De'Longhi Eletta, Fully Automatic Bean to Cup Coffee Machine, Cappuccino and Espresso Maker, ECAM 44.660.B, 2 liters, Black

Product Information

Connectivity. If you want to turn on your coffee machine from your bed or on your way home, Wi-Fi connectivity is a useful feature. At the moment, most coffee machines can’t connect to Wi-Fi, although we are starting to see this feature on newer models. We predict that “smart” coffee machines will become increasingly common over the next few years. Featuring anautomatic cappucino system and milk carafe, you can create silky smooth lattes or a perfectly frothy cappucino, as well as high-quality espressos, caffelattes, Americanos and other milk-based coffee drinks at just the touch of a button. There's also a hot water spout attachment for tea or infusion. To use the 22000, you first need to grind beans in the supplied grinding mill. There are several settings for coarseness. Once ground, you add coffee to the machine, choose the quantity and strength and press go. The coffee is then filtered, and the 22000 can produce up to 12 cups of coffee in in one go. While the Eletta ECAM44.660.B doesn’t have the classy appeal of a stainless steel coffee machine, it’s still an attractive model that will look great in any kitchen. It’s simple to use, with its one touch buttons and LCD screen, and all the components are intuitively placed. By using a trusted retailer you can be sure that you’re getting a genuine UK version that will be designed to run on our 240V supply (although you might notice that it’s also rated 220v, but that’s fine).

There’s definitely a lot to like about this espresso machine. But to make it simpler, here’s the short list:Let’s start with the coffee size. By pressing the size button, the LCD display cycles through the various options from short coffee through to extra long coffee (for long coffee the machine grinds two separate doses). There is also a button for coffee strength. The Delonghi PrimaDonna Soul is designed to bring bean-to-cup coffee making into the 21st century. With a range of interesting features, including integration with an Android app, this is one of the most advanced bean-to-cup models (at least for the consumer market). Other customisation features can include brewing temperature, coffee strength, automatic milk frothing, cup size and water amount. Some models also come with pre-infusion which helps protect against inconsistencies in tamp and grind (see the video below for a simple explanation).

Automatic frothers, on the other hand, are usually only found on higher priced models. These froth the milk inside the machine, and can make creamy cappuccino far more consistently. The type of coffee you can use, some machines will allow both grounds and beans - perfect if you need decaffeinated coffee. You can also adjust the strength of your coffee by pressing the ‘Bean’ button and then pressing the arrows to either increase or decrease the size of your dose – obviously the higher the dose, the stronger the coffee. You may have different preferences on size of grain and size of the dose depending on which coffee you are using – some mild coffees may benefit from a larger dose than some more bitter tasting coffees. The fun here is in the experimentation. De’Longhi excels in providing a true bean to cup brewing experience. All you need to do is select your favourite roasted coffee beans and place them in the hopper. The hopper is airtight and will keep your coffee fresh and flavorful as long as the lid remains closed. Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Sales arranged by Direct GroupHow the coffee is made by pouring water over the grounds. Bean-to-cup and pod machines do this for you, whereas espresso and filter are more hands-on. I’m not sure that’s a cost effective solution unless it’s still under warranty, but it does highlight how popular the ECAM44.660.B is with many owners.

Regularly clean your bean-to-cup coffee machine to make sure it's always in good working condition. Most of the machines on this list have various indicators for when the descaling programme should be run or drip tray emptied - but don't rely on indicators for everything. Set a reminder for cleaning the brewing unit, running the descaling programme and other important maintenance tasks. With that said, if you just want to drink espresso then a cheaper option may provide better value. There’s also the ECAM 23.460 which has fewer features, but makes automatic cappuccino. What do Buyers Say? The costs for delivery, installation services and monthly insurance products cannot be placed on BNPL. AUTOMATIC MILK MENU: Make your favourite milk drink with one touch - Cappuccino, Caffee Latte or Latte Macchiato

Returns & Refunds

It’s a little more fiddly to clean the milk container, although once you’ve done it a few times it becomes second nature. You first need to choose the “Insert” setting, then remove the container and the plastic tube. This can be washed using washing up liquid. There are several other parts that also need to be removed and cleaned. Other Features