Second Chance De'Longhi Eletta Explore ECAM450.86.T Titanium

Recently purchased this device to replace my "entry-level bean machine". My previous machine was like a jackhammer and had little ability to adjust the flavor of the coffee to taste. If you do drink coffee, you might as well enjoy it. Then a machine can cost quite a bit. And since it will last for several years (if all goes well), I think such a price is quite justified.

Unpacking and installing the machine is very easy. Pairing the app to your machine (via WiFi) took 2 tries, but then it worked without ever experiencing any issues. The device explains very clearly to you what you need to do and what you can do to make a cup of coffee and adjust it to taste. If you can read, you can use this machine. It is advisable to play a bit with the combination of grinding degree (how finely the beans are ground) and aroma (this determines how many beans need to be ground and therefore how strong you want the coffee). I would put the grinding degree between 3 and 5 (given all the information on the internet in combination with my own experiences), but feel free to play with it. (! Only adjust the grinding degree when the beans are being ground, but the machine also indicates that!) I have it set to 4 myself. Previously I had it set to 3, with the result that the coffee barely flowed. In the included booklet I found that the grinding degree is too fine and therefore the coffee does not flow properly. Then just set it a little less finely and it will work like a charm again. This purely has to do with which beans you use. So with other beans, grinding degree 3 may work fine.

Due to the wide range of adjustment options, I notice that the coffee tastes much better than with my previous machine. I use the exact same coffee beans, but the coffee is much tastier. So you get much more flavor from your beans with this machine. Brewing coffee makes little noise. I can still have a conversation. You can also set how hot you want the coffee. It's set to normal for me. First sip: tongue burned. Coffee comes out of the machine nice and hot. Very nice! With my previous one you had to drink very quickly if you didn't want cold coffee.

The milk system produces beautiful foam every time, regardless of which milk you use. Everything can also be rinsed, so there is no chance of dirt or mold. I really like this device. So you can also make cold variants (haven't tried yet). I like to drink iced coffee in the summer. That is why we chose this device. It adjusts the strength of the coffee so that when you add ice, you don't get diluted coffee, but still tasty coffee. He "drips" the water through the coffee so that the coffee is stronger. This means that it will take a little longer for your iced coffee to be ready, but it will still taste delicious. (That's the theory, I haven't tried it myself yet. But the reviews are promising).

With the Titanium version you also receive a to-go thermo cup. You can also use your own, but the one supplied is of good quality and keeps your coffee warm for a long time. If you choose "to-go" you cannot make regular coffee, but an Americano. However, I think the taste is very good. You can also choose different milk recipes.
Oh, you can also make tea with this device, but I don't use this machine for that. If you think that is a nice feature, you now know that you can also get hot water from it.

I think the water reservoir is nice and big. The container for the coffee cookies is also large enough, so you are not constantly refilling water or throwing away coffee cookies.

Oh yes, there is also an app. Here you can operate your machine (turn it on/off or make coffee), find recipes (many and fun to do) and prepare them (but add other ingredients yourself) and you can select the best settings for your beans. Based on the color of your beans, what type of beans they are and your preference in terms of taste, you will receive advice on how to set the machine. I think this is a great tool. It helped me adjust the flavor as best as possible. You can also set how much of each drink you want, how strong you want it and how you want the milk/coffee ratio. You can also create profiles (and switch between them very easily) so that you don't have to set everything up every time or remember how the woman wants to drink her cup of coffee. You can then click on her (or your) profile and tap the recipe you want to prepare. It is then prepared as set. And it is also possible to prepare 2 cups at the same time (except for milk recipes).

I am really happy with this machine. It costs a bit, but you really get a lot in return. Like I said, if you're going to drink coffee, you might as well enjoy it, right? Life is too short to drink coffee that you don't really like. Thanks to the many setting options, you will be able to make a really nice cup of coffee with this. And it is extremely simple to achieve that. You won't regret this!