Coffee Machines

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful.
Very expensive but nice
By A. A. Jones
I was in the market for one of these machines for a while and nearly bought the cheaper ESAM6600. I eventually opted for this model because it seemed to offer more flexibility for long coffee. It is the same physical size as the ESAM600 and despite the massive box it comes in, which is mainly packaging; it sits on the kitchen top very nicely.Very easy to set up, switch on and select language, then fill with water and coffee beans. The default setting for long coffee is standard strength with a quantity of 175ml. This proved to be quite strong and just right for me. This is delivered with one press of the button, and the first cup tasted perfect even though the manual says it takes a few cups. The strength is easily altered from extra mild to extra strong in 5 grades and the volume from 125 to 250ml. Likewise the machine will make espresso coffee in the range 40 to 120ml. As for coffee with milk, this is also very easy to do, you simply attach the container full of milk and press your desired choice of cappuccino, latte, macchiato or just plain hot milk. The machine will also dispense hot water extending its flexibility. The Long black coffee it produces is excellent and I have also experimented with an espresso topped up with hot water (Americano style). Likewise my wife will on occasion add a further quantity of frothy milk to her drink, or add plain milk to an extra mild small long. The variations seem endless.The main difference between this and the cheaper ESAM6600, as far as I can tell, is the pre-programmed quantity and strength settings for long coffee and espresso. On the ESAM6700 there are 5 pre-sets and a custom setting. On the ESAM6600 there is only a custom setting which you need to alter every time you want a different quantity.All in all I am very pleased with my purchase and hopefully will not regret spending the money on this, rather than a new desktop PC as originally intended. Its also worth considering that I spent almost twice this sum on a new Plasma TV a couple of years ago which can be bought today for a fraction of the original price, whilst the coffee machines do not get any cheaper and retain there value.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
De'Longhi Prima Donna Avant ESAM6700 Bean to Cup Espresso and Cappuccino Machine Stainless, Steel
By wheeleme
Product was exactly as discribed and looked new and unused, The delivery came in about 3 days. (earlier then estimated) A beautiful machine is a nice addition to my newly modeled kitchenAfter using the machine for a few weeks now ... I managed to recovered from the inital shock of the pricey tag (although i did save on the full RRP) It is a fantastic addition to my kitchen. It produces coffee as good as any Cafe Bar, much quicker and less mess from my old Gaggia. You can rattle a number of coffee's off in no time and with zero mess.I appreciate it most in the morning, i switch it on, feed the cats. Select my coffee and it's done in no time. Like having my own private 'starbuck' in my kitchen1.Great Coffee2.Fast3.No mess or fuss4.would fully recommend this productThanks Folks another succesful buy from Amazon.co.uk!

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful.
So easy to use
By Mrs. Claire Marsden
I had been looking at various bean to cup coffee machines for a while and had decided between two, the De Longhi ESAM5500 and the ESAM6600 as I liked the idea of one touch with a milk jug which can be kept in the fridge between coffee making, not to mention self grinding and cleaning. Then along comes the ESAM6700 with extra features to make my life easier. Only trouble was the price jumped quite considerably and I had to weigh up whether the extra features were worth the price tag. After much research and consideration I decided on the 6700 which still wasn't yet in the country in the few outlets that were selling them. Having placed it on my favourites list with Amazon priced around the standard £1295 I notice one day they were selling it for £945! A bargain considering the 6600 is retailing for around that.My machine arrived promptly and was easy to use straight out of the box. It doesn't come with any beans or cups so make sure you have some in. After filling the water tank and setting it up for language, time, water hardness etc, all very easy using the touch screen, I was ready to go. The first couple of cups weren't brilliant but after that it was great. My husband drinks mostly long black with a nice crema which is programmable to the desired length and strength you want. We usually select "long" and press the two cup button which gives double strength. This machine grinds your beans with 7 variable settings or you can use the pre-ground compartment where you add one measure at a time.I drink milky coffee and find the one touch facility OK but may need tweeking to your own tastes. There are a few problems with the milk side of things, nothing major. After a couple of months the milk jug doesn't slide in it's housing as smoothly as it did new. This I've read can be a common problem and can be solved by using a silicone lubricant which I have not yet tried, I just wiggle it about until it goes in. The 3 settings for milky coffee are Cappuccino (which I find to be a bit strong), Latte (a bit on the watery side as it uses more steam) and Macchiato (which gives you the distinctive layering effect but the foam is very bubbly and dry) I set the lever to between Macchiato and Latte and this allows for a slightly denser foam. No matter what setting you have the milk jug on you can select any of the milky coffees on the machine ie. Macchiato on the milk jug and make a Latte coffee.One other thing I've noticed about the milk frothing is that the temperature of the milk on it's own is not very hot, so if you want to make a hot chocolate (this is one of the main reasons for choosing the 6700 over the 6600 as you have a seperate milk button for either hot chocolates or just topping up your coffee with a bit more milk) then you'd be wise to either use a setting that has more steam and is therefore hotter but not as creamy, or mix your chocolate powder with hot water and then add the frothed milk.Black coffee wise, this machine is great and with the small issues with the milk side of things this is still a better option than the 6600 or less because having the "milk" and "long" buttons gives you more options to fine tune your drink.As far as the maintenance goes it's all pretty straight forward. The machine comes with a descale solution but buy some more (easily available, Amazon sell them) as if, like me, you live in an area with very hard water you will need to carry this out fairly regularly and it's pretty easy to do aswell. The machine will tell you when to fill the water tank and add more beans, empty the grounds container and the overflow tray. It auto cleans when it switches on and off so there really is no hassle, making it very user friendly and easy to maintain, which at this price is essential.It's never going to compare equally with a coffee made by a barista but for a one touch home option it's probably the next best thing. Above all, shop around. Well done Amazon for a very competitive price for mine!