Thank you for the video Bea, helped when setting up my machine like other people. The quick guide I got stumped on when adding the water filter in and pressing the Milk container button again when flashing.
It is a point reward scheme in Australia. For every dollar spent you get so many points (depending on the shop etc). As you build up points you can redeem for $10 off a grocery shop or for any item in their store. I got the De Longhi points. About to get an Apple smart watch. It takes time to build up points
Thank you, I was very confused how to setup the machine for first time, couldn't find anything other than this video. It was very useful, and you right, booklet came with machine was useless. Thanks again
Just bought this machine and still in box. I just sat down with the’ instructions’ and agree with you! Cannot make head or tail of those diagrams. Went to youtube and found your video!, Great, at least its given me some idea where to start. Many thanks!,
Hi Bea, have you replaced the filter yet? My machine indicates a filter light. I replaced it but the light is still on. Can't find any videos on filter instructions and instruction manual not helpful either.
Hi Belinda, you have to tell the machine you have changed the filter. I have a video on using that setting but it is only how to tell the machine you have removed the filter. I have linked to that video. Perhaps tell the machine you have removed the filter to get rid of the light. I will look into it. ruclips.net/video/JkKj78XqaH4/видео.html
I just got my Evo home and I totally agree. The quick setup guide is ridiculous. I'm not dumb but the images are hard to follow. I thought I would try the bigger instructions and it said refer to the quick setup?? So I googled up and found your video. Now I can see if we both got it right :)
Great review. I’m tossing up between this and the Philips LatteGo 4300. How easy is it to clean the milk carafe? Does it gunk up with milk fat in places despite the cleaning cycle?
Hi Bea, thanks for this video, it helped us a lot as we just got ours today. Can you do me a favour and tell me what the default setting for grind size is? Unfortunately I was playing with the knob during set up and I did not realise the number it was on was the default setting. Like you, I didn't want to play around with grind size until I know what I am doing. Thanks in advance,
Hi. Glad you enjoyed the video. Mine is set on 4 and I haven’t adjusted it. I might fiddle around with that in the future but am happy with the default at the moment. Enjoy your machine. I am loving mine.
Decided to buy this machine as I could get it locally without needing to purchase online, and I must say as an esprssso drinker who roasts his own coffee it is a fantastic unit. My only qualm is that my wife loves lattes and the milk is too hot and as a result too thin, watery, and not sweet enough. They’ve clearly catered to the hot coffee crowd which is a shame for more traditional milk based enthusiasts who appreciate the right temp. A nice compromise would have been a milk setting like the espresso temp. Otherwise, great unit and our work around on milk is to ensure we use full cream for extra body.
Fortunately for me, I was not an experienced coffee drinker. I did have an old pod machine but only rarely used it as the coffee was always cold so I am happy with the heat of this one. I don't have much to compare it with
Hahaha! My test strip never turned blue at all. They are useless. Or maybe my water is super duper soft 🤷♀️ Thanks for the review. I was wondering how to just froth milk for hot chocolate. My old De’Longhi machine allowed you to just froth the milk. The family are cranky they can’t just make hot chocolate or chai! And yes, the “quick start guide” became fire lighter paper REAL quick 😉 Anyway, enjoy the coffee machine. It will serve you well. My previous machine lasted at least 10 years of very hard use.
It all depends on what model you have. Mine has a frothed milk selection instead of Latte Macchiato which I am happy about as I would just use the regular latte anyway
My strip never got any red squares at all so does that mean I don’t need a water softener? If so that’s nice since it appears to need replacement very frequently.
@@colingenge9999 Sorry Colin, I missed your comment. I really don't know. I would assume the strip is faulty. You will still need to descale. I think the machine goes on how many coffees you make, what hardness level the machine is set on (by default it is the hardest level 4) and if you have a water filter in.
Thanks for the video, was a much better review than the others online! One question if you don’t mind. After making a coffee does the machine make a dripping sound within the machine for a while after finishing? I believe it’s an internal flush and it goes into the drip tray but I’d say after every 3/4 coffees I have to empty the tray. Is this the same experience for you? Delonghi support think it’s normal but would like another opinion. Thanks 😁
I don't actually hear a dripping but I do know that it does drip internally as well as from the spout. This is normal so it doesn't matter if you put something under the spout, you will still need to empty the tray - just not as often as you would if you didn't put anything under the spout
Mine is an ECAM290.83.TB I think the differences are what coffees it makes. My carton came with pictures of different ones on the box. Some made hot water, some didn't, some did frothed milk only option (like mine) so you can do hot chocolates etc, some don't, some have cappuccino and some like mine have cappuccino mix which is just the order of the milk. It can be confusing. I didn't know there were all these different types when I purchased but am happy with my one.
I am not sure about one spoon of beans. I fill mine up so that I don't have to every day. I think one spoon wouldn't register with the machine and you might get out of beans symbol but I am not sure. I know that there is a bypass where you can use one spoon but that is not for beans but for ground coffee.
@@beajay1179 The water hardness in Sydney is not bad approx 60ppm total solids, Melbourne is about 30ppm. Adelaide and Brisbane have harder water. Generally Australian water is pretty good. In comparison London water is about 250ppm.
@@jeffwright9640 yes - it only came up as 1 square but wasn't sure what all the numbers meant. I found how to change the water hardness setting on the machine so all is good now.
@jeffwright9640 London water is basically repeated recycled urine hence why I got a water softener and a separate water filter lol I used the test strip with the water from the water softener tap and had all 4 green squares, I then used it on the water which is filtered through another filter and that gave me 2.5 red squares. I imagine my outdoor tap would have been 4 reds easily
Worst instructions came with this machine. I wrote instructions for 30 years and if ours were this bad our customers would phone support and get taught one at a time how to make our equipment work. wto hours in and I have only the roughest idea of how this machine works. I would advise against buying one simply because it’s difficult to use and know you’re doing it right. They show graphics that don’t have an equivalent on the machine and make assumptions as if we already know how to run the machine because clearly the author never bothered to hand the instructions to a know nothing to watch them struggle. Virtually every sentence is ambiguous, or has missing information or filler words that didn’t help with comprehension. They start with a machine with poorly designed graphics and then create a quick guide that doesn’t align with the manual very well forcing the user to simply guess how the machine works.
Hi just got my De’Longhi Dinamica Plus ECAM 370.85.SB sadly i was like you Got 6 thick booklets in 12 different languages but the one for English was a small thin leaflet & as you said all pictures luckily mine is like nearly all of theirs & are on their De’ Longhi RUclips channel so put in your model number Then they go through the whole set up as for the coffee beans they are not ones that you can’t use those are “the tastes that they are meant to remind you of” mine says “black currant & other notes” it’s a bit like wine when they say you can taste all these different flavours in the wine I don’t drink but did once work at a very elite posh hotel their wine expert did educate me but i did say thank you but it’s so i can tell a good wine & which ones go with well with certain foods as i don’t drink but do like to take a bottle of wine as a gift He was annoyed at first but then saw that i was genuinely interested so over a few months he taught me the same as my friend has taught me about coffee said the same as him has all these different “notes” like hot chocolate etc but to me it was a coffee that suited my favourite iced lattes & like you got my syrups but i Asked Costa & a couple of my friends “the coffee nerds” favourite places to go & it seems they all use the same brand there yes there are cheaper ones but as soon as i added my two shots of caramel then it was nearly the same as i don’t use the same coffee & to buy their mix was just too expensive so i took That info & went to my local coffee shop they managed to get a near perfect match i did look at your model but as you said the milk part is too small but i was also sad like you i wanted the next model up as i also love my hot chocolate & that one came with their new thermo jug which means the milk keeps cooler longer & has special jug that you use just for the hot chocolate as there is a setting for hot chocolate but it would of been WAY over my budget so will have to stick to my hot chocolate maker which is brilliant but A pain to clean it all out as it’s like the one with the De’ Longhi that you have to take apart & wash it all out i was looking at your model for a while but due to my arthritis i needed one that had a few more features & the make a coffee using their App is very helpful on my bad days but still wish the other model wasn’t So out of my budget as invested in some decent thermal glasses still got a couple of sizes to go but my friend brought me some beautiful expresso cups as she is the one that drinks it & also gave me her favourite coffee but said you will have bring it pre ground i was going to put mine under the cupboards had the space all ready then read it needs a minimum of 15cm clearance at the top due to the cup warmer getting hot if i had it could over time burn my cupboards so i ended up doing a total re shuffle & now it’s all set up with the ice “slushy” maker for ether my summer strawberry or salted caramel frappes then all the syrups with pumps & my coco shaker I have been told no excuses like before as i had a Tassimo for a long time but their coffee range started to get slowly over time become less & less then they stopped the fruit teas & Earl grey so i decided to sell it with the stand & all the pods so that gave me a good start but have recently had workmen in for a week they were very happy that they were offered a drink i still can’t believe some tenants refuse to offer a cold or hot drink 2 of the workers said normally they would if in this area go to the Costa drive through i did say only just got the machine & am new to bean to cup machines & which coffees to use They said they didn’t mind but i was lucky as one wanted a simple cappuccino so made his first they stood watching it make it they were impressed so his iced Americano was his first pick then I made mine they all wanted to try it so ended up pouring it into cups the “coffee king” said it was really good so after that due to the still warm weather they had iced lattes with a shot of ether caramel or vanilla & would fill their thermos mugs for their way home they said on their last day they would miss me i said no you mean you will miss the coffee machine they told me it was me as i actually cared & they don’t normally get that which is sad but the “coffee king” told me that after seeing my machine he is getting the same one from De’ Longhi until i showed where i got mine from & that he would save a lot of money he was Really shocked i said as long as you can handle the plug conversion then it’s good & they have a 2yr warrantee plus you can buy coffee & all the de scaler etc that you will need i saw him yesterday he said it had arrived & he had got the syrups too from same site so i asked how it was going he said it’s a dream he liked the my button where you can store your preferences said my wife & daughter have theirs i have mine when he showed his wife how much they saved she was totally shocked he said i was so lucky to get assigned your work/job as me & all the lads said best week of work they have had in a long time But i am like you i am still learning about coffee but all the it tastes like hot chocolate with a hint of walnuts doesn’t help at all i just get confused but i have a great coffee shop plus my two friends the “coffee nerds” who have & i would also say that it would of been better to have a better manual especially all in one as mine had two parts am lucky as mine has a screen display so it was just a matter of doing what the display said & have collected my coffee pucks & my friend added them to my roses & once I get some more (which won’t take long) my Jasmine plant & my eucalyptus tree will be next for the coffee fertiliser as i read up so now i see why my friends dad wanted them so much sadly my plants come first so will see how good they are only other reason for a 4 star was the hassle of the cleaning of the milk part as having to take it all apart & wash it (as i don’t have a dish washer) & as in a hard water area i was told to wipe the coffee part & regularly check for any build up even though i use filtered water so i give them a damp cloth wipe & dry after the cleaning part after the machine has been turned off & i always keep a tray there incase i forget but your review wasn’t too long at all it was just a genuine customers view on the set up & the coffee i am just sad that i couldn’t put my machine where i wanted due to the clearance that it must have at the top but it looks good now it all set up & ready for the next set of workmen as have two adaptations that need to be done so hopefully some nice guys again & well done on your review but check your syrups as the brand i use is so much better i tried a couple & ended up returning 2 & giving the other one away wish i had done my research first hopefully by now you will of found some coffees that you like & the best syrup & same one used by Costa,Starbucks & lots of independent coffee shops is the brand Monin i don’t know but maybe that’s the one your using but i noticed a big change in the flavour once i started to use it Was a bit shocked as every model from both De’ Longhi & a couple of others they all always put the milk first so was strange & the test strip is when your setting up your machine there is a part where it will ask you to put in how hard your water is so it knows when it’s time to descale your machine mine is the hardest ever so my machine like my friends will tell me to descale it more often & i have brought their specialist hard water descaler your lucky as you won’t need that one & your filter will last twice as long as mine which is why i only use filtered water in my kettle & iron etc & have to use a specialist cleaner for my washing machine But that’s why they asked you to test your water i am sure that you press & hold a button & you use ether the temp or bean strength to put in your results from the test strip there is an American channel that did a install & review they did show you how to prime your filter & put in the results of your water test
Thanks heaps for your comment. I have learnt how to change the water hardness. I do love my machine - yours sounds great. I just saw one on TVSN that does cold milk frothing too - De Longhi Eletta - lots of hot and cold coffee options but way out of my price range. I too laugh at the coffee descriptions that are like wine. Although I must say there was one coffee that really did taste like chocolate and coffee but it was the only one I have tried that doesn't just taste like coffee. Enjoy your machine
Thank you for the video Bea, helped when setting up my machine like other people. The quick guide I got stumped on when adding the water filter in and pressing the Milk container button again when flashing.
Glad it helped
Thanks for review. Cat loved too 😊. What is fly buy though?
It is a point reward scheme in Australia. For every dollar spent you get so many points (depending on the shop etc). As you build up points you can redeem for $10 off a grocery shop or for any item in their store. I got the De Longhi points. About to get an Apple smart watch. It takes time to build up points
Thank you, I was very confused how to setup the machine for first time, couldn't find anything other than this video. It was very useful, and you right, booklet came with machine was useless. Thanks again
Thanks Gurpreet. I am glad it helped. Enjoy your machine.
Just bought this machine and still in box. I just sat down with the’ instructions’ and agree with you! Cannot make head or tail of those diagrams. Went to youtube and found your video!, Great, at least its given me some idea where to start. Many thanks!,
Glad it helped. Enjoy your machine
I thank you ma'am sincerely for offering a clearer guide to use of Evo. 💐
I am glad it helped
Great video. I set my brand new machine up watching and pausing your video and following your steps😀
That’s wonderful! Thanks for the feedback. I hope you enjoy your Evo as much as I am enjoying mine. Just finished a coffee now.
This was the best walk through on youtube, thank you!
So glad it helped
Hi Bea, have you replaced the filter yet? My machine indicates a filter light. I replaced it but the light is still on. Can't find any videos on filter instructions and instruction manual not helpful either.
Hi Belinda, you have to tell the machine you have changed the filter. I have a video on using that setting but it is only how to tell the machine you have removed the filter. I have linked to that video. Perhaps tell the machine you have removed the filter to get rid of the light. I will look into it.
ruclips.net/video/JkKj78XqaH4/видео.html
I just got my Evo home and I totally agree. The quick setup guide is ridiculous. I'm not dumb but the images are hard to follow. I thought I would try the bigger instructions and it said refer to the quick setup?? So I googled up and found your video. Now I can see if we both got it right :)
Excellent. So glad I’m not the only one completely confused by the pictures
How often do you have to change the water filter ?
That would depend on the water in your area. I have taken mine out and not replaced it
Were you able to find out how to set the water hardness? I got mine 2 days ago & it's already asking me to descale. Great video.
Just uploaded a video. Hope it helps
Hi, every time I turn on the machine it automatically cleans the coffee spout is that normal
Yes - both when it turns on and when it turns off. Not only cleans the machine but warms up the internals to make the coffee warmer
Great review. I’m tossing up between this and the Philips LatteGo 4300. How easy is it to clean the milk carafe? Does it gunk up with milk fat in places despite the cleaning cycle?
Sorry GV - I seemed to have missed your question. It is very easy to clean. I have had no problems with it. Comes apart very easily
Hi Bea, thanks for this video, it helped us a lot as we just got ours today. Can you do me a favour and tell me what the default setting for grind size is? Unfortunately I was playing with the knob during set up and I did not realise the number it was on was the default setting. Like you, I didn't want to play around with grind size until I know what I am doing. Thanks in advance,
Hi. Glad you enjoyed the video. Mine is set on 4 and I haven’t adjusted it. I might fiddle around with that in the future but am happy with the default at the moment. Enjoy your machine. I am loving mine.
Decided to buy this machine as I could get it locally without needing to purchase online, and I must say as an esprssso drinker who roasts his own coffee it is a fantastic unit. My only qualm is that my wife loves lattes and the milk is too hot and as a result too thin, watery, and not sweet enough. They’ve clearly catered to the hot coffee crowd which is a shame for more traditional milk based enthusiasts who appreciate the right temp. A nice compromise would have been a milk setting like the espresso temp. Otherwise, great unit and our work around on milk is to ensure we use full cream for extra body.
Fortunately for me, I was not an experienced coffee drinker. I did have an old pod machine but only rarely used it as the coffee was always cold so I am happy with the heat of this one. I don't have much to compare it with
Hahaha! My test strip never turned blue at all. They are useless. Or maybe my water is super duper soft 🤷♀️ Thanks for the review. I was wondering how to just froth milk for hot chocolate. My old De’Longhi machine allowed you to just froth the milk. The family are cranky they can’t just make hot chocolate or chai! And yes, the “quick start guide” became fire lighter paper REAL quick 😉 Anyway, enjoy the coffee machine. It will serve you well. My previous machine lasted at least 10 years of very hard use.
It all depends on what model you have. Mine has a frothed milk selection instead of Latte Macchiato which I am happy about as I would just use the regular latte anyway
My strip never got any red squares at all so does that mean I don’t need a water softener? If so that’s nice since it appears to need replacement very frequently.
@@colingenge9999 Sorry Colin, I missed your comment. I really don't know. I would assume the strip is faulty. You will still need to descale. I think the machine goes on how many coffees you make, what hardness level the machine is set on (by default it is the hardest level 4) and if you have a water filter in.
Thanks for the video, was a much better review than the others online!
One question if you don’t mind. After making a coffee does the machine make a dripping sound within the machine for a while after finishing? I believe it’s an internal flush and it goes into the drip tray but I’d say after every 3/4 coffees I have to empty the tray. Is this the same experience for you? Delonghi support think it’s normal but would like another opinion. Thanks 😁
I don't actually hear a dripping but I do know that it does drip internally as well as from the spout. This is normal so it doesn't matter if you put something under the spout, you will still need to empty the tray - just not as often as you would if you didn't put anything under the spout
@@beajay1179 top nice thank you for good video!!!
Next time show everything do you put the filter on the cabord ?? Location etc
ahahaha the best Set Up 2022
Thank you
I love your real review. Did the coffee get any better? Don you recommend this machine?
Thanks. Yes the coffee is great and I do recommend the machine although a new one has come out that does cold drinks too. That one looks good.
Is this the ECAM292.81.B? Their models are a bit confusing!
Mine is an ECAM290.83.TB I think the differences are what coffees it makes. My carton came with pictures of different ones on the box. Some made hot water, some didn't, some did frothed milk only option (like mine) so you can do hot chocolates etc, some don't, some have cappuccino and some like mine have cappuccino mix which is just the order of the milk. It can be confusing. I didn't know there were all these different types when I purchased but am happy with my one.
Can you pit 1 spoon of beans at a time? And how much coffee can you do with 1 spoon? Please
I am not sure about one spoon of beans. I fill mine up so that I don't have to every day. I think one spoon wouldn't register with the machine and you might get out of beans symbol but I am not sure. I know that there is a bypass where you can use one spoon but that is not for beans but for ground coffee.
PS - Are you in Australia? I am asking because I have been buying the same coffee ground ( The one with the nice pics on packet)
Yes I am in Sydney. I have found so far that I prefer the Moccona Barista Blend. I find it has more depth than the Duchess
@@beajay1179 The water hardness in Sydney is not bad approx 60ppm total solids, Melbourne is about 30ppm. Adelaide and Brisbane have harder water. Generally Australian water is pretty good. In comparison London water is about 250ppm.
@@jeffwright9640 yes - it only came up as 1 square but wasn't sure what all the numbers meant. I found how to change the water hardness setting on the machine so all is good now.
@jeffwright9640 London water is basically repeated recycled urine hence why I got a water softener and a separate water filter lol
I used the test strip with the water from the water softener tap and had all 4 green squares, I then used it on the water which is filtered through another filter and that gave me 2.5 red squares. I imagine my outdoor tap would have been 4 reds easily
Worst instructions came with this machine. I wrote instructions for 30 years and if ours were this bad our customers would phone support and get taught one at a time how to make our equipment work. wto hours in and I have only the roughest idea of how this machine works. I would advise against buying one simply because it’s difficult to use and know you’re doing it right.
They show graphics that don’t have an equivalent on the machine and make assumptions as if we already know how to run the machine because clearly the author never bothered to hand the instructions to a know nothing to watch them struggle. Virtually every sentence is ambiguous, or has missing information or filler words that didn’t help with comprehension. They start with a machine with poorly designed graphics and then create a quick guide that doesn’t align with the manual very well forcing the user to simply guess how the machine works.
Jesus! Where is this accent coming from??
I'm from Sydney Australia
@@beajay1179 nice )) thx for your video))
Thank you 🙏
Hi just got my De’Longhi Dinamica Plus ECAM 370.85.SB sadly i was like you
Got 6 thick booklets in 12 different languages but the one for English was a small thin leaflet & as you said all pictures luckily mine is like nearly all of theirs & are on their De’ Longhi RUclips channel so put in your model number
Then they go through the whole set up as for the coffee beans they are not ones that you can’t use those are “the tastes that they are meant to remind you of” mine says “black currant & other notes” it’s a bit like wine when they say you can taste all these different flavours in the wine
I don’t drink but did once work at a very elite posh hotel their wine expert did educate me but i did say thank you but it’s so i can tell a good wine & which ones go with well with certain foods as i don’t drink but do like to take a bottle of wine as a gift
He was annoyed at first but then saw that i was genuinely interested so over a few months he taught me the same as my friend has taught me about coffee said the same as him has all these different “notes” like hot chocolate etc but to me it was a coffee that suited my favourite iced lattes & like you got my syrups but i
Asked Costa & a couple of my friends “the coffee nerds” favourite places to go & it seems they all use the same brand there yes there are cheaper ones but as soon as i added my two shots of caramel then it was nearly the same as i don’t use the same coffee & to buy their mix was just too expensive so i took
That info & went to my local coffee shop they managed to get a near perfect match i did look at your model but as you said the milk part is too small but i was also sad like you i wanted the next model up as i also love my hot chocolate & that one came with their new thermo jug which means the milk keeps cooler longer & has special jug that you use just for the hot chocolate as there is a setting for hot chocolate but it would of been WAY over my budget so will have to stick to my hot chocolate maker which is brilliant but
A pain to clean it all out as it’s like the one with the De’ Longhi that you have to take apart & wash it all out i was looking at your model for a while but due to my arthritis i needed one that had a few more features & the make a coffee using their App is very helpful on my bad days but still wish the other model wasn’t
So out of my budget as invested in some decent thermal glasses still got a couple of sizes to go but my friend brought me some beautiful expresso cups as she is the one that drinks it & also gave me her favourite coffee but said you will have bring it pre ground i was going to put mine under the cupboards had the space all ready then read it needs a minimum of 15cm clearance at the top due to the cup warmer getting hot if i had it could over time burn my cupboards so i ended up doing a total re shuffle & now it’s all set up with the ice “slushy” maker for ether my summer strawberry or salted caramel frappes then all the syrups with pumps & my coco shaker
I have been told no excuses like before as i had a Tassimo for a long time but their coffee range started to get slowly over time become less & less then they stopped the fruit teas & Earl grey so i decided to sell it with the stand & all the pods so that gave me a good start but have recently had workmen in for a week they were very happy that they were offered a drink i still can’t believe some tenants refuse to offer a cold or hot drink 2 of the workers said normally they would if in this area go to the Costa drive through i did say only just got the machine & am new to bean to cup machines & which coffees to use
They said they didn’t mind but i was lucky as one wanted a simple cappuccino so made his first they stood watching it make it they were impressed so his iced Americano was his first pick then I made mine they all wanted to try it so ended up pouring it into cups the “coffee king” said it was really good so after that due to the still warm weather they had iced lattes with a shot of ether caramel or vanilla & would fill their thermos mugs for their way home they said on their last day they would miss me i said no you mean you will miss the coffee machine they told me it was me as i actually cared & they don’t normally get that which is sad but the “coffee king” told me that after seeing my machine he is getting the same one from De’ Longhi until i showed where i got mine from & that he would save a lot of money he was
Really shocked i said as long as you can handle the plug conversion then it’s good & they have a 2yr warrantee plus you can buy coffee & all the de scaler etc that you will need i saw him yesterday he said it had arrived & he had got the syrups too from same site so i asked how it was going he said it’s a dream he liked the my button where you can store your preferences said my wife & daughter have theirs i have mine when he showed his wife how much they saved she was totally shocked he said i was so lucky to get assigned your work/job as me & all the lads said best week of work they have had in a long time
But i am like you i am still learning about coffee but all the it tastes like hot chocolate with a hint of walnuts doesn’t help at all i just get confused but i have a great coffee shop plus my two friends the “coffee nerds” who have & i would also say that it would of been better to have a better manual especially all in one as mine had two parts am lucky as mine has a screen display so it was just a matter of doing what the display said & have collected my coffee pucks & my friend added them to my roses & once I get some more (which won’t take long) my Jasmine plant & my eucalyptus tree will be next for the coffee fertiliser as i read up so now i see why my friends dad wanted them so much sadly my plants come first so will see how good they are only other reason for a 4 star was the hassle of the cleaning of the milk part as having to take it all apart & wash it (as i don’t have a dish washer) & as in a hard water area i was told to wipe the coffee part & regularly check for any build up even though i use filtered water so i give them a damp cloth wipe & dry after the cleaning part after the machine has been turned off & i always keep a tray there incase i forget but your review wasn’t too long at all it was just a genuine customers view on the set up & the coffee i am just sad that i couldn’t put my machine where i wanted due to the clearance that it must have at the top but it looks good now it all set up & ready for the next set of workmen as have two adaptations that need to be done so hopefully some nice guys again & well done on your review but check your syrups as the brand i use is so much better i tried a couple & ended up returning 2 & giving the other one away wish i had done my research first hopefully by now you will of found some coffees that you like & the best syrup & same one used by Costa,Starbucks & lots of independent coffee shops is the brand Monin i don’t know but maybe that’s the one your using but i noticed a big change in the flavour once i started to use it
Was a bit shocked as every model from both De’ Longhi & a couple of others they all always put the milk first so was strange & the test strip is when your setting up your machine there is a part where it will ask you to put in how hard your water is so it knows when it’s time to descale your machine mine is the hardest ever so my machine like my friends will tell me to descale it more often & i have brought their specialist hard water descaler your lucky as you won’t need that one & your filter will last twice as long as mine which is why i only use filtered water in my kettle & iron etc & have to use a specialist cleaner for my washing machine
But that’s why they asked you to test your water i am sure that you press & hold a button & you use ether the temp or bean strength to put in your results from the test strip there is an American channel that did a install & review they did show you how to prime your filter & put in the results of your water test
Thanks heaps for your comment. I have learnt how to change the water hardness. I do love my machine - yours sounds great. I just saw one on TVSN that does cold milk frothing too - De Longhi Eletta - lots of hot and cold coffee options but way out of my price range. I too laugh at the coffee descriptions that are like wine. Although I must say there was one coffee that really did taste like chocolate and coffee but it was the only one I have tried that doesn't just taste like coffee. Enjoy your machine