De’Longhi is one of the most active coffee brands in the market. It proves this again with the Magnifica Plus, the latest release from the Italian brand, which also becomes the best and most comprehensive of the Magnifica range.
And this is the Magnifica from De’Longhi with the highest number of recipes, in addition to a great touch screen, and a function in the milk tank that we had only seen in the De’Longhi Dinamica: the possibility of choosing three levels of milk frothing.
It is a highly interesting super-automatic coffee machine, and I have little doubt that it will sell very well in the coming years. Here, I share my experience with it.
De'Longhi Magnifica Plus
| Pump | 15 bars |
| Thermoblock | 1450W |
| Grinder | 13 grinding settings |
| Screen | Touch and 3.5 inches |
| Coffee bean container | 250 g |
| Ground coffee hopper |  |
| Water tank | 1.9 liters |
| Programmed recipes | 18 |
| Recipe customization | Volume and intensity settings |
| User profiles | 4 |
| Milk tank | |
| Milk frother type | Auto |
| Maximum cup height | 140 mm |
| Dimensions | 24 x 44 x 36 cm |
The most modern and advanced Magnifica
The Magnifica range had always been the low range of De’Longhi. Still, the Treviso brand has changed that policy this year, introducing the new Magnifica Evo Next and the Magnifica Plus, coffee machines that feature elements previously only found in supposedly superior ranges.
The most obvious of these features is the 3.5-inch, touch, full-color touch screen. The control panel consists solely of this screen, the power and profile selection buttons, and buttons to access the catalog of black or milk coffee recipes.
The screen is accompanied by a very attractive and intuitive visual interface, full of information about each new step in coffee preparation, and animations that give it a very modern touch, unusual in super-automatic coffee machines. The ease of use and the amount of information provided by the menu screens make it a super intuitive coffee machine, even for someone who has never used a machine like this.
There are 18 programmed recipes that the Magnifica Plus brings, a considerable number. We have at our disposal the standard recipes of any super-automatic machine with a milk tank, including espresso, lungo, coffee, americano, cappuccino, latte macchiato, caffelatte, flat white, and cortado. Additionally, we also provide less common recipes, such as cappuccino mix, doppio, or espresso macchiato.
There are also two cold coffee recipes, although they are a bit tricky: cold coffee and cold Americano. The trick is that the machine simply tells you how many ice cubes to put in the glass. During my tests, I tried to find out if the Magnifica Plus performs a slower extraction or at a lower temperature in these two recipes. Still, no, the coffee is extracted exactly the same as in hot coffee recipes, so don’t expect anything even remotely similar to a cold brew, which, by the way, other De’Longhi coffee machines do prepare.
A really intense espresso and coffee
The advantage offered by this touchscreen is that it allows you to easily and visually configure the parameters of each drink. De’Longhi offers in most recipes the possibility to select 4 length levels (volume of coffee in the cup) and 5 intensity levels (grinding dose).
Additionally, the My function provides access to greater recipe customization, where we are first given the choice of intensity level. Then we can program the volume you want by pressing the stop button when it reaches the desired amount.
We won’t be able to fine-tune the intensity as much, since the 5 levels the coffee machine gives us are what they are, with no possibility of modifying them even a bit. Also, they are the same for all drinks. However, they have values that are unusual in a super-automatic: the first intensity setting uses a dose of 20 grams of coffee, the second level uses 23 grams, the third employs 26 grams, the fourth doses with 28 grams, and the fifth uses 30 grams.
These are doses I hadn’t seen until now in any super-automatic, as the usual range in these coffee machines is between 7 to 18 grams. This significant increase in the dose used is undoubtedly a fine-tuning by De’Longhi in the world of specialty coffee, where larger doses are employed than in the more traditional culture of classic Italian espresso.
Even so, those 30 grams at the maximum setting seem excessive to me. However, this allows for a lot of play when calibrating the grinder, as I explain in the article on how to make better espressos in a super-automatic. The fact that De’Longhi has set such a high minimum dose makes the espresso and all types of coffee come out really intense.
Moreover, the grinder measures up, and at its lowest settings, it grinds quite fine. It has 13 grinding settings, and by default, the grinder is set at level 8; therefore, you may want to lower it slightly. In my tests, at grinding level 1 and with an intensity level of 5, I have already exceeded the pump’s capabilities. It couldn’t extract coffee, a clear sign that a 30-gram dose is excessive.
Using the same grind at the lowest setting and with an intensity level of 1 (20 grams), I obtained a fantastic espresso, one of the best I’ve ever tried in a super-automatic coffee machine, confirming that De’Longhi has taken the right direction with this powerful increase in coffee dosing.
A milk tank with many possibilities
Another great attraction of the Magnifica Plus is its milk tank, with De’Longhi’s automatic LatteCrema frothing system. The great thing is that we can select between three qualities of milk foam: delicate, creamy, and dense.
In this way, the De’Longhi Magnifica Plus also adapts to the demands of specialty coffee when it comes to milk coffees, as one of the differences between cappuccino, latte macchiato, or flat white lies precisely in the type of milk foam.
The first setting, delicate, heats the milk without frothing it, making it suitable only for caffelatte (coffee with milk). Meanwhile, the creamy setting creates a small and light layer of foam that is ideal for flat white or cortado recipes. The last setting, dense, froths the milk even more for latte macchiato and cappuccino recipes.
The best quality, without a doubt, is offered by the medium, or creamy, setting, as in the dense setting, the texture is too airy. In contrast, the medium setting provides a smaller layer but with a texture that integrates better with the coffee, and this is much more important than having a larger or smaller foam layer.
Another great point is the ability to modify the coffee and milk ratio through the My menu, allowing us to select exactly the desired volume of milk and coffee. This enables us to create fully customized recipes to our liking in practice.
A small drawback of the milk outlet is that it is somewhat separated from the coffee outlet. If you use a small-diameter cup, you will need to reposition it between one preparation and another. Needless to say, this system also makes it impossible to prepare two cups of coffee with milk at the same time.
Otherwise, the milk tank has a cleaning system that performs rinses to clean the nozzle. Don’t worry, because it is the coffee machine itself that tells you to move the knob to the Clean position every time you finish serving a coffee. However, if you plan to serve a second coffee with milk, you can disregard this warning.
The tank has the advantage of being compact, allowing it to be stored in the fridge. It is also very easy to assemble and disassemble, as it consists of only three pieces: lid/spout, tube, and container. Additionally, these pieces can be put in the dishwasher. In this sense, it reminds me of the LatteGo of Philips super-automatics. However, one of De’Longhi’s advantages over Philips has always been its better automatic milk frothing, which this Magnifica Plus only confirms.
Maintenance made extremely easy
Continuing with the cleaning theme, one of the many advantages of De’Longhi is that its super-automatics are easier to clean and maintain than those of other brands. This applies in the same way with the Magnifica Plus, whose maintenance is further facilitated thanks to that screen, which gives warnings whenever there is a problem with the machine.
So, no indicators that require consulting the instruction manual to know what it’s about: the Magnifica Plus clearly tells you on its screen what the problem is, although it doesn’t have to be a problem, as it also warns you when to refill the water tank or when to empty the coffee grounds drawer.
Another advantage of De’Longhi: its infuser group can be removed and is one of the easiest to clean on the market; generally, a rinse under the tap is enough to remove any grease and coffee residues it may have.
As I mentioned earlier, all the pieces of the milk tank are dishwasher safe, as is the drip tray grid. However, the drip tray itself, with its plastic parts and paint finishes, should not be put in the dishwasher, as they can be damaged.
Like any good super-automatic espresso machine, the De’Longhi Magnifica Plus also performs automatic rinses every time it is turned on and off, and it features a descaling program that is triggered based on usage and the water hardness you have selected. De’Longhi includes a test strip and a water filter, but not descaling liquid, which you can buy on Amazon. You can also buy replacement filters on Amazon, which have a lifespan of between two and three months.
The De’Longhi Magnifica Plus is a truly great bean-to-cup machine
The De’Longhi Magnifica Plus is the best super-automatic espresso machine from De’Longhi and, without a doubt, one of the best bean-to-cup machines on the market. The Magnifica Plus makes the best espresso of all the super-automatics I have tried. The adjustment and customization possibilities are generous, and this includes milk recipes with a high-quality milk texture, especially in the medium setting.
Moreover, the touch screen is very modern and intuitive. It’s a pleasure to navigate through the menus. At the same time, it is very easy to make any adjustments or identify any cleaning or maintenance issues, thanks to the continuous warnings displayed on the screen. And its design is beautiful, with good finishes and a general feeling of quality.
An alternative in the De’Longhi catalog, with a similar price, is the Rivelia. If you read my review of the Rivelia, you will see that, although I find it a good coffee machine, it is a step below the Magnifica Plus.
Recently, De’Longhi has also released the Magnifica Evo Next, which features an automatic frother and is more economical. But read my comparison between the Magnifica Plus and the Evo Next. You will see that the Magnifica Plus comes out, again, as the clear winner.
In summary, if your priority is to enjoy a great cup of coffee, the Magnifica Plus is the best option, and it is currently my number one recommendation for super-automatic coffee machines.
My verdict on the De'Longhi Magnifica Plus
De'Longhi Magnifica PlusThe Good
- Great espresso, one of the best I've tasted from a super-automatic machine
- Very good milk foam
- Wide selection of drinks programmed into a very modern touchscreen interface
- Solid and modern design
The Bad
- Maybe the price?
