DeLonghi EAM3200 Magnifica Super Automatic Espresso/Coffee Machine
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend Coffee is a relatively new beverage. Originally available to privileged few, it grew in popularity over the past 150 years. Across cultures and nationalities, coffee is a vital part of everyday life. That's the philosophy behind the Magnifica from DeLonghi. A fully automatic system, Magnifica starts with the bean. It custom grinds the beans and brews them directly for the freshest cup of coffee possible. The process captures the most flavonoids,… Product details and pricing info |
|---|
60 Customer Reviews Posted
- easy, fun, tasty
- I researched the superautomatics pretty well and went with this one. It is very easy to use and has plenty of settings to play with. I specifically did not buy one of the newer digital models figuring that that would just leave more of a chance for something to break. I purchased mine from a popular auction site, it was listed as "refurbished" or returned. If it was either, I could not tell except for one small ding that is hardly noticeable. For the price I paid it was an awesome buy. The frother does work well, just make sure that it is on correctly and that the o-rings are present. If you happen to be missing an o-ring or need a new one, go to a hardware store.
I simply wipe the attachment down and run steam and water through it to clean it.
The pre-ground bin leaves something to be desired but I dont really use it anyway.
The instruction manual is ok, it takes reading more than once to get certain things correct, something probably got lost in the translation.
Overall this machine is the best toy Ive had in a long time. - 2007-08-03, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Great coffee - shame about poor reliability
- I bought this machine after an almost-endless trawl through the internet reading owners' reviews - after all, we are talking about the search for the perfect expresso here!
The coffee quality is indeed great. The only misgivings I would have about using it are that the knobs have no user markings, which means that if there are several people in the house using the machine, it is impossible to select the previously-selected individual settings. Also, the time before the machine switches itself off is fixed at about three hours. I couldn't find the power comsumption in the user manual when in "idle" mode, but I think it must be substantial since it keeps the cup preheater hot during this time. Not that the preheater is any use - I warm my cups by first wetting them and then putting them in the microwave for 30 seconds.
More seriously, I have had the machine for 16 months, and it has broken down twice, the first time after six weeks, and the second time last week. So far, it can be fixed under guarantee, but I fear that maintenence will be an expensive business when the guarantee runs out after two years. I think the problem is that the environment these machines have to work under is probably the most severe to be found in the home: high-pressure boiling water, grinding, and the transport of the coffee grains within the machine. Maybe the build quality of the cheaper machines is such that they cannot cope?
Update 3 Nov 2007: The machine broke down again, for the third time. Each time the reason for the breakdown has been different:
- stopped working during the decalcification cycle
- stopped in mid-cycle when the mechanism jammed
- no flow of coffee through the machine, even when thoroughly cleaned
Not impressed. - 2007-07-28, 5 of 5 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Great lattes every time
- It's fast and convenient. Machine does everything for you. Instructional DVD was very helpful. User friendly. Any one could learn to use this machine. Saving money on lattes since I make them at home now. Only bad thing is the machine is very noisy.
- 2007-05-08, 3 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Wonderful espresso! Woe to you if it breaks!!!
- THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH MONEY FOR A DISREPUTABLE MANUFACTURER THAT DOESN'T STAND BEHIND ITS PRODUCT! Although they are superb machines if they are functioning (and the espresso IS wonderful!), DeLonghi WILL USE ANY EXCUSE NOT TO HONOR THE WARRANTY IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG! Here's my experience: When I ordered my coffee/espresso machine from DeLonghi, it was "backordered" and took over a month to ship. A little over 10 months after I received it, it broke! NO MORE FUNCTIONING! NO MORE DELICIOUS BREW! Since it had been over a year since I ORDERED it, they said the one-year warranty was expired, despite the fact I had proof I had received it less than a year before (I still had the shipping confirmation). I explained this numerous times. For a couple of months, the various people I talked to kept telling me they would "look into it", but they never called back. Finally, when it actually WAS over a year since I had received the machine, when I called to check on the status of my warranty claim, they said, "Your warranty has expired. You've had this product over one year. There is nothing we can do." I highly recommend you find something from a manufacturer that stands behind their product!
- 2007-04-18, 10 of 10 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- Italian Feel at Home
- Purchased this item the beginning of Dec 06. WOW!! This was one of the best investments I have made. Investment, yes! If you like/LOVE coffee/espresso this is an investment.
I spent a couple of months in Italy, and feel in love with the espresso there and have yet to really experience anywhere else. This machine brought the taste of Italy to my kitchen. Additionally, many of my friends have both lived or traveled to Italy and have fell in love with the taste of coffee.
By no means am I a coffee connoisseur, but the taste is incredible. In the last 5 months, I have used about 13 lbs of Starbucks Espresso beans and the machine still kicks out GREAT coffee. The wife has put away the drip coffee maker and uses the machine to make FRESH americano in seconds!
A couple of words of advise...
1) Distilled water is a MUST. Spend the $.68 a gallon at Wally World.
2) Find the coffee you like and only open/buy what you will use in a weeks time. After a week of drinking the coffee you will begin to taste a difference.
3) Expect to take the time and clean the machine every day or so. (Small price to pay for great coffee)
4) Frothing is EASY!!! But buy a thermometer and use it until you get the hang of it.
The only draw back I have for this machine is the need for the machine to cool down after frothing milk. It takes about 4 minutes until you can make another shot of espresso.
I have recommended this to a number of my friends and they love it as well. You can go cheaper buying a grinder and espresso machine but why. One push of the button does it all. - 2007-04-05, 3 of 3 people found this review helpful, Rated:
