Poor water tank connection: Sometimes, the obvious solution is the right one. Ensure that the water tank in your Delonghi coffee machine is correctly installed and securely connected to the base.

The De’Longhi Scultura does not accommodate large coffee cups or mugs. The coffee spout is set low such that only an espresso glass can fit underneath. Some espresso machines come with a milk jug, which tends to hold just under 500ml of liquid. Stainless steel is the best material, as it heats up with the milk and gives you an indication of how hot the milk is getting. If you heat your milk to anything over 70C, you run the risk of burning it and ruining the flavour of your drink. Plus, your coffee will be far too hot to take a sip. Switching the steam mode off doesn’t vent the hot water, so you’ll need to use the tap to get rid of the steam before making another shot of espresso, otherwise, you’ll end up with burnt and bitter coffee. You can also use the steam wand for hot water, simply by pressing the dispense water button to engage the pump and using the tap to send out the water. There are 3 buttons on the front which controls the operation of the entire coffee machine. The first is the on/off button, secondly the water/coffee delivery button and finally the steam button.

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Unplugged, drained, turned all around and upside down, attempted to remove a couple of screws to see what might shift and discovered that the damn thing appears to be almost impenetrable to the amateur repairer. Can't find an explosion diagram online, no helpful YouTube vids etc to help. Lots of other DeLonghi machines represented, but not this one. Delonghi has included a coffee scoop which will hold around 7 grams of ground coffee so use 1 scoop for 1 cup and two scoops for 2 cups. The other end of the scoop is round and flat which should be used to “tamp” down the coffee before inserting it into the machine. It’s important to compress the coffee in this way before brewing so that water doesn’t creep around the sides of the coffee and into the cup creating a weaker diluted flavour. These are great space-saving machines that are an excellent option for those with limited countertop space.

Flashing is also used for resets. When you reset your Delonghi coffee machine, all the lights flash for 3 seconds to indicate that you will restore the factory settings. It certainly doesn’t come with a lot of the features of some of the other machines but you do of course have to pay for them.We did find, when whipping up a cappuccino, that we had to wait a while for the pressure in the steamer to build up. Our expert also found the machine's espressos to be a little thin and felt the crema was poor. Despite this, the drinks were well-rounded in flavour, with initial raisin notes followed by brown sugar-esque sweetness. For example, on the Dedica EC-685, some lights indicate that the coffee maker is heating up, and you have to wait until they go off to make a coffee. Of course, this does not mean that there is a fault.

If you’re making coffee for a fair few people, the Scultura might be the better option. A decent tank size – 1.4 L to the Dedica’s 1 L – means you won’t have to refill too often. Different Milk Frothing Abilities Coffee, on/off, and milk steaming – those are the only buttons you’ll need to press for good coffee.To help you find the best espresso coffee machine, we’ve tested top models from all the major brands including De'Longhi, Smeg and Breville.