Others say...

"Worked GREAT... while it worked."
Well, this thing was FANTASTIC for the 6 whole months that it worked. Now it appears the pump is shot - i can't get enough pressure to push through the coarsest of grinds.

I'll try customer support tomorrow, but have very low expectations.


------------UPDATE-------------

After trying to de-scale with vinegar, which seemed to aggravate the problem, I bought some generic Kroger coffee pot cleaner, and some CLR in case that didnt' work.

With coaxing (letting the pump suck water, then air, then water, about 40 times) it finally ate through whatever build-up was clogging the whole thing.

I'm now gonna blame super-hard water and too lax a maintenance schedule (all on me) for the device's failure.

Properly maintained, I'd give this thing 4 stars, only other gripe is the leaky wand, which is really not that big of a deal. If you wanna make coffee, yer gonna spill some water anyway.

Recommend for the price range - although I did get it at a store that rhymes with Barget for about 30 bucks cheaper than i'm seeing it here.

"Mistake in shipping makes review difficult"
This product was sent to the wrong address-- one that was on file with Amazon and even tho I filled in the correct address it was changed in transition to the vendor. Be very sure to double check the address on your order when it is confirmed! As to the product, I was replacing a espresso machine that I have had for 4 yrs and this is the exact duplicate of my original so I would have to say that I am very happy with the product especially for the price. Now I just have to wait until I get to the address it was sent to to be able to use it.

"Good for the money."
I bought this item after loosing a bid on Ebay for an expensive Italian-made Cappuccino Machine. The machine delivers perfectly good espresso and does a fine job of steaming milk. You probably have to wait a few seconds more to steam the milk, but with today's living expenses, the lower cost is worth the wait. I especially recommend this machine for first time users because any cappuccino machine requires a certain amount of care and maintanance, and it will make you appreciate your expensive Italian machine even more should you decide to upgrade eventually.

"So far so yummy!"
I just bought this for my husband for Father's Day and we love it. It works best with espresso ground coffee. I am pleased with the size and the power.

"Excellent Little Machine"
I'm new to the world of home made espresso, but I have to say i've been enjoying the DeLonghi. It's taken some getting used to, and i'm still using a blade grinder (looking for a burr grinder at the moment) but I think the machine is working quite well. First try out of the box made a fantastic espresso with a beautiful looking crema. I think I stood and stared at it in wonder for a few moments :) . One thing I really like is that the filter assembly comes completely apart for easy cleaning. The frothing wand works quite well, and is great for hot chocolate or hot milk. Took a little getting used to, but the frothing is quite easy and very controllable. Just make sure to keep all the pin holes clear or the froth just won't work out very well. My only complaint is that the built in tamper is a little hard to get repeatable compression, but that's the only downside I can see so far. A great machine and I'm looking forward to refining my technique for some really good espresso!

Edited 2/19/08: I just upgraded my cheap blade grinder to a Breville and I think i'm getting closer. The espresso now sticks to the tongue and feels oilier, which from what I'm reading is about right. The crema produced by the machine isn't indicative of a good espresso either, i've noticed that if the espresso is foaming like a guinness, it's too thin and bitter. Also if you try to steam for too long, the resevoir heats up too much and the pressure just dies. Refill it with cool water and you're good to go. Other than that, it produces steam all day long, with no need to "surf the thermostat" like i've read in other reviews. I would also recommend buying a tamper, there's just no way to get the right amount of pressure with the built in tamper.