De’Longhi ESAM3300 Review: Perfect Cups Of Espresso Daily

If you are an avid fan of the Starbucks-like coffee experience, then you have a chance to bring it into your kitchen. How? Well, that’s why you’re in the right place. De’Longhi Magnifica ESAM3300 is THAT excellent choice we’ll be talking about. A convenient super-automatic machine by Delonghi is ready to meet your other coffee cravings too and in an astoundingly friendly price range.

But this is not the only criterion you should know of. Hence, our full De’Longhi ESAM3300 review. We believe this will help you to understand the pros and cons of this tried and tested popular espresso machine. So, let’s dive in!!!

The ESAM 3300 is an entry-level espresso machine. And it shows! Its all-plastic exterior is well-built. But lacks the elegant appeal of a real stainless steel body. However, in terms of features, it excels. This machine comes with a 2-year warranty too. It has the number one spot on our list of best De’longhi machines. It’s a great choice for coffee lovers who want to make espressos, cappuccinos, and other specialty drinks at home.

Dimensions And Build Quality

Dimension of 11.0 x 15.3 x 14.4 inches while weighing 23.2 lbs, the ESAM 3300 has a compact build. Delonghi gave it a clever design and made sure that this espresso machine punches well above its weight. The removable drip tray and water tank are front-accessible. It has made it easy for you to clean up. Indicators alert you when it’s time to do any cleaning and parts are dishwasher safe. A super-automatic machine with a compact, streamlined design that fits awesomely on any modern kitchen countertop.  

Water Reservoir

The DeLonghi espresso machine ESAM3300 has a 60-oz water tank. This is crucial if you want to make Americanos or other beverages that require hot water. The water tank is also front-accessible – great for squeezing it in tight spaces. Indicator lights will alarm you when it’s time to refill. Unfortunately, its water tank isn’t designed to accommodate a filter. So you’ll need your own supply of filtration or bottled water.

The Dual Boilers

ESAM 3300 has dual stainless steel thermoblock boilers. One is for brewing and the other is for steaming. Unfortunately, you can’t brew espresso and use the steam wand at the same time. But to compensate for that, it has an instant reheat feature. This ensures minimal waiting time between brewing and steaming.

Grinder And Bean Hopper

The ESAM 3300 espresso machine’s steel conical burrs grind coffee beans on demand. It offers 14 grind settings and the process is quite noisy. The hopper holds 8.8-oz/ 250 grams of coffee beans. Also, you can use pre-ground coffee.

Fresh Espresso Every Time

ESAM 3300’s burr grinder with 14 adjustable settings does a fresh grind every time. Since we’ve already mentioned how it also allows pre-ground coffee – It comes down to your choice of having regular, specialty, or decaf.

The Milk Frother

Its manual milk frother mixes the steam and milk to give you creamy, rich froth for evenly textured drinks – just the way you should like them.

Consistent Quality Brewing

Each cup gets brewed automatically to the perfect richness, temperature, and density. You can customize in-between settings to find your most suited coffee mode. Just like manual plus super-automatic espresso machines, you’ll have to “dial in” each time you change the coffee beans. You can do that by 2 front dials given for adjusting on the front of the machine. The volume dial ranges from 0.5 to 6 oz. The brew strength dial allows the amount of ground coffee dispensing.

Delicious Latte And Cappuccino Maker

Get the thickest and Get longest-lasting and thickest foam for your cappuccino from its manually adjustable Cappuccino system. It’s also easy to adjust the levels. Capable of preparing creamy latte, macchiato, and even flat white.

Customized Espresso Drinks

The De’Longhi espresso machine ESAM3300 stores the details. From selected strength to the preferred size and much more. Allows single or double shots. If you press the single or double shot buttons again it stops brewing before ending a complete pull of the shot.

Easy-To-Use Control Panel

Adjust the menu settings for strength, temperature, and cup size according to your likeness. The machine does the rest. This Italian machine has a fantastic cup warmer. An adjustable auto-shutoff feature from 15 min to 3 hours.

No Waiting Between Cups

ESAM 3300’s Rapid Cappuccino System with dual boilers controls the optimal temperature. Brewing one cup after another is not a problem now.

What You’ll Get Out Of The Box

Magnifica ESAM 3300 manual, startup guide, instructional DVD, the machine itself, and its detachable parts. Also some water hardness test strips and DeLonghi-made EcoDecalk Descaler (Note: Install it 1st. The water reservoir doesn’t have one pre-installed. You can buy descalers too).

Core Technical Features

DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM 3300 is a super-automatic espresso machine first released on October 2, 2001.  The casing is made of plastic. It has a detachable brew group. Manual milk frothing system. It has no frontal digital display. In fact, it has neither any user profile function nor any sync app.

The bean container capacity is 8.8 ounces. The two-bean compartment is unavailable. The water tank capacity is 60 oz. which is good enough for 14 cups of coffee at once. The minimal spout height is 3.1 inches and the max discharge height is 4.3 inches. The grinder is a stainless steel made cone grinder.

There are 13 separate grinding settings. Yes, the Delonghi ESAM3300 does have a coffee grounds tray but no jug though. The espresso and coffee drinks get prepared at the touch of a button.

You can’t adjust the coffee temperature with this machine. Even though the 2-cup function is available but it doesn’t work for milk drinks. Both the hot water and hot milk function are present. The water reservoir doesn’t come with any water filter.

The product weighs about 23.2 pounds. Dimensions (H x W x D) is 14.1 x 11.2 x 14.7 inches. Stainless steel and plastic-made body. The colors available are black and silver. User interface Buttons and knob style.

Pros

• 14 grind settings
• Detachable brew group
• Numerous adjustable settings
• 60-ounce front-removable water tank
• Pulls awesome espresso shots every time
• Design with high reliability and low failure rates
• Dual boilers for brewing and steaming mean fast heating
• Even if it lacks a digital interface, it leads to better durability

Cons

• No display option
• Relatively loud grinder
• No water filter comes pre-installed
• Steaming uses up water very quickly
• Can’t brew and steam simultaneously
• Not compatible with other water filters

Using For The First Time

• Check if the water tank is full. Then make sure to plug in the power cable
• Turn the milk frother away from the machine. Place a cup underneath it. Then turn on your ESAM3300 by pressing the on/off button
• Immediately, within 30 seconds, turn the steam knob counterclockwise. Keep turning until it stops. Note, it’s normal for the machine to make noise at that time
• After a few seconds, some water will be released from the frother. If the cup gets 1/3 full, turn (clockwise, half a turn) the steam knob. It stops the flow of water
• Wait for the “1 cup and coffee temperature ready” and “2 cups and coffee temperature ready” indicator lights to stop their flashing. The flashing indicates the machine’s preheating phase. Before these lights end flashing, the machine will run an automatic rinse cycle. Consequently, a little hot water will be dispersed from the spouts
• Once the lights glow steadily, your De’longhi ESAM3300 has reached the ideal temperature for brewing coffee
• Now, your machine is ready for full usage

For the 1^st time users, 4- 5 cups of coffee should be made before expecting the machine to give you optimal results.

Making Coffee With Coffee Beans

Before the preparation, always if the green “1 cup and coffee temperature ready” and “2 cups and coffee temperature ready” indicator lights are steady. Then check if the water tank and the coffee bean container are full or not.

1. Adjust with the coffee flavor dial and set your desired taste of the coffee. Turn the knob clockwise. It increases the coffee beans amount that need to be ground. Thus making the taste of your coffee stronger. Finding the correct position of this knob is a trial-and-error process. So do not turn it clockwise too far. Otherwise, your coffee will be delivered way too slowly (almost in drips), especially in two cups of coffee mode. Adjust and set the required coffee quantity with the selector dial. The more clockwise you turn the knob the longer the coffee becomes
2. Place a cup under the coffee spout. For more creaminess, bring down the coffee spout as close as possible to the cup
3. Press the 1 cup and coffee temperature ready button now. It makes 1 cup of coffee. Press the 2 cups and coffee temperature ready button for 2 coffees. At this point, the machine keeps grinding the beans and runs a short pre-infusion cycle. Then followed by a pause and the completion of the brewing
4. Once the desired amount has been achieved, the machine will automatically stop delivering and discards the grounds into the coffee grounds container
5. Wait until both the green 1-cup and 2-cup coffee temperature-ready indicator lights are steady. Then you can go for another round of brewing
6. To switch off the machine, just press the on/off button. Before turning it off, the machine will run an automatic rinse cycle. As a result, little hot water will run out of the spout. Although it will fall into the drip tray underneath stay careful to avoid scalding
7. If the machine does not switch off with the on/off button, don’t worry. It will switch itself off (3 hours after the last operation) after running a short rinse cycle

Making Coffee With Pre-Ground Coffee

Since this machine is also capable of doing it, we decided to show you the steps in this De’longhi Magnifica ESAM3300 review of ours.

1. Press the “Ground coffee” button. The ground coffee indicator will illuminate. Once illuminated the machine will disable the coffee grinder
2. Lift up the lid in the center. Place 1 measuring scoop of your preferred ground coffee into the funnel. Now simply follow the aforementioned 7 steps in the Making Coffee With Coffee Beans section
3. To make another cup again, once the coffee is done brewing, deactivate the ground coffee function first. Press the ground coffee button again to do that. The light will go off and the coffee grinder will be ready for operation again

Rules To Follow By When Brewing With Pre-Ground Coffee

• Never add any ground coffee when your ESAM 3300 machine is off. It saves from spilling inside the machine
• Add only 1 scoop of measured coffee. Otherwise, the machine will not brew the coffee. And this pre-ground coffee will be lost – dirtying the inside of your machine. Even it can be run off in drips
• Measure the quantity of coffee only with the scoop supplied for the machine
• Only use ground coffees that are meant for espresso coffee makers. Do not pour any coffee beans, freeze-dried coffee beans, or any other materials. It will damage the machine
• Adding more than 1 measure of pre-ground coffee will block the funnel. Use a plastic knife to push down the coffee. Then detach and clean the infuser as well as the machine

How To Clean

Before doing any cleaning operations, let your De’longhi Magnifica ESAM 3300 automatic espresso machine cool down and keep it disconnected from the main power supply. Never soak the machine into water.

1. Do not apply any solvents or abrasive detergents for the cleaning. Use a soft damp fabric
2. The grounds container, infuser, water tank, and drip tray must NEVER be cleaned in the dishwasher
3. Clean the grounds container. When it’s time, the ground container indicator will steadily glow
4. The water reservoir should be regularly cleaned
5. The drip tray has a level indicator (color-red). It shows the level of water inside. When the indicator becomes visible, you must empty the drip tray and clean it
6. Check the holes of the coffee delivery spout to see if they are blocked or not. Use a needle to scrape off the dry coffee residues

Descaling

1. The tubes inside run continuously heated water while being used to brew coffee. So, over time it’s normal for these tubes to get filled with limescale. When the “decalcification warning” light starts popping, do the descaling of your ESAM3300 Magnifica. NOTE: You can still make coffee even after the “decalcification warning” light switches on
2. Empty the water tank. Pour in 1 bottle (125 ml) of descaler with 1 liter of water. Make sure not to splash the descaler onto surfaces sensitive to acid (i.e. marble, granite, and limestone)
3. Place a container (min capacity of 34 ounces) under the cappuccino frother
4. Turn on the machine by pressing the on/off button. Wait for the green 1 and 2-cup and coffee temperature-ready indicator lights to glow on steady
5. Now press and hold the “decalcification warning” button for 5 seconds. The decalcification warning light will glow up to indicate the beginning of the descaling. The 1 and 2-cup and coffee temperature-ready lights will remain off. Because at this phase it’s not possible to make coffee
6. Turn the steam knob counter-clockwise half a turn. The descaling solution will begin to disperse out of the cappuccino frother
7. The descaling program then automatically does a series of deliveries and pauses. It removes the limescale deposits from the inside of the machine
8. After 30 minutes, the “water indicator” light will come on. Now, turn the steam knob clockwise half a turn until it stops. The machine must be rinsed to eliminate all the residues of the descaling solution from the inside of the machine
9. Detach the water tank and rinse it. Then fill it with clean water and re-install it
10. Empty the collection container under the milk frother that is full of liquid. Then reposition it under the milk frother again
11. Turn the steam knob counter-clockwise half a turn. Hot water will be dispersed out of the milk frother and fill up the container beneath
12. When the tank is fully empty, the “decalcification warning” light will go off. The “water indicator” light will light up
13. Turn the steam knob all the way (clockwise). Refill the reservoir with clean water
14. The entire descaling cycle is now terminated. The machine is ready to use again

NOTE: if the descaling cycle is interrupted before proper completion and no alarm is activated then you have to do the whole cycle again from the get-go.

For its current price range, it has a compact build. Even cleaning and maintenance are simple. The brew group is easy to detach.

De’longhi Magnifica ESAM 3300 automatic espresso machine has been on the market for 2 decades. The simple reasons for such are its reliability and longevity. Our favorite features are the options for the numerous stepless adjustments for the ground coffee quantity and water. Also for the price, the 14 separate grind settings to select from while brewing.

As we’ve already mentioned, it’s been on the market for a while now. But the De’Longhi Magnifica ESAM 3300 is still one of the most price-friendly models out there. Also offers a strong foothold in the door to the world of super-automatic machines under $8,00.

It has been one of the best-selling super-automatic coffee machines that’s still modern and stylish enough to have a place on any kitchen counter. Of course, it has some limitations compared to the more recent advanced machines. But if you find your niche with the right settings, it is a king in your kitchen.

The pump can be too weak at times to take advantage of the 2 finest grind settings. So, proceed with caution when using the finer grind settings.

It would have been better if the burrs were made of ceramic. A ceramic grinder performs way better and also lasts longer. So, if you are a fan of ceramic burr grinders, this will not satisfy you.

Now, honestly, with time, there are some espresso machines that make espresso or americano just better than this machine. So, if such a case befalls you and you have the cash to match that desire then this is not for you.

And finally, if you are looking for a machine that offers you full control – then ESAM3300 Magnifica is not for you. Several quality espresso machine brands are offering such options for you like Breville Oracle.

Overall, everyone agreed that Magnifica ESAM 3300 is a solid and sturdy one. But still, the usage of plastic casing is still a throne in their flesh. Honestly though, in this price range, you will hardly ever get a fully steel-made body of an espresso machine.

What really stood out over the years about the De’Longhi Magnifica ESAM 3300 is how easy it’s for the user to operate it from the front, even with the absence of a display.

Customers and critics alike praised the ability to access the brew group, drip tray, and coffee grounds container from the front. It nullifies the need for unnecessary movement of the machine for cleaning.

Critics especially loved the numerous setting options and double boilers for steaming and brewing. One of the crucial pieces of feedback: It’s easy to clean. That’s it.

It’s also been confirmed from many De’longhi ESAM3300 reviews, that it can last for a good 5 years of trustworthy service.

The DeLonghi ESAM3300 review should clear the fact of how it guarantees delightful, smooth espresso and frothy milk. A machine that is easy to maintain for a prolonged period of time. On top of its reliable performance, robust build, and design, it can also be repaired DIY-style comfortably. Compared to other similar ranged super-automatic machines, the De’Longhi Magnifica ESAM 3300 offers better capacity and a wider range of flexibility.

Happy Brewing!