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DeLonghi Icona ECO310
by kahluafan
I picked up the Icona from John Lewis in Stratford just before Xmas 2012, at a reduced price of £120 (RRP is £190 according to the Delonghi site). I'd been after a coffee machine for a while, and had considered the Nespresso and Tassimo alternatives, but loved the idea of fresh ground coffee. It's also cheaper in the long-run, and I find ... you get a much smoother and more flavourful coffee from fresh ground beans rather than the capsules - it's also cheaper per cup!
So, having got the Icona home and following the pretty thorough setup instructions (flushing water through the system etc), I went to bed for the night, looking forward to a nice cup of fresh coffee in the morning.
Sunday morning: Dragged myself out of bed and to the local shop to grab the papers (the Times if your asking) and then back to my flat for breakfast and my brand new coffee machine's first experience! It was a simple process of using the supplied measuring tool to fill the single cup filter (the machine comes with both single and double cup filters, a nice touch) and then levelling it off, before locking the filter into place.
I'd already turned the machine on, and the green status button lets you know when it's good to go, so off I went, placing one of my new cappuccino cups on the tray and hitting the go button. The machine's noise surprised me at first, but it's gotten quieter as I've continued to use it (or maybe my ears have just adjusted). The small is incredible, nothing quite like fresh coffee on a Sunday morning to wake you up!
Once it had filled the cup, it prepares the milk steamer, should you wish to make a cappuccino. I had no problem getting the milk nice and frothy, and although I've still not mastered the barista art of creating a pattern in my coffee, it produces a nice head for the coffee.
The taste will obviously depend on the coffee you use, but I've never had a bad experience using John Lewis/M&S or Whittings coffee. The advantage you have over a Nespresso or Tassimo machine is the huge range of flavours you can sample, from the standard garage bought ground beans through to Kopi Luwak £90-a-bag gourmet beans.
A cup takes about 3 minutes in total to make, with the machine taking a few minutes to prepare. Some of the more expensive machines have timers to come on in the mornings, alas this model doesn't, but the speed of which you can brew a cup is fantastic, and your never left to wait long.
I've cleaned the machine a few times in the 6 months I've had it, and Delonghi do recommend a good clean every few weeks depending on your usage of it. I've never had any issues with the machine and feel that it's been a solid purchase - I've certainly saved a few hundred pounds from not buying coffeeshop coffees, and I get a greater range of flavours, with a better final product I feel!
The Icona is available in a range of colours to suit your kitchen, and it's classic retro design certainly makes it stand out amongst your usual kitchen elements and utensils. I'd highly recommend the machine for someone that loves coffee and is looking for their first home coffee machine - you get all the flexibility of an espresso machine, blended with a cappuccino maker and with a huge range of tastes available to you.
Shop around before buying, as I'm aware the Icona can often be had for around the £120-130 mark, and Delonghi often have discount vouchers for free coffee or cappuccino cups in the box - a nice extra bonus!
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Dualit 84400
by johnlovegrove
There's a considerable choice and variety available. The Dualit 84400 is a well designed (robust) maker that comes in either stainless steel or plastic. Once unpacked it is very robust and traditional looking. The non-slip mat (ideal as your mug may well move with the vibration) and the drip tray are very useful as is the very quick ... heat-up time. The Dualit comes with thermo block technology which maintains the temperature so your not wasting and paying more on your energy bills. However, the gap between the drip tray and the spout is rather small (and can't be adjusted) so you may want to invest in proper coffee mugs rather than using a standard kitchen mug. You have 3 serving options:
* Capsules
* Pods
* Ground coffee
We use the capsules for speed in the morning, however, indulge ourselves with our favourite coffee in the evenings and at weekends. Comes with a 12 month warranty. We find cleaning regularly is the best option as it saves a major exercise if you leave it for too long.
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De'Longhi Bar 14 Café Treviso
by Taz123456
==HOT DRINKS...FILL ME UP PLEASE!==
I am an avid lover of hot drinks, whether it's a simple coffee, a cappuccino or a fancy latte; I certainly love the warm refreshing taste of them all. So it was not long before I decided to go and buy myself an espresso maker, I however first looked around for the one that was well ... priced and had good reviews. I decided to purchase the De'Longhi Bar 14 Café Treviso machine for these reasons exactly; it was very cheaply priced and had some good reviews to top it off.
==PRICE==
This machine usually goes for around £55, however I managed to get mine for around £40 as it was in sale, so as you can imagine I was very happy with the bargain!
==DESIGN==
The most noticeable thing that I liked about this machine was its nice compact size, which means it fits nicely onto my kitchen worktop without taking up unnecessary room. The design is fairly simple but attractive, it has a silver panel at the front with the brand name clearly visible on the front, the main colour of the machine is black; and seems to be the most common colour for espresso machines. All the buttons are very accessible, and the compartments are all located in well thought out areas. The tray only allow small mugs to be fitted into the holder, which is a bit of bummer; but for me personally this is not a big issue.
==PUT TO THE TEST==
One thing I love about this machine is that it can make simple lattes look and (nearly) taste like the famous Starbucks. It has a special foaming element which is great, it's a device that in my opinion is a really great added advantage, and it makes Starbuck style coffees etc without having to spend the ridiculous prices. The negative side of this is that I can take sometime to master how to make the foaming element and also the noise while making the foam is quite loud, however with time the noise will be something you get use to.
The machine manages to boil water very quickly, usually taking around one minute to make a cup of coffee. I found this a great advantage, as it meant I didn't have to wait ages in the mornings when rushing to get to work. The steps are very simple and straightforward, first fill the water compartment up with water, connect the two tubes to the back of the machine and then put the lid on. Third step is to switch the machine on so that the machine can boil the water, and then add and tamp the coffee into the small vessel, attach the coffee cup and finally you have a nice hot cup of coffee from a press of a button.
Now for the other downer, the machine can be quite messy to use. I often found clumps of coffee granules on the worktop near the machine which means some of the coffee can get wasted. The machine can leak a little after emptying the coffee into a cup, once the cup is removed I found that the dispenser can still continue dripping; leaving a mess. However, as long as you are aware of this, it basically means having a cloth at hand to be ready to dry up any excess after each use, and to wash the tray every few days.
==VERDICT==
Overall I would say this is a great addition to my kitchen worktop, it makes great warm and tasty coffees, lattes and cappuccinos and is very inexpensive. It does have its negatives such as only allowing small mugs to fit into the holder and it can be messy, but personally for me the positives definitely outweigh the negatives, and for the price you can't really fault this machine too much.
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Would I recommend this to a friend: YES
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