De'Longhi Magnifica Evo, Bean to Cup Coffee and Cappuccino Maker, ECAM292.81.B, Black

Product Information

The milk carafe has helpful indicators showing how much milk is required for either one or two cappuccinos or latte macchiatos but if you’re using the My Latte selection, it will steam as much milk as you put into the carafe. This is handy for filling a specific cup or mug, as you can just pour in the amount of milk you want, and a sensor behind the milk carafe stops the steaming process once the carafe is empty. The automatic sensor is a welcome new addition, as most of De’Longhi’s older (and often dramatically pricier) machines used to just carry on squirting out clouds of steam after the carafe was empty, leaving you to prod furiously at the cancel button. Apart from this pretty idea, the Magnifica Evo is one of the DeLonghi espresso machines obviously oriented toward a popular model from an equally popular competitor. More on that later too.

I slowly increased the strength dial turn by turn and pulled a few more espressos just to give the machine a little time to settle in, but that didn’t remedy matters completely – I also had to adjust the grind size a few steps finer.I’ll leave it to you to decide whether we should talk about inspiration, homage or a brazen copy. Either way, my playful side, taste buds and coffee beans were all pleased by the Magnifica Evo.

I guess the DeLonghi Magnifica Evo might not be the best bet for households with multiple coffee drinkers. There aren’t any user profiles to speak of, so you’ll be in constant danger of losing your espresso macchiato settings the next time someone uses the machine.Take a little time to get the settings just so, and the Magnifica S Smart rewards with consistently tasty coffee with the bare minimum of fuss. Factor in the handy strength dial, smart looks and good-quality build, and De’Longhi is onto a winner.