- Brews espresso and froths milk for cappuccinos and caffe lattes
- 1 ground coffee filter holder, another for coffee pods
- Unique frothing chamber; automatically self-primes, provides quick startup
- Removable 2-quart water tank for easy filling; stainless-steel boiler
- Measures 11 by 13 by 12-1/2 inches; 1-year warranty
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Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Review
Strikingly retro in appearance but thoroughly up-to-date in performance, this machine comes with two filter holders to brew espresso either from ground coffee or from coffee pods. (Pods are readily available from companies such as Illy and Starbucks.) The ground-coffee filter holder has filters for brewing either one or two cups, and the other filter stores in the top of the machine along with an accompanying coffee scoop. A unique frothing chamber makes it easy to froth milk for cappuccinos and café lattés. Other contemporary features include a durable stainless-steel boiler, a 2-quart, transparent water tank that removes for filling at the sink and cleaning, and a self-priming system that eliminates annoying startup preparations.
The machine's retro look is achieved by combining shiny and matte-finish black plastic with matte-finish silver plastic and plenty of the curves popular for everything from automobiles to appliances in the '50s. The plastic cleans easily, and the frothing chamber comes off with a twist so it, too, can be readily cleaned. Made in Italy and packing 1,100 watts of power, the machine measures 11 inches wide, 13 inches high, and 12-1/2 inches deep and carries a one-year warranty against defects. --Fred Brack
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
RETRO ESPRESSO MAKER,
By A Customer
This review is from: DeLonghi BAR41 Retro Espresso/Cappuccino Maker (Kitchen)
This machine has been great. While I've only owned 1 previous espresso machine, a Krups (which should be called Kraps), and I am not an espresso expert, I can say I've really enjoyed this new machine. It is not quite as small as the picture makes it seem. It was a little sturdier, and heavier than what I thought I would be getting. The advertisements talk about it having a unique frothing emulsion chamber. This was misleading to me because I thought the emulsion chamber would be like an instant frothing dispenser, and it is not. It is a frothing wand with a slide off part, making it easy for cleaning. I will say that the frothing does work great. As I said before, I previously owned a Krups, so I didn't even know what crema was, but now I do. I also enjoy the fact that when the process is complete I have a "HOT" cup of espresso, which of course I was not used to. It has a removeable water tank you fill up and it produces plenty of steam. I can't say enough about how great this machine looks too ! It also has a built in tamp which is hard to see in the adverstised pictures. I have used ground coffee beans from a hand crank grinder and it has produced great tasting espresso. Start-up time is a snap. You can turn it on pre-warm let build up pressure, go start running bath water, and come back and make a great cup to relax with. Also, when you open the lid at the top it has slots to store a filter and coffee scoop. This machine also comes with a filter for pods, but they must be the EES type.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not too shabby,
By Mark W (WA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: DeLonghi BAR41 Retro Espresso/Cappuccino Maker (Kitchen)
I'll start by saying I hate coffee -- I've never really liked the taste. However, during a six month stint in Italy this summer, I managed to get hooked on Italian espresso. Properly made, it's not too bitter, creamy, and served extremely hot. Add one tsp of sugar, and it's the quick pick-me-up treat. Everywhere I went after Italy, I couldn't stand the coffee, and couldn't wait to get back to Italy again for real coffee. Coming home, I wanted to keep having this coffee, so I brought a tonne of Italian coffee home with me (more on this in a bit), and bought this DeLonghi that some friends in Italy had said wasn't too bad. It is worth saying that these machines are only as good as the coffee you put in them, and for Italian espresso, you really do need some good italian coffee. I brought home some Lavazza and some Illy. The Lavazza is far superior, and always makes a better cup of coffee. You can actually find Lavazza espresso coffee in most north american cities, at Italian specialty shops. This machine is extremely easy to use -- it takes a few minutes to warm up, although the longer you let it sit, the hotter the cup. Turn it on, and a few seconds later, you've got creamy espresso. The instructions are very clear on how much coffee to use, how hard to tamp it, and how to make it all work. Cleaning is easy, and it's pretty much got everything you'd need. Only complaint is that I wish the espresso was slightly hotter -- from a professional machine, I usually have to wait a few secs for it to cool down, whereas with the DeLonghi, I usually start drinking right away. However, I'm very happy with it, and find it an excellent value. The coffee is pretty much as close to Italian coffee as I can get here, and keeps me happy and alert :-)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best I have ever owned,
By Scott "word doctor" (Edmonton, AB Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: DeLonghi BAR41 Retro Espresso/Cappuccino Maker (Kitchen)
This is my third DeLonghi espresso machine over a period of about ten years. I work at home, so my espresso machines get a workout. I've had this one for about a week now, and have been totally satisfied thus far.
This makes the best espresso and lattés of any machine I have owned. It also looks great on the counter, though its footprint is a bit large if you only plan to use the machine occasionally. The "emulsion frothing chamber" has nothing to do with the milk steamer (see the complaint in an earlier review); it is a device within the filter basket that helps produce an incredibly thick "crema" on every espresso shot. It's amazing, and definitely adds to the "wow" factor if you're serving espresso to guests. I read some reviews that complained about the water reservoir developing a leak. This doesn't have to be a problem; it's much easier anyway to simply leave the reservoir in place all of the time and use a jug to refill it. The instruction manual is a bit anal retentive (and not very well translated). The oddest warning it contains is to let the machine preheat for at least 30 minutes(!) before brewing (this is NOT an option when I'm making my first coffee in the morning). True, the water becomes marginally hotter after the machine has warmed up for a while, but the machine brews a perfectly respectable espresso as soon as the "ready" light goes on (about 3-4 minutes). The machine also makes a great "café Americano." Just use one scoop of espresso, and run about 8 oz of water through instead of just filling a demitasse. One last note: what's up with the "pods"? Have we become so helpless and/or lazy that we're willing to pay three times as much for coffee in order not to have to scoop ground coffee into a filter basket? I mean, how hard is that? The "pod holder" that came with my unit (and added a few bucks to the price, no doubt) went straight into the back of a drawer, never to be seen again.
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