De'Longhi EC702 15 Bar Pump Espresso Machine with Professional Steam Wand - Stainless Steel for Home Barista & Coffee Lovers (Perfect for Latte, Cappuccino & Espresso Drinks)

5/25/16 You can read below my previous review and update, but I posted this at the top for good reason. I've changed my rating to a 1 star this time (4 star originally then 2 then 1...and none if I could have). This is our 5th EC702 in ~4yrs and it died a horrible watery death after 6 months AGAIN. Amazon was kind enough to honor the return of the 2nd one below but the third showed up, lasted a month and the heater died with a big POP and burnt insulation smell. The third arrived in a wet box, water in the tank and lines and the seals looked used! They sent me another right away. This last one lasted just past 6 mo. dying with the same issue of the "Horrible Boiler Seal Design" giving way once again and running water everywhere, even on the counter from behind the machine.I must give great Kudos to Amazon customer service for their kindness and putting up with my rants a few times over this thing...but at least They stepped up the to Plate for me. DeLonghi Customer Service on the other hand is NOT Service, it's misdirection and outright shameful at best and I won't mention what might be at worst. All of my dealings with them directly have been unbelievably painful, misleading, misdirected and a waste of time to the point I am sure they want, which would be to toss the machine in the landfill and buy another.I went back today after it's painful death and read about half of the 1-2 star and half the 4-5 star reviews here. I also Thanked a bunch of them for being Helpful comments. Over and over again in the 1-2 stars people are saying the same things I have and more, about leaks, heaters, frother issues (I had one disintegrate), receiving used units, early death and horrible customer service. And this product is still on the shelf for a $50 higher price than I paid for my first one...and this product still rates 4.5 stars over all, with all the dead units and 374 frustrated customers with hardly any plausible recourse.I find it hard to contact Amazon again about this as they have been kind and it is not their fault the machine is badly designed, poorly manufactured with poor quality components and a great lack in QA. However Amazon should IMHO not expose their customers/consumers to this product or its planned obsolescence without a proper warning. Additionally after seeing these on some home improvement shows repeatedly (wonder if they are working or Props?) I will probably write a letter to consumer affairs regarding this product! OK I'm Done, my experiment didn't work as the ROI even with Amazons graciousness is still less than running to Bux or my local coffee house for an espresso a few times a day for this period. Where has the quality gone in manufacturing? Is it Shame on me Now for trying to have faith in a very old company?------------------------I have been enjoying Espresso since the mid 70's and for about the last 10 years I only drink espresso, so I know what I am looking for when it comes to the perfect cup. Having gone through several, much more expensive machines in the the last 6-8 years, I was pretty tired of plunking down big bucks for a machine, only to have them die a horrible painful death in a year or two and have no logical or monetary recourse than to buy another machine. I seriously considered going all the way back to a Lever Style Press machine which are pretty bullet proof in the long run and give the best espresso shot(my opinion), but again the price now for these machines is exorbitant, especially for such a simple mechanical machine. As an old engineer I find it appalling when a company designs a machine that is not that complex, that only lasts a year or two, then puts a customer through the ringer to get it fixed at more than half the cost of the original to only last another 6mo. or a year.I did an extensive search as usual, reading reviews, consumer reports, blogs and specs., etc., trying to find the right machine and price point, until I couldn't take any more. Some of the things I appreciate about Amazon is their reviews from a broad spectrum of users and their good sale price and return policies which is why I ended up changing my thinking about another "High End Machine". I figured I could buy 2 of these machines for the price of a medium Breville or 3.5 for a La Pavoni press. The big question is; "Would it make good espresso"?In this case I would say this machine makes a Very Good Espresso. It took a while to get it "broken in" but after an initial 2 tanks of water through it and about a week of getting the tamping/grind right it started making pretty good cups. It took an other week to dial in getting a perfect Crema and now it has settled in to making Very Good cups every time.As for the machine itself, I find the only real irritant is the Porta-filler Body and Porta-filter a Pain to "Knock". The lever to hold the porta-filter barely grasps it and the far end of the porta-filler has a notch in it to allow the detents in the filter to fit inside. If they would have put a slide locking lever to better grab it, it wouldn't fall out when trying to empty it. One other issue with the filter is there were burrs on the edges from the stamping process. The first note on an engineering drawing is to "Remove All Burrs and Sharp Edges". I touched it up with a little 400 wet and dry sandpaper and all is good now.Regarding the rest of the machine I really like the short warm up time. It only takes about 8 minutes to come up to temp from off, and settles in and is ready to produce the first cup. I find the temp controller could be better, in that I get about 2/3 of a double shot before the light goes out but find the initial temp of a single is above 190 and the Crema isn't as good...so this balance the pump refill to temp and Crema when I make the double. Temp recovery is good at <90 seconds. The pump is good other than being a bit noisy, probably due to the way its mounted and stamped sheet metal housings being pretty thin. The cup warmer works well by placing the cup, lip down, and warms it in a few minutes. I also really like the water bucket and filtered hose feeding the reservoir from the bucket.Overall I am very satisfied and happy with this machine and hope that it last at least 2 years before any major issues. If it does I will buy another one. I hope this review helps others with their dilemma on the purchase of a good quality espresso machine for a reasonable price.-------------------Update 2/19/15: This first machine finally died a watery death from the tank seal giving way. Upon disassembling it, found the issue to be a small diameter silicone O-Ring that had gone flat and hard. Since it had made great coffee and relatively trouble free for 2yrs & 5mo. (September 30, 2012), I decided to purchase another based on my justification above. This was delivered on 2/27/15 and now this one died a Watery Death today...8/23/15, after just under 6 months of use. I am pretty fanatical about cleaning and descaling my machines and only use filtered water in it.With my first one I contacted their CS about 2mo. after purchase and ended up going up the tree to get a part that need replacing which took almost 8 weeks to get. It was centered around a "Warranty Requirement" of cleaning the Boiler Outlet screen...Duh! The problem was the Philips screw seems to weld it self to the jet fitting it screws into. They sent me a "New" nickle plated jet fairly quickly but the screen that got damaged trying to get the Phillips out & took 8 weeks to get here. All this was NC but took hours of my time in email and phone calls to fix it. I also replaced the Phillips with a SS socket flat head (4mm) so I could use a hex to get it out safely. First thing I did on the new one was replace that screw so I could clean it regularly without issue Per "Warranty Requirements".When I took apart the old, first one I realized that this was and Engineering issue with the boiler design. That O-Ring is tiny (maybe 4mm) and sits between the flanges of the 2 Halves of the boiler/reserve hot water. Those flanges are at least 3/8" wide and during assembly it must be quite a jig they made to hold everything in alignment and keep the seal in place while trying to torque everything evenly!!! As an engineer for 25 years with 40 products under my belt, this IS A Poor Design, made to last a few years (if that) then toss it into the waste stream or spend big bucks, wait 6 weeks for it to be repaired and sent back at your expense.At this point the options are to fight city hall, wait for however long, spend inordinate amount of "My TIme" or fix it myself with a flat Silicone Gasket or maybe Food Grade silicone sealer...OR MOVE ON AGAIN to some other unit. None of these are right in my book. The only thing I would accept from them is a NEW unit replacement Free of Charge...right away, which might give me some time to save some $$$ and move to the Old Style Hand Press before this one dies again...I'm Done with Throw aways!! I would like to hear from DeLonghi Directly through Amazon though, as IT IS Still Under Warranty!! I just hope they understand I haven't had my morning Espresso Yet and may be cranky!I bought this machine as an attempt to ease the $5-$10/day Starbucks habit I'd gotten myself into. I used to work as a barista so I felt pretty confident that with the right machine I could reliably reproduce the iced Carmel Machiatto that I love. I have been using the machine for about 2 months now and I am very happy with the coffee drinks I can make. (And my husband is happy that I'm not spending $200+ a month at Starbucks.) This machine is moderately priced. Of all the machines I reviewed, this was the best priced one that consistently got good reviews. If you have the cash to spend you might go with a more expensive machine but from what I read, more expensive doesn't always mean better coffee. This machine has already paid for itself. =)I buy Espresso roast whole beans and grind them finely. This make a big difference in the shots I make. If your coffee is too coarse you won't get the full flavor. Most simple coffee grinders will not get the grind fine enough for espresso. I invested in a Capresso 560.01 Infinity Burr Grinder and I only grind a small amount at a time. This ensures the freshness of the coffee and my shots taste great and have a nice rich crema.I was very happy with the size of the machine. It doesn't take up much more room on the counter than a standard coffee pot.Some reviewers have remarked that this machine is lightweight and I would agree. You have to hold to machine pretty firmly to get the filter holder snug. Getting the filter holder in snug helps the shots come out evenly. Other reviewers mentioned uneven shots and in my experience with this machine, if the filter holder is not 90 degrees to the machine, the shot come out uneven. But the nice thing about the machine being lightweight is that it's easy to move when cleaning the counter.The warming tray feature is nice if you do turn the machine on and let it warm up for 15 minutes or so like the directions recommend. But in my experience, it doesn't actually take that long for the machine to warm up. Mine is usually ready in less than 5 minutes.Filter holder has single and double shot filters. (I don't do the ESE pods so I don't have any feedback on that feature) Only drawback to this filter holder is that the filters don't snap in or anything. There is a flip up tab on the handle that is supposed to keep the filter in place as you turn the holder over to dump out the old grounds. This is awkward and takes some work to master. Other have commented that the "puck" (used grounds) are wet after pulling a shot and are messy to get rid of. If you let the filter sit a moment after pulling your shot and let the excess water drip out, the ground do dry out a little and get easier to dump out.Water holder is easy to remove for filling/cleaning. I only make aprox 4 shot/day so I only have to refill the water chamber about 2x a week.The steaming wand is positioned awkwardly and is limited in it movement. I've tried it a couple times and it works fine as far as steaming the milk. But since I bought the machine primarily for making iced drinks this really isn't an issue for me and wasn't high on my list of "must have" features. Steaming milk is kind of an art that has a lot to do with the depth of the wand, moving the pitcher to heat evenly, not overheating the milk and carefully bringing the tip of the wand close to the surface of the milk to produce foam for lattes/cappuccinos. Practice makes perfect and with a little practice, the wand on this machine will do the job. If steaming milk is an important feature for you, you might be frustrated with the positioning and lack of movement of this wand. I did buy a 20 oz stainless steel pitcher for steaming milk and it seems to be the right size for making one drink. Not too tall for this machine but big enough so that you can fill it 1/2-2/3 full and steam the milk properly. The pitcher I got is slightly narrowed at the top to prevent splashing. Another complaint I've seen is that the wand makes the milks "watery". If you turn to wand on over another container/cup or into a towel, it will spit out the water that has condensed in the wand while the machine warms up. This is not unique to this machine. Watch the Baristas at Starbucks. If the wand hasn't been used recently they do exactly that even with their zillion dollar "professional" machines.The plastic tamper on the machine is kind of useless. I spent the extra $7-$10 and bought a metal tamper. You don't need the expensive one, just make sure that you get the right size for your filter so that it's not too big or too small. I got the 50mm & 60mm (double sided) tamper and the small side works perfectly for the filters that come with this machine.The clearance between the filter holder and the drain grate is another thing that I saw mentioned as a "con". Their complaint is that you can't fit a "regular" coffee cup in there. My response is that you're not supposed to. Espresso machines are designed for pulling shots into "demitasse" cups. They are the tiny little cups. You can also use a shot glass or small metal "creamer". Pull your shot and then put it into your mug for your late, mocha or whatever.Something to remember is that regular cleaning and care is important. Thoroughly clean your filters after every use. Use the descaler as directed. Use filtered water to prevent mineral buildup. Like anything, if you take care of your machine, it will last longer and give you better performance.If you've never made espresso before I would recommend that you go into your local coffee shop and watch the baristas carefully to see how they make coffee drinks. As other reviewers have stated, there are a lot of human factors that go into making good espresso shots so keep that in mind when buying a home espresso machine. If you want the easy way, go with Keurig or Nespresso machine but if you're patient and don't mind putting a little effort into perfecting your shot making skills, this is a good machine to go with.Bought this around August 2017 and worked pretty good until recently. Apart from water constantly running from steam nozzle as soon as I turn machine, has been getting progressively worse over the last year or so. Seem to be constantly filling water reservoir.Now the outside part of steamer falls off as the rubber washer wore out. So using without it, but every now and then the whole nozzle blows off while steaming milk. Can be quite messy if you don't catch it fast. Haven't contacted customer service as in my experience they probably won't be any help after this amount of time in a disposable world!**Update!** I have had this machine for over a year, continuing to use both the espresso maker and the steam wand multiple times each day. In regards to those who have said that their steam wand leaks, I have had the same thing but noticed that if I check the lever and make sure it's in the off position, it stops. I also keep a steam pitcher underneath it for convenience, and it catches any drops of water that may leak, which has always been very minimum. Not even a 'price to pay' in my opinion. I have used the descaling solution once (I should probably do it more) but that was super easy and the machine continues to perform well above my initial expectations. A great buy!*******I have had this machine for 8 months now and I've used it at least twice a day, every day, since the first day I received it. Its one of the best purchases I've ever made. I got it on sale, and it does everything I need it to do. Its not perfect and does not have everything that a 600$+ machine would have, but for those of us who just want to have espresso every day and a good working steam wand, it does the trick. I love that there's a spot on top to put your cups, and after learning the steam wand (and removing the plastic guard) I've figured out how to get perfect foam and make latte art, which is always fun. I used to work and basically live at Starbucks and now I don't even go to coffee shops anymore because I love what my machine does. If you're an espresso snob, or not on a budget, i think it'd be better to get a more expensive machine. But this one is great for the average person. Nothing on my machine is worn down, broken, or difficult to use.Hello,I bought an EC 702 by Amazon.ca in May 2017. The steam knob broke a few months later. The part is very fragile and seems to have a design flaw.When I spoke to a customer service representative, I was told that it I had to be sent to a repair center to replace the knob. It is an external part that can be replaced simply by pushing it in place. No tools or skills are required. Customer service mentions that the part is not available, that it is a part that can only be replaced by a technician. On the other hand, I could order it on the site of their partner Encompass. It would be simpler and less expensive to send me another plastic knob.The unit has plastic parts that make it fragile. I would not by it again and would not purchase Delonghi products becaus of customer service.I make 2 to 3 latte per day and have owned several machines. Several things really bug me about this maker.1. The steamer is complex and cannot be used without the frother2. You have to use two cups3. The drip tray won't allow a small pot or regular sized cup to be placed under the filter output4. Steamer is so loud, you'll require ear protectionThe Breville Cafe Roma Espresso Maker is a much better machine for the same money.It's great for beginners, and it makes delicious coffee. I would recommend it as the first big purchase for espresso machines, but it was about 200CAD when I bought it. Here are the pros and drawbacks:Pros:- the cheapest option with everything in one, and don't think I'm compromising on taste- doesn't take up too much space- makes good coffee and with de-scale maintenance every 3-4 months, machine works really well- very easy to clean all the partsCons- hard to dump out coffee because of the way the filter holder is designed- coffee tamper is not great, had to buy it separately- the tray is just about perfect for an espresso and cap, but wish it was easy enough to sneak in a normal-sized mug under thereThe only reason I would sub this out for a better machine is to (1) have a grinder built in and (2) coffee filter holder that's easier to dump out