When it comes to home electrical products, it’s probably easier to name the types that DeLonghi don’t make, rather than the ones that they do create. They’ve grown out of their base in Italy to become one of the world’s most successful small appliance manufacturers. In the world of coffee machines they’ve got something for everyone, particularly in the budget to mid range sector. While they’re probably not the manufacturer you’d turn to if money was no object, they’re certainly worth considering if you’re in the market for a machine up to around the £600 mark.
Our Delonghi Coffee Machine Reviews
In this section, you’ll find out what we’ve learned about DeLonghi’s bean to cup coffee machines, with in depth reviews on our featured models. You may have noticed that they’ve got more entries in our 2023 top ten than anyone else, which should be a good indicator of the high regard we hold the manufacturer in. It’s difficult to sum up why, because they have such a large expanse of models with the grinder built in to cater for all of the different tastes held by their sprawling customer base, but the two obvious things that come to mind are reliability and value. By that, we mean the level of features and quality of coffee that you get for the cost of the product and the consumables (mainly descaler) to go in it is a great balance.
The naming system can feel a little confusing for these machines, so we’ve put together a guide to how it works, as you’ll here terms like ESAM, ECAM And ETAM, which are model numbers, and then things like Magnifica, Eletta and Autentica too, which are plain English (or should that be plain Italian?) names. Here’s our interpretation of the chaos of Delonghi coffee machine naming conventions.
The highest placed model in our range is the ESAM4200 which has earned its spot for its impressive performance as an all rounder. A lot of coffee machines are designed for a specific favourite, such as espresso, and if they’re capable of more than that, it’s often an afterthought. DeLonghi’s highest placed machine feels more like it was designed to be versatile, and improved from there, rather than being a glorified one trick pony.
The remaining three models in the top ten are also strong performers, as you would expect to make our list, but as you’ll notice from reviews in places like Amazon, the machines in the same price range don’t quite hit the same level of quality in the cup as an end result. The ESAM2800 placed fourth, and makes similar results to the ESAM4200. It’s a cheaper machine than the 4200, and the main difference it that the more expensive machine feels more sturdy and looks a lot better (in our opinion), and the coffee does taste slightly better. The chances are that will be fine for most users, but we had to rank them somehow (other than on the ever important customer reviews alone)!
Completing their entries are the ESAM 4000.b (effectively the ESAM4200 in black) and ECAM44.660.B which are both stylish models at competitive prices, and aimed at the beginner and second-machine customers respectively.
You can read in depth reviews about these machines, along with others from DeLonghi and other manufacturers in this coffee maker reviews section to help you make your buying decision!
ECAM44.660.B / ECAM45.760.W Eletta
Since the ECAM22.320.SB by Delonghi was discontinued (you can sometimes still find it on the web but it’s getting harder by the day), we’ve been waiting for another machine to fill its proverbial shoes. Finally that might just have happened with the arrival of the Eletta ECAM44.660.B (also known as the ECAM45.760.W in white rather than black).
It’s a very impressive machine, and one of the more expensive Delonghi’s we’ve seen, but still priced competitively against similar spec machines from other manufacturers. Complete with a removable milk carafe, the Eletta is definitely worth considering if you’re able to spend a little more than the ESAM4200 below will set you back. Simply put, this is a machine for the coffee lover that’s prepared to pay a little more for great home coffee.
Here’s our full Eletta review.
![De'Longhi Magnifica S, Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, ECAM22.110.B, 1.8 liters,Black [Amazon Exclusive]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41kUwWzlLHL._SL500_.jpg "De'Longhi Magnifica S, Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, Espresso and Cappuccino Maker, ECAM22.110.B, 1.8 liters,Black [Amazon Exclusive]")
ECAM22.110.b (Updated ESAM 4200)
Click here for the complete review of the DeLonghi Magnifica ECAM 22.110.B.
You can think of the Magnifica S ECAM 22.110.B as the little brother (or sister) to the ECAM44.660.B above. It’s worth pointing out that it’s replaced the Magnifica ESAM4200 that reigned supreme at the top of our recommendations on the homepage for five years until 2020. You can read the review of the older ESAM4200 Magnifica here.
Returning to the current Magnifica S, it’s reliable, versatile, and quite honestly, rather good indeed. However, because the Eletta above is just so good, the only reasons we see to buy it are that you’re either a beginner and don’t want to stretch to the more expensive model, or alternatively you just can’t afford to. Either way, it boils down to money (oops – pun alert!).
On it’s own we love this machine, and if you take it in isolation you’ll love it. However, you’re here on this site to find out what’s available and what we think, and good though this is, the bigger, mid range alternative is just better in our opinion and worth the extra investment. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for!
If you want to find out more about what the DeLonghi Magnifica S ECAM 22.110.B can do, the full review is right here.
ESAM 4000.b
Click here for the complete review of the DeLonghi ESAM 4000b.
Let’s be clear from the start, this is a very, very similar machine to the ECAM22.110.B that we just talked about. There’s one big and hopefully fairly obvious difference, and that’s that this one has the older style control panel layout.
Honestly, that’s probably the only thing that’s going to make you choose between them (apart, perhaps, from a difference in price) so there’s not a great deal more worth saying about the DeLonghi ESAM4000.b Magnifica that’s not already been said.
You can see the detailed review here.
ESAM 2800
Click here for the complete review of the DeLonghi ESAM 2800.
Our review of the Delonghi ESAM2800 Caffe Corso has found a really affordable entry model into the world of bean to cup coffee machines for domestic use. It’s managed to keep many of the essential features of more expensive machines while trimming down on the price.
While it’s going to fall short of the ESAM4200 above, and certainly the ECAM44.660.B at the top, if funds are tight it’s definitely worth considering. You can read the full review of the ESAM2800 here.
ECAM22.320.SB
Click here for the complete review of the DeLonghi ECAM22.320.SB.
Here’s our review of the ECAM22.320.SB, which reveals a machine that’s a very strong contender for the best all round bean to cup coffee maker for beginners and newcomers to the bean to cup market. As home coffee machines go, this is outstanding. It will make virtually any coffee you can imagine with ease, and all for a very reasonable price.
If you’re wanting something more powerful and configurable than this, for example if you’ve already owned a couple of home bean grinding makers before and want to take things up a notch, have a look at the Melitta or Sage sections. For everyone else, we’d highly recommend looking at the full review for this De’Longhi machine, which you will find here.
