De’Longhi Magnifica Cappuccino Maker

I do enjoy a nice mug of coffee but I’m not a big brand cafe fan, simply because I refuse to pay their prices for a cup of coffee. Equally I’ve never been a fan of coffee machines because I’ve often thought that there is a lot of snobbery in buying fresh coffee beans, or freshly ground coffee beans. I think the same goes for non-wine experts, the like wine but not wine buffs.

My own personal taste in instant coffee goes as far as Kenco, the one with the blue lid but I must admit to having a Cafetiere and buying various ground coffees to experiment and discover those that suits my personal taste.

I was warming to the idea of having a coffee maker with all the bells and whistles, frothy coffee and all those fancy names.

I eventually took the plunge recently after shipping around for a coffee machine and purchased the De’Longhi Magnifica ESAM4200. I must admit it is a far cry from the cheap Cafetieres I have owned but it not only makes deliciously beautiful espresso coffee and very pleasant cappuccinos every single time but it also comes with its very own built in coffee bean grinder. This is an added bonus for those who really enjoy that true bean-to-cup experience. My next challenge is learning about fresh coffee beans and blending different ones - yep, I'm entering the world of posh coffee in no small way.

The main thing that attracted me to the De’Longhi Magnifica was the large water tank (1.8L it also has a digital display.

It has great power using 15 bar of pressure to pump the water into and through the freshly grounded coffee beans. The beans can be ground into different grades using any of seven different coarseness settings within the built-in burr grinder.

If you have different cups or mugs to suit your choice of coffee you will like the ESAM4200 also because it has an adjustable head allowing for different size cups from the very smallest espresso ones to a nice big cappuccino mug.

When you want to tailor the ratio of water to coffee, the machine has digital controls to allow you to customise exactly how much coffee and water you want to go into each cup. This really is a very smart feature that allows for accurate tailoring of your favourite drink.

I am giving it 5 stars out of 5 and must admit to loving this superb coffee maker and genuinely cannot live without it.

In terms of priority, the quick and easy coffee preparation comes at the top of the list, closely followed by the unquestionable smell of freshly brewed coffee in wafting around my house each time I enjoy a cup of coffee. This is as professional as it gets.

I never used to rave about coffee but since using this coffee machine I would say to anyone who is still sitting on the fence, jump off and buy a De’Longhi ESAM4200.

I have to own up to now being an espresso nut, not quite an addict, or not that I’d admit to coffee addiction but I do work my De’Longhi coffee machine every time I want a coffee. No more instant coffee for me.

Originally I was put off by the preconceived (or misconceived) ‘messing about’ as opposed to a spoon of instant coffee but in reality I make at least 6 espressos every single day and the only “bad” cup of coffee that I have experienced from my new De’Longhi coffee maker is when I once bought some cheap low-quality beans at a market.

So, being my first “bean-to-cup” machine and after pulling out the boring cafeteria as a treat when I fancied a ‘real’ coffee, this coffee machine is more than a pleasant alternative.

Cleaning and maintain is simplicity in itself. The irony, despite my Starbucks comments is that the De’Longhi is ready with a perfect “Costa/Starbucks” style cup of coffee, such as espresso, Latte, cappuccino etc in any cup or mug within minutes and best yet you can enjoy as many cups of fresh coffee as often as you desired and can be made with no delay in-between.

It is very quiet too and the cappuccino function works as good as any posh coffee shops machine.

Comparing prices with the average bog standard coffee machine, this might seem a tad expensive but I genuinely believe that it is excellent value for money – you will get a very, very nice cup of coffee, far superior than you would get from cheap coffee machines.

Key features of this fabulous espresso and cappuccino maker include:

• Enjoy espressos and cappuccinos with bean-to-cup all from one machine,
• Temperature controlled and can be set so your coffee can be enjoyed from piping hot to medium warm
• Easy to read digital control panel tells you when it needs cleaning, trays need emptying etc.
• High performance 15 bar pump pressure
• Can be used with pre-ground coffee or freshly coffee beans
• Integrated professional burr grinder with 7 different coarseness settings
• Cappuccino milk frother spout
• Removable 1.8L large water tank
• Auto safety shut-off after two hours standing
• Rinse and decalcification programmes to automatically detect water hardness
• Adjustable height coffee dispenser
• Cup warming facility
• Removable drip tray

This is truly a great coffee machine for both espressos and cappuccinos and combines so many luxury and professional features for a very reasonable price ticket

I admire those that can make fancy patterns and pictures in the froth of coffee but I haven't got the skill to do it myself.

I'm sure there is a trick to the art, perhaps stencils or some other clever way. So if anyone wants to let me in on the secret of pictures in coffee froth, I'm all ears.

I've seen some very complicated ones and often wondered if they were stencils are just very clever arty folk that have too much time on their hands when not serving coffee.

I even wondered if the images were just photoshop jobs because they were so good. However, I really would like to learn the skill and impress my friends when I serve coffee from my new coffee maker with some very fancy images in the milky froth..