What Bean to Cup coffee machine?

My delonghi primadonna 6600 bought in November 2009 crapped it a couple weeks ago. I think I could have spent money repairing...but felt it was nearing the end, and each bit made slightly different noises that didn't sound tight.

So given it had been used daily for 7.5years...with no servicing.... I thought I'd buy a new one.

Gone for the jura e8.
 
I've bean (yeah I did) looking out on ebay for a commercial coffee machine like they have in Premier inns. They pop up every now and then But £7k. I like coffee but not that much......I'm sure if I keep looking one will turn up
 
Coffee machines get sooo expensive sooo quickly. I was part time 'barista' (coffee shop monkey) and had specifically looked for all the best coffee places in Italy when backpacking, so I was really quite snobby of the nespresso machines until I was bought one as a present. It was the 'cities' (possibly with a z) which came with a milk frother. Was around £150. Honestly... it's pretty awesome for the price and if you don't have hundred and hundreds in cash to spend on one go on the real thing. The only downside is that it doesn't do an ultra strong espresso. Otherwise it's great. The milk frother is a great alternative to the steamer.

I'm not inclined to upgrade until I can spank a grand on one.
 
Like a lot of people here I've had a magnifica for about 4/5 years. Still working almost as well as it did on day one, usually have about 4 doubles a day but I do descale regularly, amazing machine! Problem is it's too easy, ruins the spwcialness, when it dies think I'll just spend that kind of money on a non bean to cup and get the highest pressure for the money - they do make a better cup imo than bean to cup
 
paradigm said:
Not the exact model but I've got a Delonghi Magnifica which I've had since 2010 (I think, might have been 2011), it's been fantastic, though it's starting to get a bit problematic now (won't take grounds any more, not that I use them often, crack in both the drip tray and the coffee waste tray).

I'd definitely get another, assuming I can't keep this one going much longer!
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Yeh i have one of these and love it
 
For reference the delonghi service centre is really good, had a couple of valves go on my primadonna xs after 4 years of heavy usage and they quote fixed categories of prices and £0 if you don't go ahead...mine was £100 Inc postage both ways and I think £150 is the top bracket.

The sage machines do make a much nicer coffee though !
 
Another vote for the Delonghi Magnifica, I've had mine a few years now and it gets used a few times every day. I'd not hesitate to get another when its time is up.
 
I too have a Delonghi Magnifica, I bought it because we have one at work that must do about 30 cups of coffee a day and has been upto the task for about 2 years now. Way more use than its meant for but it's handled it flipping well!!

I bought mine for £200 on Black Friday, was meant to be £350-£400ish.

I use mine twice a day and love it. I have a couple of settings I remember and switch through depending on what kinda coffee I want. Milk steamer is actually surprisingly good on it too and the machine is easy to maintain.
 
Rossi~ said:
I too have a Delonghi Magnifica, I bought it because we have one at work that must do about 30 cups of coffee a day and has been upto the task for about 2 years now. Way more use than its meant for but it's handled it flipping well!!

I bought mine for £200 on Black Friday, was meant to be £350-£400ish.

I use mine twice a day and love it. I have a couple of settings I remember and switch through depending on what kinda coffee I want. Milk steamer is actually surprisingly good on it too and the machine is easy to maintain.
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I really like mine, especially for the price, but if I had to criticise it I'd mention:

- Milk steamer knob is very stiff on mine
- Milk steamer takes a long time to steam
- Milk steamer takes a while to get up to speed as it spends ten seconds chugging and spitting out water before it can be used for milk
- Milk steamer has no adjustability - no big deal, you can get around that
- The auto frother arm that it comes with needs to be removed unless you want a cup of foam in your latte
- Warming tray is useless...not even sure if mine gets warmer than the ambient heat from the machine working
- It seems to struggle with a double shot; I've found two single shots are much stronger

Positives far outweigh the above though and it makes a nice coffee.

Can I ask what settings you have found works best? My grinder is set to 3, quantity half way between 9 and 12, strength max, shot temperature max.
 
Maybe you got a dud milk steamer? Mine spits and spurts to begin with for maybe 5 seconds, then is fine and doesn't take that long to heat up at all.
Knob was stiff but loosened up over time :)
If I have a latte, I'll microwave the milk anyway. Only use the milk steamer for caps.
Take the 2 cup button with a pinch of salt (not literally ;)). I've always done two single cups for a double shot.
Warming tray? Is that the bit on top? Never used it tbh.
Will get a picture of my settings later for you :)
 
Participant said:
- Milk steamer takes a long time to steam
- Milk steamer takes a while to get up to speed as it spends ten seconds chugging and spitting out water before it can be used for milk
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Participant said:
- Warming tray is useless...not even sure if mine gets warmer than the ambient heat from the machine working
Click to expand...

Sounds like yours is a newer model than mine.
You Haven't got the machine in power saving mode have you? And do you regularly descale as the pathways in the heat exchanger are pretty small for better heat transferal.
I believe, and I could be wrong, that the cup warmer is above the heat exchanger but I just use the hot water function to take the edge off the cup the times I use a little bit of milk.
 
Father has a Magnifica - I personally have a Nespresso setup - I find his machine requires effort to keep it well calibrated. Coffee always seems mediocre to me - he probably needs to invest in better beans to be honest.
 
Rossi~ said:
Maybe you got a dud milk steamer? Mine spits and spurts to begin with for maybe 5 seconds, then is fine and doesn't take that long to heat up at all.
Knob was stiff but loosened up over time :)
If I have a latte, I'll microwave the milk anyway. Only use the milk steamer for caps.
Take the 2 cup button with a pinch of salt (not literally ;)). I've always done two single cups for a double shot.
Warming tray? Is that the bit on top? Never used it tbh.
Will get a picture of my settings later for you :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the above. Details of your settings would be great.

I tried an americano with two single shots this morning and it was MUCH better / stronger than the double cup. Makes me think the double is just the same amount of coffee with twice the water.

Yes the warming tray is meant to be the silver tray at the top.

The Artfull Bodger said:
Sounds like yours is a newer model than mine.
You Haven't got the machine in power saving mode have you? And do you regularly descale as the pathways in the heat exchanger are pretty small for better heat transferal.
I believe, and I could be wrong, that the cup warmer is above the heat exchanger but I just use the hot water function to take the edge off the cup the times I use a little bit of milk.
Click to expand...

No, I've disabled the eco mode (one of the first things I did). Descaling is a good shout, thanks.
 
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@Participant
Here's the settings I use with LavAzza Tierra beans and I always use filtered water. I've noted the knob settings down as "o'clock" numbers to make it a little clearer.

I can't remember the heat setting, i believe it was 1 up from default.

Grinder Setting - 3
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Standard "Coffee" (2 & 2)
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Cap/Latte (12 and 3)
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Espresso (10:30 & 3)- Just turn down the quantity from cap/latte setting.
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"Why don't you use the espresso for Caps and Lattes?" you ask? Basically I prefer the taste that way and it works well with my mugs and cap glasses.

I spent quite a while getting this to suit me, so not sure how much help it's going to be :p
 
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