DeLonghi ESAM3300 Magnifica Super-Automatic Espresso/Coffee Machine
Product Description
The DeLonghi Esclusivo Magnifica Super-Automatic Machine brews perfect coffee, espresso, latte, and cappuccino. The compact and patented Direct-to-Brew System with Thermo Block technology provides excellent heat distribution, and it's removable for easy cleaning. The beans are ground instantly to ensure the freshest espresso or coffee brewed under 15 bars of pressure. Professional-quality integrated burr grinder produces consistent, fresh, and aromatic espresso or coffee. Grind settings allow you to adjust the fineness for all types of beans. The instant reheat function heats the core of the machine, ensuring that Magnifica maintains an ideal temperature for brewing. The patented cappuccino system frother includes a special chamber that mixes steam and milk to create a rich, creamy froth. It's perfect for making the ideal cappuccino, latte, or any other frothy milk coffee beverage. Automatic decalcification indicator lights let you know when it's time ... Click Here For More Info >>
DeLonghi ESAM3300 Magnifica Super-Automatic Espresso/Coffee Machine
Tagged with: DeLonghi • ESAM3300 • Espresso/Coffee • Machine • Magnifica • SuperAutomatic
I have the EAM3200, which is the previous model version. The differences are slight but noticeable to the newer. These machines are the best in class for price and performance, produce a great espresso, and are maintainable in ways that other manufacturers models are not. The coffee from the Delonghi is just as good as from Jura and even some manual models such as Expobar and Rancillo. It is very close to what you find in Italy – not quite, but for the price it is worth it. Great crema, hot temperature, rich flavor. And the best part is you can pull out the brew mechanism and clean it – VERY key. This will ensure sound operation and function for many years.
In order to keep this machine is fine working order, you need to do a bit of upkeep each week and use the right beans.
1. Only use non-oily, 100% Arabica beans. If you use oily beans it will clog frequently and attract rancid flavors. It will also shorten the life of the machine. I use Illy, but any espresso will do (I actually get the Illy dark roast – it has more flavor when brewing a larger “americano” cup).
2. Clean the brew mechanism once a week. Just snap it out and run it under hot water.
3. Use spring water instead of tap water. This will keep any weird flavors from your tap entering the coffee. It may build up minerals, but…
4. De-calcify the machine when it asks for it – don’t wait.
I, for one, would rather have manual controls over coffee amount, strength, etc. You are not losing out on anything by not having digital controls – other than not being able to have the machine automatically on and ready to go when you first wake up. As for the other models ability to do milk-based drinks at the touch of a button – how often do you really want a cappuccino? If it is every day, then get the 3500. If you are like me and need real coffee in the morning, then get this model. The milk canister can only sit in the fridge for so long. If you are planning to serve cappuccino at dinner parties, then you are committing Italian heresy – cappuccino is only served in the morning.
CONS
1. The cup warmer does not work very well, but get double walled cups and the temperature of the product will not be an issue.
2. You can’t have it turn on automatically at a certain time. But it only takes a few minutes to get up to temperature.
3. It is NOISY.
My espresso settings – coffee amount at 10 o’clock, strength at 3 o’clock, single cup dispense. Super double espresso in an espresso cup. I may have 2 of these on a saturday.
My wife’s “americano” settings – coffee amount at 3 o’clock, strength at 3 o’clock, double cup dispense. Full cup of rich coffee in a normal cup.
Bean grind at 5.
Rating: 5 / 5
I wish I could give it a 4.5. As others have noted, it is a bit on the noisy side. We went from a Bunn drip machine (best drip coffee maker by far) to this after being blown away by the one our hosts had in Germany. It’s been worth every penny. Speaking of pennies, a 20% off coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond is the ticket for low price and a VERY good return policy.
We have used Starbucks and Pears beans, and will continue to try others probably. Cleaning is a snap, my only real gripes are the water reservoir – obviously designed with coffee-sipping Europeans in mind, not us coffee-DRINKING Americans. Still, we haven’t used the Bunn since we plugged in the Magnifica.
Likes:
Superb coffee!! Great crema, better than coffee houses
Easily adjusted cup size & coffee strength
FAST warm-up
Easy to clean
Everything works perfectly
Dislikes:
A little noisy.
No automatic timer (not a big deal, since it warms up fast)
Cup warmer not of much use, and no way to shut it off
Rating: 5 / 5
This is a good solid reliable machine that makes a good cup of espresso. I like the analog dials: the simplicity and elegance makes it easy for anyone to understand how to use it in just a few minutes.
Pluses:
1. Design simplicity
2. Good espresso
3. Easy to clean
4. Auto descaling indicator and simple to descale (comes with one Durgol descaler)
Minuses:
1. Noisy grinder
2. User’s manual was obviously written by a nonnative English speaker, example: “the program of descaling is hour terminated and the machine is ready per do again the coffee” and as such, some of the instructions take some time to figure out.
3. The power on/power off cycles rinse the system causing brown fluid to drain into the drip catching tray – just keep a little cappuccino milk pot underneath to remedy this
4. Grounds bucket inside fills up irregularly so the warning light goes off before it’s really filled to capacity (requiring more frequent emptying)
5. I could not adjust the setting for water hardness (not that big of a deal, but it might prolong the interval needed for descaling)
Overall, a good super-automatic for the price (I got it at Bed Bath and Beyond for $639 using their 20% off coupon, but then you pay tax)
Rating: 4 / 5
[This review applies to the Magnifica 3200, this is the same as the 3300 with slight cosmetic differences.]
I bought this machine in 2006 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 performs an auto-switchoff 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 boiler/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 three years and in this time it has broken down four times – the first time after six weeks, the second time after about 18 months, the third time after about 30 months, and again most recently last week. The first two times, the machine was fixed under guarantee, without any quibbles. 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?
While waiting this last time round for it to be picked up and repaired, I decided to open it up to check its build quality (I’m an engineer). De Longhi has used thin plastic wherever possible. The coffee transfer path is not well isolated from the rest of the machine – as a result coffee powder had dropped into the moving motorised assembly at the back of the machine (I think this was the reason why the machine ultimately had failed).
Others here have commented on the machine’s coffee-making ability. I agree, it makes great coffee. It’s a pity that, in my experience at least, it was let down by poor engineering.
Rating: 1 / 5
Apart from breaking after 4 weeks this is a great espresso machine, we loved it. Easy to operate, makes great coffee and espresso. Maybe we had bad luck but after 4 weeks of use one of the coffee brewing buttons broke and then the on/off button wouldn’t work anymore. The machine was dead. It seems that the electronic behind the buttons is not very robust. I sent an email to the DeLonghi customer service but never got any reply.
Another downside: The machine asks for descaling every 2 weeks. This gets a little expensive considering that the recommended decalcifier for one time descaling is about $6. I returned the machine to Amazon. They are always great with return. So fast, so easy. They are my absolute favorite online order merchant.
Rating: 1 / 5