EC9665M La Specialista Maestro Espresso Machine, Stainless Steel, Silver,Black

Bottom-line up front: I've owned this for a year and am very happy with my purchase. Dialing-in takes patience and (a lot of) trial and error. It really does make a superior espresso to many of the over-rated coffee shops in your hometown. I hesitate to buy coffee anywhere now. Long-form: I bought the La Specialista Maestro after comparing it to super automatic and semi-super automatic machines. My comparison shopping consisted mostly of YouTube videos, web reviews, and a visit to a Williams Sonoma. I did not do any taste testing; however, I doubt that other automatic machines that cost more will produce a noticeably superior cup once you get your La Specialista dialed in properly. Speaking of dialing-in, it does take trial and error and patience. Once you figure out the settings for the types of beans you're using (hopefully fresh), it is pretty easy to adjust once you get a new bag or roast of comparable type. It took me about a month of constant tinkering to really get this the way my wife and I both like our espresso and espresso-based drinks. The included literature is your friend here. Many of the YouTube videos I watched on dialing in or using La Specialista machines were not that helpful. Set-up and routine maintenance are pretty straight forward. Again, the included literature is your friend. I appreciate the dummy lights reminding me to descale and to perform other tasks. I'm very satisfied with the Maestro. After a year of ownership, I really have no complaints and would probably buy it again if it became irreparable outside of its complimentary extended warranty period. Hopefully, that doesn't happen though, because I like using it. Things you probably know but are worth reiterating here: (1) weight could be an issue for some people and (2) overhead cabinet clearance could be an issue in some kitchens. An extra set of hands and a tape measure could come in handy. Things I don't like: First, the DeLonghi videos online show a different menu of milk-based drinks than the North American version. Some overseas markets have a Latte Macchiato (milk first then coffee) function whereas the North American version just has a latte function (coffee first then milk). The difference seems trivial, but I would prefer the macchiato setting to the latte setting. Second, the milk settings for the automatic milk frother are not adjustable, just the coffee and temperature. I would like the ability to have manual control over the automatic milk frother. The second issue is my biggest gripe, but it isn't a deal breaker to me.

Disappointing Downgrade – De’Longhi Ruined a Great Product! I previously owned the original De’Longhi Specialista, and it was fantastic. It made excellent espresso, was easy to use, and felt like a well-built, premium machine. So when I decided to upgrade to the De'Longhi EC9665M La Specialista Maestro, I was expecting an improvement—or at the very least, the same quality as the original. BIG MISTAKE. Right out of the box, the machine looks fancier, but that’s where the positives end. The performance is absolutely terrible. Tamping system is useless. No matter what setting I use, the amount of extracted coffee remains the same. The machine does not tamp properly, does not tamp flat, and feels completely out of calibration. Locking the handle is a struggle. It never stops at a perfect 90-degree angle, which makes the entire process feel awkward and unrefined. Coffee gets stuck in the dispenser. Every time I unlock the handle, leftover grounds are stuck inside, making a mess and requiring extra cleaning after every shot. Extraction quality is poor. Despite using the highest settings, I never get the same rich, bold espresso as I did with the original model. The shots are weak and inconsistent. Build quality is questionable. For a machine at this price point, the materials feel cheaper than before, and the performance issues make it seem like De’Longhi rushed this model without proper quality control.

We bought this machine to enjoy espresso and other coffee drinks at home. We are just regular couple trying to enjoy good morning coffee. In the beginning was hard to get used to adjust the grinder and the water temperature and find the right bean, etc.. We're not any kind of specialists or professionals. However we like to drink morning coffee well extracted, without any sugar or cream. For that reason we tried this machine and after enjoying a lot of bad coffee because we weren't preparing that correct we learned how to do it as expected, and now I can really say that if you enjoy good coffee just buy this equipment. It can prepare multiple drinks including espresso, regular coffee and cappucinos. I really enjoy, the water tank is enough to give you a lot of coffee, easy to clean, it requires the regular maintenance but that's ok, you have to clean it as any other equipment. So far we're very happy to have this beautiful machine decorating and being extremelly useful in our kitchen and making our breakfeast even better, impressing all our guests.

With a cost of $1300 we are hoping for some longevity from this machine…. Extracts full flavor once you dial it into your flavor preferences. We’ve used it for almost 2 full weeks without any issues however this morning for some reason the “grinder shoot” became clogged and had to do an emergency cleaning in order to have my morning cup👍 Thinking we’ll have to put the cleaning of the grinder on a scheduled preventable maintenance program. It’s a beautiful machine sitting on the counter and would recommend it to a discriminatory and knowledgeable person who knows exactly what they want. Because of the price we added Amazon’s extended warranty to sleep a little better at night knowing it’s covered. UPDATE - The machine had been dependable for everyday use for us for almost a year now. The descaling of this machine is a bit of a pain and is a long drawn out process that takes quite a period of time. Other than that we have enjoyed our daily hot beverages every morning that’s as good of quality as any franchise store.

We got this machine during Christmas holiday at a discounted price. The first machine that came, had an issue with frothing milk, not enough pressure to create the creamy milk - easy return with Amazon. The second one was good, it works as a charm. We are very happy with this brand and model. We like the semi-automatic tamping and the automatic Latte Crema system (even though we are using most of the time the steam wonder). Great coffee, professional looks, we are recommending this machine however, look when it goes in sell. It is pretty expensive otherwise.

EL PROBLEMA DEL SET UP INICIAL ES RECURRENTE MUCHOS USUARIOS LES HA PASADO LO MISMO DESPUES DE QUERER RESOLVER EL PROBLEMA Y TERMINAN REGRESANDO EL PRODUCTO, LO MALO ES QUE LOS GASTOS DE IMPORTACION SON ALTOS .

This machine was good for the 4 months it lasted. I always cleaned it, did maintenance and descaled it when needed. The Smart Tamping stopped working and right now I cannot use the machine and it became useless. I called the customer service and they told me no one is available to talk to me and that I need to wait one week for a call back. It was really not worth the almost $2,000 I paid for. I find that the quality of the machine is extremely bad if it breaks after only 4 months. The machine is beautiful and their coffee is not bad. But I cannot say the same about their quality and so far, their customer service. I'm still waiting for their customer service to call me back with a useless espresso machine that broke after 4 months. Be very careful if you decide to buy this machine. PS. This is the second Delonghi machine that I buy. The first one was a cheaper one, around $300, but it broke after a year so I decided to buy a much more expensive one, thinking the quality would be a lot better, but I was wrong. PPS. I might change this review depending on the customer service's answer and my warranty.

This espresso machine makes great espresso shots and americano as well as other coffees. Use this mainly for espresso and americano drinks. I have used it for cappuccino drinks also. Everything works exceptionally well with this machine. It is easy to use and alows for excellent control of the dose and grind which allows for great coffee drinks. This is the 5th espresso machine I have owned over past 25 years. I’ve tried the fully automatic espresso machines and they are just ok. So for this one is the best. De’Longhi did it right with this espresso machine at this price point and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy espresso’s etc….

Makes good coffee when it works, but it seems very fragile. Done all the maintenance by the book and with their products. Grinder broke twice in less than a year. The pressure gauge goes all over the map and not consistent. Dealing with their service is not pleasant either. Had to wait 4 weeks the first time for the warranty repair. Will throw it in the garbage. Just feel bad for the money I spent on it.