De’Longhi Magnifica Evo review

One-minute review

De’Longhi is one of the most well-known brands when it comes to coffee makers, after releasing its first home coffee machine in 1990. 

The De’Longhi Magnifica Evo is one of the brand's latest models of bean-to-cup coffee makers from the home appliance brand. This machine is designed for serious coffee drinkers who want to enjoy barista-worthy drinks at the touch of a button (or two). There’s a built-in steam wand that quickly heats milk and the Magnifica Evo can also brew two coffees at one time.

This machine is big, though, and it’s certainly not the model for you if you’re short on space and need something compact. The Evo’s coffee bean storage is at the top of the machine so you’ll need to make sure you can access that if you’re thinking of storing this under wall-mounted cabinets.

One of the biggest benefits of using this machine is that you have plenty of control but without the mess of having to do all the work yourself - something that makes it a real contender for the best espresso machines out there. There are 13 different settings on the coffee grinder so that you can enjoy the coffee to your taste, and you’ll be able to choose from three different strengths too. You simply select what you want using the control panel and then the machine does the rest. There’s no need to tamper coffee or pull your own espresso. 

The De’Longhi Magnifica Evo is currently available for £399.99 which makes it one of the most expensive espresso machines we’ve tested. However, considering this machine can make more than one drink at once and it’s fully automated, this price doesn’t seem completely unreasonable. 

DeLonghi Magnifica Evo price and availability

• List price: £399.99  

The De’Longhi Magnifica Evo is priced at £399.99 and is available direct from De'Longhi, as well as through a number of online retailers. It’s not yet available in the US or Australia. 

There's also a model that features a milk carafe rather than a steam wand and will take care of texturizing milk for you. Known as the De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Automatic, it costs £549.99. 

Design 

• Side water tank  
• Automatically cleans after each use 
• Easy to use control panel  

The De’Longhi Magnifica Evo is one of the biggest coffee machines we’ve tested. It measures 44 x 36 x 24cm (w x d x h) which means it’s going to take up a lot of space. If you’re considering keeping this machine underneath your wall-mounted cupboards, bear in mind that you’ll still need to be able to reach the top of the coffee maker because that’s where you’ll add either coffee beans or ground coffee. 

One design aspect we did like on the Evo was the water tank’s position. Rather than being placed at the back of the machine as you find on most models, this coffee maker’s water tank is positioned on the side of the unit which makes it much easier to top up the water when needed. 

There is a steam arm and a coffee dispenser on the front of the machine and the latter is very easy to slide up and down so that you can fit a variety of mug sizes beneath it. This is a simple but very welcomed design element as many machines require you to move the drip tray to fit a taller mug beneath the dispenser. 

Controlling the Magnifica Evo is simple due to a touchscreen that has a symbol for each of the functions and an option to make two coffees at once. The steam arm can also be used to dispense hot water if you want to top up your coffee or even make tea instead. This machine doesn’t come with a milk jug which was disappointing considering its price. Because of the design, we found a deep milk jug wasn’t suitable for use with the steam wand because it wasn’t long enough to reach into the cold milk. 

Whilst this De’Longhi coffee maker is simple to use, there are still plenty of customization options including several settings to adjust how finely the coffee beans are ground. If strong coffee is your thing, you’ll also be able to choose a more intense strength setting and or make a double espresso with ease. 

Performance

• Slowly brews espresso  
• Froths milk quickly  
• Creates a good crema 

We tested the De’Longhi Magnifica Evo to make a variety of drinks from espressos to cappuccinos and found it worked consistently and delivered tasty coffee time and time again. When you switch the machine on, it heats up and completes a cycle before you can select which function you’d like. In our tests, we found the machine took 41 seconds to brew a shot of espresso but once it was ready, it had a good crema which reformed quickly even after stirring a spoonful of sugar in it. This brewing time is slower than the likes of the Sage Bambino coffee maker, which took 28 seconds to brew a shot of espresso. 

There are two spouts on the coffee dispenser which means you can make two coffees at once. We found the machine sturdy enough to prevent the espresso cups from sliding around on the drip tray and the adjustable height of the dispenser meant it was very easy to fit a variety of cup sizes beneath it. 

In terms of noise, this De'Longhi coffee machine measured 78db when it was grinding the coffee beans (which it does for every drink) and averaged 55db when it was pouring out the espresso. For context, 55db is about the sound level you'd expect from an electronic toothbrush but 78db is more in line with a vacuum cleaner. 

The steam arm doesn’t come with a compatible milk jug as standard so when we used a steaming jug we already owned, the wand wasn’t long enough to reach into the milk. This, of course, is easily fixed with a smaller milk jug but do bear in mind that you won’t be able to froth as much milk in one go. It was also a little disappointing not to have a milk jug included, despite the price of this machine. When we did make a cappuccino, the steam arm did a great job of frothing and adequately heating the milk within 20 seconds. The milk was silky and well-frothed and held its shape well when mixed with the espresso.

Once you’ve finished using the coffee machine and turned it off, it completes an automatic purging cycle which cleans the interior and helps to prevent build-up forming. 

Should I buy the DeLonghi Magnifica Evo?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if… 

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