DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo ECAM46860 Review – Has the Queen Bee of Espresso Finally Arrived?

Last updated on June 5th, 2023 by Jules Winnfield

Recently I learned from my wife that Beyoncé’s concert tickets can run an average of over $1000 each. While this may sound like a lot on first thought, the fact is that Queen Bey gives her fans an experience so they are willing to fork over the higher price tag. 

Similarly, if you’re an espresso drinker that values the experience of brewing from bean to cup and enjoying the rich creamy delicacy of a latte or cappuccino from home, then the DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo ECAM46860 may be the Queen Bee of espresso machines you’re looking for. 

But is it right for you?

In this quick straight to the gist DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo ECAM46860 review, we answer the question and give our overall rating to help you decide. 

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DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Review and Rating

Build/Quality (8.6/10)

What is it made of? Plastic, Stainless steel?	Plastic exterior with sleek modern sophisticated look and feel
How durable is it?	Not a lot of data on its durability long term. But we suspect that like DeLonghi’s other high-end espresso machines, if you put in the maintenance, the Eletta Cappuccino Evo could last 10+ years.

Performance (9.3/10)

What brew modes does it have?	Comes with 12 preprogrammed recipes: Espresso, Espresso Lungo, Ristretto, Coffee, Long, Doppio+, Cappuccino, Latte Macchiato, CaffeLatte, Cappuccino Mix, Flat White, Hot Milk Makes twin shots to share with a friend.
Pressure?	15 bars
Strength control?	Yes, the Eletta Cappuccino Evo calls it aroma settings and there are 5: Extra mild taste Mild taste Standard taste Strong taste Extra strong taste
Temperature control?	Yes, 3 settings from low to medium to high.
How fast does it brew one cup or batch? Heat up time?	Extremely quick heat up time. From bean to cup you’re looking at less than a few minutes.
How many cups does it make?	Any espresso beverage can be made into various volumes, depending on your preferences. But the ranges are: Espresso: 1-2.7 oz. (30-80 ml) Coffee: 3.1-8.1 oz. (100-240 ml) Long: 3.9-8.4 oz. (115-250 ml) Ristretto: 0.67-1.35 oz. (20-40 ml) Espresso Lungo: 2.7-6 oz. (80-180 ml) Doppio+: 2.7-6 oz. (80-180 ml)
Steam wand for frothing?	No, but as with its other Eletta cousins, the Cappuccino Evo comes with the LatteCrema milk system, an automated milk jug that pours thick rich tasting milk froth into your espressos.
How quiet is it?	Fairly quiet. Can be noisy first use out of box, but manageable afterwards. The grinder will always have a standard amount of noise.
How is the taste and flavor?	Hands down the espressos are rich, strong and nutty while cappuccinos are creamy thick and addictive. Equal if not better than what you get at a coffee shop. Be sure to run 4-5 cups of coffee through the machine the first time you use it so you get the best taste.

Ease of use/maintenance (9.2/10)

How big is it?	At 10.2 in. wide, 18.4 in. long, and 14.2 in. high, the Eletta Cappuccino Evo is more compact and space saving than your typical fully automatic machine.
How heavy? Portable?	24 lb., so it’s heavy and won’t move easily
LCD display or push buttons or both?	LCD display with easy to read and press soft touch colored icon buttons
How easy is it to use?	Bean to cup machines like the Eletta Cappuccino Evo make having coffee shop quality espresso beverages insanely simple. Simply pour in your water, your coffee beans, select a grind setting, press the start button, select a beverage from preprogrammed icon recipes, and optionally select a dose strength, and volume, then hit the brew button. Follow the progress as your brew is created with no other effort on your part! For milk based drinks, fill your milk jug, attach to machine, set your froth setting (min or max) and hit button for the beverage you want. Easy peasy!
Maintenance reminders?	Yes, a ton of reminders including: Fill tank Empty grounds container Descaling required Water circuit empty Replace filter
How easy is it to clean?	Cleanup is what you would expect, not difficult but involved: Simply clean out the drip tray, condensate tray, coffee grounds container, water tank, and pre-ground coffee funnel. Wipe down coffee spouts, control panel, hot water nozzle, less frequently, the infuser, and internal circuit need to be cleaned. Also comes with an automatic preheat and rinsing cycle before and after each use.  The LatteCrema milk jugs have a self-cleaning feature: Simple turn the froth dial to clean setting. Or, if there’s no milk left, throw it into a dishwasher and wipe down nozzle and lid. Descaling is pretty simple too, just follow the machine instructions.

Design/Features (8.8/10)

Does it use pods or ground coffee or both?	Coffee beans, either whole or pre ground. Pre-ground funnel for when you want decaf is sized at 14 oz.
Heating mechanism	Dual boiler
Built in grinder?	Conical steel burr grinder with 13 settings. Bean hopper capacity of 14 oz. (397 g)
Programmable autostart?	No, but does have a ton of preprogrammed coffee recipes and more you can customize for quick reference.
Auto shut off, energy saving mode?	Yes, can be set to auto turn off between 15 min and 3 hours of non-use.
Any other notable tech features?	Built in statistics function – so you can see how many coffees you made and other maintenance tasks.
Removable water reservoir? How big?	Yes, 68 oz. (2 L)
Come with accessories?	Yes, measuring scoop, and removable hot water spout, as well as water filter, cleaning brush and descaler.
Can it dispense hot water?	Yes, through the hot water recipe so you can make tea, hot chocolate, oatmeal, etc.
Drip tray removable to accommodate larger mugs?	Yes, also coffee spouts height is adjustable to get up to 4.8 in. mugs in place.
Any other unique features?	Water hardness settings – helps customize when you should descale based on your water hardnessWater softening filter – for the best tasting coffee
Come in different colors?	No, just black
Pricing	A very steep investment of $2499

User Satisfaction (8.7/10)

Warranty?	2 years plus 1 extra when you register your machine
Specific customer feedback, good AND bad	Not a lot of feedback for the Eletta Cappuccino Evo, probably because of price or availability. But feedback is positive. Most people love the barista like done for you feel you get with this machine.

Pros and Cons

When it comes to Italian made DeLonghi machines, you can pretty much expect high quality and performance as a baseline feature. But the DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo sets itself apart in the following ways:

Things I like:

• Built in grinder for fresh coffee each brew, but can use pre-ground coffee too
• Comes with 12 different preprogrammed coffee drink recipes. All customizable to your liking too (strength, temp, volume)
• Larger than usual bean hopper means less time refilling 
• Definitely digging the bigger water tank size for less refilling between shots
  • And to accommodate the automatic rinsing cycle
• Water tank slides out in front for convenient access
• LatteCrema milk jug system for easy automated milk frothing and maintenance
• Statistics page to tell you how much coffee you’ve been making and drinking!

Things I don’t like:

• Daily cleanup is simple but long term maintenance can be very involved; so you need to set aside time for this
• Price may not be worth the value

How does it compare?

To get an idea of how serious business the Delonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo is, we decided to compare it to a similar caliber super automatic espresso machine, such as the Miele CM 6360 Milkperfection.

Delonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo vs Miele CM 6360 MilkPerfection

In terms of similarities both machines:

• Come with easy to use and navigate displays with push button icons
• Make spectacular high end rich espresso beverages easily from bean to cup with accompanying milk carafe systems.
• Built with steel grinders for fresh coffee each brew
• Let you customize your drinks and save your favorites in personal profiles
• Come with automated rinsing functions for simpler maintenance.

But the differences:

• The Miele CM 6360 can pull espressos and make a full pot of coffee as a combo machine, similar to this De’Longhi All-in-One, while this version of Eletta only does espresso.
• The Miele CM6360 is wifi capable with an app so you can order your espresso to your machine anywhere you are unlike the Eletta Cappuccino Evo. 
• The Eletta Cappuccino Evo water tank and bean hopper is larger than the Miele

The winner?

Given both are similarly priced,

• If you want techier features and the ability to brew a full pot of coffee, then go with the Miele.
• If you value the larger water tanks and bean hoppers, then the DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo is probably your best bet.
  

Final Verdict

The DeLonghi Eletta Cappuccino Evo is a compact sized super automatic espresso machine made for coffee drinking royalty. Of course it’s got a built in grinder, and adjustable temp, strength, volume, and milk froth settings for the perfect customized rich creamy beverage. 

But it also holds your hand ever so delicately as it does the whole thing for you with its easy to use setup and automated maintenance features. 

The real standout to us is the enlarged water tank and bean hopper, so you can brew more lattes and cappuccinos without having to refill as often. 

While we love the quality and performance, the price tag may be a bit much for us to justify given you can get powerful Eletta and Dinamica machines with similar features for $600 less.

For other high end Eleta machines there are others to consider:

• DeLonghi Eletta ECAM44660

You may still consider the Dinamica and Magnifica machines if fully automatics that provide a hands-off bean to cup experience but still give you the delicious coffee house aroma and taste you can’t live without at a more affordable price is your thing.

• DeLonghi Dinamica
• DeLonghi Dinamica Plus
• DeLonghi Magnifica ESAM3300
• DeLonghi Magnifica Evo ECAM29084
• DeLonghi Magnifica XS
• DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart

For a more semi automatic feel that gives you a little more involvement in the brewing process, consider the La Specialista series.

• DeLonghi La Specialista Arte
• DeLonghi La Specialista Prestigio
• DeLonghi La Specialista Maestro

If you want to keep things more basic, then check out the Dedica or ECP series. These machines are manual semi-automatics that are much simpler with no grinder built in.

• DeLonghi ECP3420
• DeLonghi Icona
• DeLonghi Dedica Arte
• DeLonghi Dedica Deluxe