DeLonghi Scultura Pump Espresso Machine ECZ351W

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Located in Italy, the home of the coffee connoisseur, Delonghi has been making appliances for more than 100 years.

They are the worldwide market leaders in coffee machines which tells you that they know what they are doing.

The DeLonghi Scultura Espresso Machine is Delonghi’s entry-level model machines that should be considered by anyone currently drinking instant coffee looking for a higher quality coffee experience.

Overall Score 8/10

Design 6/10

Most of Delonghi’s coffee machines would be classified as having a modern look and feel.

In our opinion, this espresso machine is more targeted to people that prefer a slightly more traditional look. This particular review is for the white model but It is offered in a number of different colours including beige which kind of points to a traditional look.

Because this is one of the cheapest espresso machines offered by Delonghi the build quality kind of reflects that and standing back and looking at it does give the impression that it is a little bit plasticky and doesn’t quite give the reassurance you normally get from a Delonghi coffee machine.

They are kind of 4 colours going on with the top mainly in a two-tone mix of white and a matt stainless steel finish. The buttons are black plastic with a white central column, a stainless steel drip tray and black plastic base

It is, of course, a matter of personal taste but we feel as though Delonghi could have done a bit better with this model from a design perspective.

This coffee machine is an average size measuring in at 30.5cm wide, 24.2cm deep and 38.2cm tall.

Functionality 7/10

The portafilter which holds the coffee comes with 3 different inserts. One for a double shot, one for a single and another really shallow one which at first glance looks like it is not good for anything as you would get hardly any ground coffee in there.

Upon closer inspection, this third filter has been included for ESE pods which stands for easy serve espresso.

To get the best tasting coffee you should grind the coffee beans yourself just before brewing but if that sounds like too much hassle then you can buy pre-ground coffee. If that also sounds like too much hassle and a bit messy then easy serve espresso pods are the simplest and most convenient way to make a coffee with this machine.

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.

The 1.4 litre water tank is more than big enough and we would recommend only filling it halfway and keeping the water as fresh as possible.

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.

Once the portafilter is inserted into the machine then all you need to do is press the coffee button and water will be pushed through the coffee and into the cup.

Important: The water will not stop automatically. This is a manually operated coffee machine which means that you need to press the button again to stop the water flow.

Do not press the start button and then go off and do something else or you will come back to a great big mess! Delonghi recommends that you limit the amount of time for filling the cup to 45 seconds maximum.

If you are going for a milk-based drink such as a cappuccino or a latte then you will need to use the steam function to heat the milk up. Simply press the steam button on the front of the machine and wait till the light comes on which indicates the temperature is high enough for pressurised steam. Turn the steam dial on top to make sure sufficient steam is coming out of the steam wand on the side.

Turn the steam off before inserting the jug of milk into the steam wand making sure that it is just below the surface to ensure a good froth. Turn the steam dial back on and once the jug is too hot to hold by the base then that is a good guide that its ready.

Despite the fairly basic functionality, this coffee machine does have a 15 bar pump which is the same pump you will find in a lot of Delonghi’s more expensive machines so it will deliver a good cup of coffee.

Ease of use 10/10

There are only 3 buttons and one of those is an on/off button so you really only need to use two buttons to get a decent cup of coffee. It doesn’t really get any simpler than that so maximum score for ease of use

Quality of coffee 10/10

It’s all about the beans! The 15 bar pump will deliver the goods but it won’t taste very good if you don’t use good quality coffee.

If you can, steer away from the cheap supermarket stuff and go for something like Aromistico Napoli Dark Roast. You will pay a little more but I promise you will taste the difference.

Use freshly ground beans if you can. Ground coffee is next best followed by the easy serve pods.

Value For Money 7/10

If you like good coffee but you are on a budget or this is your first venture into making your own espresso then the DeLonghi Scultura Pump Espresso Machine ECZ351W is a good place to start.

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.

You can see all of our recommended Delonghi coffee machines

Last update on 2024-04-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API