For many decades, the Delonghi brand has been among the industry leaders, offering a wide selection of coffee machine in all price segments.
DeLonghi coffee machines
Today, the company offers:
– capsule Nespresso models;
– drip coffee makers (for example, new Clessidra ICM17210 and others);
– semi-automatic DeLonghi La Specialista with a retro design.
– fully automatic coffee machines, including very ‘budget’ Caffe Corso and Caffe Venezia series, budget and mid-budget (Magnifica, Dinamica, Autentica, etc), and premium (PrimaDonna, Eletta Explore and Maestosa).
They use ESAM, ECAM or ETAM platforms. The list of major differences includes heater power, frother (manual Panarello/auto LatteCrema system), controls (buttons, dials, symbolic/intuitive screen), water tank / coffee bean hopper capacity, settings and programs.
The ESAM platform is used in large models with increased reliability and longevity. The ETAM series contains compact coffee machines with relatively small tanks for water and coffee grains. ECAM is the most popular universal platform.
As known, most companies produce coffee machines in factories in Portugal and Switzerland of Swiss Eugster/Frismag company or Saeco International Group S.p.A. In fact, they are an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for Jura, Bosch, Melitta, Nivona, etc. Delonghi has its own factories in the Italian Treviso province and China.
Of course, many series have key features. For example, Magnifica is ideal for making black espresso, Delonghi PrimaDonna Soul offers innovative Bean Adapt technology, Eletta Explore has 40 pre-programmed recipes and additional LatteCrema Cool milk system.
All series are successful in the market, but the mid-budget Magnifica and Dinamica are the most popular in the last few years. The entry-level DeLonghi Magnifica Start and more expensive Magnifica Evo were the latest extensions of the Magnifica line. New Delonghi Magnifica Plus continues the development of this series.
Delonghi Magnifica Plus
The new Delonghi Magnifica Plus series has auto cappuccino maker, makes classic Americano and supports popular Extra Shot option. It includes:
– Delonghi ECAM 320.60.B/W – basic model in black or white, 15 programs;
– ECAM 320.61.G – basic version with a gray body and a ‘CaffeLatte’ program instead of ‘Cappuccino+’;
– ECAM 320/322.70.TB offers 18 programs, including ‘Cappuccino+’, ‘CaffeLatte’, ‘Cold Americano’, and ‘Cortado’ (espresso + hot milk, 1:1). The coffee machine is available in black with a titanium-look front panel.
Their launch prices were £ 680 and € 770 for 320.60 or £ 700 and € 800 for 320/322.70. Today the Plus series with an automatic cappuccino maker is the most expensive in the Magnifica family. For comparison, Magnifica S Smart, Start and Evo cost ~ £ 300, £ 320 and £ 450, respectively.
The series uses the chassis, body and all main components from the Magnifica Evo 290.xx. Platform includes:
– conical steel coffee grinder with 13 grinding levels;
– removable brewing unit (up to 14 grams of coffee per serving);
– 48W water pump ULKA EP5GW with vibration damper to reduce noise provides pressure up to 15 bar;
– one ‘snail’ 1450W thermoblock;
– 250 gram bean hopper, 1.8 liter water container and coffee grounds container for 14 servings.
Cappuccinatore, 4 user profiles and a 3.5-inch color touchscreen display are identical to the Eletta Explore 450.xx.
In addition, the new 320/322th line received a LatteCrema Hot technology for coffee milk-based drinks.
This auto-cappuccino maker makes 3 milk foam textures, includes dense, creamy or light. Moreover, the coffee machine supports auto cleaning the milk system.
Key Features
Like other new models, Magnifica Plus offers superb graphical animation. In addition, it generates many useful prompts, including, for example, advice to place the milk jug in the refrigerator, or a reminder to periodically clean. Moreover, the model sometimes even makes irony in the style of ‘Today I outdid myself.’
Settings for each profile include the interface backlight color and switching keys, a shortcut and a name of up to 10 characters. For convenience, the desktop screen is divided into ‘Milk’ and ‘Coffee’ submenus with corresponding programs.
Unlike Magnifica Evo, Magnifica Plus comes with a traditional 350 ml LatteCrema Hot milk jug. Using a mechanical switch, it provides milk foam height adjustment and milk system cleaning selection.
Basic settings:
– the regulator for 13 grinding levels is located in the bean hopper.
But its reduction is only available during operation;
– one of three temperatures is set in the main settings menu (‘gear’ in the upper right corner of the display);
– 5 coffee strength levels adjust the amount of coffee beans per serving in the range from 6 to 12 grams. The machine uses 14 grams only for maximum strength in the ‘2x Espresso’, ‘Doppio+’, ‘Flat White’ and ‘Cappuccino+’ programs. In addition, the model can use pre-ground coffee through a bypass shaft. This is convenient, for example, for making decaffeinated coffee;
– selection of drink volume for almost all programs includes S/small, M/medium, L/large and XL/eXtra Large gradations or programmed volume via the ‘MY’ function. Of course, all settings are saved only within one user profile.
Extra shot and Cold drinks
Extra shot is a new program of the brand. Similar to Philips, Delonghi uses an additional modifier. This option is an additional 30 ml of espresso, which is also known as Ristretto. It’s activated in the lower left of recipe menu.
For reference (coffee to water ratio):
– Ristretto – 1:1.5 (TDS or Total Dissolved Solids from 12%);
– Espresso – from 1:1.6 to 2.5 (TDS from 8% to 12%);
– Lungo – from 1:2.6 and above (TDS less than 8%).
This feature enhances the flavor profile of any base drink, including cappuccino, latte, Americano and Doppio+. It’s ideal for preparing a classic Americano (espresso + hot water). As a result, an Americano with Extra shot is significantly tastier and richer compared to the single espresso in an Americano.
Cold drinks
Basic ECAM 320.60/61 have only ‘Iced coffee’. 320/322.70 models additionally offer ‘Cold Americano’. Adding a programmed number of ice cubes to the cup before starting is the only difference from the ‘Coffee’ and ‘Americano’ programs.
Each ‘cold’ program offers one of three preset volumes (S – small, M – medium and L – large) and two drink cooling degree (‘Ice’ or ‘Extra Ice’). Depending on the choice, the machine adds to the cup:
– 4/6 ice cubes for S Ice/ S Extra ice;
– 6/8 cubes for M Ice/ M Extra ice;
– 8/10 cube for L Ice/ L Extra ice.
Of course, this feature is not analogous to the innovative Cold Brew in Delonghi Eletta Explore or the unique 3D brewing technology (Cold Extraction Process) in Jura models. Unlike simply adding ice, these technologies lower the brewing temperature, delivering rich flavor and aroma by increasing extraction efficiency.
Programs
– Espresso (standard pre-wetting 1 sec) – 40 ml by default / 20-180 ml setting;
– 2x Espresso (2x water and 2 grams of coffee beans extra for any of the 5 coffee strength levels, pre-wetting 1 sec) – 80 ml;
– Coffee (without pre-wetting) – 180 ml / 100 – 240 ml;
– Long (imitation filtered coffee/Americano, two grinds and two pours with pulse pump mode 1/1 sec) – 160 ml (2 x 80 ml) / 115 – 250 ml;
– Doppio+ (very strong espresso, long and intermittent pre-wetting mode, 14 grams of ground coffee) – 120 ml / 80-180 ml;
– Americano (classic sequence of espresso + water) – 40 ml (M pre-setting) / 20-180 ml in MY mode for Espresso, and hot water 110 ml / 50-300 ml (max 180+300=480 ml);
– Cold Americano and Cold coffee with ice cubes;
– Cappuccino – (120 ml milk + 60 ml espresso) / (70 – 350 ml milk + 20-180 ml espresso);
– Latte macchiato – 160 ml milk + 40 ml coffee;
– Flat White (classic sequence of espresso + frothed milk) – 60 ml coffee + 160 ml milk;
– Cappuccino Mix (classic sequence of espresso + frothed milk, max setting for milk frothing level, unlike Flat White);
– Espresso macchiato – slightly frothed milk + Espresso;
– Cappuccino+ – Doppio+ based cappuccino;
– CaffeLatte – 350 ml milk + 40 ml coffee;
– Cortado – 40 ml coffee + 40 ml milk;
– hot milk (max foaming) – 350 / 700 ml;
– hot water – 250 / (20 – 420 ml).
Conclusions
Pros
– impeccable reputation of the Delonghi brand;
– relatively low price up to € 800;
– premium functionality (15-18 programs, LatteCrema Hot technology, Extra shot option, Cold drinks;
– support for the classic preparation of Americano, Flat White and Cappuccino Mix (Espresso + frothed milk/hot water on top);
– 4 user profiles;
– adjustable milk foam height;
– superb graphical animation.
Cons
– body design from the cheaper Magnifica Evo;
– does not support DeLonghi Coffee Link;
– no ice cube tray.
Of course, the unfavorable situation in the global economy affects the strategy of companies. In particular, many consumer electronics manufacturers are shifting their efforts to the entry-level and mid segments. As a result, the market is increasingly offering entry-level premium models at quite affordable mid-segment prices.
The new Delonghi Magnifica Plus series perfectly matches this trend. Extra shot option, 18 programs, LatteCrema Hot technology, etc are quite adequate for premium models. At the same time, the company managed to maintain an affordable price. As a result, Delonghi Magnifica Plus has cloudless marketing prospects due to its superb price-quality ratio.
This video demonstrates the Magnifica Plus ECAM320.70.TB.