The perfect everyday coffee machine: De’Longhi Magnifica Start review

A fresh Start: this De’Longhi is ‘simple to use, sensibly designed and makes really good coffee’. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianView image in fullscreenA fresh Start: this De’Longhi is ‘simple to use, sensibly designed and makes really good coffee’. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianReviewThe perfect everyday coffee machine: De’Longhi Magnifica Start reviewThis automatic bean-to-cup machine will be ideal for many: a single button press serves up espresso, black coffee and cappuccinos – and it’s affordable, too

You don’t need to spend big money to get a good coffee machine. Strictly speaking, you don’t need a coffee machine at all – a nice cafetière will do just fine. If you do crave a lower-effort solution that doesn’t cost a fortune, then a fully automatic bean-to-cup machine, such as the De’Longhi Magnifica Start ECAM220.60, is a good place to, um, start.

It makes espresso. It makes black coffee. It makes cappuccino. It produces hot water on demand. Fill the hopper with good coffee beans, top up the water and fill the little milk carafe (if you want milk, that is), and all you need to do is plonk a cup on the drip tray and prod the corresponding button. Whirr, hum, splutter. Your cup is now full of coffee. Nice coffee, too.

View at ArgosHow I testedView image in fullscreenGood cup of Joe? The De’Longhi can make espresso, long black and cappuccino. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianAs with every coffee machine I test, I put the Magnifica Start ECAM220.60 through its paces in my home for several weeks. I used the full range of its drink settings and assessed how easy it was to set up, use and maintain.

I’ve tested more than 30 coffee machines for the Filter, so not only do I know a good cup of Joe when I taste one, but I also have a sense of where this machine sits in an overwhelmingly crowded market.

View image in fullscreenAutomatic for the people: a fuss-free model for those who want to keep things simple. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianView at De’LonghiView at ArgosThe Magnifica Start is one of De’Longhi’s most affordable fully automatic models. It’s simple to use, well designed and if you time it right you can sometimes find it on sale from about £300. At this price you can expect to forgo features such as touchscreens or LCD panels, but many people will find the Start’s fuss-free controls more user-friendly.

Before you rush out and buy one, be aware that – as with many of De’Longhi’s machines – the Magnifica Start comes in an array of models – four on the brand’s website, and a few retailer-specific options. Cheaper ones swap the milk carafe for a simple wand, which you can use to steam and froth milk manually. They share the same grinder, brew group and general design, though, so will make an equally pleasant espresso or longer black coffee. They’ll still make a decent milk-based coffee, but you’ll need to hone your barista skills to manually steam milk using the steam wand. If you develop a knack for it, this can help with the lack of adjustability you’ll find with fully automatic models, but there’s a learning curve. If you like the sound of manual milk steaming, look for a model with a lower number at the end of its part code, such as ECAM220.22. These are usually cheaper.

If you prefer your bean-to-cup machines to be fully automated – and I think most people do – then make sure you’re buying a Magnifica Start with a 6 in its part code, such as the ECAM220.60 I have here. This will create frothy coffees poured into a cup at the touch of a button.

Type: assisted espresso machine Dimensions: 24 x 44 x 35cm (WDH) Water tank: 1.8l removable Replaceable water filter: yes Accessories supplied: water hardness test strip, measuring scoop, milk carafe, descaler, water filter Time to heat up: 40 seconds Grinder included: yes, 13 settings Noise: grind 75dB, brew 55dB, steam 60dB Weight: 8.8kg Warranty: two years

View image in fullscreenWash and brush up: the De’Longhi’s parts separate for cleaning. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianDespite all the fancy – and pricier – coffee machines at my disposal, the Magnifica Start has kept its place in my kitchen over the past few months. That’s because it makes a decent coffee at the touch of a button, and it’s simple to use. All the buttons are easily accessible on the front panel, meaning choosing drinks and adjusting the strength of each is straightforward. The buttons are touch-sensitive rather than old-school clicky ones, but I had no trouble with accidental presses or prods not registering.

The drinks menu is small, but it’ll suffice for most people. You can choose between espresso, long black coffee, cappuccino or hot water. I found the default amounts on the small side – 45ml espresso, 150ml cappuccino and 200ml of black coffee. Thankfully, it’s easy to adjust each drink if you want a longer coffee. For cappuccino, you can adjust the volume of coffee and milk individually to get the strength and consistency you want – and that means you make it more of a flat white, or a latte, depending on what settings you choose. Just hold the corresponding drinks button for a few seconds, then tap it once you’re happy with the amounts of coffee or milk in your cup.

The Start’s milk carafe is smaller than on pricier models, but it clips on and off easily and opens the door to one-touch cappuccinos. It does a cracking job of producing a reasonably fine, creamy foam, too. It’s not as silky as the best bean-to-cup machines, but it’s not a million miles away.

There’s no ability to adjust the amount of froth, however: if you want hot, unfrothed milk, then you’ll need to either make it yourself in the microwave or on the hob, or upgrade to one of De’Longhi’s machines with more adjustability, such as the rather excellent Rivelia, which starts at £599.

Black coffee and tea drinkers can press the quick-release button on the carafe’s side, slot the water spout into place, and the little LED light under the hot water button illuminates. This allows you to top up a black coffee or turn an espresso into an americano. Or even just make a cup of tea if you don’t want to boil the kettle, although puritans should be warned that the water is hot, not boiling.

The rest of the design is similarly sensible. Lift off the plastic lid on top of the machine, and you can fill the bean hopper with up to 250g of coffee beans. A dial in the middle gives you 13 steps of grind adjustment, which is plenty enough to suit most coffee beans. In its centre, a flap hides the ground coffee chute – if you run out of beans or you want to switch to decaf, you can add a dose of preground coffee with the supplied plastic scoop.

The 1.8-litre water tank slots in on the right-hand side and is made from clear plastic so you can see how much is remaining. A water filter comes in the box, and this lasts for about two months under normal usage. Replacements cost about £15 at full price from De’Longhi, but if you shop around you can get the price down to about £7.

The drip tray has a decent capacity, so it doesn’t need emptying too often. Slide it out, and you’ll discover that it’s attached to the grounds bin, which is large enough to contain at least a few days of coffee grounds, depending on your dose settings and caffeine consumption. The various parts separate for easy cleaning – and are dishwasher safe aside from the grounds bin – but normally a quick rinse and wipe down to remove coffee and milk residue and clean coffee grounds out of the bin is all that’s required.

Once the water tank is out, you can quickly pull out the coffee infuser, also known as the brewing head, where the ground coffee sits during brewing. This is very welcome. These kinds of machines can get mucky inside, so being able to pull out the infuser and give it a thorough rinse is definitely a good thing.

View image in fullscreenThe white stuff: a dedicated hot milk button would be a huge improvement. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianOne minor irk is that, at 75dB, the Start’s grinder is noisier than any coffee machine I’ve tested. That’s 12dB louder than the otherwise comparable Philips LatteGo 5500. This is mostly because the thin plastic lid doesn’t have a tight seal, so it doesn’t muffle the noise as much as other designs.

My main complaint, though, is that the milk carafe could – and should – be bigger. Its 220ml capacity is much smaller than on De’Longhi’s pricier models – such as the Rivelia, which is more than double the size. You’ll get a couple of small, default-sized cappuccinos out of it, but if you increase the preset volume of milk, you’ll need to refill the carafe after every drink.

Also, unlike De’Longhi’s pricier machines, there’s no dial to adjust the milk froth – you get a fixed amount, and that’s it. Yes, it produces a fine, creamy foam without too many big bubbles, but it’s a shame you can’t adjust it to your preference, especially if you’re a fan of a flat white, which tends to have less frothy milk than a cappuccino.

That said, my review model did occasionally produce barely frothed hot milk. It turned out, however, that this wasn’t a hidden setting. It was because I hadn’t cleaned one crucial part of the carafe. The button on the side of the carafe doesn’t just allow you to remove it from the machine, it also releases the light-coloured plastic connector for cleaning. Fail to rinse this regularly, and even small amounts of residue will block the air hole and prevent optimal frothing. Lesson learned.

Although not exclusive to the Magnifica Start ECAM220.60, a downside of any coffee machine with a removable milk carafe is that you need to be diligent when it comes to cleaning – forget, and the milk residue may mature overnight. Milk has a tendency to taint plastics when it goes off, so once it’s got into the rubber tubes and plastic parts, you’ll need to buy milk cleaning tablets to soak it off – or potentially replace them. Washing-up liquid does not suffice. My advice is to dismantle and clean it after every use, either by hand or in the dishwasher if you’re feeling lazy. And if there is milk left in it, then pop the carafe in the fridge overnight to prevent the milk from spoiling. Some users may find this fiddly – if you’re at risk of forgetting to clean the frother, you might want to consider a manual steam wand instead.

View image in fullscreenGrinding my gears? The coffee preset caused some annoyance, leaving long blacks tasting overly bitter. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianAnd if all this talk of spoiled milk hasn’t put you off your babyccino, then you’ll be disappointed to hear that there is no dedicated hot milk button with the Magnifica Start. To get the Start to froth milk without making a coffee, it’s necessary to use a trick: namely, to select the cappuccino option and set the strength setting to use ground coffee. Do this without adding any ground coffee to the chute, and the Start will froth hot milk into your cup. Once it detects that there’s no coffee, it abandons the brewing cycle. I’d prefer a button, but as workarounds go, it’s not hard.

The only other criticism is one I could level at most bean-to-cup machines that come through my door: the coffee preset – the long black – tends to taste bitter. This is because the machine uses the same dosage and grind size of coffee as it does for an espresso, but pulls more water through the grounds to brew a longer drink. This is drinkable at default settings, but noticeably more bitter than espresso. Adjust it to pour a longer coffee, however, and bitterness overwhelms.

This can be fixed. One option is to grind coarser, but then you’ll find that your espresso will become weak, watery and under-extracted. My advice with this – and most bean-to-cup machines – is to make an americano instead. Get the espresso tasting good by adjusting the grind size (normally a little finer than default) and reducing the volume slightly. Then simply top this up with hot water to make an americano. You can add milk if you like. Yes, it’s a bit more of a faff, but it tastes way better.

View image in fullscreenGood coffee, guaranteed … with a two-year warranty, plus care and repair options. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianYou get a standard two-year warranty from De’Longhi, covering the usual faults, and the brand will attempt free repairs in that period. If not, you’ll get a replacement, which may be new or a refurbished model – at De’Longhi’s discretion.

Once you’re out of warranty, De’Longhi still offers servicing for a flat fee. With its £99 Essential Service, De’Longhi will pick up the machine from your home, identify any show-stopping or potential issues, descale the machine, change seals and advise of any repairs. If there are issues to be fixed, you can either upgrade to the £150 Comprehensive Service, or else pay that fee upfront if you’re specifically sending it to repair a problem. Bear in mind, though, that parts will cost extra – depending on the scope of the repairs required, it may cost significantly more.

An alternative is to use an independent coffee repair engineer. I spoke to our go-to coffee whisperer, Radu Bria, and his experience with these machines is that repairs are viable. Replacement parts can be sourced from approved parts resellers such as 4DeLonghi. If you’re a dab hand at fixing things yourself, you can always buy the replacement parts direct and give it a go, although bear in mind that you’re very likely to void your warranty in the process.

View image in fullscreenEasy does it: ‘makes good coffee with little faff’. Photograph: Sasha Muller/The GuardianIf you’re concerned that you should be spending more than this machine costs, then don’t be. When it comes to fully automatic machines, the differences in coffee quality between a really good £400 model and a £1,000 rival aren’t that pronounced. The upgrades are more drink choices, bigger milk carafes and more adjustability to suit a wider range of coffee beans.

So, if you’re looking for an affordable fully automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine, then the Magnifica Start lives up to its name. It’s simple to use, sensibly designed and makes good coffee with little faff. For everyday coffee drinkers, it’s a great buy.

View at ArgosDe’Longhi Magnifica Start ECAM220.60 vs …De’Longhi RiveliaView image in fullscreen Photograph: Sasha Muller/The Guardian£749.99 at De’LonghiWondering what a more upmarket bean-to-cup machine can offer? There are several reasons to upgrade to De’Longhi’s Rivelia. The key one is better coffee; another is choice.

The Rivelia offers a wide menu of coffee drinks – 16 one-touch drinks for starters – and each recipe can be saved to one of the four user profiles, with adjustments for strength, drink size and temperature. The amount of milk foam is adjustable, too, and there are two interchangeable bean hoppers in the box, so you can swap to decaf or different beans without having to empty the hopper.

The Rivelia’s Bean Adapt technology is the standout feature, though. This helps you fine-tune the brewing process to eke out the most refined flavours from light, medium or dark roast coffee beans. The touchscreen runs you through the process, and after a few test shots, uses your feedback to change the brew settings and dial in the perfect grind size. It really works, too.

View image in fullscreen£199 at John Lewis£199 at AmazonSometimes, even an automatic bean-to-cup machine can be too much faff – and this is where a capsule machine may be a better choice. For instance, because De’Longhi manufactures a number of Nespresso machines under licence, the Nespresso Vertuo Lattissima upgrades one of the brand’s standard Vertuo machines with the same De’Longhi LatteCrema technology found on the Magnifica Start. The result? A relatively compact machine that brews pretty much everything from espresso to long black coffees through to cappuccinos and indulgently long, creamy latte macchiatos at the touch of a button.

The library of Vertuo capsules is vast, and all are tailored to a specific length of drink. These capsules can brew anything from 25ml to 80ml shots of espresso, through to 150ml to 355ml black coffees – or even a 535ml jug. Opt for a milk-based coffee, however, and the machine will automatically tailor the recipe to create the tastiest drink possible. All that’s left is for you to slot in a capsule, fill up the milk carafe, and find a suitably giant cup.

View image in fullscreen Photograph: Sasha Muller/The Guardian£89.99 at De’Longhi£79 at AmazonEspresso is the bedrock of great coffee. All the machines here will create a tasty shot, but none can compete with an attentively brewed cup from a manual espresso machine. This is where the Stilosa saunters in: if you’re willing to grind your own beans, steam every jug of milk by hand and perfect your own brews, this budget manual machine will leave its automatic brethren in the dust.

For good results, it’s essential to budget for a small set of scales and a grinder, but with about £300 in your pocket – or even a little less – you can put together a capable package. For instance, buy a Kingrinder K6 hand grinder, and you’ve got a pairing that, with a little elbow grease, can soon see you rivalling your local coffee shops. And if you prefer an electric grinder, something such as the Baratza Encore ESP is a great pick. The kicker? You can spend the money you’ve saved on great coffee beans and start practising.

For more: The best coffee machines for every home and budget The best espresso machines, tested Sage Oracle Jet espresso machine review Ninja Luxe Cafe review

Sasha Muller is a tech and consumer journalist, avid coffee drinker and craft beer enthusiast with more than two decades of experience in testing products and avoiding deadlines. If he’s not exploring the local woods with his kids, boring people talking about mountain bike tyres or spending ill-advised amounts on classic drum’n’bass vinyl, he’s probably to be found somewhere swearing at an inanimate object