The De’Longhi Autentica Plus doesn’t offer a thousand presets, instead offering essentially an espresso and ‘long’ coffee, which can then be tweaked in terms of strength and size. And temperature if you dive into the machine’s system properly. This is only necessary if you’re going to add cold milk to your coffee, though. There’s also a custom My Coffee preset. Before using the machine, make two cups of coffee. Choose the preparation method from pre-ground beans, but don’t use the actual pre-ground coffee.

The De’Longhi Autentica Cappuccino ETAM 29.660 is a one-stop shop for coffee making. In essence, it is a bean to cup coffee machine with a large hopper for storing beans and an onboard burr grinder to crush them to your desired ground size on demand. The De’Longhi Autentica Plus doesn’t try to fool you into thinking you’re playing barista by using this machine. It’s mostly about pressing a button and getting a drink. If you have fairly limited space to work with, the De’Longhi Autentica Plus is a bit of a star. However, if you have plenty of the stuff, there are some cheaper models in the Philips Saeco range to consider. Verdict Get the beans from a specialist coffee shop if you can and completely ignore the use-by date. Look for the roasting date or production date and try and get beans that have been roasted in the last month.Once the descaling program is finished, rinse the water tank of your coffee machine with clean water.

The quality of the De’Longhi Autentica Plus’s milky drinks largely depends on whether you have the technique down or not. What it takes responsibility for is plain coffee – and that’s it. The ETAM 29.660.SB is still very much part of Delonghi’s ongoing range of machines but due to the introduction of other products to the range like the Delonghi Prima Donna S which has taken over the mantle of Delonghi’s luxury coffee machine, there has been a dramatic price reduction on this product. It also comes with a large water reservoir, drip tray, cup warmer and easy to empty internal tray for used coffee grounds. To keep it simple they have the most common selections as single buttons on the front of the machine – espresso, amerciano, cappuccino and whether you want one or 2 cups. The machine also makes espresso at the required 15-bar pressure and has a nifty ‘double shot’ setting you can hit when you need an extra boost. The milk frother can also be tweaked allowing you to play around until you find the right frothiness.Customise the prepared servings according to your taste: choose from five levels of coffee strength, four temperature levels, and program your preferred portion size. If you’re going to be making cappuccinos and flat whites rather than dunking cold semi skimmed into your espresso, you have to get ever-so-slightly hands-on. A button on the De’Longhi Autentica Plus’s front turns the steam output on, and you manually operate this to heat your milk, and create any froth. There’s a risk of scalding your milk if you’re a novice (or if you’re not), but as with learning how to tie a bowtie or the perfect way to apply mascara: YouTube is there to help out. This water filter is designed to suit all De’Longhi coffee machines. Using it will help you extend the service life of your coffee machine, as well as enjoy the perfect flavour every time you brew a cuppa. Coffee machine with a milk container: pour the mixture into the milk container and activate the hot steam/milk function. Repeat the procedure using clean water.

One of the narrowest bean-to-cup coffee machines on the market (only 19.5-cm wide), De’Longhi “Autentica ETAM 29.660” offers an authentic coffee experience. With a single touch, not only will you prepare traditional Italian espresso or cappuccino from freshly ground coffee beans or pre-ground coffee, but you’ll also be able to enjoy double espresso, slow-brewed long coffee (perfect for fans of filter brews!), a trendy flat white or a three-layered macchiato. The coffee machine is extremely simple to operate with a text display and control panel that are a pleasure to use. Automated maintenance programs allow you to focus all your attention on enjoying coffee. The most popular drinks are accessible on the front control panel so you will literally get a cappuccino delivered to your cup with a one finger press of one button.When you are spending a lot of money on the indulgence of a bean to cup coffee machine you want to make sure that the one you buy does everything you want it to at the best possible price. If you follow these guidelines and pay a bit more for the best beans then don’t be surprised if you enjoy the coffee that this machine produces MORE than what you get at one of the big chains and for a fraction of the price. Value For Money 9/10 Coffee machine with a steam wand: make sure to regularly remove the steam wand, disassemble it and let it soak in the mixture for a while/wash it using the mixture. The machine is easy to clean and has some other nice touches, including a separate ground coffee in-tray if you want to add pre-crushed coffee. The milk tank is detachable so can be stored in the fridge when not in use to keep it fresh.