Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I used a De'Longhi combination espresso maker/coffee pot for 6 years. I had zero issues with it in all that time. No leaks. No breakdowns. Made a good pot of coffee and espresso shots. Always worked great. Would instantly recommend that model again. I only got rid of it because I was moving. So I decided to get another De'Longhi coffee machine. I decided to go with this model based on price, it had mostly good reviews, and because I mainly used the espresso side of my previous machine. I have not even had this maker for a month so these are my initial reactions. I have to be realistic with myself that it is difficult and will take some adjustment to go from a higher-end model to a low-end average setup (for De’Longhi). Pros: Makes a great tasting espresso shot. Getting a new machine showed me just how dirty my old model must have been. The coffee in this is so much smoother, clearer, less foamy, and no bitterness (I never thought to run a cleaner/de-scaler through the previous maker in all that time). It comes with two different portafilter basket sizes: a shallow size for single shot and deeper size for double shot and a convenient cup holder under the lid for the one not in use. The portafilter has a conveniently built in basket holder for when you need to clean it out and hold it upside down. There’s a cup warmer built into the maker, but not really a selling point for me. However, it’s there for those who think that’s cool. Built in frother and does a decent job. Built in tamper if you don’t have one. Cons: My biggest complaint with this espresso maker is the unnecessarily short space to put a coffee cup. From the top of the drip pan to the bottom spout of the portafilter is only 2.5 inches. Granted I know it’s an espresso machine, which of course they must be thinking one would only use espresso cups, however, it seems that some extra plastic could have been molded into the length of the unit for added maneuverability. The clearance is barely tolerable for even an extra short coffee cup, which I had to find at a thrift store. If you remove the stainless steel top from the drip pan you gain little over an extra inch of space, but it is still tight and easy to spill when trying to remove the cup filled with coffee. There is quite a bit a vibration while it’s brewing, but not really a big deal. The little structure is accomodating pushing 15 BAR through a metal screen. The built in tamper is not really ideal. It’s a nice-to-have as a last resort if you had nothing else, but really not for serious use. The water reservoir is fairly small and needs to be refilled often (again this in contrast to my previous unit that was bigger, so not really a con per se, but just giving a heads up it’s small). One thing to keep in mind is that this is a manual machine, which was a selling point for me as I don't always like bells and whistles. You have to do everything yourself except for actually pushing the espresso through the filter. There’s no timers, back-lit buttons, buzzers, alarms, clocks, presets, there's nothing auto about this and the price reflects that so if that's what you're looking for, don’t get your hopes up . If you’re looking for a machine to make you a decent espresso shot, don’t have a lot of counter space, have some short coffee cups, and realistic expectations, then this espresso maker may be a good fit for you. I give it 3.5 to 4 stars.