Delonghi EC 710

Reading other reviews of this coffee machine opinion appeared to be mixed and at first I was dubious as to whether this was a worthwhile investment. It seemed to be agreed that any drink from an espresso machine would be far better than drinking instant coffee no matter what machine you used but whether this was the best choice seemed to be debated.

One thing seemed clear, in the coffee machine market you get what you pay for. The cheaper machines produce less pressure creating a poorer final taste as the water trickles through the coffee beans rather than being pushed through. The expensive machines appeared to have the more selective coffee drinkers drooling over the resulting drinks.

After much research I decided to bite the bullet on this model as the most expensive mid-range consumer machine available and I haven't looked back.

Having never experienced other coffee machines it's hard to say how this compares but I am extremely happy with my purchase all the same.

The machine is easy to use, easy to maintain, uses either illy pod coffee's (the tea bags of the coffee world) or loose ground beans and includes a milk frother.

I'm yet to make a bad coffee from this machine and have found that almost all pre-ground beans for espresso machines generate a good tasting coffee with the much sought after crema on top and freshly ground beans improve the taste even more so.

How tight the coffee is packed into the machine does have an effect on the drink produced and it took a few tries to find the level I most enjoyed. The milk frother also took a little getting used to but I soon found it works best with the milk at room temperature and have had no problems yet.

It can be a little long winded just to make one drink but as the perfect wake up call on a lazy weekend when time is not in short supply, as an evening pick me up after a long working day or when with guests and wanting to provide something a little different to just instant coffee this has never let me down.

I short, I'm sure there are plenty of more expensive and better quality machines available but this machine appears to be a good first purchase if you are just starting out experimenting with coffee making. It's fairly straight forward to use and produces reliable results. I beats drinking instant coffee any day.