DeLonghi EC140B Espresso and Cappuccino Maker

UPDATE: January 2011. I have used the DeLonghi for over two years now and it continues to perform without any trouble. I use the machine at least twice a day, every day. I make sure to clean it properly on a regular basis (see more below) and I'm sure that has helped to maintain it in good condition. (If you don't use a de-scaler every few weeks, you risk damaging the machine by allowing mineral deposits to build up inside it, so BE SURE you clean it at least every two months) Overall, I am very pleased with the DeLonghi and would buy it again without reservation.Here are my thoughts:- Performs beautifully every time. If you buy GOOD coffee and keep it fresh, you can make a superb cup of Espresso or Cappuccino with very little effort.- I don't entirely agree with other comments about the design shortcomings; the built in tamper isn't "useless". Its not ideal, being built right into the body of the machine, but it does the job. If you find it doesn't work for you, buy a hand tamper. At least when its built into the body of the machine, you can't lose it! The steaming wand is a tad short, yes, but it does the job nicely if you get yourself a proper stainless steaming cup designed for the task. One thing I don't like is that the steamer nozzle is a threaded screw-on nozzle, and since it has to be cleaned EVERY TIME you use it, its a nuisance to unscrew it, clean it, and screw it back on. I wish they'd have designed some kind of quick release nozzle instead. I am concerned that I will wear the threads off this plastic nozzle in a short time.- Be prepared to de-scale your espresso maker every 200 cups or so or, as some have stated, it will not perform as it should. There are products available to do this task.- Buy the best coffee you can find! Don't expect to be able to go to Safeway and buy a six dollar French Roast and get the best Espresso Seattle has to offer. Find a coffee roaster near you and buy beans roasted that day (if possible) and grind the beans at home, and only as much as you can use in 48 hours. Ground coffee stales in a matter of hours at room temperature. Best to buy only as much as you expect to use in a week (or less) and keep it in the freezer, bringing it out only to grind what you need that day. Fortunately I have a local roaster that I buy from every week, and it makes a huge difference in the quality of the Espresso I make.- Get a thermometer to measure the temperature of the milk while steaming. You want to aim for a temperature between 150F and 180F. Anything hotter than that and you lose the sweetness of the milk. (Anything over 160F is too hot to drink anyway. Oh, and make sure the milk is as cold as you can make it before steaming. I also keep my Krups steamer in the freezer between uses to help keep the milk very cold.- Preheat the cups beforehand!- Steam only 2 or 3 ounces of milk per Cappuccino/Latte. Anything more only makes for an average Coffee. Whole milk is best. (I like my Cappuccino strong, and so I find 3 ounces of milk for a double shot Cappuccino is plenty)- Learn how much pressure to apply when tamping the coffee. This was a trial and error process for me, as I am new to making Espresso at home. I found that a fairly gentle tamping did best. You want the coffee to express in about 30 seconds for a full double shot of ground coffee, and the Crema (foam) should be a medium-pale coffee color, not dark. If you pressed too hard, the Crema will be dark, or nonexistent. If that happens, you know you tamped down too hard. Go gentle!- I found that a Turkish grind of coffee (VERY fine grind) is too fine to work well with this machine. You are best to use a grind that is in the mid-range Espresso grind. If its much finer than that you have to be very gentle indeed when tamping.I think that about covers it. I have given this a four star review only because I want to see if the machine is still working this well six months and a year from now. If its still working perfectly in a year, I'd probably give it that fifth star.I'm sure there are better machines available if you want to spend $600 or more, but as a first time home Espresso maker, I think this is outstanding value for a very reasonable investment. Don't hesitate to try it.

I have been using a Delonghi BAR 140 F for about 6 years, about 10 espresso's each week no latte's (don't like them), so no experience with that). That was a splendid machine, simple construction, good crema, and little maintenance. I was very happy with it. Last week the pump stopped working so I ordered an EC 140 B Execution: C, which on the surface looked like the same machine. Why change when you are on to a good thing. Right? BIG MISTAKE!I used it for the first time this morning and it is a disaster! The problem is the Filter Holder design.Some smart engineer decided (as they are wont) to improve the Holder and Creamer design. Instead of the old simple two-piece assembly and rubber disk, it now has 5 parts with a difficult to clean complicated screw-together assembly and a rubber gasket, which is bound to fail. On top of that IT DOES NOT MAKE ESPRESSO.When handle is normally tight, it runs (i.e. dribbles) very slowly. When tightened lightly to have the coffee run normally, steam escapes on side of Filter Holder. Coffee looks like drip i.e. no crema. Filter is full of coffee/water sludge when you take it off i.e. not the nice dry "puck" I got on the old machine.I am really disappointed and to rub it in, Delonghi has changed the diameter of the holder attachment so I cannot use the Filter Holder of the old 140 F.I am returning the EC 140 B. Does anyone have a lightly used 140 F that I can buy?

I admit to being cappucino-maker impaired, and admittedly our DeLonghi was mis-wired which contributed to the problem, but it took longer than it should have to realize we weren't the problem because the instructions were not that clear to us. The steamer nozzle did work, though, and what beautiful foam it made rather quickly compared to my old Melitta.

I owned the maker for a while. It's far better than many of the Krups and other models typically for sale at department stores. If you want an espresso, you'll need a pump machine. Many cheap machines will say "steam driven" or otherwise have "steam" in the title: what this means is that they lack a pump and merely use steam pressure to get now overly superheated water to flow through the fine espresso grinds. (By the way, "espresso" is, for all intents and purposes, a grind, not a roast. It is a very fine powdery grind, just shy of Turkish grind.) This results in charred burnt espresso, with little or no crema.This DeLonghi, by contrast, does a fine little job of pumping. In addition, it uses a small stainless steel boiler -- not a superheated "thermoblock" [which means the water is run over a heating coil, not heated within a boiler].That said, the only way to get an espresso, meaning a coffee drink in which properly heated water is compressed through a powdery grind of freshly roasted beans, and thus producing a chemical reaction which releases a frothy caramel colored liquid (called "crema"), is by using a very good grinder to produce a very fine, even grind. This machine, when coupled with a Gaggia MDF or Rancilio Rocky, or at the most economical, an Innova Lux or Solis Maestro Plus, and beans roasted within two weeks prior, can produce good espresso.As to cappuccino, the machine does a fine job for the price in steaming milk. In order to do this, though, you must "temperature surf" the thermostat. What this means is that you steam while the boiler is heating. It's simple: start steaming your milk and you'll find that the steam power will run out in about 15 seconds. At that time the light for the boiler will come on, indicating the boiler is engaged. Instead of closing the steam valve and waiting for the light to go off, just close the steam valve for a few seconds, and then open it again, as you continue steaming the milk with the light still on (and hence the boiler still heating). This will give adequate steaming power.I don't believe you can really get a better espresso or cappuccino maker for under $150. If you want to go for a huge step up, consider buying a Gaggia Carreza. It's worth the extra money.