De’Longhi Stilosa Manual Espresso Machine, Latte & Cappuccino Maker, 15 Bar Pump Pressure + Milk Frother Steam Wand, Black / Stainless, EC260BK, 13.5 x 8.07 x 11.22 inches

Buy if Willing to Put in the Effort
This is a review of De’Longhi Stilosa Espresso MachineBottom line up front: Good beginner espresso machine at the sale price of $85. If you are willing to dip your toe in the espresso making waters at home and you have the time and patience, buy it. If you want a quick, hassle-free cup of joe, look elsewhere (I’m thinking drip, pour over, Nespresso, etc.).Amazon shipping: Amazon shipped it in its original box with a shipping label slapped on it. This arrived on the front porch, so beware. De’Longhi’s packaging was good. The machine was packaged in a pasteboard inside the box making it recyclable (no styrofoam).The good: It does what it says. I have not previously made any espresso drinks. I have about two weeks of experience and it makes espresso. Follow the directions (more on direction in “the bad”), use espresso coffee and you’ll get an acceptable shot of espresso (see learning section). The milk frother works after some practice. This machine is manual. You start the flow of water and then you stop the flow of water. You switch to steam and use the switch on the side to froth your milk. This is good because you are in control.The bad: Well it requires some education on how to make espresso and what exactly a shot of espresso is and a cappuccino recipe.The directions are kind of IKEA-ish with pictures and a sparse number of words. The machine is manual and you have to learn to use it and pay attention as you use it. I am apparently a messy barista. I find it necessary (maybe I”m obsessive compulsive) to thoroughly clean the machine every time I use it. This is a bit more intense than the directions that say to clean out the portafilter and clean the frother each use with thorough cleaning being every 200 or so shots. Overall, a Nespresso machine would be much easier.What I did: I’ve had this machine for about two weeks and have used it for about 10 mornings. The first morning my lovely wife dumped her cappuccino out and went for the keurig. I had some issues this day using the frother and ended up with very watered down steamed milk. The second morning I used the Cappuccino cups (2.9 ounces, kitchenables available here on amazon). Packed the double shot portafilter and made two nice, small cappuccinos. Then on the third day, I moved to a larger cup. I made my wife a decaf cappuccino in an 8 ounce mug using a double shot (2 ounces) of espresso, steamed milk and froth to fill the mug. Again, this was dumped out. I made myself a lungo using the double shot portafilter and filled a 12 ounce mug about half way. Mine was tasty and I drink my coffee black, in general. About the third day I was getting the cappuccino thing down. Double shot of espresso, equal amount of steamed milk (by volume) and equal amount of froth (1 part espresso, 1 part steamed milk, 1 part froth). This amounted to about two-thirds of the 8 ounce mug. What kind of coffee did I use? I bought a bag of the Gevalia Espresso Dark Roast and a can of Illy ground coffee espresso Classico Decaf Roast.Learning: It seems that a shot of espresso is one ounce and a double shot is two ounces. I got this information from Google search. You need to keep this in mind as you are making your espresso as this is how the two portafilters are sized. I also used google to find the cappuccino recipe and saw some other espresso recipes (americano, latte, flat white, lungo). Also I still need to experiment with different coffee brands. I have no intention of going all out to grind my own and weigh the beans.

Perfect for beginners and easygoing coffee makers!!
I read a review on this from a barista that sold me on this machine before buying! I’d wanted to switch to an espresso maker for a while and never knew where to start and this one is great. And I’m a reviews girly, so I read a TON of reviews on a lot of different machines at different prices too.If you’re looking for your sign to buy this one, this is it! But here are pros and cons anyway so you’ve got a better scope on things—PROS:-this one is decently cheap!! I wasn’t looking to spend an arm and a leg on something and I actually got this one when it was on sale too (I think it was around $90 when I got it on sale) if i had to buy it at full price after using it, I totally would. It’s worth it.-relatively fast to heat up, I plug it in before I start getting ready in the morning so I can do things while it’s heating-if you brew directly into mugs like me (see photos), the drip tray is removable so you can get a few different sizes underneath!-it’s a pretty small machine in comparison to others that i’ve seen-while it may be small, i have a kitchen the size of an easy bake oven so I can’t keep it on the counter. I leave it on a tray for easy moving (seen in pictures), so I can move it back to the dining room when not in used and it’s super lightweight!! Definitely easy to move without the tray too, i just have it move it a lot-machine is durable for being lightweight, i have had no issues so far with any possible pieces breaking from the amount i move it around-coffee always tastes great and it’s hot (i prefer super super hot coffee but there’s no temperature control on this so i can’t do that but it’s not a big deal)-the cord to plug it in is extra long (in my opinion) so it would easily plug in somewhere hidden/behind a coffee bar if you wanted!CONS: (these don’t bother me, but may bother someone else)-it does take a minute to heat again when you switch to the steam function (so if you run late to work like i do, just something to keep in mind lol)-it will drip—if i fill the espresso too full, sometimes it may dribble down the side. When you are using the steamer, water drips out of the brewing side. I just leave the handle attached with my mug underneath so at least its coffee dripping into the mug (i’d rather no clean the drip tray if i dont have to)-this one is a con that bothers me—buy your own tamper and milk frother!!! The plastic tamper that comes with the machine is fine, but the barista review I read said to get a different one and I’m glad I did. And based on the images, I assumed a frother came with the machine (because why read the whole product description lol) so i did order one and im so glad that I didFor the price, ease of use, and reliability of this machine, I would recommend!!If your inner Karen comes out when bothered by little annoyances like the dripping or the time it takes to heat between functions, then I would look somewhere else.

Agora é praticar até extrair um espresso, pois a máquina proporciona uma ótima experiência pra quem gosta e aprecia um café bem tirado. Uma dica valiosa: Você nunca vai tirar um café com crema se você não usa um moedor manual, esqueça os de hélice (que são trituradores).

Great machine♥️so practical for latte and espresso