De'Longhi Eletta Digital Super Automatic Espresso Machine with Latte Crema System, Black

First impressions after only a few days use. This machine replaced a 6 year old Phillips Exprellia Evo. I don’t know how much of this is 6 years of technological advances and how much is a difference in machines / brands, but so far we like the DeLonghi much better. 1- the milk frothier on the Phillips was OK, but it left Lattés warm but not hot. The DeLonghi frothier makes better froth AND it is hot, so our drinks are much hotter, which we appreciate. 2- While the DeLonghi has some regular (think daily, weekly for the most part) maintenance, it appears to need less maintenance than the Phillips. Specifically I have to do almost nothing with the brew group with the DeLonghi, while with the Phillips I was instructed to manually clean the brew group each week and lubricate it. Access to the bean reservoir is easy. Access to the water tank is easy and the tank is (I think) a bit larger than the Phillips. Controls on the DeLonghi are intuitive (mostly), easy to use and easy to clean. The container for expended grounds is larger on the DeLonghi so I’m not constantly being told to empty the grounds.DeLonghi instructions say no changes should be needed to the machine’s default settings to make good espresso drinks. In truth, both the beans one puts in the machine and personal taste will introduce enough variability that no default settings could produce delicious espresso for even a majority of people, let alone everyone. As a result, some fine tuning of the machine is likely to be required by most people. With default settings and our coffee beans, our initial shots tasted watered down, especially in a Latté. I’ve made a couple changes to the grind (finer) and strength of the shot (stronger, more coffee per shot) and the resulting shots are MUCH better. I’ve probably got just a little more fine tuning to do, but, with very little work we’ve gotten very close. So a plus for DeLonghi, the changes were easy to make and we didn’t need to change much or spend a lot of time making changes to arrive at great coffee.While the DeLonghi machine has a large cup warmer on the top, don’t think it will warm your large coffee mugs. It doesn’t. DeLonghi says you must use their descaling solution to avoid damaging the machine. I doubt this is true, though it is probably true that there are some descaling solutions that would damage it. I looked on the container of their solution for ingredients but they are not listed. That said, the official DeLonghi descaling solution in a large container is only $2.00 per cycle on Amazon so I’m not going to worry about having to use the brand name product. It doesn’t cost that much.One of the limitations of high end home espresso machines is that they eventually need repair but there is almost no reputable place to get them repaired. When you find a place, as i did for the Phillips, you have to send it off. As a result, the quality of the machine and the number of “moving parts” it contains is very important. This DeLonghi machine has the fewest 1 and 2 star reviews over the last 3 years of any fully automatic espresso machine I found on Amazon. That suggests to me that the machines aren’t failing. And while I don’t know about the moving parts inside the machine, in my past experience less prescribed regular maintenance correlates with a machine (e.g. a car) that is more reliable. I’m expecting this DeLonghi machine to work for a longer period of time before it needs repair. I’ll keep you posted.When I have more experience with this machine I’ll update this review. For now, I’m optimistic and happy with the purchase.October 2022 - working great. Still love this machine.

This machine is 'Super'!During the last year while saving up money to buy a Super Automatic Espresso Machine, I conducted a lot of research. I'm OCD, so the research on all the different Super Automatic Espresso Machines (SAEMs) was extensive; companies, (DeLonghi, Seaco/Phillips, Gaggia, Jura, KRUPS, etc.), features and benefits, pros and cons, warranties, pricing, etc. And after all that research, I finally narrowed it down to DeLonghi's ECAM 45760 machine. Its regular price was much more than I originally wanted to spend, but my tenacity paid off because I found a demo unit that was essentially new (with only 2 drink cycles) and at a price just little above what I originally wanted to spend, and carries the 2-year warranty.Additionally, I called a few different espresso machine repair shops, talked to their Repair Technicians, and asked which machines (Saeco/Phillips, Gaggia, Jura, KRUPs, etc.) were the most reliable that they repair the least, and I was told the DeLonghi's Super Automatic Espresso machines are the best and most reliable, especially when you follow the recommended periodic maintenance. If you take care of your machine, your machine will take care of you. ;-)This machine has been excellent so far and is very well designed and made. The water reservoir pulls out from the front-right side, so I don't have to pull out the whole machine to add water at the top of the machine like other SAEMs. The LaCrema system makes excellent froth/milk drinks, and the selection of different type of drinks is great. I have always been more of a black drip coffee drinker, so the dedicated 'Long' Coffee function, which brews drip style coffee via a different brewing process that simulates drip style coffee processing, is awesome; I get consistent drip style cups of coffee every time. I occasionally like to drink a 'standard' Cafe Latte, and this machine makes an awesome one of those as well! Want an extra espresso shot in your Café Latte? No problem, once the Café Latte is finished being made, just press the espresso button once, and an extra shot will be added to your Café Latte. NOICE!!!I don't understand why other reviewers have stated that some of the drink menus are difficult to understand. If you take the time to ready the User's Manual like you're supposed to, and/or watch the YouTube videos, it is very easy and intuitive. I did both, so maybe that is why it seemed to be easy and straight forward for me.All in all, if you're looking for a reliable 'Super' Automatic Espresso Machine with great design/features, that is easy to use, has a lot of different coffee drink options, then I highly recommend this machine.

I have to say I was a bit reluctant to buy one of the super automatic espresso makers. For the price, would it be worth it? Would it make a great drink? Would be to too complex to use? Well, I have to say that my worries were all allayed.The Delonghi is a great gadget. It took no time to set up. The directions were easy to follow, and they even had instructional videos you need them. Right out of the box it makes a great cup.The automatic milk frother is easy to use and works well. This stores easy in the refrigerator when not in use. I do not miss having to hand froth the milk in the AM when I am trying to get out of the house in a hurry.It holds LOTS of bean and water, so you are not spending all kinds of time filling it up. The unit itself warms up in moments when you turn it on, so you are not standing around forever waiting for you espresso.Its not cheap....but I think its worth it. If you are a big coffee drinker like us, it will not take as much time as you think to 'pay for itself' by cutting out all the trips to the 'green mermaid'. :-)