Delonghi Stilosa is one of the best-selling espresso machines on Amazon, and it’s not just because of its low price. It also provides excellent espresso and milk foam at home, which we will look at in this Delonghi Stilosa review. I want to give some introduction and features of the Delonghi Stilosa.
Also, I’d like to show you how to make an espresso and cappuccino in its stock form, and then I would like to show you how to do the same thing in advanced mode and get the absolute best espresso and milk foam out of the Delonghi Stilosa.
Features of Delonghi Stilosa Review
The Delonghi Stilosa espresso machine is excellent because it has a lovely warming plate on top and is made of metal, which is good for warming up your cups. In addition, it’s got a one-liter water tank, which you can remove and fill up, and it also comes with two pressurized baskets.
Included with Delonghi Stilosa are the double and single baskets. We will use the double basket for this Delonghi Stilosa review. So the operation of this machine is straightforward. It’s just got one selector switch. You can move it to steam mode, increasing the boiler’s temperature to steaming.
On the other hand, you can turn it in the other direction for the pump. One thing that sets this machine apart is Delonghi Stilosa’s heated brew group. So why does that matter? Why does a heated brew group make a difference in your espresso? It does because you want the entire path to be around the same temperature.
So from the boiler, down to the brew group, to the portafilter, and into the cup. You want the espresso to be as close to the same temperature as possible. That will give you an excellent espresso extraction, which this machine provides. On the side, it’s got a lever to turn on steam mode. And finally, it’s got a little drip tray to capture any drips during the coffee making.
Testing for Delonghi Stilosa Review - Stock Mode
The advantage of the little Delonghi Stilosa machines with pressurized baskets is that you can get some pre-ground espresso, put it in there, and already make yourself an espresso. You don’t need a grinder for that. We can fit around 12 grams of espresso in the basket comfortably. We will tap on the portafilter a little to get it evened out and give it a tamp with the included tamper.
Then, place the portafilter in the brew group and start making the espresso. The espresso looks pretty good and has pretty good crema on it. Then let’s go into steam mode and make ourselves a cappuccino. We will pour about the pitcher halfway or about 150 milliliters of milk to do that. We will put our Delonghi Stilosa machine in steam mode, which only takes about 10 seconds to get heated up.
You don’t have to wait for the light to indicate it’s ready. You don’t have to wait long and count until ten; you are prepared to purge the steam wand. So the Panarello injects milk immediately, and you want to try to get it spinning if you can. It is not easy to do with the Panarello, and you can do it perfectly with some training. So after steaming, you want to cool out the boiler by letting some water in.
Once our milk is ready, we will pour our milk on top of the espresso we prepared earlier—one cappuccino made in Delonghi Stilosa stock mode. Overall, the cappuccino is okay, and we can improve that in our advanced mode with some minor modifications on Delonghi Stilosa.
Testing for Delonghi Stilosa Review - Advanced Mode
So for advanced mode, we have to do a couple of things. We must switch out the pressurized basket in the portafilter with a non-pressurized one. If you don’t know what a non-pressurized basket looks like, it’s got holes on both sides, and a bottomless portafilter allows you to see the extraction.
So let’s put that one in there and let it get nice and warmed up. Next, we will upgrade the steam wand simply by pulling off the Panarello. To do that, I put a cable tie on the steam wand, and the purpose of the cable tie is to keep the nozzle on while we’re steaming because otherwise, there’s so much pressure that the nozzle flies off. So with the zip ties, the nozzle stays on.
So those are the first two steps you need to use the Delonghi Stilosa in advanced mode; a non-pressurized basket and adjusting the Panarello steam wand. There’s one last thing we have to consider. What else you have to do is provide this machine with an excellent fresh bean, ideally, and with a good grind.
So for that, I use a little grinder, a Kingrinder K2. I’ve got to turn from the end stop and turn one complete revolution around the circle. That gives me a good extraction of 15 grams of beans. Grind it up; once it is ready, it’s time to prepare the puck.
By the way, I also will use the WDT tool, which is very helpful in helping to distribute the grounds. And these are not expensive either, and you can find them on Amazon. Before pouring out the freshly ground coffee beans, make sure to wipe out any condensation in the basket.
One thing you can do first is tap it to get everything nice and level. Then, use the WDT tool to distribute the grounds and ensure they’re nice and there are no clumps. It’s not an absolute must, but it can help your extractions.
Proceed by putting the portafilter in the brew group and start making coffee. That shot looks like real creamy and delightful. And how’s the taste? That is a tasty shot. All right, let’s go ahead and steam ourselves some milk for cappuccino. So the same thing as before: filling up our pitcher to about the bottom lip and putting our Delonghi Stilosa machine into steam mode.
First, purge the steam wand to let a little condensation out, and it is ready to steam the milk. So you want to inject some air immediately and get a swirl going just at the tip of the milk. And if you break the milk into quadrants, put the steam wand tip in the lower quadrant to get the milk spinning.
You must wait for it to get up to temperature and see that the milk looks excellent, like paint. So let’s go ahead and pour ourselves a cappuccino. Compared to our previous espresso in stock mode, cappuccino made in advanced mode is much better.
FAQs for Delonghi Stilosa Review
What is the filter cups’ diameter in millimeters?
The portafilter on this device has a 51mm diameter.
Any ideas as to why my espressos are watery and not hot enough?
Run the coffee machine without coffee first to clean it, then run hot water through it after waiting for the pressure to reach the correct pressure (green light).
After cleaning the region where the water is coming from, firmly insert the coffee basket and arm. Use espresso grounds when packing the coffee, fill past the brim, then tamp the grounds to a flat disc surface. That should produce rich and thick coffee with a lovely crema top.
How much time does the initial rinse cycle require?
If you’re referring to the pre-wash before initial usage, you run two volumes of water from the reservoir through. It would help if you emptied the reservoir twice, which will take five to ten minutes. The reservoir stores one liter of water. By doing so, the pump is primed, and any production waste is removed.
Does anyone else find rotating the portafilter into the middle position challenging? Mine stops much off-center and won’t move.
Provided you overfill the filter cup with coffee. I don’t worry about it because I do this frequently. It still produces superb espresso.
I sometimes experienced sour coffee; would purchasing a metal tamper help?
Under-extraction is the most frequent cause of acidic coffee because the water moves through the grounds too rapidly to extract the taste entirely. This issue typically happens when coffee ground too finely is consumed. Try grinding your beans less fine (make modifications a little at a time) until it tastes excellent before spending money on a new tamper. Be sure the pre-ground coffee you purchase is made from high-quality beans and is prepared for the espresso rather than drip.
What is the most effective method for cleaning the water tank to stop limescale buildup?
To prevent buildup in the appliance, I advise handwashing the water tank and following the proper descaling procedures.
Does Delonghi Stilosa use the pressurized basket?
Yes, it does, and both pressurized and non-pressurized baskets are compatible with this machine.
That is the Delonghi Stilosa Review in the stock and advanced modes. So hopefully this review was helpful to you and if you like to read the in-depth review on Delonghi Dedica you can click here.