DeLonghi Stilosa Manual Espresso Machine Compact Coffee Maker 15 Bar Pump Pressure Manual Milk Frother Steam Wand for

I got this espresso machine for Christmas and had been wanting to start making espresso drinks at home for a while. I’m officially hooked. This machine is incredibly easy to use, even if you’re a beginner, and it makes excellent espresso. The shots come out rich and smooth, and the milk frother works really well for lattes and cappuccinos. I love how compact it is—it doesn’t take up much counter space but still feels sturdy and well made. It heats up quickly and the included tamper is a nice bonus. Overall, it’s a great value for the price and perfect if you want to get into making espresso drinks at home without something overly complicated. Highly recommend. Read more

Updated Review for the De'longhi Stilosa Espresso Machine This is an update to my previous review. I have had my machine for several months now and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! BEST PURCHASE I HAVE MADE IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. There definitely is a learning curve if you are new to this, so it is trial and error on some things like: - how hard to tamp the ground espresso - not to overload the portafilter. - how much an ounce or two ounces is when pulling a shot - when to stop the shot because it is not automated - the ratio of milk to espresso to get the best taste for my preferences. I am obsessed with this machine! I drink lattes almost every day now instead of once or twice a month because of cost and having to go find a Starbucks. If you are new to espresso machines like I was it is a good idea to watch youtube videos, measure things properly like ounces of grind vs ounces of espresso shot, until you get used to it. But I have learned how to use this machine and can just eye amounts and get a perfect shot of espresso. I had to find a good decaffeinated espresso bean because I can't have caffeine. I found a great brand here on amazon Allegro Decaff organic espresso beans. I am so glad I splurged and bought this. ORIGINAL REVIEW I love my new De'longhi Stilosa Espresso Machine. The Good... 1. Price Point is Great ..This will pay for itself within a year by making lattes at home instead of going to starbucks 2. Very Basic Machine for beginners easy to understand how it works...plus there are youtube videos on how this machine works. 3. I don't have to leave the house for a latte! 4. It seems to be really well made and good quality CONS 1. It doesn't come with the espresso shot glasses or the milk frothing cup so you have to buy these seperatly. 2. the tamper included is really just a piece of plastic and a waste so you need to buy one..and it really does affect how your espresso comes out. so buy a good one 3. The machine is NOT AUTOMATED! what does this mean??? This means you cannot just touch a button and a shot of espresso comes out & your done... NO.. You have to start the espresso drip and watch it to see when you need to turn it off. otherwise it will just keep dripping through like coffee and you will ruin your shot of espresso. Learning how to pull an espresso shot and timing it and guessing when it is done is a learning process. It seems to me that it should be automated. That would be a basic requirement for me. if I had known it was not automated I probably would not have bought it. I don't even know if higher end machines have an automated system or not, but as a beginner it would have been really great to have. OVERALL- Good Purchase So it takes practice learning to pull a shot of espresso, getting the best grind of beans, tamping it down, how much water to use...It's a whole process, but it is fun to learn. There is a lot more involved than I realized. I made 5 shots before I started to get the timing and measurements right. I hope to continue to get better at this, and it was a great birthday gift to myself. Read more

No, its NOT the equal of the $2k+ Vetrano sitting on my kitchen counter, plumbed in and always-on. Not even close. You're paying well under 10% of that money, so keep that in mind. The filters are non-standard (smaller) sized, so your big tamper won't work, and they're pressurized, so the grind matters less but the best of extraction isn't going to happen either. And its a thermoblock with little thermal mass. That's the bad side. Now the good side -- it makes legitimate espresso. I ground up a double shot in my Macap M4, filled the reservoir, tamped, waited for the "ready" light to come on and.... water was too cold; the shot was sour. Tried again, this time preheating on the "steam" sitting. Voila. NOT BAD AT ALL. A *bit* bitter (overdone; water too hot) but not by much. Very drinkable. Some more fine-tuning (just a few seconds on "steam" pre-heat to bump up the base temperature) improved it even more. And.... surprise! The filter baskets can be disassembled entirely, including the spring-loaded piece in the bottom that makes them pressurized. Which means you can defeat it either with a small plastic piece temporarily (to test) or drill it out or cut the nub off the bottom with diagonal cutters and remove it and its spring (permanently). That's a very good thing as it now forces you to use properly-ground (fine enough) coffee to get the backpressure instead of the spring-loaded valve, which greatly improves the espresso quality and gives you no-BS crema. That's a surprise of the pleasant sort. You still need a decent burr grinder, not a "whirly blade" and good, properly-roasted coffee. There's no getting around that. I don't do frothed milk drinks so I have no idea how the steamer works in that regard. I would not expect much there; if that's your gig this is probably not the right machine although technically it appears to be able to do the job. You need dry steam in volume for that to produce credible lattes and cappa and I very much doubt this thing can produce said steam in the required amount to get anywhere near what my big machine on the counter can do. Would I ever contemplate replacing my big and expensive machine with this? No. But I bought it as something I can throw in the car for a trip, or in the RV for a nice vacation, bring roasted coffee in a snap-lock container with my grinder and have my morning espressos. For THAT it does and will absolutely fill the bill -- at a reasonable price and without taking up more space than the ordinary coffee pot, which makes bog-standard ordinary swill. Since I prefer espresso the option to have it at a reasonable cost it definitely beats not -- or paying $5 for one pulled by a barista that likely doesn't know what he or she is doing or worse, is using an "automated" machine that produces garbage (e.g. Starbucks) It doesn't take many of those "cafe" coffees that are garbage to pay for this one when traveling, and you can get very-serviceable shots out of it rather than drink bilge water from the Green Monster, so there you have it. As long as you understand what you're buying and don't expect it to produce true cafe-quality shots when said machine is operated by someone with a reasonable amount of skill (and a pretty-simple mod to the basket) you won't be disappointed. Recommended. Read more