De'Longhi Magnifica Evo Automatic Espresso & Coffee Machine with Auto Milk Frother, Built-in Grinder & Auto-Clean Function - For Latte, Cappuccino, Americano, Iced Coffee, ECAM29084SB

Why did we buy it?Our purchase was based on wanting to improve our morning coffee without the mess of a dirty coffee pot and often wasted coffee, using harmful plastic capsules, or committing the time and effort needed to use a manual expresso machine.What do we love about it?We love everything about it. You simply set your grind preferences, turn it on and after its ready (maybe a minute?) you hit one button and your hot amazing expresso comes out! That's it! And it's very easy to clean and maintain as well.But we don't drink Expresso?Keep in mind, we are traditional coffee drinkers, but this makes wonderful coffee by simply adding your frothed milk to the expresso, and we enjoy adding a little sweetness too. I was surprised to find I'm using less sugar now because the coffee has no bitter taste. We were not even aware our old coffee was bitter until we got this new De'Longhi, and my husband has completely stopped adding sugar all together.What kinds of beans do we use?We use Lavazza Espresso Italiano Whole Bean Coffee Blend as several reviews suggested. The coffee that comes out of this machine with these beans is simply delicious, but sure you can use any quality coffee or expresso beans of preference. We also enjoy using this same brand of expresso beans too, both are excellent.What features are helpful?This automatic machine has smart and helpful light indicators to let you know when it needs water, beans or dumping of grinds so your coffee will never again stop pouring mid-stream. It's well designed and takes us only a few minutes to maintain each week. There are controls for grind preferences and strength. They made everything super easy, which is great because to put it kindly, I'm not technically inclined.Is frothing difficult?Since we are not baristas, and both drink regular coffee with creamer, we were happy that the steam spout is powerful and needs no fancy maneuvers to pile up a quick cup of hot creamy froth.Any Negatives?There is nothing hard or difficult about this machine, with the exception of leaving home, as it will be very 'hard' to pay for a pricey cup of Starbucks as you will find it 'difficult' to go without your wonderful morning coffee!How long do we expect this machine to last?Lastly, we researched different manufactures and discovered Delongi has been around over 200 years and they have shops all over the US that will help maintain your machine to last a lifetime. My sister has same Magnifico De'Longhi machine but a manual model she bought over 20 years ago and it's still going strong!Doubting new automatic machines will last as long as the manual ones (which I think with proper care will last a lifetime) but for the convenience of automation we will be happy to replace it after a decade or so. Imagine by then they will have "touchless" where you just talk to it and tell it what you want, and it will automatically put your cup under the spout and pour it out for you. Then in the not-too-distant future, a robot will bring it to you! (How lazy can we get?)Do I think it's worth the price?We purchased this machine used 'LIKE NEW', which we guessed was an unused return, and we saved half the retail price! When it came, you could tell it was Brand new/ never used, and it worked perfectly! If you'd like to save a small fortune like we did, I suggest you wait for Black Friday or search now for a similar 'like new' return. We knew Amazon would take it back if there were any issue in 30 days at no cost to us as prime members, so it was a 'low risk' for an inconvenience, to save over $600. Would I pay full price for it? Not if I could save a bundle like I did, but if I couldn't and if I could afford it retail, yes, in a heartbeat.

I now have two of these and couldn't be happier. I originally bought one of these over 10 years ago for my office and it is still going strong! I bought a second one recently for my home as the price had dropped to within my range. It works fantastically for espresso and couldn't be easier to operate. Press the on button, wait about a minute for it to warm up and flush, then press the one or two shot buttons for a quick and easy espresso without all the work.There are various adjustments from grind size (inside the hopper), to grind volume and water volume (the two knobs outside). You can adjust from espresso-size to full on watered-down Americano-style cup o' coffee. The nozzle is height-adjustable so that you can put a full-sized mug underneath the spout, which is a plus as many espresso machines are difficult to place larger cups underneath (note that some XL mugs may not fit).A few tips to make your experience better:* Empty the drip tray periodically, but that should be pretty obvious. There is a little floating red "post" that is supposed to float up and prevent you from sliding a cup under the spout when the tray is too full, but in practice it's just easier to see that it is full between the slats in the tray.* Empty the used coffee puck bin when the light comes on. After rinsing the tray and puck bin, it's a good idea to make sure that the two sensor trigger tabs (one on the silver plastic tray, and one on the black puck bin) are clean and dry. These insert into sensors inside the machine so that it can sense if everything is in place before operating. Making sure that they are clean and dry will keep the sensors from gumming up or failing (it has never happened to me in practice, but better to be safe than sorry)* On a weekly basis or so, you should rinse the easily-removable brew assembly (the gray assembly with the red tabs). It is fully immerse-able, but I would not recommend putting it in your dishwasher. A simple rinse and check to see that the piston moves freely (push down on the silver metal filter cover) is all that is needed. If the piston is having trouble moving, you may need to add a thin layer some food-safe lube to the inside of the cylinder. It's also a good idea to vacuum out any spilled coffee grounds inside at this time. To replace, make sure that the the assembly is fully compressed (as it is when you remove it) and it will snap back into the machine easily. The instruction manual describes the whole process in detail. Note that the machine should be fully turned off in order to do this.* Beyond that, there are 3 O-rings that are part of the brewing assembly (two on the removable assembly, and a fixed one inside to the upper right) that will need to be maintained periodically. At first, you can extend the O-ring life by applying a food-safe lubricant to the inside of the depressed piston shaft without having to remove the clasp or piston, but ultimately you will need to replace them. There is a plastic retaining clasp at the bottom of the piston on the brew assembly that will need to be removed to access the rings, which are on the inside around the piston. Be gentle as the part is plastic, but so far has been durable for me (note that it fits back only one way and you may need to flip it over to re-attach - pay attention when removing). Don't worry. All you need is a bit of patience and no tools will be required. You can find replacements by searching for "DeLonghi O-Ring" on the web. The ones on Amazon are expensive and there are other online options (look for German-made if possible). You will need to replace them about every 2 to 4 years depending upon use. If you notice that your coffee grind "pucks" are crumbly or are ejected watery (with the grounds gumming up the brew assembly) or you find grinds falling below/behind the brew assembly, it is time to lube or replace the rings. If it takes excessive pressure to move the piston, it's also time to lube or replace the O-rings.Besides the periodic maintenance, the only technical issue I have had was with the original 10+ year old machine. I had a water tube inside the machine start leaking on me (I noticed steam coming from the vents on the side). It was not difficult to replace, but required some more mechanical know-how and tools than the simple O-ring replacement. Fortunately, there are plenty of instructions on the web and the replacement parts are readily available. I used ereplacementparts (search the web) for the exact replacement part. Once I had the part, it took all of about 30 minutes to replace it and I was back in business. That was about 5 years ago and it is still going strong.This is a great machine for the money and I would recommend it to anyone.