Delonghi EC680R DEDICA 15-Bar Pump Espresso Machine Red

I’ve owed this espresso maker for four years now and use it at least twice daily. It is a tiny beast. It’s handsome, runs well with a a decent amount of maintenance and the water in Charlotte NC where I live has very, very hard water. I’ve yet to buy a bottomless portafilter (the delonghi provides their own version which has an all-in-one single shot cup, double shot or pods option portafilter) and I’m very happy with it. I want to upgrade to the very large $1,200 delonghi all-in-one espresso machines with the built in bean grinder and cold brew options but this delonghi tiny beast will not die. 4 years later and still going strong. Read more

I'm really happy with this machine. It froths the milk beautifully, it makes a great cup of coffee. We got it on sale, so it felt like a reasonable price for a well-built machine. Several people have said it's hard to put the espresso handle with the coffee holder on - that's actually user error. They are overfilling the little basket that holds the coffee. You want to use a scant measure (or two) of finely ground coffee, and then when you tamp it down it should be at least a 3/16" below the top of the basket. There's a steam distributor on the underside that sits right above the coffee. If it's hard to turn the handle, you've overfilled the little basket and that steam distributor is pushing into the ground coffee. Once I stopped overfilling the coffee basket, it works very well. Also, other people complained about the power button, excessive vibration or lackluster foam - I haven't had any of those problems. Read more

I needed to replace a not-very-old manual espresso maker, and I thought I'd buy a more upscale brand in the hopes that it would last a bit longer than the last one. I was so very excited when this arrived! But then I unpacked it, and everything started to unravel. First, and horribly, there is PLASTIC all over this thing, including where the hot steam and water and come out of the nozzle (why? Just why? I've never seen such a complicated and unnecessary deviation from the standard, and way healthier, stainless steel tube), and where the filter unit drips the hot coffee through the catcher and into your cup (see "why" statments above). No one wants to extract toxic chemicals from plastic parts into their coffee, especially when there is absolutely no need to use plastic parts here other than cheapness and over-complication. As an added bonus, these ridiculously complex parts make these usually straightforward components unreasonably difficult to clean too. Then I went through the Byzantine setup process, which involved a learning curve on seating the resevoir, and then liters and liters of (hot) water all over the place, as you have to rinse the system comprehensively and repeatedly (perhaps to get rid of the initial bloom of toxic residue from the plastic parts?). Meanwhile, as I painstakingly followed these steps according to the manual, the unit kept failing to advance. The lights just flashed endlessly, and I had to turn the machine on and off several times. I did allow that there might be a learning curve for buttons and knobs, so I tried the steam with and without the coffee basket attached, and all other permutations I could think of, but other than one instance of user error, I couldn't find anything wrong. I eventually got to actually making a latte, and found that the 2 scoop double shot basket doesn't actually hold 2 scoops (using level scoops of the provided scooper). No matter, I wanted coffee! But I got the blinking lights of death again, never turning solid to tell you it's ready to go, until I turned in off and back on again. I did finally get coffee to come out and I frothed my milk, and it really wasn't bad at all! Lovely crema on the shots (I needed 3 all told, presumably because the basket doesn't hold enough coffee), and the milk was almost too frothy, but it was good espresso, and with practice, I'm sure I could really dial it in. Maybe it was too hot from the setup process, but with all the negatives of this machine added up, I'm just not willing to waste 30 minutes of my day trying to coax the thing to actually warm up and do its job. Back it goes. Read more

I have been using this machine for about nine months, and it has become an essential part of my day. My initial rating would have been four stars. As some reviewers have noted, there is a bit of a learning curve with this machine. This is a single boiler espresso machine, where the more expensive and larger machines would be double boiler machines. Do not expect the same "workflow" from this machine as you would from one of the larger machines. However, I've found that if you are willing to learn the machine's quirks, it produces a fine espresso, as would a more expensive and larger machine. That's why I give it five stars now that I've been using it for a while. In particular, contrary to shop practice, it's necessary to pull the espresso shot before steaming the milk. As a remedy, I bought some of the double walled glasses, which keeps the coffee fresh while the milk is steaming. I'm very happy with the quality of the coffee the Dedica makes. Almost all the beans I've used produce a good to excellent crema. You will want to purchase a knock box and better quality tamper than comes with the machine. Otherwise, everything is included. In my case, one of the filters was missing. I contacted De'Longhi and they rush delivered a replacement, hassle free. I've seen some reviewers complaining about customer service. My experience with De'Longhi customer service was overwhelmingly positive. The machine takes 45 seconds to prepare. The biggest complaint that I have about this machine is that it does not have a pressure gauge! I really don't know why it was left off because it wouldn't take up much room, even if it had to be placed on the side. I appreciate the sleek design of the machine, and it looks better than any other compact I've seen. But I don't see the reason for omitting this piece of essential equipment. When the machine starts, the lights blink until it is ready. If you are only pulling a shot, you won't have a problem. However, if you use some hot water from the steam valve to warm your glass or get the water for an Americano, nothing on the machine tells you to wait to let it build up pressure again. The still lights indicate that it is ready to pull the shot. Here's my workaround: after opening the water valve, power the machine off and then on again (the button needs to stay in off position for a few seconds--another quirk). Doing so will reactivate the blinking lights, which will go still when it has enough pressure to pull a shot. I only make coffee for myself, which works well for this machine. If you are making multiple drinks in a session beyond simple espresso shots or americanos, this machine is probably not for you. Anytime you use the steam function to froth milk, the machine will need to cool down before pulling another shot of espresso. This is accomplished by waiting a few minutes, or by opening the valve and allowing the excess steam to vent. Be sure to vent the valve before frothing milk as you would on any espresso machine. This machine replaced my other coffee maker. Americano is so much better than drip coffee, that it's all I want now. I enjoy the little ritual of tamping the coffee and puling the shot. It only takes a minute and is more environmentally friendly than individually packaged coffee. If you want prepackaged coffee, get a Keurig. Get or order some fresh espresso from a roaster near you and have them grind it for you. As a barista friend taught me, home coffee grinders will wear out grinding espresso, and aren't necessary because the freshness of coffee mostly comes from the proximity to the date it was roasted rather than the period between it being whole bean and ground. If you want to grind your own coffee, you probably need to upgrade to a machine that includes a grinder on top. Read more