De'LonghiDinamica Plus Connected Espresso & Coffee Machine with Automatic Milk Frother, 18 Recipes, Built in Grinder, App Compatible, LatteCrema Technology for Ideal Milk Texture, Color Touch Display

After a lot of reading and testing, we bought the De'Longhi Dinamica Plus Connected Espresso & Coffee Machine with Automatic Milk Frother. You can certainly spend more on an automatic espresso machine that some aficionado claims makes a better extraction by pulsing. You can spend more because you prefer the aesthetics of another design. However, the range of customizations available on this machine and the excellent resulting espresso selections made to our specifications persuaded us that our range of preferences is well covered. The automatic frother is easy to clean and maintain. The machine rinses itself programmatically. The selections and modifications are easy to understand. You can make your own recipes via Bluetooth connection while sitting on your sofa. The color display is attractive and easy to use. It has a compact width on the counter. Great machine, not inexpensive but not overpriced.

***UPDATE: After almost a year of use, I like this machine more and more. No, I wouldn’t sell it back now, for the original purchase price. If you offered me twice the original price, I would just get another, and a lot of coffee to brew in it.***—-First, this was marked, “Used - Like New.” It had all the parts and manuals, the plastic was still on the screen, and it had obviously never been used. Very pleased.Second, this takes a little getting used to, but it’s worth it, and the coffee and espresso are really good. (I’m no expert.) I would suggest watching lots of YouTube videos, specifically about the Dinamica Plus, especially from DeLonghi and from Tom’s Coffee Corner..I would suggest starting with a freshly-roasted medium roast coffee. I tried a nice light-roast to begin with, and it was not as good to start with as a medium roast.There is a hot water option that is great for making tea. Cleaning is simple, and's the machine will remind you. The machine and the color screen are attractive, which is a plus if it lives in your counter.Third, the Connected version incorporates a Bluetooth-connected app. It adds a lot of functionality to the machine, including the ability to customize drinks and User profiles. The app itself is good, not great, but I would certainly opt for the Connected version again, if I were buying it again. There are not many videos about the app, but a little effort will be worth it. The Bluetooth connection even allows you to wake up the machine from the next room and remotely start to brew a drink. That’s more fun than useful, but, hey, it’s fun.I needed to call DeLonghi tech support to get my iPhone connected to the machine, and they were pleasant to work with. My wife’s iPhone connected immediately.I’m a sucker for milk/coffee drinks, and the Dinamica makes nice frothed milk. Suggestion: if you are going to use chocolate syrup, try pouring it in the empty cup, and choosing Cappuccino Mix, which pours the espresso first. It can mix the syrup and the coffee flavors before the machine adds the foamed milk.Personal opinion: I prefer the Long to the Coffee; they’re very similar drinks, but the Long has a smoother coffee flavor.Summary: I am extremely pleased with this purchase. My wife looks at me like, “That’s nice, dear.”

I’ve had an older version of this model, perhaps before the introduction of Chinese manufacturing, and I loved it. It was a beast. It seemed indestructible and it made great coffee. This one was garbage out of the box.The “Water Circuit Empty” alert would not reset. Looking online, I troubleshot to the extent of prudence. There is a small switch with an encased impeller that someone (including De’Longhi, as they post the YouTube video on their site) thinks filling with a small amount of water will fix the problem. Not true, at least in my case. I suspect that there is an air/water leak somewhere I can’t find.I called customer support. They recorded a video of it not working, and said I should await an email containing a return label in 1-2 days. Three working days (five days) passed without an email. So I replied to the email sent from the rep I spoke to asking for the label. Someone else answered from the same account asking for a video of the malfunctioning unit. I explained that I’d already submitted that and boxed up the unit to send back for a replacement. No answer, three days later. So thankfully I can still return it to Amazon and buy a Breville instead, like I should’ve from the beginning. I only regret buying the protection plan and wasting so much time.Edit: Adding Amazon to the review and dropping to one star. Although the tracking number indicates the product was received over a week ago, the refund has not been processed. All the more reason to avoid this product.

Great machine, better than Philips 4300 I have previously.Coffee taste really like in a boutique shop.A very good construction.Very good size milk and water reservoirs.Great App recipes.Wish it was better:The iPhone app is slow and crashesThe grill where you put a coffee cup has splashes of coffee or milk after the shutdown. See the photo.Question, what is the metal tray between the power button and the coffee chamber? It does not get warm or hot to preheat coffee cups.