DeLonghi EC9355M La Specialista Prestigio Espresso Machine 1 3L Stainless Steel Silver

In August 2023, we purchased a De Longhi La Specialista Prestigio EC9355M espresso machine on Amazon. After 16 months, after a descaling cycle, the machine stopped working: the brewing unit and milk frother lost pressure and heating power, the steam light flashed for about a minute, and the machine then went into a warning mode displaying a red triangle. Troubleshooting, including repeating the descaling process, was unsuccessful. We suspected a clogged water line or a defective pressure pump, possibly due to loose particles from the descaling. First, we contacted the local De Longhi service, but the official provider for our area listed on the De Longhi website told us they would not repair or service this De Longhi model at all and did not offer any alternatives or help. We then contacted De Longhi directly through their website, expecting warranty protection due to the previous online registration. Although De Longhi initially clearly confirmed registration and warranty protection via email, they later rejected the warranty claim, citing the Amazon seller's non-certified status with De Longhi. We expressed our frustration at this, emphasizing that we had registered the machine as instructed and had even received written warranty confirmation from De Longhi. Frankly, we don't care at all how De Longhi as a company has organized its seller structure, as we have no control over it anyway. All we know is that we bought a semi-automatic espresso machine from Amazon, of course we don't know the status of every seller within De Longhi's internal corporate structure. We also wondered why a simple descaling performed according to De Longhi's own instructions would cause such a serious defect and why De Longhi refuses to provide any support when such a serious malfunction occurs on a relatively new machine, whether or not there is a valid warranty. Whether or not the Amazon seller was listed as a certified dealer internally at De Longhi had absolutely nothing to do with the nature of the malfunction. After sending a few emails back and forth with De Longhi's customer service department, De Longhi broke off communication and has not responded since. We would like to emphasize in this context that this was already our second La Specialista; the first one had exactly the same problem after only three weeks (after descaling loss of pressure when frothing milk or brewing coffee). Since the return window at Amazon was still open for our first La Specialista, we were able to return it and exchange it. Unfortunately, we were not so lucky with our second De Longhi espresso machine and found out that De Longhi does not keep its guarantee promise. From this experience, we conclude that De Longhi's warranty is unreliable after the Amazon return period has expired. In addition, the product quality of De Longhi espresso machines seem to be poor. We therefore can not recommend buying the De Longhi Specialista and are completely dissatisfied with De Longhi as a company. We have since purchased a different semi-automatic espresso machine, the Ninja Luxe Café Premier ES601. To our surprise, it brews an even better espresso than our De Longhi Specialista Prestige EC9355x did, when it was still working. Read more

This is actually our second purchase of this coffee / espresso maker. We have one in our church for about a year making about 30 coffees every week. This machine has just been a workhorse. We decided to get one for the house when my wife got a promotion at work (she deserved this machine for sure!) My wife and I love the coffees it makes, and it is pretty easy to clean (compared to automatic machines which are a pain!) GREAT BUY! Read more

UPDATE - 7/21/2025 - I reduced my review to 1 star after finding out that De'Longhi does NOT stand behind their product. Their only solution for me after my machine broke for the 2nd time is to pay roughly $300 to repair or they would give me a "generous" discount of 20% off a new machine. Neither solution is acceptable in my mind and I will not be purchasing another De'Longhi product in the future. Sad, because I really loved my machine while it worked. @De'Longhi - you could have kept a happy customer if you had provided more evidence that you stand behind your equipment, like a 40 or 50% discount instead of a paltry 20%. I'll be going back to Breville from now on. ORIGINAL REVIEW I have had this machine for almost 4 years and use it multiple times daily. I love the semi-automaticity of the grinder being built in to the machine with the manual adjustments for grind coarseness and amount. It does take some time to get the settings just right but once it's set, you don't have to mess with it. I love the Smart Tamping station. The way it is designed with the tamping lever provides consistent tamps and makes for a much cleaner counter as the grinds are all contained and tamped in the portafilter dispenser. My old Breville wasted so much ground coffee due to overflow and I always had to wipe up coffee grinds. This creates very little waste. I drink Americanos exclusively and my husband does Lattes. The selection dial that allows you to choose espresso, americano, or coffee is a great feature. Just remember to change it to what you want or you'll get a watery latte! The frother works well and is pretty hands-off. A tip to help prevent the "screaming" is to incorporate a bit of air at the beginning of the process by raising the tip out of the milk just a bit. This helps lessen the annoying sound while it froths. It does create a sort of micro-foam and can likely do more in the hands of an experienced barista, but I don't get artsy. The auto off feature is nice as it prevents you from over steaming your milk. There's a "my" button that allows you to create a custom setting but we honestly never used that. I do also love that I can dispense hot water at a touch. Perfect for my mid-day teas. The machine heats up quite quickly. I just do wish it had a double boiler so I could froth and pull a shot simultaneously. As it is though, it is ready for a second shot or frothing in just a few seconds. I will say, this is a loud machine (but most espresso machines are). Don't plan on having a conversation with anyone but yourself during your coffee making. Overall, the machine has been great. I did take off one star due to a recurring issue with some leaking inside the machine. It was fixed under warranty once already but is happening again - however I fear it is out of warranty now. We'll see how their customer service is on this second round of repairs and I may come back to adjust my rating. The first repair process was good, although we were without our machine for at least a couple of weeks. When it was returned, the water canister was broken (due to shipping, not De'Longhi's fault) so that meant even longer time without use. Just disappointing to spend $700 on a machine to have it need repairs twice in 4 years. Seems like 2 years is the max lifespan on this. Read more

This is an excellent machine, not even considering that it is under $1K, it stands up to almost any machine as far as quality of espresso produced. This machine comes with an excellent start up guide which can be a little confusing to understand at first because it was written by Italians, lol. Hang in there!! After figuring out your dosing, grind, and temp settings, you will be enjoying FANTASTIC espresso in no time at all. Do keep in mind that when changing the grind settings, you have to change it WHILE THE GRINDER IS IN OPERATION. Failing to do this may damage the grinder. Frothing wand and hot water features work great as well, although just a little longer wait than I expected for these to achieve their goals. Don't wait, just buy this machine if you are in the market. Read more