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(More customer reviews)I have been looking for the perfect automatic coffee/espresso machine for a long time.I have been to the big coffee websites.I've read all the reviews.And finally, with some trepidation, I laid down half my children's inheritance to purchase this DeLonghi Gran Dama machine, based on the couple of reviews that I found that placed it in a positive light.
Was it worth it? Is it right for you? Well, read on and learn everything there is to know about it from a guy who has put this machine through its paces for two months.
The Pros:
- Automatic burr grinder built in that grinds from a pre-filled bean reservoir.This is very convenient and it makes a fresh and fragrant cup of stuff.
- Good temperature on the coffee, and it gets to that temperature very quickly.Never overly hot.Never tepid.Just right.
- The unit is surprisingly small and compact considering all that it is capable of.It fits perfectly into the slot that my old Capresso coffee pot occupied -- a machine that only made coffee, nothing else.
- Does it make a good cup 'o joe? Answer:Yes.It makes just as good a cup of regular coffee as what I get from the Peets store down the street.And this is what I was ultimately looking for.For the coffee alone, it is great.Far better than any machine I have ever owned previously (I have owned, I think, five machines from three manufacturers, at this point).
The Cons:
- Not really a very big deal, but the machine is pretty loud.It buzzes really, really abrasively when it is heating and grinding.I had seen this issue mentioned in other reviews, so I was prepared.But you should know that it is LOUD.
- The machine is not well designed.It is very difficult to get into in order to empty the grounds, fill the water tank and to clean.You have to really go through quite a bit of shenanigans to get inside.To dump the grounds, you have to removethe drip tray (which doesn't just slide out simply as one would expect, you kind of have to wiggle it to get it to come loose).Then, you can't actually pry the door open with your hands, it just kind of flops open when you pull out the tray, which feels ungainly and incorrectly seated, somehow.But that's how it works.Then, you continue to pull the drip tray toward you and the ground container tries to come out, but gets stuck on one corner.You have to reach in, grab the grounds container and maneuver it out of the compartment.At this point, you've pulled out the drip tray (which has a floppy piece that has probably come loose at this point, more on that later), the door is open exposing the entire inner portion of the machine and all it's mechanical stuff, and then there's the very hard to get to grounds container.Assuming you can hold all this stuff in place or have the counter space for it all, you can go and dump the grounds and then just muscle everything back into place again.It's really, really inconvenient and ungainly.And if you have the milk container installed, you have to first remove that in order to access the door -- and that is a whole other issue as I will detail next.
- The milk frothing container is very flimsy and feels cheap.Mine hasn't broken yet, but I am absolutely convinced it won't make it through another two months, and here's why.It's made of a lot of plastic pieces that sort of don't really fit together well.It is rickety.All in all, it works pretty well at making hot and frothy milk (I stress pretty well, because it is kind of hit and miss as to whether it decides to behave each time -- mine isn't working at the moment which I will also address shortly).But it is really, really hard to push the container into its little valve connection on the front of the machine, and even harder to pull out, again.In fact, my wife refuses to install and uninstall because it takes so much muscle.She just can't do it.It should just slide easily in and out.Instead, you really have to push hard to wedge it into place, and unless your machine is up against a wall, it will be pushed right along with it.And when you pull the milk container out, you have to seriously jerk the container to get it to come out -- I'm not kidding here, it's rough.And the flimsy handle on this container is going to break off, I just know it.And I almost feel that this is by design so that I will have to buy a new one from DeLonghi at forty or fifty bucks, or whatever they charge.I know I'm being snarky, but why else would they stick such a crappy attachment onto such an outrageously expensive machine?Up sales, I think they call it in the business.Anyway, when you jerk the container out, if there is any amount of milk left in it, it is going to slurp out onto the floor.The top of the container is not sealed well.And many a mess has ensued.And lastly, this container three times out of ten does not register on the machine as being properly seated.And then you have to jerk it out and shove it back in sometimes three times before it beeps to say you have put it in properly.The funny thing is, there is only one way to put it in.So for the machine to say it is not installed properly is absolutely incorrect.It is aggravating, believe me.
- After only two months, the milk container (which has two settings, hot milk and hot frothed milk) only registers one of the settings.I can no longer make frothed milk, only hot milk.The microwave does this same task in a much easier fashion, so unless I can get the company to replace or fix it, I will probably just stop using the milk jug entirely -- which will make my wife happy. I imagine this is all due to the constant hard shoving in and out of the container.Frankly, I am surprised it lasted this long.Again, at this cost, I shouldn't be having problems after two months of use.
- Okay, enough about the friggin' milk jug.My biggest overall complaint with this machine is that it has all kinds of sensors on it (hard water detector, milk container detector, etc.), but it isn't smart enough to tell you when it is low on water, when the grounds container needs emptying or when it doesn't have enough beans.And this creates a most frustrating scenario.It seems that every other morning, I forget to check all three of those things (and remember, it is REALLY hard to get to the grounds container, so there is no way to check its fullness without a major surgical entry.)The machine will actually STOP right in the middle of preparing a cup of coffee to tell me to fill the water tank, empty the grounds, put more beans in or to descale the device.Are you kidding me? With all those sensors that are already there they couldn't figure a way for one of them to show you before you start brewing that there is a work stoppage impending? And then, after filling the beans or dumping the grounds or whatever, the machine doesn't even start the coffee where it left off.You have to throw away your half cup of whatever because it probably is not strong enough or properly brewed, yet.And then you have to start the whole process over.You just wasted coffee beans, water and, most importantly, time.This is beyond frustrating.
- As mentioned a moment ago, the descaling feature is really annoying.It pops up unexpectedly and won't let you do anything until the descaling is carried out.And you have to stay with the machine for the full thirty minutes that it descales because you have to fill and dump the water reservoir multiple times during the process.I walked away during the first descaling and the machine reset itself back to the very beginning of the process.I could not make a cup of coffee until I stood there for the full thirty minutes and let it go through its thing.And even more annoying, I only use distilled water, anyway.So, theoretically, I shouldn't have to descale at all, or not as often as it wants me to.In my busy world, this standing down to watch over a machine for thirty minutes completely discredits the "automatic" moniker.
- Who at DeLonghi decided that two and a half ounces of coffee fills a coffee cup? They have five brew size settings, none of which fills my standard American sized coffee cup.Come on, sell us a machine in the USA that fills a cup in the USA!Granted, you can make one custom setting, referred to as 'my coffee' which allows you to fill a proper cup.And I use this setting solely in my world.All of the other settings are completely useless.
- There is a so-called two cup setting (which barely fills two thimbles -- thimbles for six year old children, at that) and this procedure works fine UNLESS you want to use the milk jug in the drink preparation.You can't fit two cups and the milk container on the base at the same time, despite what the directions insinuate.So you can't actually prepare two cappuccinos or lattes.You can only make two thimbles of straight coffee with this configuration.Not a big deal for me.But beware.This really is a one cup at a time brewing device.
- The drip tray that your cup sits on is very close to the coffee dispenser nozzle.Therefore, you can only use smaller sized coffee cups with the machine.DeLonghi has built in a very oddly shaped and poorly configured "trap door" thingy that folds up with some difficulty and then allows another half inch of clearance for your cup.However, the width of the trap door is so minimal that any slightly taller cup that I have doesn't fit into this depression.Basically, you can put a really tall demitasse type cup into there, but nothing else.It is nearly a useless scenario.They should have made it bigger.Not to mention, the trap door falls off and clatters onto the floor constantly when moving the drip tray, cleaning, etc.It is a poorly...Read more›
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DeLonghi ESAM6700 Gran Dama Avant Touch-Screen Super-Automatic Espresso MachineProduct Description: Enjoy delicious espresso, cappuccinos, lattes, and other coffee drinks from the comfort of home with this super-automatic espresso machine. The unit's digital touch-screen control panel offers programmable menu settings that allow for setting the clock, start time, and automatic shutoff, as well as for adjusting the water hardness and temperature, the coffee strength, and the amount of coffee in the cup. Four one-touch buttons make consistently perfect beverages practically foolproof--choose from latte, cappuccino, macchiato, or hot milk. A 27-ounce removable milk container comes included, and the amounts of frothed/steamed milk and coffee can be adjusted to accommodate individual preferences. The unit also provides a hot-water spout for guests who would prefer to cozy up to a cup of herbal tea or instant hot cocoa. Best of all, the espresso machine accommodates both ground coffee and whole coffee beans thanks to its built-in conical burr grinder with adjustable fineness settings. Using whole beans allows the machine's direct-to-brew system to instantly grind the beans right before brewing, which ensures the freshest results. The thoughtfully designed appliance also features a 60-ounce removable water tank for easy filling at the sink, a double boiler with a new espresso boiler, and an instant-reheat function, which keeps the machine at an ideal temperature no matter how long between cups. Other highlights include a statistics function, the ability to accommodate latte cups, a cup warmer, a decalcification system, and a removable used-coffee container and drip tray for quick cleanup. Sleek and stylish, the espresso machine measures approximately 16-4/5 by 11 by 14-4/5 inches and carries a two-year limited warranty.
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