Before I got married – I had a Mr. Coffee Espresso maker – it did the job for me, but I had to grind the coffee myself, and I didn’t know what I was missing…
When I got married – someone gave us a Krupps Espresso maker. I still had to grind the beans, but the coffee tasted a bit better and I was happy for about a week… then steam shot out of the sides (some seal blew), and we took it back to Bed/Bath/Beyond… Got another one that didn’t work out of the box!
That was it for me – I wanted something that WORKED and that I wouldn’t have to futz with (too much) any longer. We opted for the 3300 and haven’t looked back since.
This thing makes an absolutely wonderful shot of espresso, and great cappucinos. Yeah, we had to play with the dials a bit to figure out just where we liked it – but that took a day or two to figure out. Once we got it set, I took a sharpie marker (fine tip) and added an extra dot on the dial. If you look really closely, you can see it – so we know what it’s for, no one else would notice.
Cleanup is pretty simple – you have to (OMG!) move the wand, open the door, pull out the tray, and dump the collection bin… Then rinse out the whole thing – use a bit of soap if you really need to, and let ‘er dry… Then reverse the process 
I set the water hardness when we first got it and after about 6 months of use, I finally had to descale it (we make 1-2 cups per day). It was very easy – empty the water container, dump in the Durgol and add 1L of water… Hold in the descale button (which was flashing) for 5 sec, then when it goes fully lit, turn the frothing handle until the water comes out of the froth wand… Shove a small Glad 1.6L container under it to catch the crud…
30 min later, the water tank is empty – so dump the Glad container… Turn the froth handle off. Rinse and refill the water tank. Turn the froth handle on. Let it rinse the machine again… takes about 5 or 6 mins… Turn the froth handle off. Empty the tank. Rinse again for good measure, and refill.
Turn off the machine. Then for good measure, open it up, remove the infuser and rinse it out under the sink. Dry it off, and reinstall.
That’s it – you’re done. Good to go for another zillion cups of great coffee…
We’ve used Illy’s Dark Roast beans – they’re very nice, along the lines of a Blue Mountain taste to me but at 60% of the price. We’ve run out of Illy and I’ve started using Shock Therapy Coffee (yeah, find it here on Amazon – it’s GREAT stuff…).
As for the noise: Yeah, when it grinds, you get oh 10-15 seconds of grinding… boo hoo… If you don’t like that, then pre-grind the stuff and use the slot in the middle to scoop it in (although, if you’re doing that, it begs the question as to why you wanted the automatic anyway).
Frothing isn’t too noisy – but works much better than anything I’ve ever had. Get one of those stainless steel froth containers and a thermometer and you’re good to go (again, BBB has a combo with a thermometer that has the “Froth” temperature (about 160F).
Did I mention that I love the DeLonghi? Oh yeah, the fact that my wife and I don’t have to blow $5 – $10/day on $tarbuck$ any longer means this sucker is paying for itself… Add in the fact that you don’t have to drive over, stand (or wait) in line, listen to the gossipy drivel or inane music, then risk your life in the parking lot again for a fix and I was sold ;->
Compared to Starbucks – the DeLonghi tastes a lot better to me…
Product details and features
- Patented “Direct-to-Brew” system grinds beans instantly for fresh espresso. And it’s compact and removable for easy cleaning.
- Professional-quality conical burr grinder
- No wait between espresso and steam with double boiler system
- Instant reheat function
- Patented cappuccino system frother for perfect beverages
- Decalcification system
- 60-ounce removable water tank and used coffee container
- Cup warmer
- Hot water spout
- Coffee strength and quantity controls
- 1- to 2-cup selector
- Height-adjustable coffee spouts