If you can’t find the Stilosa, the Capresso EC is a very similar machine with nearly identical build quality and performance, and frankly, we had a hard time deciding between the two. If you’re on a strict budget or just exploring the idea of home espresso, the Stilosa is a reasonable purchase that can make great coffee, if not last a lifetime. The supplied plastic tamper is flimsy and can be hard to use to compress your coffee puck. The Stilosa also uses a nonstandard dual-wall pressurized portafilter, which is meant to let you use preground or coarse-ground coffee, but it can be difficult and messy to tamp and clean up with the lightweight, plastic supplied tamper, so you’ll want a straight edge to level it, such as the flat end of a knife. Its plasticky construction isn’t likely to hold up in the long term, and it probably isn’t worth replacing or repairing the pump once it wears out (vibratory pumps can wear out with heavy use in as little as a couple of years) as you might on a more expensive machine. The Stilosa is perfect for someone who drinks an occasional espresso, or just has one in the morning, but it isn’t as sturdy as the more expensive machines. It does a solid job for basic milk drinks, but you won’t be able to produce latte-art-quality microfoam. To froth the milk, you’ll need another 15 or 20 seconds to ramp up to steam mode. The drinks weren’t on the level of our better-built, more full-featured recommendations like the Bambino Plus or Gaggia Classic, but again, this is a solid product for the money. But once we got comfortable with the machine, we were able to easily pull satisfying shots. The machine heats up quickly and is ready to go in about a minute, though you’ll need to prime the pump to move water through the system before pulling your first shot. It’s a capable machine, though it takes a little technique and practice to get the best results - you’ll need to grind the coffee to powder level (all espresso machines need to be paired with a good grinder) and make sure you tamp properly.Įven with a lot of espresso experience, we threw away about a dozen shots as we got the hang of the Stilosa. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN accountĪvailable for just under $100, the De’Longhi Stilosa is the machine you should consider if you want real espresso drinks at home and need to spend as little as possible.
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