DeLonghi EC155 Espresso Machine: Barista Flavor at Home

I have a big Saeco Vienna that I purchased about 15 years ago…I even took it with me on my deployment and my office tent was the most popular….The Saeco still works like a charm, but it is in El Paso and we are stuck in MD until the engine on our Prevost gets fixed and we can get back home…In the meantime I have been using a single cup coffee maker with k-style cups. I recently decided to stop creating all this plastic waste. So I bought reusable gold plated cups, filters for them and ground coffee….it just left a lot to be desired still.I am originally from Germany and we traveled all over Europe when I was little and remember many an early morning while on the road, stopping in a small French, Spanish, or Portuguese town, and the clicking and clacking of the espresso machines and the hissing of the frother steaming the milk….cafe au lait mmmmmhhhhhSo, I decided on researching mini-espresso makers. I selected this model because my research indicated a pump-driven model was better and more durable than a steam driven one. Also the reviews indicated that this model, as long as I understood what I was getting into, would fit the bill.Got the machine today, unpacked it, read through the instructions, familiarized myself with the parts and operation.Then I proceeded to go through all the steps. Before you use coffee, you are supposed to run the equivalent of 5 espresso-sized cups of only water through the machine. This cleans out and dust and whatnots. To do this you insert the filter handle with either the one cup or two cup filter insert, make sure it is seated properly, insert the plug in the socket and turn the selector lever to the right so the arrow points to the squiggly lines. You MUST preheat! It does not take long. Once the green light comes on, rotate the selector lever to the right one more time to start the brew cycle….*******IMPORTANT******- initially, the machine hummed loudly, vibrated a lot, but no water came out. I turned it off, then lifted the reservoir up, then pushed it back down to make sure it was securely seated. This time the water started to flow.- this machine will not turn off automatically after a certain amount of water is dispensed. As long as the knob is set to brew and there is water in the reservoir, it will continue to brew. You must turn the knob back to the left to stop the brew cycle.- it takes both hands to attach the filter housing as you will have to hold the machine with one hand to keep it from turning while you attach the filter housing.- to brew, make sure the steam knob on top (has a + and – sign) is turned as far to the minus sign as possible, otherwise it will start steaming from the frother once you turn the front knob all the way to the right.- the selector knob is black and so is the raised arrow. This makes it hard to tell what the selector arrow is on. Not a big deal. It isn’t like there are a multitude of settings. But, being the visual person that I am, I will make a dot with a teensy dollop of paint.‐‐———————————————————So then, obviously since I did not know initially that I had to turn the knob back to the left, I stood there waiting for the water to stop. I eventually turned the knob to the left as the catch basin was getting ready to overflow. (Yes, like other people mentioned, I had to take the grid off to place my cup underneath the filter/dispenser. I do think one of those real tiny espresso cups should fit underneath without a problem.) I was bummed out, because I thought my machine was broken out of the box and decided to contact customer service after brewing a cup. I figured the machine was still usable, I just would have to turn the know to stop the brew cycle.I placed a scoop of grounds in the single cup filter, used the tamper on the right side, secured to filter housing, turned the knob to brew, then stopped it when I thought I had the right amount of espresso in my cup. It was a rich dark brew with a beautiful crema on top – not covering across the whole top and thin, but that is because the regular 3-inch diameter of the cup. Will order some glass espresso cups, so I can get the full Monti. Beautiful aroma and taste! I added some Davinci white chocolate sauce and was very happy with the result. It took me back 50+ years….Afterwards, I checked the questions on here and found out there is nothing wrong with my machine and that the amount of water has to be controlled with the brew knob. I actually like that as you can customize each cup to the drinkers’ preference.Yes, for the purists, this may not be it and they have $300 and up to spend….but I cannot find a better espresso maker for $62 (including shipping and taxes) Is it worth it?You betcha! I am impressed…small, but olala…

This machine must be judged for what it is and for whom it’s designed: it is an inexpensive, entry-level espresso/cappuccino maker made for beginners. If you want to control water temperature and pressure, and if you care about how long ago your beans were roasted and how the husk was removed, this is not your new machine. If you are like me–someone who enjoys the taste of cappuccino and likes making it for yourself and your spouse–then this machine is a darling. In my estimation, with this machine, and as a beginner, I make better cappuccino than any that I’ve had at an American coffee chain (that is not a grand claim if you include Starbucks, which in my estimation makes truly awful coffee), and on par with what I can get at my favorite mid-range restaurant. My wife and daughter agree, at least to my face. To see how to use it and some good (if somewhat goofy) explanations, see the “Crew Review: DeLonghi EC155” YouTube video. I have now owned the machine for four months or so, and this is what I have learned:1. Keep the machine clean.2. Before steaming your milk, run some steam through the steam arm to drive out the water that has condensed. If you do not, you will dilute your milk with water.3. Contrary to other reviewers, I have found that the built-in tamper works just fine, since with this kind of machine you do not need to tamp with much pressure (see the video).4. Twice I have ground my coffee too finely and the machine has “over-extracted” (I believe that is the correct term): the water spends too much time in contact with the grounds and the espresso drips out slowly, it is black with very little crema, and it tastes extremely strong and bitter. Both times I thought something was wrong with the machine, but it worked well when I changed how I ground. With my new burr grinder I find that I have to grind one or two notches coarser than the finest grind.5. I make my espresso with Eight O’Clock Bean, whole bean, Colombian roast coffee, and I find it to be delicious. I have tried more expensive beans and others that are especially roasted for making espresso and cannot really tell the difference. If I were not adding the frothed milk, I probably could.6. If you wish to use a tall mug or cup, you will need to remove the drip tray, which is easily done.7. The steam arm is a bit low as well, but it works just fine if you have a low pitcher. Amazon sells one.8. It may very well be that after some time will will begin desiring a more expensive and versatile machine as my taste begins to become more discerning. That will take some research, because DeLonghi makes more expensive machines than this one, but I have watched some YouTube videos about them, and as far as I can tell, they cost more because they are larger. Otherwise they operate nearly identically to the EC 155: they can brew one single or double shot at a time, and they brew in the same way, so I anticipate that the coffee would taste no differently.9. I have nothing negative to say (that could change the longer I own the machine); I believe that many who have reviewed the machine negatively have not researched how to make espresso with this kind of machine and they have not followed directions (it is also possible that DeLonghi ships some lemons). Many who give the machine some cons are probably rating it in a classification in which it does not belong.I give the machine the highest recommendation, considering what you get for the money.Addendum 4/28/2013, five months after purchase. I still rate this machine with five stars. I add the following tips:1. Allow the machine to heat for the full 15 minutes stated in the instructions. The green light will come on after just a minute or so, but the machine will produce much better steam when it is fully heated. I presume this also has an effect on the flavor of the coffee.2. From some Youtube videos I have learned that high-end cappuccino makers produce what people call “dry” steam. This one does not. To get the steam as dry as possible, before frothing the milk I run the steam for awhile into a plastic cup, which I sometimes cover with a cloth, until the steam arm stops sputtering.3. Different coffees behave differently in the machine. I noted earlier that I do not grind on the finest setting. That was because I was trying out a new coffee. I don’t know what it is about that particular coffee, but I could not grind it as fine as I can others.4. Skim milk froths just fine, but whole milk tastes much better. I have also learned that frothed milk should have the consistency of wet paint. To achieve this, I immerse the steam head about 1/4 inch into the milk and try to hold the milk pitcher at the same level as the volume of the milk increases, without allowing the plastic head to become completely immersed in the milk. It’s possible to treble the volume of the milk, but you’ll get better consistency if you double it or a little more. What you don’t want is foam: large bubbles that you can make out with the naked eye. If you get them, swirl the milk around some and tap the pitcher on the counter top until they subside. You want milk with the same, thick consistency throughout5. Froth the milk before you make the espresso. If it needs swirling, I swirl the milk while the espresso is brewing. If you allow the milk to sit, it will begin to separate with milk-consistency milk on the bottom and foam on the top.6. I “pull” a double shot for about 20 seconds (I have yet to use the single shot filter that comes with the machine). A little more and the espresso is too weak to my taste, a little less and it’s too strong.7. The time you need for a good shot will also depend on the type of coffee you’re using, how finely you grind it, and how firmly you tamp it. So you’ll spend some time figuring out which variables you’ll play with to get the coffee you like.8. I’m about to purchase a coffee tamper that fits the filter. I believe it requires a 53 millimeter tamper. The tamper on the machine continues to work just fine, and I believe because of how the machine brews it does not require 30 pounds of pressure as some machines do.