Be Your Own Barista with DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM3300
With the DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300, you can confidently become your own barista as you can easily create, prepare, and serve espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes. You can also vary the dosage and volume of your shots. With its many convenient features, the Magnifica might be too complex for the average home user.
DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300: Design
The Magnifica is a budget-level superautomatic espresso machine that seems sub-par on the outside. It is silver-colored, well-built, all-plastic exterior but has no elegant attraction like a stainless steel body.
However, the Magnifica is outstanding in terms of functionality. This Italian machine has an amazing cup warmer and an automatic shutoff feature. This can be adjusted between 15 and 3 hours. It comes with a 2-year standard warranty from DeLonghi.
The DeLonghi Magnifica measures 11.0 x 15.3 x 14.4 inches and weighs 23.2 lbs. But the excellent design of the espresso machine is what ensures this unit punches above its weight.
Brewing System of DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300
Water tank
One of the DeLonghi Magnifica’s best aspects is its 60-oz water tank, compared to the Gaggia Brera’s 40-oz capacity. This is especially important if you’re making Americanos or other hot-water-based beverages with your espresso machine. Its front water tank makes it easy to store your coffee maker in tight areas. Also, indicator lights show when it’s time to refill. Unfortunately, the water tank isn’t built to hold a filter, so you’ll have to rely on bottled water or your own filtration.
The DeLonghi has two stainless steel Thermoblock boilers, one for the brew side and one for the steam side. Regrettably, you can’t brew espresso and use the steam wand at the same time.
Short Heating Time
DeLonghi’s Instant Reheat function ensures that the time between brewing and steaming is as short as possible. The stainless steel conical burrs on the Magnifica espresso machine grind coffee beans on demand for brewing. There are seven grind settings on the grinder, but it isn’t quiet. On the other hand, the hopper contains 8.8 ounces of coffee beans and has a bypass for pre-ground coffee like decaf.
Steam Wand
According to Gaggia, this espresso machine’s steam wand is Panarello-style; on the side of each wand is a tiny air intake hole that pulls in air and injects it into the milk, producing foam. The frother has a plastic case over a stainless steel body, so it looks slightly cheaper than the fully stainless steel work on Gaggia models. While this isn’t fully stainless steel, it’s still easy to clean and work with.
Despite the claims made for milk frothers, not everyone believes the results attained by using the product. The good news is that the outer sheath can be removed, and the inner wand can be used as a standard steamer.
Versatility and Brew Quality
Although semi-automatic coffee machines cannot compete with a skilled barista operating a high-end manual machine, they can consistently produce excellent espresso. The DeLonghi is no exception, with customers agreeing that it makes perfect espresso.
Each time you change the beans, you’ll need to “dial-in” the DeLonghi Magnifica, just as with manual and semi-automatic machines. You can do so by moving the two dials on the machine’s front. The brew strength dial regulates the amount of ground coffee dispensed. And the volume dial allows you to adjust the shot volume from 0.5 to 6 oz.
You can easily use the single or double shot button to brew, and you have the option to push the button again to stop brewing until the entire shot has been pulled. As you can control the volume and the coffee dosage, you can make your favorite ristretto or a long black. Also, add the steam wand’s skill to the mix when you want to make coffee or espresso. This feature makes the DeLonghi Magnifica capable of making a variety of coffee beverages, including milk-based drinks.
Maintenance and Cleaning
The Delonghi surpasses its rivals as it offers a removable brewing chamber. After shutting down the unit, you can entirely remove the chamber and rinse it. You might need to do that once a week, but the auto-rinse cycle and rinse button should keep it running the rest of the time smoothly.
This espresso maker includes a unique removable drip tray with a built-in level indicator. The coffee puck drawer can be pulled out and must be emptied every 14 brew cycles, or it won’t work.
You don’t need to worry as there is an indicator that will warn you when to empty the coffee puck drawer.
Due to the DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300’s inability to filter water, calcium buildup is a common issue. Such residues clog hoses affect the performance of heating elements and reduce the life of the machine.
The DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300 comes equipped with a water hardness test strip and enables you to configure the system based on the results. The unit monitors this information and adjusts the service and descaling intervals and accordingly.
An indicator light on the front will alert you to start a descaling process when it’s time to descale the machine. Simply fill the water tank with the manufacturer’s recommended solution and enable the machine to dispense into a 34-ounce vessel. Then rinse the tank, refill it, and repeat the procedure without the descaling solution. The DeLonghi Magnifica is a reasonably solid unit, and it is dependable.
Warranty
If the machine breaks after the warranty expired, you don’t need to worry as most of the repairs are pretty straightforward and can be done by yourself. The insides can be accessed by removing a couple of screws, so it’s easy to fix most issues yourself, and you don’t need to spend big bucks as parts are also readily available in the market.
Value of Money
You won’t expect any coffee maker less than $1000 to be decent in the world of superautomatic espresso machines. The DeLonghi Magnifica proves to be an exceptional value. Its sticker price can be compared to semi-automatic expressos with integrated grinding units. You will sometimes find a great deal on Amazon and buy the DeLonghi Magnifica at an attractive price, making it even harder to resist.
