De'Longhi Stilosa Compact Manual Espresso Machine, Manual Milk Frother

I absolutely love this espresso machine! It’s decently priced and works great! I’ve never had any issues with it! The quality of coffee is great! You can steam your milk and make a cappuccino/latte or warm up some water and use the espresso to make an Americano! Very simple to use! I highly recommend it! The only thing that is a small con is that the “steam/on/off/espresso” have kinda gone away from me wiping it so often over the two years that I’ve had it but I still know which is which from using it so often

So I had purchased a cheaper espresso machine before and it was such a pain. I truly struggled just to prepare, make my coffee, steam the milk, then clean up the mess. Took me 15 minutes just to do that! This machine is much faster! Heats up in seconds, and then the milk steams in a couple minutes! A few tips that I have learned over the years of making espresso: 1. Rinse your tools! After using the coffee filter, I truly know the easier way is to dump the grounds and rinse them off. If you do have time, take out the part that holds the grounds from the handle bar and rinse that, but really you should be able to just leave it after rinsing to start. The directions recommend taking apart filter shots after a couple hundred coffee cups! And I’d rinse off the steam wand as well, milk builds up, it takes just a few seconds but saves you time! The steam wand and the rubber tip that shoots steam come right off, I would rinse those too. And finally (without touching too much because its hot!!!) I’d wipe the machine part where the hot water goes into the coffee, it gets grounds on it. Just a wet paper towel. 2. Shoot steam before and after steaming milk! They put this in the directions also, you need to shoot out some steam for a couple seconds before doing the milk because water can drip out at first! Then I like to do it again after you finish, in case milk gets sucked into the spout. It can make it easier to clean and keep your steamer clear! 3. DESCALE!!!! They recommend this after 200 coffee cups (same as the shot filters). They have their own brand of descaler, but there are others out there (unsure if others are able to use for this machine). The directions help, they say to add 1/4 a bottle of descaler to the water tank then fill the rest with water (the bottle of descaler also has the directions) then you leave the portafilter off and run the machine into an empty bowl and also spray the steamer a good bit. Then you wash out your water tank thoroughly and make another empty bowl of water to get the descaler out fully! It doesnt take too long because the machine is very fast! I just set a reminder on my phone for when I believe I’ve made about 150 cups, I never like to push the time limit products give me, just to be safe! Then I do the descaler and coffee shot filters at the same time! It’s super easy and can really make the machine last a good long time!!! 4. Get a cup for the espresso! If you like to use a large tumbler for coffee, it wont fit under the portafilter. I like 20oz coffee mugs and add espresso to it, I had an old pour cup from my previous machine, I use it then pour the espresso into my tumbler! Unless you like a small mug of coffee, then youre fine! Keep in mind, the machine wont calculate a 1 shot or 2 shot amount, You need to turn off the machine when you feel it’s an amount you want! My pouring cup has measurements on the side so it tells me when I’ve reached 2 shots! So overall, that is my experience and I truly think this machine was worth the cost!!! PS.***** added this a week later! FOR THE DOUBLE SHOT, I suggest doing one scoop tilting the scooper sideways and tapping gently, then packing it in!! Then you can do the same thing again! I recommend doing this over a coffee container or the sink or trash, it will likely be somewhat messy!!! You get the hang of it though!

* I only rate exceptional products 5 stars. * This espresso machine meets my exceptional standard. * Price/function ratio is unbeatable. * Good for everyone except those brewing commercial amounts of coffee. Due to the length of this review and the sake of brevity, I will label each section for easy reference. SUMMARY Will this machine brew a cafe quality coffee drink right out of the box? Yes, but with major caveats. WHY I BOUGHT THIS MACHINE Money. Plain and simple. I wanted an espresso machine that wasn’t $500+. I just don’t have the money. I set out to buy what I thought was the very cheapest functional espresso machine to find out if it would in fact produce an espresso that was worth it. The Stilosa is it. You can’t go cheaper, once you do that, the machines offered don’t work at all, I mean, at all. They don’t have consistent pressures, temperatures and flow rates. So please, don’t waste your money on the $59.00 versions. At the time of posting, I bought the Stilosa at $99.00 on sale. INTRODUCTION When I purchased this, I knew nothing about espresso. I just wanted a good coffee drink without spending, what is now, $7.00 a cup. Since then, I have learned everything about espresso and have almost a 100 hours of study and practice in. Through lots of trial and error, I have taught myself the intricacies of espresso brewing, and believe me, it is far more intricate than you think! I also found out that many of the terms are vague and far from universal. With that said, most of what I will write aligns with as much of a community standard as one exists. CAVEAT #1 The truth is simple. This machine will brew a cafe quality drink right out of the box because “most” cafes have horrible drinks. I have discovered that brewing espresso is a fine balance between science and art. The major chains actually have very expensive machines and they still brew disgusting coffee. I have read so many reviews, and the one thing that is consistent throughout all of them is this; purists (the French and Italians), and anyone who has had a good espresso, won’t even go to the major chains. This is why. Lemon juice is disgusting! But pair it with sugar and you have probably one of the most popular drinks on the planet, lemonade. Likewise, most of us hate extra dark chocolate, because it is really bitter, but blend it with milk, and surprise, you have one of the most popular deserts, milk chocolate! Sugar balances sour, and dairy balances bitterness. What this means is this. You could run sand through the Stilosa, and if you blend it with enough sugar and milk, it is difficult to differentiate between it and major chain’s coffees. It isn’t until you start drinking espresso straight that you notice how horrific most of it is. To test this, just go in and ask for a double shot, chances are it will be bitter or sour. If you don’t know, espresso is actually very balanced and often velvety and sweet on its own. So, will the Stilosa brew a really good espresso right out of the box with no other tools? No, but…… neither will a $5,000.00 machine. Which leads me to caveat #2. CAVEAT #2 It doesn’t matter what machine you buy, none of them will take bad coffee and make it good. Again, I wanted to buy a machine as cheap as possible, with no accessories, and see if I could get a good espresso. Sorry, if you are on a budget, it’s not gonna happen. No matter what your budget is, you have to have a grinder. As soon as you are forced into buying pre-ground coffee roasted 10 weeks ago, you will only get what those products are able to deliver, regardless of the price of your espresso machine. My suspicion is, this is why major brands have such bad coffee. In the pursuit of supply chain uniformity, they lose freshness. Crema is a function of the release of CO2, once ground, these gases are escaping. It is simple science. Even with the best vacuum packaging, pre-ground coffee will lose its ability to create crema in a couple days (if not less). Combine that with stale beans and there is nothing you can do to make good coffee. Imagine trying to make a great sandwich with expired stale bread and cheese. Ingredients matter. You have to have a grinder. I didn’t want one, but I was forced to buy one, otherwise my espresso machine was just going to sit there, unused. This is of course if you don’t want to dump a bunch of sugar and milk in. I spent $50 on an Enzoo conical burr grinder, and it works great. You may say, “what about just grinding your beans at the grocery store?”. tried that, several times, it doesn’t work. First of all, those machines are all out of spec because nobody every maintains them. Second, every coffee is different and “dial in” needs to happen for each brand and roast of coffee. Third, you will buy a 8 or 10 oz bag of coffee and grind it all at once but you’ll never use it all at once. The next morning, your coffee is already starting to go stale. The good news is this. If you have a $1000.00 espresso machine, you still need a grinder. So at least you can buy the Stilosa and have an overall lower financial commitment. CAVEAT #3 It is impossible to get a fantastic espresso without adding some tools to the Stilosa. This is not so bad considering the price point of the Stilosa, because, once again, you will have to buy all that anyway regardless of the machine you purchase. This is only the case if you buy an espresso machine and not a bean to cup machine of course. If you don’t want to mask your espresso with sugar and milk, you will need the following things without exception; Grinder = $50-$75 Kitchen Scale = $15-$35 Not necessary but very helpful and time saving; WDT = $10-$30 Dosing Funnel = $10-$35 Tamping Tool = $10-$65 Espresso shot glasses Varies Puck Polishers Blah blah Non-pressure Portafilter $$$$ pricey And the list goes on. This is where espresso making turns into more of a hobby than just wanting a good cup. The accessories that come with the Stilosa will work, they don’t work great, but they will work. What you trade in money, you lose in time. You can still get a really good cup of coffee (this is only if you have a grinder and a scale) from the Stilosa with its accessories, but you will work for it. The last 5% of quality is always the hardest, and that’s where the upgrades come. If you want, budget a few things. Namely a bottomless, naked, Portafilter, with a non-pressurized filter basket. The Stilosa comes with a Portafilter and 2 pressurized filter baskets (7 gram + 14 gram). ~ Side Note Below ~ ~ The Stilosa has a very unique and interesting pressurized filter basket. More often, to maintain pressure, a pressurized filter basket will only have one hole in the bottom. The Stilosa actually has a spring driven piston that really works very well. This is an industry upgrade and I think more and more economy machines will come with this feature. You can also “hack” the filter basket if you wanted. You can remove the spring piston assembly, place the screen back in the basket, and have a non-pressurized basket. I would NOT recommend this as it probably voids your warranty. ~ CAVEAT #4 The price to function ratio of the Stilosa is incredible. But that is a ratio. More expensive machines give you things that this just won’t. You will not be able to watch or change; temperature profiles or pressure profiles, and it doesn't have a PID (proportional–integral–derivative controller), and frankly a bunch of other things you probably have never heard of. But the Stilosa has fantastic features for the price point. It has a very flat and consistent pressure profile, its group head is heated, as is the top of the machine (for heating your cup), and the steaming wand is amazing. It is also a nice size and fits very well on my counter without being overbearing. Unless you are making 100+ cups a day, you really don’t need all that other stuff. Of course, those things are nice if you have found yourself turning espresso into a hobby, but as we all know, hobbies get kind of expensive. My only substantial complaint about the Stilosa is this, there is no way to grab and hold it as you install and remove the Portafilter. I am strong enough that this isn’t a problem, but for others out there, this may be a bit of a challenge. SUMMARY Five stars all day long. This is the single best entry machine you can buy. It is backed by a major espresso machine manufacturer and they hit the mark. It will consistently produce a “better than cafe” espresso, it will just make you work for it. Paired with a good grinder, you will be able to play with all your ratios and pull Ristrettos, Espressos, and Lungos without issue. It heats fast (a little over a minute on cold mornings), has a really nice upgraded spring piston pressurized filter basket. Consistently makes “better than cafe” micro foam for latte art (with practice). You can easily upgrade the Portafilter to a bottomless one without issue. No automatic timing, which is what you want for proper pulls (time is a measure, not a variable). It is advertised that it has an auto shut off……. I haven’t see that yet. I just turn mine off after use. I also fill it with filtered, bottled water, it’s so much easier than removing the tank and filling it. Considering I have less than $200.00 in the whole setup, I couldn’t be happier. With good coffee, a good dial in, and lots of practice, you will be able to make a really good cup of coffee, better than the major chains. I would buy again in a heartbeat. THE “CATCH” This will take you to a whole new level, but you are going to earn it. Lots of frustrating moments, but ultimately very rewarding. If you just want a fast cup of coffee, don’t buy this. Go buy a pod machine like Nespresso, LOR, or Lavazza. Remember, these aren’t espresso machines, and just because they call it that, doesn’t make it true. But with that said, their coffees are moderately good. For about the same total investment, you can get milk “frothers” and a pod machine that will make your drink in 20 seconds. Dump enough sugar and milk in and you won’t know the difference. But they will never dial into the perfect, pure, crema topped, 1-2 ratio, pressure pulled, espresso. And once you have had that, you’ll never go back. Some helpful info: 51mm 2 ear Portafilter with a 7 gram and 14 gram filter basket. ~ most machines are 54mm or 58mm with 18 gram baskets. As a small side note, 7 grams was the original Italian single espresso, and can be very difficult to brew correctly. But less coffee means you can have more of it throughout the day! Steaming wand with Pannello attachment. Heated top for cup warming. Heated grouphead. 33+ oz water tank. ~ Update I stand by everything I have said. However, I decided to upgrade to a bottomless naked portafilter and that has changed everything. The dial in on a new coffee is so much easier and the crema and flavor of the coffee is so much easier to manipulate! The other big thing I have discovered is the perfect coffee. Do yourself a favor and go get Tony’s Upland blend. Brew it to a 2.7 ratio at roughly 27 seconds. Oh…. My….. Gosh…..! You’re welcome.

No, its NOT the equal of the $2k+ Vetrano sitting on my kitchen counter, plumbed in and always-on. Not even close. You're paying well under 10% of that money, so keep that in mind. The filters are non-standard (smaller) sized, so your big tamper won't work, and they're pressurized, so the grind matters less but the best of extraction isn't going to happen either. And its a thermoblock with little thermal mass. That's the bad side. Now the good side -- it makes legitimate espresso. I ground up a double shot in my Macap M4, filled the reservoir, tamped, waited for the "ready" light to come on and.... water was too cold; the shot was sour. Tried again, this time preheating on the "steam" sitting. Voila. NOT BAD AT ALL. A *bit* bitter (overdone; water too hot) but not by much. Very drinkable. Some more fine-tuning (just a few seconds on "steam" pre-heat to bump up the base temperature) improved it even more. And.... surprise! The filter baskets can be disassembled entirely, including the spring-loaded piece in the bottom that makes them pressurized. Which means you can defeat it either with a small plastic piece temporarily (to test) or drill it out or cut the nub off the bottom with diagonal cutters and remove it and its spring (permanently). That's a very good thing as it now forces you to use properly-ground (fine enough) coffee to get the backpressure instead of the spring-loaded valve, which greatly improves the espresso quality and gives you no-BS crema. That's a surprise of the pleasant sort. You still need a decent burr grinder, not a "whirly blade" and good, properly-roasted coffee. There's no getting around that. I don't do frothed milk drinks so I have no idea how the steamer works in that regard. I would not expect much there; if that's your gig this is probably not the right machine although technically it appears to be able to do the job. You need dry steam in volume for that to produce credible lattes and cappa and I very much doubt this thing can produce said steam in the required amount to get anywhere near what my big machine on the counter can do. Would I ever contemplate replacing my big and expensive machine with this? No. But I bought it as something I can throw in the car for a trip, or in the RV for a nice vacation, bring roasted coffee in a snap-lock container with my grinder and have my morning espressos. For THAT it does and will absolutely fill the bill -- at a reasonable price and without taking up more space than the ordinary coffee pot, which makes bog-standard ordinary swill. Since I prefer espresso the option to have it at a reasonable cost it definitely beats not -- or paying $5 for one pulled by a barista that likely doesn't know what he or she is doing or worse, is using an "automated" machine that produces garbage (e.g. Starbucks) It doesn't take many of those "cafe" coffees that are garbage to pay for this one when traveling, and you can get very-serviceable shots out of it rather than drink bilge water from the Green Monster, so there you have it. As long as you understand what you're buying and don't expect it to produce true cafe-quality shots when said machine is operated by someone with a reasonable amount of skill (and a pretty-simple mod to the basket) you won't be disappointed. Recommended.

Going on 4 years of this little espresso machine that still makes perfect crema shots with the perfect pressure and perfect temperature just like it did day one. I love how basic it is and easy to use with just a couple knobs and a couple options. Has a small footprint on my counter and the water reservoir is easy to access and refill. The machine is built very solid yet lightweight. Just don't pack the portafilter too tight or grind your beans too fine and it pulls perfect, creamy shots every time. The tamper works great (even though it's plastic, don't listen to people who say you have to get a metal one). Can clean easily by running white vinegar and water thru it. Have never had to replace anything. I purchased some double walled espresso glasses and a nice metal frothing pitcher to go with it. That's all I've needed for almost 4 yrs and going strong. Highly recommend this little engine that could. I got mine almost 4 yrs ago on black friday for $99.

I bought this to replace my old De'Longhi. It's the same style, just newer model. My old one lasted for 4+ years of 3-5 drinks a day, so I'm hoping this one does too. The crema on these brews is even better than the old model. What's up quick and hot and not too loud. I purchased a 'used/mint's one and it's perfect. Really happy with the purchase!

Okay I think I can write this review now as I’ve been using this machine daily for about 5 weeks. I just can’t speak on longevity yet. For the price and for a beginner looking to get into real espresso, I recommend this machine BUT - It does have some quirks.. First of all the water reservoir is very tiny. You have to put the machine on, wait for it to get hot (about a minute), pour your espresso, then turn it off for a quick second, switch it to steam, wait for it to pull more water and heat up again (steam takes a littttle longer to heat, about 2 minutes) then you can steam your milk. This is the main con I have. The milk wand is not the best. It’s small and chunky but traditionally they should be long and skinny. It is very hard to get your milk perfect with the same technique every time. More like every third time. The machine is messy, it drips a lot after you pour your shot and the catcher is useless. I don’t even keep it under there because with it in none of my mugs fit. Keep a rag handy. Almost impossible to get a puck out because the portafiller’s filter basket falls out if you tap it too hard. So you end up having to use a stick or spoon to get your grounds out over the trash can. (Don’t throw grounds in the sink!) It does come with a tamper but it is cheap black plastic, fits nicely though. It also comes with two filter baskets - single shot, and double shot- I’ve only ever used the double. Pros- it’s not too loud though milk steaming can be loud depending on your technique (and if the machine decides to cooperate that day) - it CAN make good coffee, you just have to have some luck. On an average day your coffee will be “fine, good” - it’s budget friendly -the water tank is pretty big. It’ll last you about 4-5 uses if you’re also steaming milk everytime. (if you live somewhere with hard water like me, I recommend distilled water to prevent buildup in the machine and don’t forget to descale every once in a while. That’s another pro, the descaling kit is cheap) - doesn’t take much counter space Overall, if you’re on a budget and just want to dip your toe into espresso and trying new brands, this machine is not bad. It’s still DeLonghi at the end of the day. It’s just finnicky, and very hard to pull the same tasting coffee every single time. Sometimes it is bitter, sometimes too watery, sometimes it’s almost knock your socks off delicious. Ps- make sure you turn the steam wand on before dunking it into your milk, as sometimes it decides to let out a fair stream of water first. 3.5 stars for what it is.

This espresso machine is actually pretty impressive once you learn how to use it properly. It can make a really good espresso with decent crema, especially considering the price, and the steam wand works well enough for basic lattes and cappuccinos. I also like that it doesn’t take up much counter space and has more of a classic manual feel compared to fully automatic machines. That said, it definitely has a learning curve. You need the right grind size, tamping pressure, and a bit of patience to get consistently good results, so it’s not really a “push button and forget it” type of machine. The included tamper is usable but feels a bit cheap, and the machine itself is more entry-level than premium. Still, if you enjoy making espresso at home and don’t mind the extra effort, it’s a solid starter machine for the price.

I received a faulty machine and Cart2Globe did not replace it in India. They also do not give a warranty card, which is required to repair the machine in India. I wasted INR 25,000 on it and there was no accountability from the seller. Buy it at your own risk in India, at least. Really disappointed.

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I have only had this purchase for about a week but so far I like it enough to keep it and write a review. I needed a size small enough for a micro unit apartment and that is what I love about this. Its light and compact, I cant take it out of the cupboard and use it in the mornings and then put it back so it doesnt take up counter space. The espresso that comes out of it so far has been perfect and very tasty. The crema on top is incredibly thick. However, the milk doesnt get very hot and it will only steam once and then wont steam again until another shot of espresso has been poured. This was dissapointing at first but it does make a perfect temperature coffee once the milk is poured with the espresso. Just have to drink it right away which is ok. For the price id say its a feature I can live with. It does make tasty coffee. Its going bad now unusable bad water leaking everywhere Update: Shortly after this review I emailed delongi and they sent me a brand new one because of the leaking. As for the milk not frothing I wasnt using it properly, they taught me how to use it through a video call. I wasnt turning the side dial on when I used it (I know silly mistake). It still works perfectly today after two years. Im loving this for the price. Still cant afford a $1000 machine if this ever breaks I will definitely buy again. Excellent customer service from delongi and they even sent me a bottle of descaller free of charge.

Makes great coffee. Milk frother takes a bit of practice. I'll get there! Room for only short cups but you can remove the drip tray if necessary. Very pleased with it.

Me gusta mucho. Saca muy buen cafe. Las instrucciones no fueron suficiente completas y utilicé you tube para aprender a usarlo bien.