need help for a espresso machine

[pato_85]

Hi coffee lovers

Ill start saying my mom is the real coffee fan, i do drink coffee but im not that into it...yet. anyway my mom wants to buy a expresso machine for the house, i already did some research and got a grinder, i chose Capresso 560 Infinity Conical Burr Grinder, but there are so many stuff to compare for a machine i just think is easier to ask.

so.. for a newbie no experience on coffee (my mom has a small mr coffee drip system around 15 dls) but for some reason she wants to get REAL coffee so my question is this, for a newbie, not so many buttons, but also enough that she may learn how to brew and maybe get a manual machine in the future (5 year?) easy to find spare parts, easy to clean, a house machine, maybe doing around 3 - 5 expressos a day, less than 400 dls, be able to do lattes, mokas, capuchinos, etc be able to do the foamy milk. and has all the gadgets or at least tell me which gadgets she will need

any help will be appreciated

thanks

 

[shadow745]

Yeah that grinder will serve you well... For that price point I'd recommend something in the Gaggia lineup. Probably find the Gaggia Classic for $400~ and it's a great home machine. A mocha is simply a latte with chocolate sauce added by the way... The Classic doesn't have any unnecessary gadgets, which is a good thing because too much crap leads to more things going wrong. Later!

 

[pato_85]

Yeah that grinder will serve you well... For that price point I'd recommend something in the Gaggia lineup. Probably find the Gaggia Classic for $400~ and it's a great home machine. A mocha is simply a latte with chocolate sauce added by the way... The Classic doesn't have any unnecessary gadgets, which is a good thing because too much crap leads to more things going wrong. Later!

thats for the answer i aprreciate it a lot

 

[bobh]

I have the Magnifica ESAM 3300 and it is a disaster. Here is an excerpt from my letter to DeLonghi. "Originally shipped to a repair location on October 7, 2010. Received back over one month later on Nov. 12. Machine becomes inoperable with light 16 coming on continually and on a regular basis light 13. Had applied numerous scale applications which lasted no more than several cups. We have had that problem since original purchase 15 months ago. Repair facility reported that it “replaced defective part, tested ok.” It replaced the power board.

Upon receiving the machine on Nov. 12 I plugged it in, filled the water tank and turned the machine on. After going through the blinking process, light 16 went on. I attempted to grind coffee but the machine did not operate. I checked the water tank by reinserting it, changing the water, unplugging the machine and restarting it. I did this several times but the light always remained on after starting the machine and it was inoperable.

I spent a considerable amount of money on this machine and eagerly looked forward to enjoying espresso coffee. But it has been a continual disaster over these last 15 months. I no longer trust it, even if you attempt another repair. I either want a new machine or my money back. I would prefer the latter inasmuch as I am deeply concerned now about its reliability."

I contacted CS again and now they said they would use their "white-gloves" repair, that is sending it to DeLonghi directly. I did it and it was returned to me about a month or so later. Turned it on and the same lights came on making the machine inoperable. I called CS and was irate, again demanding either money back or new machine. CS reacted like this was a common occurrence and they would simply repair it again. That was late December and I am still waiting for it to be returned. I have zero faith in this machine, even if the light finally works, I suspect in a matter of weeks the same problem will occur.
And finally even when it does work for short periods, it is not that good and certainly not worth the money. I have a back up machine that was considerably less that makes better espresso and froth.

 

[shadow745]

The more complicated the machine the more likely you are to have issues with it. That's why people should stop going the full auto route as most of them lead to disgust. Bobh, now your machine is nothing more than an oversized paperweight. Sorry to hear about it.

 

[CCafe]

Shadow is right here. Its sad to see all those higher end super auto's out there and all they are really good for is holding down papers.

I'm sorry you've had such crappy luck with your machine. The one thing I've heard a lot over the past several years is people who've dropped hundreds to thousands of dollars on these machines only to wonder why they make marginal espresso and they seem to constantly break down. If I'm going to fork over 3 grand for a high end super-auto for the home, I might as well spend another two to four thousand and just by a lower end commercial machine that can be plumbed in!