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The Delonghi ESAM 5500 Perfecta (Who comes up with these names?) was very easy to use. Just fill up with water and milk, chuck some coffee beans in (literally if you feel like a spot of basket ball) and off you go.
It allows for a large variety of coffees, although not as many as starbucks ... Read review
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High performance 15 bar pump pressure De'Longhi pantented 'single touch' milk carafe and ... more
frothing system to obtain real cappuccino straight into the cup or glass The milk carafe (1L) can be cleaned at a touch of a button and stored in the fridge when n...
Postage & Packaging: £3.50 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Great coffee. Disadvantages: An expensive way to make coffee.
...surprised.
The Delonghi ESAM 5500 Perfecta (Who comes up with these names?) was very easy to use. Just fill up with water and milk, chuck some coffee beans in (literally if you feel like a spot of basket ball) and off you go.
It allows for a large variety of coffees, although not as many as starbucks does, and allows you to change lot’s of settings to fine tune your coffee such as coffee strength, fineness of grind, ... ...last one to fit the cup size you are using or you end up wasting coffee, and making a mess). After a good mess around with these settings, you will find a cup of coffee that suits you.
The machine produces excellent cups of coffee and saves you the time consuming activity of making them yourself, although to be honest the coffee it makes is better than mine, and it puts froth on the top. It also has an automatic three hour switch off ... more
I wouldn’t say I’m not a coffee drinker, some days I can’t live without caffeine, but I’m certainly not one of those people who goes into starbucks and orders a ‘grande half-soy, half-low fat, iced vanilla, double-shot, gingerbread cappuccino, extra dry, light ice, with one Sweet-n’-Low and one NutraSweet’ so I am usually a little sceptical about this sort of thing, however I received this as a gift so my hands were tied. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.
The Delonghi ESAM 5500 Perfecta (Who comes up with these names?) was very easy to use. Just fill up with water and milk, chuck some coffee beans in (literally if you feel like a spot of basket ball) and off you go.
It allows for a large variety of coffees, although not as many as starbucks does, and allows you to change lot’s of settings to fine tune your coffee such as coffee strength, fineness of grind, water heat and size of cup (remember to set this last one to fit the cup size you are using or you end up wasting coffee, and making a mess). After a good mess around with these settings, you will find a cup of coffee that suits you.
The machine produces excellent cups of coffee and saves you the time consuming activity of making them yourself, although to be honest the coffee it makes is better than mine, and it puts froth on the top. It also has an automatic three hour switch off feature if you forget. It can take pre-ground coffee (for you Nescafe fans) but seems to make better cups with coffee beans.
As well as coffees, it can also make very good cappuccinos. I found this very easy to clean and maintain and it comes with a very helpful manual that helps you do this. I would recommend this to anyone who drinks coffee; it’s a hell of a lot easier than making coffee yourself in the morning and, depending on your own abilities, tends to make them a lot better.
Advantages: Looks good. Solidly made. Excellent coffee once you learn how to use it! Disadvantages: Takes time to learn how to use it and get good, consistent results.
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From reading other experiences and recommendations on the web and taking into account my budget (no more than £250) - I had narrowed it down the Classic and the Baby Class. In the end it was aesthetics and the addition of a solenoid valve (more about that later) that made me finally choose the Baby Class. I have not been disappointed.
Using the Baby Class
It is very possible with just a few attempts to make a really good espresso or cappuccino by following the instructions carefully. However, as with anything where there is no automation and the operator is fully in charge of the end result, practice really does make perfect. For me, this is part of the joy of owning a machine like this - I can engage with the coffee making process in a way that I can't with a push button fully automated machine (such as the DeLonghiESAM5500 ...
JonnyCarpo37 24.10.2008 (27.10.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Gaggia BABY Class
