Review on 🏭 De'Longhi ECP3420 Bar Pump Espresso & Cappuccino Machine, 15-inch, Black by Chris Hazzard

This is my second espresso machine! Mr. Coffee was the first. The coffee from the Mr Coffee machine was colder than the water from my kettle (125 degrees) and I couldn't buy replacement parts from anyone, including Mr Coffee or Revain. However the coffee was very good, nice and frothy but not hot. I got this DeLonghi thing today and I thought I was getting the cream of the crop of home espresso machines! HA! NOT CORRECT! The coffee is only slightly warmer than Mr Coffee and the finished product only slightly better than instant coffee! And I use Starbucks Sumatra, one of the boldest coffees they make! Double shot with 8 ounces of water! WEAK! Installing a portafilter in a car takes EFFORT! The power is like holding the machine while turning the portafilter knob to the right. This may be new, not sure if it's a problem. It might work, it will come out in time. If there is time. The distance from the portafilter spout to the cup holder is LESS THAN the height of a standard American coffee mug! Better to have a small cup handy. I've been lucky. And here is the killer. To make a shot, measure out your coffee with the included scoop. Probably "7g/0.25oz". To prepare a double serving, you need to measure out "6g / 0.21oz” x 2. NOTE DeLonghi, how do you measure "6 g / 0.21 oz" when your stated measurement is "7 g / 0.25 oz"? On my first try, I measured to the top edge of the filter. I couldn't screw the portafilter into the car! I removed half a teaspoon, faked it, still didn't turn it in the machine. Repeated the process 2 more times before I finally managed to rotate the filter. As indicated above, the finished product was WEAK and NO foam was expected from an espresso. This stupid machine burns 1100 watts! Apparently very little of that energy goes into heating the water to brew a hot cup of coffee. Not looking for almost a boil, but definitely more than it is. Ridiculous! How much did I pay for this? For the reader to know, I've been to France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany. I drank a lot of coffee in many ways! At the moment, I regularly make coffee in a 6, 12, and 18-cup espresso machine using Starbucks Italian Roast or Sumatra, rotating daily. This DeLonghi manufacturer is an insult to all of this. PLEASE, DeLonghi! I'll stick with my stove manufacturers. The coffee comes out much, much better and actually hot!