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DeLonghi Magnifica S Black $499.73 Delivered @ DeLonghi

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23NEWYEAR

Thought this deserved its own post.

Great price for a great fully automatic machine. Rarely this low

Full credit to Edifa and the original deal

I have one which has churned out 7-10 shots a day for 2 years or so. For anyone considering buying one, Some things to note:

  • Critical: only change the grind size while the machine is actually in the process of grinding. Otherwise you’ll break the knob. Says that in the instructions, but it’s easy to overlook.

  • Getting the right combination of temperature/grind /volume takes time for each different type of coffee bean you buy. Lots of experimentation. Once you’ve got it setup it’s magic. Start with a very five grind, mine is 1 notch off the finest and the coffe volume is about 3 notches off the max.

  • Only use the short espresso button. Button on the left-middle. Everything else is weak or over extracted. i.e. if you want a double then run the short single twice.

  • Makes a great cup of coffee. Not quite at the level of a good professionally made expresso, but it’s close and a big step up from pods. Also heaps cheaper in the long run.

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  • I'm tossing up between this and getting a refurbed Breville Barista Express so keen to hear your thoughts OP on that. I know they are different machines altogether but so far, I am leaning towards the Breville due to easier availability of spares/accessories but it is a bigger unit than this one.

    • +2

      Ones manual and the other is fully automatic. Depends on what you are after.
      Both solid units.

      • Havent had a manual before (only used automatic at work and a Nespresso) but I guess I am after one that is relatively easy to use and maintain plus having the ability to use other coffee type i.e. a decaf as well as normal without having to faff around.

        • +1

          This machine is probably one of the worst for changing coffee types quickly. You put beans in a compartment at the top. To change bean type you’d need to use all the beans or try and dig them out.

          A pod machine would probably be the easiest for changing beans.

          However, you won’t find a machine that’s easier to use than this one for black coffee. Add beans + water and press a button.

          • @ChickenTalon: Yeah I have a Nespresso at the moment (the Vertuo) but im starting to do the sums again (got the machine very cheap 2 years or so ago) and its tipping me towards going auto or manual based on two cups a day (a sleeve is costing me avg $10 for a 10 pack while I can have a go at the Aldi beans for $3 more for a kg which would last me a month give or take.

            The decaf bit is not a biggie really (its a nice to have) and I realise the Magnifica S has the pre-ground slot in it so there's that.

            Oh well, ill keep being indecisive at the moment and see where I land after a few days :)

            • +1

              @stigsphilocousin: I picked up a manual machine but quickly discovered I'm too lazy to manually brew as much coffee as I like to drink - started heading for the tea bags instead. Then I replaced it with the Magnifica Evo. It has the bean hopper as well as a pre ground chute which I use for decaf. Makes a very nice cup in my opinion. I think this model has the same feature.

            • +1

              @stigsphilocousin: I'll help.

              If you want a proper espresso, buy the Breville. You can make better than cafe coffees with this machine. Clean up is pretty easy, but prep can be messy (will need a dousing ring, distributor etc.

              The Magnifica cant do a proper espresso. Its a small diameter pressurised deep puck. The frother is also not anywhere near as good as the Breville either for microfoam.
              Makes a 'good' thin coffee. But not a nice textured espresso. Aldi Brazil beans work well in the Breville, but average in the Magnifica.

              If you want a push a button 'caffeine hit please' machine. Then buy the delonghi. But remember to clean the brew chamber and lube the oring regularly. Otherwise your brews will be channelled and super inconsistant. I'd say its a bit harder to clean than the breville, but only needs to be done weekly..ish.

              • @tunzafun001: I think you nailed both pros and cons pretty good! Im not a coffee snob per se (wont buy Vittoria beans though..find them too acidic when we used them on two separate auto machines at work: a Jura X8 and a Gaggia Anima Prestige) but want something that is close enough to a decent brew without paying stupid amounts for cleaning stuff and spare parts.

                I dont mind the extra work with making a brew (heck we also have a Dr Coffee Minibar S at work that does really good coffee so long as you use good quality beans (its pretty intuitive with how much beans you want to use for each drink type) but maintenance is a bit of a sore point for me as I am the deso coffee machine cleaner/maintainer at work (in addition to my normal job) so anything that is easy to clean and maintain is a goer for me (Nespresso machines dont count as I already have one).

                • @stigsphilocousin: How did you find the Jura machine? Im thinking of grabbing a second hand Jura, as my partner wont drink the Delonghi machine coffee. Reviews seem to suggest the Jura is better.

                  Will use the Jura on weekdays, Breville on weekends.

                  • @tunzafun001: Jura wasnt too bad actually but the X8 is a fair chunk of a unit and there's no pre-ground slot so its only beans. Pros are that its relatively easy to use and keep clean, it has a massive 5L water tank (but weirdly only a 500g bean hopper!), and its pretty consistent once you've dialled in the grinding setting. Havent had anyone complain about the coffee it produces (they did complain about beans but thats a diff issue) or the temperature of the drink (dual boiler unit).

                    The cons are that the cost of their cleaning stuff is stupid (the filters alone get expensive easy if you want the one that interfaces with the machine directly), no built in milk attachment (you have to connect a hose to the dual spouts with that hose then being submerged onto a milk container of your choosing), and the most it will grind to is 16g so it may not be ideal if you are used to the Breville's 18g or higher.

                    In saying all of that, keep in mind that the X8 is technically a professional machine (I suspect its geared more towards offices and shared spaces) and im not sure if its the one you're thinking of getting, or something like their E6 machine.

                    • @stigsphilocousin: Cheers for this. I would be using genric detergent based cleaners and descaler. Im also confident to pull it apart/ clean it properly. I know the Delonghi machines inside & out.As you say, the filters etc are way too expensive, but at the end of the day its pretty obvious what needs to be kept clean and how.

                      Yeah, im looking at a small footprint Jura machine. Maybe an ENA.
                      But Jura seem to be the same as Delonghi (doesnt matter if you buy the cheapest or top of the line, the internal brewing unit is exactly the same). So the actual quality of coffee is identical regardless of which machine you get. Just get extra LCD screens, app integration, bigger tanks, seperate milk thermoblocks/ boilers blah blah etc as you climb the cost ladder.
                      Definitley do like the Jura pulse extraction, and the hose milk idea. But i bet it dumps a bucket of water into the bottom tray every time you use it (which will be annoying with a small reservoir unit. Can you disable that and simply unplug and rinse it yourself?

                      • @tunzafun001: Not that I know of; our X8 doesnt really dump out loads of water. We usually get by emptying it out maybe once a day at most but then again it's not heavily used; the bigger machine (our Dr Coffee MiniBar S) gets emptied out twice a day and that averages 40 cups per day.

              • @tunzafun001: @tunzafun001 do you happen to know if this also applies to other Delonghi machines(the espresso issue) ? I've got a specialista Arte and I'm not sure it's the beans or a setting I need to change or as you've mentioned my espresso seems to be not amazing.

        • Changing coffee types in this machine is pretty easy if you have 1 type as whole beans and the other type ground. It has a grounds chute as an alternative. We keep our proper coffee as whole beans and decaf as ground and it's literally just moving a dial to change.

          Partner was a barista for a while and loves this machine because it is so quick and easy to use compared to a manual. Although the downside is your won't ever get the same taste as a manual machine which we do miss a little, but if you have milk based coffees you can't really tell anyways. For us the ease of use outweighs this factor by a large amount. Milk frothing wand is decent too, but that's from a barista with 10 years experience.

        • +1

          You can buy a single dosing hopper as an aftermarket add on for the breville barista express if you want to change beans easily, or if you want to go premium you can buy a separate grinder with single dosing, cheaper will be manual grinders from companies like timemore or 1zpresso or commandante, or more expensive electric grinders like df64/df64p/df64e/niche zero/eureka specialita with single dose hopper mod

  • +3

    Great machine. Had two of these now over the past 6 years. Makes great coffee with minimal ease.

    • +13

      minimal ease.

      Sounds hard 😆

  • still going through the coffee beans from this (now well expired) deal
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/724288

    This machine is great, but you need to configure it properly and find a bean that works for you (if you're fussy).

  • +1

    I had this machine for 2 years, coffee has been watery and no crema. Have tried to take it for service and they said they did everything they could and recommended buy different coffee bean.. tried all of those and moved to Breville now (manual)

    • Are you getting the crema now with the breville?

      • Yes, there is a lot of manual adjustments, I used a couple of youtube video to adjust the grind size and water quantity. Just need to extract in the expresso range pressure.

    • There is a bit of variation in the grinders. Im about to 'tweak' a machine that when set to 1, is equivalent to mine set at 5. Produces rubbish.

      Need to move the grinder one tooth finer than preset. Need to open the machine up to do so.
      Then when you get the grind fine enough, you cant make a shot any bigger than a standard (middle setting) shot, otherwise it clogs or jams completely. Set this way coffee comes out super slow in thin lines (not the usual turbo dump). So you have a 8-10g shot at best. Not great, but in a small cup is …ok..ish.

      • +1

        Is this for Delonghi or Breville?

  • +1

    Mines done 5+ double shots a day for 2+ years
    Still going strong

  • Great machine but not the lowest price

    The lowest price was $389.4 using 40% off code in delonghi website

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/732451

    • +2

      That was a leaked code. I wouldn’t wait around for it to be repeated.

  • +3

    My “permanent” settings for this coffee machine is always using max with smallest grind, then only use 1 short (left middle button). Press twice for 2 shots

    I have heard some having issues of this machine that putting too small grind size makes it unable to have water pass through and the coffee waste being stuck, but I have no issue at all, just perfect strength and coffee oil for the settings

    • Variation in the grinders. If you can get water through a max puck, then it definitely isnt going to full fine grind. But that being said, normally 2 or 3 at best will get through (freshness/ oil dependent), 1 definitely wont on Max regardless of what you put in. Only super mild (min) will get through.
      So your system works, and if you are doing max pucks, then you have no need for a finer setting anyway.

  • Bought this for 450 with 30% off code just before Christmas. Came with some beans and a vacuum sealer.
    It's pretty good and convenient so far but it did take a few days and setting tweaks until it tasted right.

  • ive had mine for 4 years. great machine still going.

  • +1

    Excellent post with very accurate additional info. We've loved ours for 2+ years and it's still going flawlessly.

  • +2

    I've had one for almost 2 years.

    1) The milk steamer is crap. Suggest to buy the Aldi steaming jug for about $30 to use instead for doing your milk. This jug is available every day from Aldi (not a special buy).
    2) Test and set your water hardness, or the machine will prompt you to descale every week or two, which is completely unnecessary.
    3) Set grind on the finest, then work your way back from there if the machine clogs.
    4) Set strength to strongest, then work your way back from there if it is too strong.
    5) Use darker beans, or it will be too weak (in my opinion).
    6) Drip and grounds tray fills up quickly and is a bit messy.

    Still love this machine though. I got mine for ~$600 and consider it really good value.

    • +1

      One extra tip, place a glass on the tray as the self cleaning / heating process will "wash" the machine by passing through water
      I find this really helps to keep the tray from getting filled easily

  • How do you convince someone who doesn't want to move away from a pod machine to get one of these? Their main concerns are cleaning and time in the morning to make.

    • Cleaning this will be more involved than a pod machine as you have to clean the brewer, empty out the grounds container and drip tray, and descale (pod machine you only have to descale) and there's no escaping that if you want to keep the machine going for ages. Time-wise, pods win again but it might be marginal once you add milk warming to the equation.

      Really, you need to convince them of the cost (buying pods v buying a bag of beans) and the coffee taste and quality.

    • +2

      I went from pods to this exact machine. Way happier with this. Better environmentally and I put my grounds in the garden. Much cheaper to buy beans too. Not too hard to clean. I put some parts on the dishwasher and it's quite easy to do.

      • +2

        Dont put the brew unit in the dishwasher. You will remove the lube which is crucial on the o rings in these machines.

        Trays, grounds holder are fair game. That being said, coffee grounds in your dishwasher arent ideal. Mix with fat and will clog everything up.

        • Thanks mate. I usually just use clean water on the brew unit. And prewash the other parts if they are going in the dishwasher.

          • @joeyg4343: Thats the go.

            Everynow and then take the single screw out the centre of the chrome portafilter in the brew unit, and wash the back with detergent. The little holes clog in no time. One screw..takes 5 seconds.

  • Automatic espresso machine.

    NOT an automatic cappuccino machine.

    • +1

      Its neither really. Delonghi Italy say its for making cappucino (not espresso). Which is true as the brew unit cant really do a true espresso (hence the thin texture). But this doesnt have the milk jug, so not an auto cappucino machine either.
      Auto short black doesnt sound as fancy.

  • I have siimilar Evo and it amazing. With right beans it makes excellent coffee

    • Which beans?

      • My local Woolies has Sacred Grounds Breezy coffee beans roaster 2-3 weeks ago and is amazing

  • Anyone know how this would compare with the Delonghi Dedica and a Breville Smart Grinder Pro?

    If it makes a difference, I mostly just have long blacks and the occasional latte

    • +1

      Far less work, but the Dedica makes a far better coffee.

      • Cheers mate - I might stick to the dedica then!

  • +2

    If using this machine for milk drinks, take the detachable shield off the frother. You'll get better results and have one less part to clean.

    Also, if you're new to this, I highly recommend a small stainless jug and a milk thermometer. The wand is too small to work well in any deeper

  • So 360-400ml or smaller still for the milk jug ??

    • +1

      Mine is 400mL which holds 200mL of milk frothed up

      • Thanks for that, got the jug this afternoon

        Now just have wait for the machine to arrive then will sort out some beans (there's some good coffee retailers around St Kilda and Prahran areas here)

  • I bought this machine last year from Amazon UK which works pretty well. The only problem is the descaling light will be on almost every 1 to 1.5 months which is too frequent for me because I need to do the descaling. One of my friends have one bought from local store and he said the descaling light will be on every 3 months which is more acceptable. I do have water filter in my machine as my friend. Any idea on how it's so frequent on my machine?

    • +2

      Did you both change the water hardness setting ?

      According to manual it's preset at Level 4 which is the level requiring more frequent descaling

      I set mine up yesterday and using the included test strip set the level to 1 so hopefully should mean less descaling

      Liking the machine so far, just got some cheapo beans for the initial set-up and dial in and then switched to decent quality ones

      As some mentioned above way way above pod coffee

      Not as good as our proper espresso machines at work obviously but can still taste the difference between the coffee beans and it produces a decent crema

      • Thanks @AJ73! I will try to set it on my machine.

  • This is expired. Delonghi support said that they have canceled this code.

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