Customer Reviews

Delonghi BCO264B Cafe Nero Combo Coffee and Espresso Maker

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I am an avid coffee drinker, somewhere between 2-4 pots a day. My husband bought this 3-in-1 coffee maker for me for the Christmas of 2004. It has a digital clock/timer, flavor strength switch and makes pretty good coffee. It worked great for a while.
However, after about a year and a half the coffee maker side stopped working, without any warning. I went to get a cup of coffee and the hotplate was cold. After emptying it, cleaning it out and setting it up again, I turned it back on to make another pot.
The hotplate didn't even get warm, and the brewer didn't even make a noise or pull a single drop into the carafe. Even though the espresso and steamer side still works wonders, for the price of this 3-in-1, you would think it would work a bit longer than it has.

I had originally purchased the Krups version of their fanciest dual machine and it arrived non-functional with a display and buttons that were a little too "Star Trek" for me anyway...in fact, they didn't function at all. The Delonghi Caffe Nero (so far) has been very straighforward, easy to use, and produces good coffee and espresso. The quality of the coffee is moderate-high and I'm impressed with its strength selection system (a simple knob) and the mechanism by which it brews. No bells or whistles to confuse me. I did think initially that the permanent filter might be difficult to clean but not so far. However, the heat resistant coffee pot has an interesting design and a strange top which snaps on somewhat awkwardly and appears vulnerable to breaking but otherwise I have not found any major flaws with this machine as of yet.

Good coffee, good espresso, easy to use, easy to program for the next day. We'll see...

I thought I did enough research before buying this machine but apparently not enough. I was disappointed in 1. the design ( looks rather cheap) and 2. the performance. The coffee maker didn't stop dripping either water or coffee when you pulled out the pot and for the espresso part you need to REHEAT the unit 30 MINUTES prior to use!!! So much about being flexible about having an espresso! If you really enjoy good coffee you need to invest more, unfortunately.

I checked out this machine at a local store. It's little more than a basic drip coffee maker bundled with a basic espresso machine. For that functionality it would be far cheaper to buy those two things separately.

Regarding this Delonghi machine, on the drip coffee side, metallic coffee filters are a royal pain to work with-- paper filters are far easier to use when disposing of coffee grounds. On the espresso side, you have to grind the beans and tamp them into the strainer for each cup you make, and then empty the strainer when you're done. The optional filter pods are a really expensive way to buy ground coffee. For only a bit more money ($500 or so) you can get a full automatic espresso/cappuccino maker. I bought a full-automatic several years ago and my family loves it! Full-automatics grind the beans for each cup, they make excellent American-style coffee as well (simply by increasing the amount of water pushed through the coffee), and you dispose of grounds once a week. The only disadvantage of full-automatics is that like every espresso machine, they do only one or two cups at a time. So if you want to make more than two cups of drip coffee at once, you'll need a plain old coffee maker like the right-hand side of the Delonghi.

On the outside, this is a beautiful machine. Unfortunately, the mechanics don't match. 6 months after my wife and I purchased it, the hinge on the back cover broke. I contacted Delonghi to see if it was covered under the warranty. Of course it was not and I had to purchase a new one. Then, after having it for just over a year, the coffee maker quit completely. I had to take it to one of their authorized repair facilities to get it fixed. I have been without the coffee maker for 1 month now and they still don't know when they will get the parts from Delonghi. I do not drink coffee and my wife drinks maybe 1/2 cup a day. My wife owned a Mr. Coffee that lasted more than 10 years. You would think that with the price of this machine it would have lasted much longer. My recommendation to you is to save your money and buy a Mr. Coffee!

Bought as a Christmas gift for my wife. It was very easy to set up and use, although we're still playing with the settings. I particularly like the ability to set the time that the pot stays hot -- it's preset at 2 hours, but can be easily changed to any length, including always on. The titanium filter is a nice idea -- does away with paper filters, and it cleans easily.

I went through a few of these within a month of owning it. I received it damaged got a replacement and that one lasted less than a month then another and another and finally one worked for almost a year and that one broke too. You have to ship the unit at your expense every time as well and at 20+ pounds its expensive to ship and my closest place was a 2 hour drive.

it doesnt make quality espresso at all its more like coffee even with premium beans that are ground just before brewing.

Their customer service is useless as well they dont know anything about their units or making espresso.

spend a couple hundred more and purchase a higher quality one that will last.

I have had this since feb 2010 (now aug 2010 ) and i use it every day for after diner espresso and cappuccino and ever morning for coffee I've had no problems with it. For this price point its worth the money there are better units out there but they cost more and are not coffee brewers and (pump style) espresso makers in one .
it's nice to have just one combo unit to save counter space

Although their coffeemakers do an excellent job of making coffee, DeLonghi WILL USE ANY EXCUSE NOT TO HONOR THE WARRANTY IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG! Here's my experience: When I ordered my coffeemaker from DeLonghi, it was "backordered" and took over a month to ship. A little over 10 months after I received it, the coffeemaker broke! (The heater coil went out and
it would no longer make coffee.) Since it had been over a year since I ORDERED it, they said the one-year warranty was expired, despite the fact I had proof I had received it less than a year before (I still had the shipping confirmation). I explained this numerous times. For a couple of months, the various people I talked to kept telling me they would "look into it", but they never called back. Finally, when it actually WAS over a year since I had received the coffeemaker, when I called to check on the status of my warranty claim, they said, "Your warranty has expired. You've had this coffeemaker over one year. There is nothing we can do." I highly recommend you find a coffeemaker from a manufacturer that stands behind their product! I have a Cuisinart now, and it is WONDERFUL!

We had Delonghi BCO264B combination for over a year. Last week, once of a sudden, the drip coffee part simply stopped working. No warning, no signs..

However, when it worked it was good. We're looking for a different combination machine now, but it most probably won't be another DeLonghi product.