I've had an older version of this model for almost 10 years now with the silver exterior instead of the black. We use it pretty much everyday and it's been excellent. As long as you descale it when required it's very durable. The only other common issue is with the flow meter, which is a 12 dollar part easily available on eBay, I've needed to replace it 3 times so far.
From the directions it makes it seem like the milk frother part of it is not fully automatic right?
Correct. Superautomatic may have automatic frothing, but most will be at least double this price at the low end. The cheapest I think is the Phillips 4300 which is $900
Mine has been running strong for 2.5 years, older model, pulling avg 3-5 shots a day for the family, Brita filtered tap water, no issue. Pretty easy to clean and descale periodically. We put reg beans in the main chamber and ground for decaf (grind separately or buy ground)
I've had an older version of this model for almost 10 years now with the silver exterior instead of the black. We use it pretty much everyday and it's been excellent. As long as you descale it when required it's very durable. The only other common issue is with the flow meter, which is a 12 dollar part easily available on eBay, I've needed to replace it 3 times so far.
What's the flow meter issue about? We've had the silver one for about 5 years and working pretty well. Sometimes I feel like the pulls are a bit inconsistent though.
From the directions it makes it seem like the milk frother part of it is not fully automatic right?
Espresso machines have funny nomenclatures. Semi Auto would require separate grinding, tamping, and milk frothing. Full Auto includes the grinding and tamping but not the milk frothing. Super Auto is the one that does all 3. Cheapest SuperAuto would be the Philips Lattego 3200 retailing at $799. Though I would suggest the Gaggia Magenta Prestige superauto is currently available for $899. It's a step above the Philips 3200 and 4300 and comparable to the Philips 5400 which retails at $999.
What's the flow meter issue about? We've had the silver one for about 5 years and working pretty well. Sometimes I feel like the pulls are a bit inconsistent though.
The "water low" light would be flashing, and when you press the button to make a shot/coffee it would grind the beans but barely any liquid would come out if any at all. My family has 3 of these machines for various amount of time and we needed about 5 or 6 replacements total.
I have an older ESAM Delonghi Model and love it. It gets used about 5 times per day. Keys to longevity with these are filtered water, frequent descaling, using less oily beans, and keeping it clean.
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Correct. Superautomatic may have automatic frothing, but most will be at least double this price at the low end. The cheapest I think is the Phillips 4300 which is $900
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Delonghi sells a descale kit. It's not that expensive.
What's the flow meter issue about? We've had the silver one for about 5 years and working pretty well. Sometimes I feel like the pulls are a bit inconsistent though.
Extra step to go through and latte would not come out like you get in Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts store etc
Would you guys suggest best coffee beans to use in espresso machines? I am using Lavazza espresso italiano but it doesn't taste good. Any suggestions?