DeLonghi Magnifica Evo with LatteCrema system – real coffee in the home (coffee review)

The DeLonghi Magnifica Evo with LatteCrema system is a mid-level, fully automatic coffee machine that can make barista-quality espresso and black and milk coffee at home. It does that well.

Welcome to the world of DeLonghi Coffee, where you can get

• Fully automatic coffee machines (Evo, Eleta, PrimaDonna, Maestosa)
• Manual (La Specialista, Arte, Maestro, Prestigo, Stilosa and Dedica)
• Nespresso (Lattissma, Vertuo, Citiz, Essenza, Inissia)
• Drip (Clessidra)
• Pot (Alicia)

These range from $129 (Alicia Pot) to $4,199 (Maestosa Luxury).

All these variants boil down to

• Milk – Manual hot milk with a steam wand or automatic hot milk (LatteCrema system)
• Programs – Espresso, Long/short black, Cappuccino, Latte, Americano and more
• Readouts – LCD, OLED, Indicator lights or none
• Coffee – beans (with inbuilt grinder) or grinds
• Single or dual boilers and various pressure and temperatures

Australian review: DeLonghi Magnifica Evo ECAM290.62.B

• Inbuilt 250g coffee bean adjustable mild, medium, or strong grinder
• Grinder bypass for decaf etc.
• Water: 1.8L and replaceable filter
• Used grounds container: approx. 14 coffees
• Programs: Espresso (40ml), Coffee (180ml), Cappuccino, My Latte and hot water
• Single thermoblock 15-bar boiler
• Adjustable cup quantity per program
• LatteCrema system for hot frothed milk
• Milk and coffee rinsing program
• Noise: 62dB when brewing and 75dB when grinding
• It can use up to 1450W when making a coffee but is in sleep mode or switched off.

The Magnifico Evo Titan ECAM290.83.B has more programs. The manual is for both Evo and Titan with the  LatteCrema system.

Website	Product Page and Range page
Price	$1399 is currently on special for $999
From	DeLonghi online, Harvey Norman, Myer, David Jones, JB Hi-Fi, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Appliance Central
Warranty	2-year ACL, 30-day free return
Country of origin	Romania
Company	DeLonghi is an Italian brand est. 1902 makes a huge range of coffee makers, kitchen appliances, air treatment, heaters and more. Its aim is that Every De’Longhi product comes with ‘something special.’
More	Cybershack coffee news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed.

You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First impression – Pass+

Over my career, I have reviewed many coffee machines. This is a typical glossy black plastic with stainless steel drip tray and spouts. The water container slips into the right side, and the beans hopper is on top. It is 240 (W) x 440 (D) x 360mm (H) x 9.6kg. It will fit nicely on any kitchen benchtop and under overhanging cupboards.

Setup – Pass(able)

If you have not used an automatic coffee maker before, setup is more about figuring out what to do to make your favourite coffee. In my case, that is a double espresso, and my wife is a Latte.

This comes with a water softener filter (about two months of use), a PH strip (to determine water hardness), a steam head, a LatteCrema system, and a manual coffee grind scoop.

This does not have a visual readout; the instructions can be a little cryptic. You need to follow them to the letter. I did not and ended up stuck in a descaling loop for 45 minutes. All was well after that.

Cleaning and maintenance – Pass

Regardless of the brand or model, if you buy an automatic machine with a milk accessory, you must be prepared to keep it clean after each use.

The easiest is a push-button milk delivery spout steam clean. The milk container only holds enough for one Latte or Cappuccino, but you can refill it and store it in the fridge between use. You can hand wash it with dishwashing liquid between use.

The used coffee grinds container needs emptying when the indicator light comes on. This is part of the wastewater drip tray. Empty and clean regularly.

The doser/infuser is inside the machine behind the water container and is water washable only.

The water filter lasts about two months and costs $29.95. Descaling (when the machine tells you) uses the 100ml EcoDecalk solution at $8.95 (larger sizes available). This is a 45-minute process, and you need to refill the water and empty the wastewater a few times.

How to make a good coffee

How to make good coffee at home (guide) is worth a read as it demystifies the coffee-making process. In essence, this machine makes 40ml coffee shots (Espresso) and frothed milk.

For our tests, we use the same beans as our local barista; that way, we can compare the machine’s coffee with theirs. The hopper holds 250g – about a cup of beans.

The other thing to remember is the cup capacity. This makes an 8oz, 280ml cup up to 140ml high. Remember that milk increases about 2 to 3X after frothing.

So do the math. If you like a strong coffee (2 shots), that is 80ml. Milk should be no more than 100ml before frothing. Latte is about 30% froth, and Cappuccino is 60%. The LatteCreama system will stop when the milk container is empty.

The DeLonghi Magnifica Evo delivers water at about 90°C and milk at about 60°C (ideal). You can select low, medium, or high if you want hotter coffee.

Milk – Pretty good with all – Pass

We tested with

• Full cream, skim, and lactose-free cow’s milk. Skim or Lactose-free gave the best froth.
• Almond, Oat and Soy were all good too.

It tends to over-froth, but that could be the milk we tested with.

So, how does the coffee taste?

Out of the box, the grinder was on the perfect setting. Warning – don’t change this unless you know what you are doing.

The Espresso was a little watery, and we tweaked the setting from mild to medium. I may adjust the grinder one click from 5 to 4, but I have not done so yet.

Café Latte was too weak – one shot and too much froth. There is no way to alter the program to two shots or change the milk/froth ratio. We simply use the pre-set My Latte and, at the end, press Espresso for the second shot. This also solved the froth issue, as milk is reduced by 40ml to accommodate the second shot.

The coffee temperature is acceptable on medium. It is nice to know that we can go up or down.

Coffee machine recovery time – Pass+

We sequentially made five Lattes, and the machine showed no signs of slowing down. The coffee was always at the same temperature. The only limitation is the 1.4L tank.

CyberShack’s view – DeLonghi Magnifica Evo has a place in every coffee drinker’s home

It is not the most automatic or programmable coffee machine, but once you learn the tricks, it makes barista-quality coffee at a fraction of the price.

The beauty of this is that it makes pretty good Espresso, Latte and Cappuccino (and hot water for teas); that is all you need. I am not sure the Magnifica Evo Titan, which has Doppio+, and Foamed milk pre-sets, is really necessary.

If you are graduating from pod machines, this is a good mid-range at a great price.

Rating Explanation

Features 85

It is a mid-range machine with just enough pre-sets for milk and black coffee. It has few adjustments.

Value 90

Its value is commensurate with the price

Performance 85

Out-of-the-box coffee is not strong enough, but it makes decent coffee with a bit of tweaking and remembering to manually add a second shot (not one coffee grind and two water).

The lack of adjustment for milk froth is a minor issue. More important is that it only froths the amount of milk in the milk receptacle.

Ease of use 80

The manual is heavy on icons and light on explanations. It needs proper set up, and you need to read the manual. DeLonghi has many training videos to assist. Be prepared to experiment.

Design 85

It is a pretty standard ‘black’ design that should fit into any kitchen.

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