shops. I hope this helps!Two items were missing from my package, the pod filter and the 1 cup filter. Furthermore, every time I go to knock the grinds disc, the filter comes off the holder. Very annoying. I contacted the Delonghi about the missing parts 4 weeks ago and I still have not received the missing parts. I have been trying to contact them but I find myself holding indefinitely for an agent. Very poor customer service assistance, actually it is non-existent. I like the coffee the machine puts out, but based on the poor service, I would not buy from Delonghi again.Pros-make shots of espresso, regular cups of coffee, and other coffee drinkshigh quality well made productlarge water tankwide drip trayshort warm up timeCons-sometimes difficult to get the coffee "puck" to release from the pod after you've made your coffeethe distance between the drip and the cup is shallow so you can't use a travel mugNo timing mechanism to let you know when to turn it to the off position. You'll need to watch some videos or do some reading to find out the proper drip times for espresso shotsI have been learning more about coffee and really enjoy a nice shot of espresso but didn't realize how easy it was to make them at home. My cousin has this machine and made me a couple of shots and that prompted me to buy my own. This machine is very well made and since I bought a "like new" version it was a lot less expensive. It does take a little getting used to it but once you get past that initial learning curve you'll be glad you own an espresso maker. Watch some videos on YouTube. You'll be glad you did. My only real issue is that the distance from the drip to the cup is not very big and therefore you can't put a travel mug under the drip to make a cup of coffee to go. You have to use a regular mug and transfer your coffee to your travel mug.This machine is very user friendly and competent enough to deliver a decent espresso. The jury is still out on the taste but that’s also a matter of operator’s error (right now I will blame it on the machine :) ). Oddly enough, it flows better when you don’t tamper the coffee too much, just enough to keep it inside the measuring container does the trick. Other than that just be prepared for a short learning curve. Also, if you want to froth milk for a cap, be ready to set it as a choice. I’m not a fan of capuccinos so the frother has remained unused most of the time. All in all, I can recommend this espresso maker to those who like it and want to get their daily shot of high end caffeine.Estuve buscando entre muchas cafeteras y esta sin duda es una muy buena opción para disfrutar la experiencia de preparar un café. Tenía mis dudas porque es presurizada, es decir: aumenta la presión la capsula para aumentar la crema del café, y eso no le permite tener un molido muy fino.Déjame explicarte: Si usas un molino, como el de mi foto, no lo puedes moler en el tope de fino, debe ser en semi fino, porque como está presurizada, ya tiene presión extra (es decir lo que se logra al afinar el grano). La presión por definición física es: P = Fuerza/Área, por lo que si hay una buena presión (15 bar), PERO en una área muy muy pequeña(grano muy fino), la Fuerza tiende a 0 (¡MATEMÁTICAS HIJO!) y no lograrás que salga el agua, porque no hay suficiente fuerza, ósea, se tapará (y por eso hay gente que dice que no sacan nada).Si por el cambio, compras el grano ya molido, por ejemplo de los que venden en el super, ya no te preocupas, solo compra molido para espresso o fino. Esos molidos están diseñados para esta cafetera, porque suponen que no tienes una maquina industrial que sí puede sacar el espresso aunque el molido sea extra fino.Mi conclusión: la experiencia es buena para hacerte un café de buena calidad, saca todo el sabor del café, lo exprime, creeme que la intensidad depende ya del tipo de grano.Excelente hasta el día de hoy, si algo llega a salir mal, actualizaré, ya llevo casi un mes con ella y saco de 4 a 5 tazas al día sin problema.Si tienen dudas, esta es una buena opción por el precio, es elegante y no le pide nada a otras que pensé comprar más caras! Yo no compraría una Oster o una Hamilton en vez de esta, nada que ver, la precisión es lo más importante en el café y en el sabor, si no te importa el sabor ni el equilibrio del café, pues compra otra más barata, si eres más exigente empieza por una de estas para arriba.I love this machine. I love lattes, and I absolutely adore using this machine. I've used it almost twice daily since I've received it, and I have nothing but praise.To complement the machine, I did buy a Breville temperature sensing stainless steel milk jug. That way I know the exact moment when to stop frothing.Once thing I did read and do stress is that the espresso doesn't stop on it's own. So you do need to remember to keep an eye on it. I don't mind because I actually get satisfaction seeing the foam form on top as it fills up my little espresso cup.If you're a beginner to espresso machines and want something that doesn't take up a large amount of counter space, enjoy being environmentally friendly (no plastic k-cups!), and like making a great tasting home made espresso, I definitely recommend this machine.If you like average coffee, this is your machine for the price. I don't like how it pressurizes and forces the coffee through. Trust me, I get the process of pressured cup process and pulling coffee, but the element maybe gets too hot and the coffee tastes burnt. Also, the way the tray is built, it leaks all over the counter. Too much water releases after you take the cup off to wash out the grinds. and with the top tray that overlaps "down" over the tray, causes the captured water to leak all over your counter. I'll be selling this to an average joe - cup of a coffee drinker - and spending more to get myself a good cup-a-joe maker. The steamer is not bad for a latte, but I'm a cappuccino fan and the foam isn't right either.Si je pouvais mettre zéro étoile, je le ferais. J’ai fini par ranger et abandonner cette machine en seulement quelques mois. L’eau coule de partout, chaque fois que je la fermais, je devais dé-clancher le réservoir d’eau pour éviter qu’il se vide sur le comptoir, si je partais pour quelques jours, je ne prenais pas de chance et je le vidais complètement. Des que je mettais la machine en marche, l’eau s’écoulait de l’endroit où on met le café, et si j’oubliais de la fermer, je ramassais encore une inondation. J’ai fini par en avoir marre de toujours nettoyer. J’ai chercher sur le net à savoir si c’était moi qui avait acheté un citron mais sur tous les forums, les acheteurs se plaignent des mêmes problèmes. La période de retour était fermée sur ma commande donc pas de recours possible.