Delonghi Magnifica Evo Review – Best Midranged Superautomatic
Introducing the Magnifica Evo
For your money, you get a nice machine in the Magnifica Evo. It comes with steel burrs, 13 grind settings, several different drink options, and it comes with the LatteCrema attachment as well for milk drinks.
I call this my goto recommendation in the $500-1000 range, because this makes the best espresso/coffee drinks and milk texture in that price point for me. It certainly outdoes the Philips machines, as they include just a ceramic burr, and only allow small coffee amounts. More on that later.
The interface is quite simple. There are some “soft touch” buttons on the front angled display panel, for the following drinks:
- My Latte (a latte until the milk is used up)
- Cappuccino
- Espresso
- Coffee
- Hot water
There are also buttons for various settings:
- Water filter change
- Settings menu
- Aroma (duration of grind)
- Wate rinse
More on these settings later in the review.
Delonghi Magnifica Evo – Touch Interface
The Looks and Features of the Magnifica Evo
The Magnifica Evo is made of a mix of metal and plastic parts, just like most superautomatic coffee machines. It’s shape is more or less box-like, with a slanted front panel. The water reservoir slides out towards the user for easy filling. My machine is made mostly with black, dark gray and silver colored accents.
Delonghi Magnifica Evo – Water Tank
On the top, you’ll find the bean hopper and grinder, which has 13 different settings. I normally run the grinder at 2-3, by the way. Additionally, there is a little vented flap located below the beans in the picture. You can lift this up, and put in your own pre-ground beans if you wish.
Delonghi Magnifica Evo – Grinder
On the front of the machine, you’ll find the height adjustable coffee spouts. Pull these down for espresso, or lift them up for a larger coffee cup.
Something else unusual about this machine is the little photoeye on the left of the machine, underneath where the water spout sits, or where the LatteCrema milk carafe docks. This photoeye determines whether or not there is milk in the carafe, which is pretty nifty! It’s also how the machine makes the ‘MyLatte’ drink, creating milk foam until the carafe is empty.
Delonghi Magnifica Evo
What’s inside the Magnifica?
The main functionality for the Magnifica comes from its brew group, pictured below. As far as I know, this brew group is universal among Delonghi’s superautomatic lines. What does differentiate the machines however is the AMOUNT of aroma, or ground coffee that is dosed into the brew group.
For the Magnifica Evo it will dose up to a maxium of 7 seconds, while the Dinamica Plus will dose up to 10 seconds. In fact, I have been able to choke my Dinamica Plus, while I cannot do the same with the Magnifica Evo.
See the table below for reference:
| 1 bean | 2 bean | 3 bean | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnifica Evo | 5 seconds or 7.5 grams | 6 seconds or 8.5 grams | 7 seconds or 10 grams |
| Dinamica Plus | 5 seconds or 7.5 grams | 7 seconds or 10 grams | 10 seconds or 15 grams |
Delonghi Magnifica Evo – Brew Group
How good is the Grinder?
Honestly, I think the grinder is fine. It’s a steel conical grinder, which will last much longer and do a better job with particle distribution than a ceramic grinder, as found in Philips and other superautomatic coffee machines.
The dial ranges from 1 to 7, with half steps in between, allowing for a total of 13 steps. I normally run the Magnifica Evo around 1-2 to try and get a nice fine grind. A finer grind directly affects the pressure of the extraction, so the finer the grind, the higher the extraction pressure.
So how does the Magnifica perform for Espresso and Coffee?
The Magnifica Evo does surprisingly well for coffee drinks, considering its price point. If using the maximum dose, it comes somewhat close to an actual espresso, but not quite. The Dinamica Plus does much better here.
That being said, the espresso/coffee comes out pretty well balanced, and with above average body for a superautomatic. There is a fair bit of crema offered, especially when using fresh beans. Using beans with at least 20% robusta will also help a lot in getting crema.
To be sure to get a hot enough espresso, I would recommend first rinsing the unit (pressing the 2x button for 3 seconds). This will flush the lines of the older cooler water, and replace it with hot water. Also, if you rinse the unit directly into your cup, you can warm up the cup as well (just make sure to dump the rinse water before extracting your espresso or coffee).
I particularly like using superautomatics for coffee crema, and the Magnifica does a good job here as well. Again, when using fresh beans with some robusta, you can achieve a fair amount of crema on your coffee crema. It’s my goto drink in the mornings.
So how does the Evo perform for Milk Foam?
I was pleasantly surprised by the Evo for milk texture. It textures the milk creamier than does the Philips LatteGo, albeit not as good as with a traditional espresso machine. That being said, for a superautomatic, it’s good. It could perhaps be just a little hotter for some people, but it’s hot enough for me.
Another important aspect to consider is how the milk carafe is to clean. Thankfully, the Magnifica does rinse the milk carafe after use, and it is also easy to disassemble for a deeper cleaning. Make sure to do this on a regular basis. See the video below, for a hands on review of the Magnifica Evo, and how it is to clean the milk carafe.
Best Accessories for the Magnifica Evo?
You really don’t need any accessories for the Evo, but I would suggest using a filter, and I would also suggest using some nice fresh beans. I will include a few recommendations below.
Pros and Cons of the Magnifica Evo?
I like to recommend the Magnifica Evo, because it places very well for its price point. Compared to Philips or cheaper Delonghi ECAM models, it makes better coffee drinks, and slightly better milk texture.
What I don’t like however, is how sensitive the buttons are. I have brushed up against them accidentally many times, and started a drink when I didn’t want to. That’s annoying. Also, this would be a slam dunk winner, if it would dose for 10 seconds, to get a nice large 14-15 gram dose like the Dinamica Plus, but it doesn’t. I guess Delonghi doesn’t want to cannabilize sales from its more expensive machines.
Pros:
- Provides pretty good coffee drinks
- Textures milk better than Philips LatteGo
- Affordable price tag
- Made in Europe (Romania)
Cons
- Larger doses would be welcome!
- Soft touch buttons too sensitive
- Milk texture good, but not on par with using an actual espresso machine.
Specifications of the Magnifica:
– Dimensions: 240 x 440 x 360mm
– Weight: 9.6 kilos or 21 pounds
– 1450 watt machine
– Build Materials: mixture of plastic and metal
– 1.8 liter water tank
– Country of Origin: Romania
Competitors to the Evo
If you want to consider something other than the Evo, I’d suggest looking at the Dinamica line, or possibly an offering from Jura, but both of those are going to be a fair bit more expensive. For a cheaper option that doesn’t do milk (if you just want coffee drinks), consider the Tchibo.
