Amazon.com: Customer reviews: De'Longhi EC220CD 15-Bar Pump Driven Espresso Maker

Top positive review

I use it every day and it works great but you need to use it correctly and use ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2015

After reading some reviews I felt I had to write a review and guide. I had the EC155 unit since 2007 and used it every day. After 8 years it smoked so I got the EC220 because of the taller space for larger cups. The unit is nearly identical except the water storage is a different shape and the taller space. I use this unit twice a day, every day and it works great but you need to use it correctly and use the proper coffee.
I have a couple of tips and then some replies. 1. make sure the water container is properly seated or the water will leak or not flow. 2. turn the knob to the first position until the green light comes on, then turn the knob to the second position. 3. clean the strainer and the gasket where the strainer attaches. 4. use a descaler every so often to clean the machine. 4. use the proper grind. Turkish grind is too small and it clogs the holes and the coffee will NOT come out. You have to get Espresso grind or it will not make Espresso. Most coffee is not sold pre-ground to Espresso grind so you have to get it done right. 5. l don't bother using the steamer wand. Use a microwave while you make the espresso.
Now to address some of the funnier reviews:
From Sept 12, 2015 - it leaks water and can't push the water thru the coffee grounds. You need to remove the strainer assy and CLEAN the gasket area up underneath. You have coffee grounds stuck to the gasket and it doesn't seal.
Aug 31, 2015 - forever to steam the milk. It might be because you have to turn the knob to the steamer setting and let it heat up the to the hotter temperature for steaming. I agree that the stupid plastic frother is hard to clean. I have found that I put my milk in the microwave for 63 seconds which is the same time for the espresso machine to fill my 240 ml cup. The EC220 makes such nice crema that it doesn't matter that the milk isn't steamed.
July 9, 2015 - one of my favorite reviews. "It spews out about 8 oz of watery coffee during the heat up process before the green light comes on. I get around this by heating it up with no coffee basket in there but then I have to put a bowl down to catch all of the warm/hot water that sprays out, then I can place the basket in there and make espresso." Hahaha. You are supposed to wait until the green light comes on BEFORE you turn the knob to dispense the water. The hot water comes out nearly instantly if you wait for the green light first.
June 4, 2015 - tamper is useless because the unit is too light. A bit of physics is involved here. If you want a 20 pound tamp you either need a 20 pound machine or YOU PUT YOU HAND ON TOP OF THE MACHINE when tamping.

6 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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JRS in Florida

Goodbye my love

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2016

I've had a love affair with the DeLonghi Espresso machine for the past 25 years. It made excellent espresso with a wonderful crema AND was made in Italy. I would buy a new one every 4-5 years - but that was ok, for the price was low and I loved the machine. Now it was time again for a new one. Taking it out of the beat-up box I already noticed that "China smell". Ok - so there's a smell that I hope will dissipate and I can also get used to the frother that is now too close to the machine and maybe also to the incredible loud noise the motor makes. I then proceeded to rinse the machine as per instructions for first time use. After rinsing twice the chemical stench of the water was horrible. I rinsed it a third time and the chemical smell was still unbearable. I cannot let my family, my friends and me drink coffee with water that smells like a chemical factory - who knows what kind of illnesses one can get down the road. After searching, I finally found a machine NOT made in China. I'm happy with my new Gaggia that is made in Italy. I will be buying another one, just to have it in case this one breaks in a few years and it, too, will maybe be made in China.

3 people found this helpful

243 total ratings, 184 with reviews

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From the United States

Contractor Greg

I use it every day and it works great but you need to use it correctly and use ...

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2015

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

6 people found this helpful

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GeekAbility

I Like The Machine After Playing With It A Bit

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2017

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

I docked Delonghi a star for not including decent instructions with the unit. You can find more detailed guides on their website. I suggest searching for the model of this machine on YouTube and you'll get some good tips from the folks there as well. Until you get this thing dialed in you may be disappointed with the brew. Grind is more important on this machine than some. The Lavazza very fine grind is what you need. I use this as an example because it is good coffee, I had some on hand, and it is what worked best out of the coffee brands I had on hand. It is readily available in many grocery stores and sold by Amazon to look at if you need to. I will just grind the other brands finer if needed and use them as well.

My old maker took a bit coarser grind without an issue. The Lavazza used to send fine particles into the
brew on that one. On this one that very fine grind is best. I used two scoops tamped gently and brewed it into a measuring cup to a quarter cup level. I pour that into a coffee cup preheated with hot water, then set that under the brew holes to let anything left drain into it as I use the steam tube to foam some milk in the cup I will use to pour the espresso into and drink the coffee out of. That steam tube has some power. You'll be messy until you can control it a bit. Immerse the tip before turning the steam on too much. Let it drain the bit of water out it will throw when you first turn it on too so the milk is not too diluted to foam well. I also foam a bit of plain water when done brewing through that tube to clean it well. Someone on YouTube suggested to flush it out a bit through the filter brewing some plain water as well as some coffee is still in there. I will just put a bit extra water in the tank to allow for the cleanup along with the brewing needs.

Some spoke of tanks leaking. I set this unit on a wire baking rack used for cooling that raises it a couple of inches off of the counter. I want to observe it further and see if the water it leaves is from the unit itself, or just the water that steam feature spits out at the start of the steam. It is normal for water to accumulate ion the tray under the brew cups. It is a natural flushing the unit undergoes. But their documentation with the unit doesn't tell half of these things. I think many would not return this espresso maker if they knew some of these quirks/features.

So I am going to test it on cheaper brews as well soon. For now using the double cup filter with two scoops of the size they provide gives a good dark brew with nice crema when I brew it to a two ounce quantity. I use around one third of a cup of cold milk to foam and make a cap drink. Some complained this machine refused to work at all before long. I hope I have better luck with that and will maintain it properly to help that along. As you can see from the length of this review the caffeine did kick in!

3 people found this helpful

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Adrienne Thompson

As a first time espresso machine buyer this machine is easy, good quality, and wasn’t intimidating price wise

Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2018

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Bought for my husband for Christmas and he loves it!!! I have not personally used this machine and have nothing to compare it to but i chose it because i didn’t want to make a big Finacial investment since it is our first espresso machine and i wasn’t sure how it would go. This machine had good reviews and costumers seem to think it’s is a great balance of quality and price. So far my husband uses it at least once a day and keeps telling me what a great gift it is. He was very excited to get it and is really enjoying making drinks for them both of us!

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JRS in Florida

Goodbye my love

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2016

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

3 people found this helpful

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AS_Mpls

More Art than Science!

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2016

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

This is a good machine if you learn how to properly tamper the coffee in the coffee filter. The built-in tamper is good enough. I initially tampered it too hard and the coffee would not pour out. I still have a fully functional Krups 963 steam Espresso machine that works great for the last 17 years but wanted to be able to make multiple cups in a short time. With De'Longhi EC220b, the amount of coffee you add to the 2 cup coffee filter, how fine the coffee is ground and how you tamper greatly affects Espresso quality, which was not the case with my Krups. Hence, this is more art than science! Here is what you can do - fill finely ground coffee loosely to the brim of the coffee filter that holds coffee powder and then tamper gently with a circular motion. Do not press hard when tampering. It works with the 2 cup coffee filter but I have not tried the 1 cup coffee filter. For someone looking for real strong Espresso, the 2 cup filter does not hold enough coffee for 2 strong shots. This is the primary reason why I gave this product 3 stars. I also froth my milk and compared to Krups, this is no better. Water comes out of the Cappuccino nozzle a lot before steam comes out. So bleed some steam/water first before you froth milk or else you will end up with lots of water in the milk. Another disadvantage - temperature of the coffee is not that high, I would say the coffee is warm. Not sure this temperature is good enough to extract all the flavors from coffee. My Krups coffee coming out is piping hot. Maybe this is to reduce bitterness but I always add milk to my shots, I rather have very hot water passing thru' the coffee.

Another big disadvantage - the frothing nozzle is too low - biggest problem with all De'Longhi machines! I had to mount my coffee on a wooden plank just to raise the height. If your coffee is not strong enough, you can make one shot, empty the filter and add more coffee while it is ready to brew real quick which was not possible with Krups. So, if you have a lot of guests and you want to make multiple shots real quick, fill the water tank full, and keep making shots by filling the coffee filter multiple times while the machine is always ready to brew! The filter holder cup is under pressure only when the water pump is running.

This machine also leaves a lot of coffee/water in the cup tray. The tray is very well designed to hold this. This machine will leak water even after the machine is turned off and all the pressure is let off by turning the steam dial open. More messy than my Krups.

6 people found this helpful

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Blu-ray newbie

Now If I Can Only Perfect My Method

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2015

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

I've been an avid coffee drinker for decades. Recently I eliminated dairy from my diet, so Half and Half is no longer my morning friend. A good cup of coffee has been hard to come by ever since. In an effort to put some oomph back into my mornings, I decided to buy a new Espresso maker. My old Krups had been put away for a while. When I cleaned it before using it again, I discovered it had developed a bad case of the pits. I returned the first brand I bought because, like my old Krups, it had an aluminum boiler. I settled on the De'Longhi EC220b for its size and the fact that it has a stainless steel boiler. I've had it three days so far and here are my first impressions.

As other reviewers have noted, the filter holder arm is very stiff when it first arrives and only swivels to left of center when first used. Don't try to force it. It loosens with use. Now I can easily move it to center as the directions require.

I suggest downloading the Getting Started manual from the maker's website. The illustrations are in color and they are accompanied with printed explanations, instead of just the pictures as they are in the instructional manual that comes with the Espresso maker.

For me, the hardest part of making espresso was realizing that a double shot is only 2 ounces of coffee. If you are used to drinking a 16 ounce cup in the morning like I am, it means a lot more work making a couple of espressos instead of loading a coffee maker and waiting. Of course, there is no comparison when it comes to taste.

After being surprised by lukewarm Espresso with the first Espresso maker I purchased, I followed the De'Longhi instructions and primed the Espresso maker before making the first cup. (If brand X had suggested this, I'd probably still own it.) One, it warms the cup you will drink from, and two, it heats the water to the proper temperature and eliminates the possibility of a lukewarm Espresso.

I'm still getting accustomed to the proper amount of water to use. My son, the fledgling barista, found instructions online that suggest the best Espresso requires 20 grams of properly ground coffee, tamped at 30 lbs. of pressure; then you count to 32 after the dripping begins. He is right so far. The trick is getting the correct grind and the proper tamp. I bought a tamp and merely drop it onto the grinds a few times, rather than twisting it and trying to estimate 30 lbs. of pressure. Once the coffee is about 1/8th an inch below the filter holder rim, I stop tamping, attach it and begin brewing. This method has worked well for me.

I really like this machine, so far. I have concerns about how long it will last, but I am careful not to run the pump more than 45 seconds at a time as the instructions indicate. I have been keeping the water tank on the machine and have been pouring water into it from a measuring cup, so as not to disturb the seal that rests between the tank and the machine. Good luck finding that seal a few years down the road.

I went on a search for E.S.E. pods at several stores. Nothing but K-cups, and they are... everywhere. It made me wonder if this unit is old technology, since it cannot be used with K-cups. I am now investigating E.S.E. pods online.

I also bought a grinder and have been experimenting with grinding French Roast since I have a few cans in my pantry. I'm looking forward to experimenting with other beans. The search for the perfect Espresso has begun. What a great way to spend a few snow days. Yum!

21 people found this helpful

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Woody

I really like this espresso machine

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2015

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

I really like this espresso machine. It does a great job at a great price. I have had others over the last 25+ years, and this is as good as the best of them, and better than most.

My only problem is a design issue. The wand is on the left side, where the filter handle lines up. You have to manually move the wand and it is very irritating. I do not use the wand, so it is doubly irritating. The tamper on the right side needs to go as it useless, and the wand needs to be put there. While not attractive, I just used packing tape and taped the wand back out of the way.

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Ara

Changed my mind

Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2014

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

First of all, please temper your expectations: this is a $90 espresso machine, not a Jura $4,000 top-of-the-line. So some compromises need to be made. Unfortunately, after two years of issuing this machine, I have come to believe that the compromises are too much.

First, a quick recap: espresso is made by passing very hot water through ground coffee beans at high pressure. Unlike a steam espresso machine, which passes (duh) steam through the beans, a pump machine actually pushes water through the beans. A quick way to tell is that a pump machine will yield froth, known in coffee-snob argot as "crema". This is important because much of the flavor in espresso comes from the oil in the beans, which you see as crema. A steam espresso machine will not do as good of a job releasing the oil. The factors that affect the end result are: the grind size of the beans, the freshness of the beans, how roasted the beans are, and the pressure and temperature of the water.

I buy my beans as whole beans and opt for a medium roast. I invest the extra money and buy the beans from a coffeehouse or coffee distributor as opposed to a big-name store because I can see the date the coffee was roasted (cannot be more than two weeks old), and because medium roast actually means medium roast. At the big stores, medium roast is usually just shy of burned. And yes, this goes for stores like Fresh & Easy and Trader Joe's. Trust me, once you get used to the good stuff, you won't be able to stomach the big-name store coffee or (God forbid!) Starbucks. When I bring the beans home, I immediately stick them in the freezer. This is not ideal, but unless you go through a pound of beans in a week, this is the best way to go. I grind the coffee right before using it, in my $50 burr grinder.

So, back to the DeLonghi--When cold, it takes the machine about 30-60 seconds to warm up. I don't mind it because I use that time to grind the beans and fill the coffee holder. By the time the coffee is set to go, the machine is ready as well. I did invest in a separate tamper. This is convenient, because I can fill the coffee basket right next to the sink and use the tamper to tamp it down.If I spill any coffee, I just sweep it into the sink. However, the tamper that comes with the machine is fine and I probably could have saved myself $10.

The manual says you are not supposed to keep the machine working for longer than 45 seconds at a time, which is OK, because, if you ground the beans correctly and don't tamp them down too hard, you will fill an espresso cup in about 25 seconds. If it takes you longer, then adjust the tamping and/or coarseness of the grind. If you see the coffee coming down drop-by-drop, then you should also adjust one of those factors. I usually use the two-cup basket and an IKEA 8 oz mug. Works fine. A standard American 10 oz mug will probably not fit, though some reviewers suggested removing the drain pan (in which case it *would* fit). Sometimes, the coffee does come out unevenly from the two spouts, which can be a hassle.

The problem is the pressure of the machine, which is 15 bars only in the company's fantasyland. Medium roast beans are harder and less permeable. No matter how I've adjusted the grind, the pressure of the tamping, etc.,, the machine is not able to push the water through with enough force. This results in a weak coffee, with barely any crema. Perhaps because of the age of the machine, the same is now true even when I use a darker roast.

Like I said, I tried varying the tamp and the coarse ness of the grind, to no avail. I have compared my results against those from a coffeehouse. My grind is coarser and I tamp less. I have cleaned the machine and removed all stay bids of coffee. Nothing worked. Regretfully, therefore, I am going to have to confine this to the great espresso graveyard on the sky.

130 people found this helpful

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vegassubscribe

Hard to beat for the money

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2014

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Same internals as the EC155, but looks ten times better and has the headroom for a regular sized mug, the EC155 does not.

Biggest issue with these machines are the baskets are just way too small and you are relegated to making tiny little baby lattes. To address this problem, I spent $6 on a Mr. Coffee non-pressurized basket http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-4101-Filter-Espresso/dp/B000PJ6TVK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1403240896&sr=8-1&keywords=mr+coffee+espresso+basket, drilled a hole in the bottom, put one of the pressurized bottoms from the Delonghi basket into it, then removed the portafilter bottom so the basket would fit. I can put double the coffee in the basket now. It really makes a huge difference.

Second issue is the lack of a 3-way solenoid valve. This means the grouphead uses a spring valve, which inevitably leaks. It not a major issue, just more of an inconvenience because you can't put the portafilter into the machine until you are ready to pull the shot. That said, I'm not aware of any new machine under $300 that has 3-way solenoid.

If you can't make a custom basket, then you can find a refurb Gaggia New Baby for around $200, which has a full sized portafilter and 3-way solenoid. Unless you are totally broke, I would highly recommend going that route and will do so myself in the future. If you are totally broke, then the Delonghi is as good as it gets for the price.

11 people found this helpful

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Deana

Please heed my warning

Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2020

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Listen, I know this isn't a top of the line espresso machine. However, I must say this is one of the worst purchases I have ever made. I had 2 expectations- 1) make a decent cup of espresso, and 2) make steamed milk. This thing couldn't deliver either. I used it daily for about a month. In that time, I would say the espresso was "ok" most of the time, but not consistently. The milk steamer is a joke. First of all the end is plastic (my fault for not paying enough attention). Second, it adds so much water during steaming that you end up with watered down milk that's not even hot enough. The angle it comes out from the machine is awkward and the steamer end is short, so it makes it difficult to position the pitcher. I tried playing around with it multiple times. In the end, I ended up microwaving the milk first, then steaming just to make it frothy. Of course since the pitcher is metal, this involved multiple dishes. The espresso was better if I ran a cycle of plain water first, but imo I don't think I should have had to do that. The taste and depth of the espresso was just too inconsistent, whether I ran the water cycle or not. So many of the pieces on this are plastic; too much for me to be comfortable brewing hot beverages through (again I blame myself for not paying enough attention). Water leaks out of the steamer constantly, even if you hadn't used the steamer. I wish I would have taken the money I spent on this and put it toward a better machine. I suggest if you are reading this, you do the same. I don't even feel right selling it to someone, so I am going to donate it just so it doesn't go straight into a landfill. Maybe if you come across it at a habitat for humanity resale store, it would be worth 10 bucks. Otherwise, move on and invest a little more on a better machine

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De'Longhi EC220CD 15-Bar Pump Driven Espresso Maker

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