My Delonghi Coffee Maker: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

I'm a total coffee aficionado, and I've had my fair share of coffee makers over the years. Recently, I got my hands on the Delonghi, and I have to say, it's been a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it makes amazing coffee - rich, smooth, and full of flavor. But on the other hand, I've had a few issues with the machine itself.

I've had my trusty Melitta Barista TS at home for almost four years, and I recently got a Delonghi for our summer house so we can enjoy good coffee there too. Last year, I was on the hunt for the perfect coffee maker, but the purchase never went through. When I think of a 'drip coffee maker', I imagine a lot of hassle and a mess of ground coffee. I also had a hard time deciding on a model - I started researching Gaggia, but ended up with Delonghi because, according to many reviews, the taste of the coffee is just as good, even for a non-expert. Plus, I wasn't planning to use it all the time. In the end, I was making coffee with filter packs and had almost forgotten about the drip method. But then, we visited my sister-in-law's place and she made us coffee with her Delonghi... Let's just say my filter pack coffee wasn't even in the same league! If I managed to get the taste right with the amount of coffee I used, the crema was a different story altogether. I used to be indifferent to crema, but I've grown to love it. I ordered the coffee maker on the same day at a great price on WB with courier delivery right to our summer house.

It's been a month since I started using the coffee maker.

As soon as I got the coffee maker, I thought I'd brew a cup right away, but it didn't quite work out that way! Not only did I not know how to use it, but I also encountered two issues right off the bat! I was so inexperienced that I couldn't figure out if the problem was with me or the coffee maker.

Honestly, the spout on this thing doesn't always stay in place when it's closed. I was a bit stumped about whether I should try to force it into position or just leave it alone. After reading some reviews, I decided not to push it too hard, hoping it would settle in after a few uses. But nope, it's still been a bit of a struggle. Some users mentioned that the spout can be pushed back into place with a bit of pressure, but I'm not sure if that's the case here. Either the machine's just not designed well or the quality control on these coffee makers is inconsistent.

Another thing that's been bugging me is that the filter keeps falling out of the spout and getting stuck in the coffee group, leaving the head on! Yeah, it's a bit of a pain to get the filter in, but it's happened to me a few times already. I've seen some people suggest using a tool to pry the filter out, but I just ended up pushing the spout onto the filter and it seemed to do the trick. Not exactly the most elegant solution, but it works.

Needless to say, my first cup of coffee took a while to make.

You can adjust the following settings in this machine:

1. The temperature of your drink;

2. The hardness of the water you're using;

3. The amount of water you pour in - for a single cup (the first button), it's up to 90ml, and for two cups (the second button), it's 180ml. So you can make either 90 or 180ml of coffee in one go.

4. The idle time before it turns off automatically.

In the box you'll find a plastic thermometer with a measuring spoon, the spout, and three filters: one for one scoop, one for two scoops, and one for espresso (standard ESE, 44mm).

The coffee flavor. That's purely subjective and individual. I only drink black coffee, and in that sense, everything here is spot on. I think you can get the flavor you want by adjusting the amount of coffee, the quality of the beans (that's the most important thing!), and the grind level. I even bought a coffee grinder to go with it. Before that, I had a manual one, but it was a bit simpler. Compared to an automatic coffee machine, this one gives you a lot more room for experimentation, and if you want to play around with all that, it's amazing!

I like a deep, rich flavor with a hint of acidity, coffee that has a thick, velvety texture and a complex taste with multiple notes. So, I'm not a fan of Americanos, but a classic espresso is still too much for me, at least for now. I like to drink coffee in a quantity that lets me feel like I've really had it, and 20-30 ml is too little. My coffee cup is 90 ml. I use one measuring spoon, but the coffee puck on the other side should be dense and well-extracted. If you add too little coffee, the puck will be too wet, and there might even be water in the cup, which makes the coffee taste worse (at least, that's my opinion).

I use bottled water - the same kind I use for my electric kettle and coffee machine. It has a low mineral content, and I never get any limescale buildup in my kettle.

I like to turn on the coffee maker ahead of time so the top surface gets a chance to warm up. Nothing else in it heats up, which is a bummer – some machines have a heated head that warms up when you put the filter in place. Not this one, unfortunately. Experienced coffee enthusiasts give this machine a hard time for that reason.

To warm up the head with the filter, I run a shot of water through it into my cup (about 90 ml), then give it a quick wipe with a paper towel. My cup can also get a head start on warming up while I'm fiddling with the coffee.

To insert or remove the head, I hold the coffee maker by the top part of the body because it's a bit too light and tends to slide around on the surface. Just be careful not to accidentally hit any buttons.

I'm happy with the thermometer that came with it. I usually grind my coffee to a fairly fine grind, but not the finest.

I'm planning to try making a decaf cappuccino in it, but that's not really my go-to drink. Decaf Illy in a French press is a decent alternative, and it's way less hassle.

I'm pretty happy with the purchase overall, but I'm not sure if I'd buy this Delonghi coffee maker again if this one breaks or if I want to try something else. The coffee tastes great, though! I'm still not sure if I like it more than the coffee from my Melitta, but the quality of the Delonghi's components is probably not super stable. I've had three problems with my machine so far, and to make matters worse, a crack formed on the front of the casing after I moved it from my house to the dacha and back. It was transported carefully in a box, so I'm not sure what to make of that. It doesn't affect the functionality, but my son said it's an aesthetic issue.

I didn't even get to play around with it for the whole dacha season before I took it home with the coffee grinder.

The coffee maker makes great coffee, and I'd definitely recommend it! However, considering the issues I've got with my unit – and I'm not sure if it's a manufacturing defect or not – I'd give it three stars.