Bottom-line up front: I've owned this for a year and am very happy with my purchase. Dialing-in takes patience and (a lot of) trial and error. It really does make a superior espresso to many of the over-rated coffee shops in your hometown. I hesitate to buy coffee anywhere now. Long-form: I bought the La Specialista Maestro after comparing it to super automatic and semi-super automatic machines. My comparison shopping consisted mostly of YouTube videos, web reviews, and a visit to a Williams Sonoma. I did not do any taste testing; however, I doubt that other automatic machines that cost more will produce a noticeably superior cup once you get your La Specialista dialed in properly. Speaking of dialing-in, it does take trial and error and patience. Once you figure out the settings for the types of beans you're using (hopefully fresh), it is pretty easy to adjust once you get a new bag or roast of comparable type. It took me about a month of constant tinkering to really get this the way my wife and I both like our espresso and espresso-based drinks. The included literature is your friend here. Many of the YouTube videos I watched on dialing in or using La Specialista machines were not that helpful. Set-up and routine maintenance are pretty straight forward. Again, the included literature is your friend. I appreciate the dummy lights reminding me to descale and to perform other tasks. I'm very satisfied with the Maestro. After a year of ownership, I really have no complaints and would probably buy it again if it became irreparable outside of its complimentary extended warranty period. Hopefully, that doesn't happen though, because I like using it. Things you probably know but are worth reiterating here: (1) weight could be an issue for some people and (2) overhead cabinet clearance could be an issue in some kitchens. An extra set of hands and a tape measure could come in handy. Things I don't like: First, the DeLonghi videos online show a different menu of milk-based drinks than the North American version. Some overseas markets have a Latte Macchiato (milk first then coffee) function whereas the North American version just has a latte function (coffee first then milk). The difference seems trivial, but I would prefer the macchiato setting to the latte setting. Second, the milk settings for the automatic milk frother are not adjustable, just the coffee and temperature. I would like the ability to have manual control over the automatic milk frother. The second issue is my biggest gripe, but it isn't a deal breaker to me. Read more
Disappointing Downgrade – De’Longhi Ruined a Great Product! I previously owned the original De’Longhi Specialista, and it was fantastic. It made excellent espresso, was easy to use, and felt like a well-built, premium machine. So when I decided to upgrade to the De'Longhi EC9665M La Specialista Maestro, I was expecting an improvement—or at the very least, the same quality as the original. BIG MISTAKE. Right out of the box, the machine looks fancier, but that’s where the positives end. The performance is absolutely terrible. Tamping system is useless. No matter what setting I use, the amount of extracted coffee remains the same. The machine does not tamp properly, does not tamp flat, and feels completely out of calibration. Locking the handle is a struggle. It never stops at a perfect 90-degree angle, which makes the entire process feel awkward and unrefined. Coffee gets stuck in the dispenser. Every time I unlock the handle, leftover grounds are stuck inside, making a mess and requiring extra cleaning after every shot. Extraction quality is poor. Despite using the highest settings, I never get the same rich, bold espresso as I did with the original model. The shots are weak and inconsistent. Build quality is questionable. For a machine at this price point, the materials feel cheaper than before, and the performance issues make it seem like De’Longhi rushed this model without proper quality control. Read more
We bought this machine to enjoy espresso and other coffee drinks at home. We are just regular couple trying to enjoy good morning coffee. In the beginning was hard to get used to adjust the grinder and the water temperature and find the right bean, etc.. We're not any kind of specialists or professionals. However we like to drink morning coffee well extracted, without any sugar or cream. For that reason we tried this machine and after enjoying a lot of bad coffee because we weren't preparing that correct we learned how to do it as expected, and now I can really say that if you enjoy good coffee just buy this equipment. It can prepare multiple drinks including espresso, regular coffee and cappucinos. I really enjoy, the water tank is enough to give you a lot of coffee, easy to clean, it requires the regular maintenance but that's ok, you have to clean it as any other equipment. So far we're very happy to have this beautiful machine decorating and being extremelly useful in our kitchen and making our breakfeast even better, impressing all our guests. Read more
With a cost of $1300 we are hoping for some longevity from this machine…. Extracts full flavor once you dial it into your flavor preferences. We’ve used it for almost 2 full weeks without any issues however this morning for some reason the “grinder shoot” became clogged and had to do an emergency cleaning in order to have my morning cup👍 Thinking we’ll have to put the cleaning of the grinder on a scheduled preventable maintenance program. It’s a beautiful machine sitting on the counter and would recommend it to a discriminatory and knowledgeable person who knows exactly what they want. Because of the price we added Amazon’s extended warranty to sleep a little better at night knowing it’s covered. UPDATE - The machine had been dependable for everyday use for us for almost a year now. The descaling of this machine is a bit of a pain and is a long drawn out process that takes quite a period of time. Other than that we have enjoyed our daily hot beverages every morning that’s as good of quality as any franchise store. Read more
