We had a Gaggia but it broke down and was going to cost as much to repair as this was new (deal on Amazon).

As other reviews say the plastic isn't great looks wise but it looks as good now as when we bought it over three years ago.

We don't drink a lot of coffee at home but cappuccino at the touch of a button first thing is so easy - set the machine to come on so it heats up, heat a cup with hot water, attach the milk jug and press the button. It couldn't be easier. Really easy to select the length and strength of your drink if the preset cappuccino is not your thing - just a few clicks and twists.

Cleaning is really easy. The machine rinses every time it shuts down so flushes any coffee grounds through and prompts you to push the button to clean the milk spout after using the jug. All parts for cleaning are easy to remove and replace. Any issues getting the infuser back in just push from the top down and try again.

It might be a chunk of money up front but it's cheaper than trips to the coffee shop. Ours paid for itself in 3 months

We had a Gaggia but it broke down and was going to cost as much to repair as this was new (deal on Amazon).As other reviews say the plastic isn't great looks wise but it looks as good now as when we bought it over three years ago.We don't drink a lot of coffee at home but cappuccino at the touch of a button first thing is so easy - set the machine to come on so it heats up, heat a cup with hot water, attach the milk jug and press the button. It couldn't be easier. Really easy to select the length and strength of your drink if the preset cappuccino is not your thing - just a few clicks and twists.Cleaning is really easy. The machine rinses every time it shuts down so flushes any coffee grounds through and prompts you to push the button to clean the milk spout after using the jug. All parts for cleaning are easy to remove and replace. Any issues getting the infuser back in just push from the top down and try again.It might be a chunk of money up front but it's cheaper than trips to the coffee shop. Ours paid for itself in 3 months

My old Gaggia ceased to be (at last!) and finally a new machine was justified! This model is so much more advanced than my old Gaggia and is a joy to use with the one disadvantage that our coffee consumption has increased along with the budget for beans... The water reservoirs are never big enough if you like americanos but they are all similar so live with it. The improvements over my last machine are; elegant style, quiet grinder, digital display menu and buttons for different settings, warnings for low water, full grinds box, descale necessary and.... much, much easier to clean. This model also has the milk container for easy cappuccino / latte making. We drink black so this was an indulgence for visitors but I'm not sure it was worthwhile for us. Only get this version if you drink a lot of milky type coffees since the cleaning is a faff for occasional use. Oh.. but the coffee is superb...

I bought this machine yesterday and have had a good play with it. Setting up the machine was fairly quick and easy, but you do really need to read the manual. All in all it took about 15 minutes to get it ready to use, then coffee at the press of a button. The taste of the coffee was good and it had a reasonable crème which seemed to get better over the next few cups. As for speed, the machine it reasonable. Start to finish, it takes a fraction under 2 minutes to make a cappuccino.However, the steamed milk option, for making cappuccino / latte, rather less satisfactory. While it makes a good, stable, froth, it's far from hot enough, making the resulting drink barely more then tepid. Unlike the coffee temperature, the milk temperature cannot be controlled. The manual suggests that, for a hotter drink, you should preheat the cup and preheat the machine with a rinse of hot water. I took that one step further by flushing the milk unit with a press of the clean button to preheat that, but still the result was far from satisfactory. Even with the coffee temperature set at hot, preheating everything in sight, and starting with milk at 15 degrees rather than the recommended 5, the milk only attained 56 degrees and the final coffee just 61 degrees: nothing like hot enough for my taste. It's not possible to get the machine to produce just steam, so boosting the milk temperature that way's not an option. I went back to the microwave method!The water capacity is disappointing, but it does just last a day (though that will obviously depend on the number and volume of coffees produced). The milk and bean capacities are slightly better and the drip try and used grounds trays are ample. I didn't use the hot water dispensing facility, except try it. It works, but gave a very low flow rate.The look and feel of the machine it okay, though the control knob on the front feels disappointingly cheap, clunky and nasty. The two-line front panel display is readable, but could be better. It's hardly state of the art.On bal

If you like this product, buy it. I dithered for months before making this purchase and finally committed to buying it based on the design, it's a beautiful looking piece of kit and has been well thought out. On this point alone it's head and shoulders above the competition. If you like cappucino the automatic milk frothing container which slots into the machine is essential and beats the DIY frothing techniques of comparable machines. A cappucino is produced with the touch of one button and 30 seconds of whirring and frothing. Maintenance is a doddle, the machine tells you when to fill the water tank, add the beans, empty the drip tray and empty the used coffee container. You can read the product details and see that you can adjust just about everything. I particularly like the temperature control as I like my espresso hot. I must admit that the first few cups were a bit of a dissappointment and tasted like something you would get out of a vending machine but the instructions do say that you need to make a few cups before it starts working effectively and thankfully this proved to be the case. The only thing I don't like is the cleaning function on the milk container which expels a jet of steam on to the digital display screen but that's being very picky. De'Longhi Perfecta ESAM5500 Bean To Cup Coffee Machine

If you like this product, buy it. I dithered for months before making this purchase and finally committed to buying it based on the design, it's a beautiful looking piece of kit and has been well thought out. On this point alone it's head and shoulders above the competition. If you like cappucino the automatic milk frothing container which slots into the machine is essential and beats the DIY frothing techniques of comparable machines. A cappucino is produced with the touch of one button and 30 seconds of whirring and frothing. Maintenance is a doddle, the machine tells you when to fill the water tank, add the beans, empty the drip tray and empty the used coffee container. You can read the product details and see that you can adjust just about everything. I particularly like the temperature control as I like my espresso hot. I must admit that the first few cups were a bit of a dissappointment and tasted like something you would get out of a vending machine but the instructions do say that you need to make a few cups before it starts working effectively and thankfully this proved to be the case. The only thing I don't like is the cleaning function on the milk container which expels a jet of steam on to the digital display screen but that's being very picky. De'Longhi Perfecta ESAM5500 Bean To Cup Coffee Machine

Bought it for my parents. No complains what-so-ever. Dad says he has stopped buying this not so quality coffee from a corner-shop and gas stations. Very good buy. Unfortunately wont be able to go into details apart from the fact that they are happy with the buy.
p.s. they know their coffee so the verdict for this machine could be as unbiased and genuine as possible (at least I hope)

Bought it for my parents. No complains what-so-ever. Dad says he has stopped buying this not so quality coffee from a corner-shop and gas stations. Very good buy. Unfortunately wont be able to go into details apart from the fact that they are happy with the buy.p.s. they know their coffee so the verdict for this machine could be as unbiased and genuine as possible (at least I hope)

this is a compact nice to use machinehowever we found that the milk was not hot enough for our liking.

we are very happy with the purchase, best coffee ever, it was expensive but would never return, one button and you have coffee of your choice, easy to clean,we just hope it will last for years....

I bought this machine on a bit of a whim as I liked the idea of fresh coffee straight from the beans. I am also a bit of a gadget manI have been using a Tassimo that we have found it is very good and makes a nice cup of Latte and Café Crema. This is a very different machine. Quite big and takes up quite a bit working service. It does look very impressive and seems to be very well made. I also spent quite a bit of time reading the instruction manual as there is quite a bit to take in after using the Tassimo.On the plus side -It can make a very good espresso and latte.The milk frothing is excellent and very simple to use.Self cleaning has been well thought out and would appear to very effective.All in all a very nice looking machine and fairly simple to use after studying the instructions.Negatives -Very little - cleaning the milk container is a bit of a pain.When I first tried the machine the coffee was very bitter in both Espresso & Latte in all strength settings. Not a fault of the machine but choice of coffee. If you are new to this kind of coffee machine - try a Colombian blend, Tesco sell a "Finest" that both my wife and I find is very good. The first coffee we used was a tin of Illy.A very nice coffee maker and great value for money when compared to similar machines on sale.

This was a purchase to celebrate a move to a new home. Definitely an extravagance, but sometimes it's worth paying extra for things that 'just work'. This is one of those machines. After about 5 minutes the machine was unboxed, setup and filled with water, coffee beans, and milk. The espressos are fantastic and so easy to make allowing you a great deal of customisation for strength / volume / heat etc. The crema is wonderful, and I have had no problems with temperature. The machine isn't exactly whisper quiet, but is certainly acceptable for a domestic setting. The Cappuccino / Latte function also works very well, and my other half often uses the milk steamer to produce hot & frothy milk for night time hot chocolates!Overall, this machine does exactly what you could want it to do, and currently there are substantial discounts available making this machine an absolute no-brainer. You should be aware that it is a fairly substantial piece of kit, and you will need to dedicate a substantial portion of your sideboard to house it. The size and build quality however just serve to give you confidence in the longevity of your relationship with this great piece of kit! I love it, and I think you will too.

This machine produces excellent coffee quickly & efficiently. It is everything that I expected & I thoroughly recommend it. It turned out to be less noisy than some reviews had led me to believe.

Having owned a Gaggia Baby and subsequently a Gaggia Beans to Cup Machine, I decided, after eight years, to have a new machine. It was after a lot of deliberation and reading other users reviews I decided to buy a De'Longhi ESAM5500.T Machine. It arrived very promptly, and seting it up I found the Coffee Bean Container a lot easier to fill than my previous machine, but the water container, which has to be removed to fill, not so convenient with the small filler hole in the top. Unlike the Gaggia, the De'Longhi flushes all the system on initial turn on, and when it is in standby flushes the coffee delivery pipes through on turn on, which it also does when the machine is turned to standby. The coffee strength and amount is easilly set by the centre knob on the control panel, which also allows, in position one, for your individual coffee amount to be set. The coffee machine works well and produces good coffee every time. The 5500T also makes Cappuccino or Caffelatte automatically, after filling the Milk container and adjusting the Froth density. I have used this only once, as my preference is for Black Coffee, but some of my friends prefer milky coffee, and it did this well. I have only had the machine for a week, and find the Coffee grinds Container to be a good size and easy to empty, the drip tray also being easy to remove, and after my last machine, which left about half a cup of coffee/water in the tray after eight cups, it is good to have only a few drips of water/coffee in the tray. Another plus point, is the machine counts the number of cups made from when the tray is removed, unlike my old machine which required the tray to be emptied after every eight cups. If one emptied the tray after six cups, the machine would still insist that the tray was emptied after another two cups.
After a week, I strongly recomend the Perfecta ESAM5500T to other coffee lovers

Having owned a Gaggia Baby and subsequently a Gaggia Beans to Cup Machine, I decided, after eight years, to have a new machine. It was after a lot of deliberation and reading other users reviews I decided to buy a De'Longhi ESAM5500.T Machine. It arrived very promptly, and seting it up I found the Coffee Bean Container a lot easier to fill than my previous machine, but the water container, which has to be removed to fill, not so convenient with the small filler hole in the top. Unlike the Gaggia, the De'Longhi flushes all the system on initial turn on, and when it is in standby flushes the coffee delivery pipes through on turn on, which it also does when the machine is turned to standby. The coffee strength and amount is easilly set by the centre knob on the control panel, which also allows, in position one, for your individual coffee amount to be set. The coffee machine works well and produces good coffee every time. The 5500T also makes Cappuccino or Caffelatte automatically, after filling the Milk container and adjusting the Froth density. I have used this only once, as my preference is for Black Coffee, but some of my friends prefer milky coffee, and it did this well. I have only had the machine for a week, and find the Coffee grinds Container to be a good size and easy to empty, the drip tray also being easy to remove, and after my last machine, which left about half a cup of coffee/water in the tray after eight cups, it is good to have only a few drips of water/coffee in the tray. Another plus point, is the machine counts the number of cups made from when the tray is removed, unlike my old machine which required the tray to be emptied after every eight cups. If one emptied the tray after six cups, the machine would still insist that the tray was emptied after another two cups.After a week, I strongly recomend the Perfecta ESAM5500T to other coffee lovers

I have invested in several espresso machines over the years since I can't stand instant coffee. Most of the machines I bought had several frustrating 'features' which, though they didn't affect the results (a good espresso or cappuccino), they either slowed down the process of making coffee or created more maintenance than I wished.

Enter the De'Longhi Perfecta ESAM5500T - a great machine which continues to please - it is so consistent at making the same quality finished product without the frustrations of other machines. I just love the fact that when I come down in the morning, it is on and ready to deliver a great cup. It is one of the fastest espresso makers when it comes to warming up from cold, and it is so easy to manage and maintain. Full marks to the manufacturer, and a 5 star recommendation from a very delighted user.

I have invested in several espresso machines over the years since I can't stand instant coffee. Most of the machines I bought had several frustrating 'features' which, though they didn't affect the results (a good espresso or cappuccino), they either slowed down the process of making coffee or created more maintenance than I wished.Enter the De'Longhi Perfecta ESAM5500T - a great machine which continues to please - it is so consistent at making the same quality finished product without the frustrations of other machines. I just love the fact that when I come down in the morning, it is on and ready to deliver a great cup. It is one of the fastest espresso makers when it comes to warming up from cold, and it is so easy to manage and maintain. Full marks to the manufacturer, and a 5 star recommendation from a very delighted user.