If you’re connected to me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter you’re probably used to my “Coffee machine is broken. EVERYBODY PANIC” messages, which go out every few months. I thought I’d solved the problem by upping my game and buying a £120 coffee machine rather than £40 ones, and by moving to an espresso machine rather than a filter one with its burnout-prone heating element, and I raved about my new DeLonghi coffee maker on this blog.
“I’ll let you know how long it lasts,” I wrote.
The answer turned out to be four months.
I got it replaced with an identical model.
The replacement packed up after three months.
All credit to Currys here – their customer service has been exemplary – but it’s clear that DeLonghi’s Icona espresso maker isn’t built to last. Both of my machines have died because important seals can’t cope with the pressure, and now that it’s been swapped with a different firm’s coffee machine it’s also made me realise how ridiculously, stupidly noisy the DeLonghi was.
So now I’m using a Which?-magazine-recommended Dualit machine. How long do you reckon before I post my traditional “EVERYBODY PANIC” message?
Comments
0 responses to “DeLonghi coffee machines don’t last very DeLonghi”
My experience with a DeLonghi espresso machine has been similar, although mine lasted nearly a year. The £80 (reduced from £120) DeLonghi was a cheap and nasty piece of kit throughout.
I replaced it with a proper stainless steel Gaggia Classic, which looks great, has tank-like build and is still going strong after years of heavy use. The only convenience it has is a solenoid valve which dumps excess water out of the puck, otherwise using it is a full barista experience and all the more rewarding for it.
Conclusion: more often than not, cheap = crap. It’s worth paying a little bit extra for good gear.
I’ve no idea why you persist with domestic coffee machines – surely you should scouring the trade papers for coffee shops selling their old industrial machines. Might even get a year out of one!
Gaggia stuff is lovely, but a bit beyond my budget (currently zero). If this one dies, though, I’ll need to have a chat with the bank manager :)
Haha, if only the house was big enough :)
You eve tried one of the octagonal ones you put on a ring? There’s a reason that design is still made
You have no idea the trouble I had typing that. I mean stovetop? Hobbed? There’s a term I’m missing…
My Gaggia cost £240, which was a bit of a stretch. I justify this now by thinking about how it has since been used to make over £5000 worth of coffee and is right up there with my first MacBook Pro as one of those mildly extravagant purchases that turned out to be worth every penny. I hate buying stuff on credit, but sometimes it works out.
Not exactly the “full barista experience” but my aeropress has lasted me at least 5 years and is dirt cheap compared to the machines:
http://www.aeropress.com/
The results are good too
>>I post my traditional “EVERYBODY PANIC†message?
Perhaps you’d be less inclined to panic if you drank less coffee?
*considers cutting down*
*panics*