Best way to pull a regular coffee or americano on the Magnifica?

[Thomas Martinez]

Quick one for anyone who runs a Delonghi Magnifica day to day. There seem to be a few different way to get a longer cup out of these machines.
The first is by hit the Coffee button. The second is using the Long button to push more water through the grounds to make a bigger cup. The third option is making an espresso shot and top it up with hot water from the machines wand, essentially making an americano.
Which method do people prefers?

 

[Divine Worm Ma]

americano route every time. The long button absolutely murders the puck on mine, you can taste the bitterness like burnt cardboard. Pull a double, add hot water, done.

 

[Bright Bird]

Honestly it comes down to grind setting more than which button you press. If your grind is too fine the Long button will taste awful as it force 200ml of water through an over-restricted puck. Coarsen your grind and the Long button will be fine.

 

[Proud Peccary]

wait does the coffee button use a different pre infusion than the long button? or is it literally just water volume difference

 

[The Hunt For t]

lazy here, I just hit coffee and go. Tastes fine to me, but I also drink it with milk so maybe im not the best judge lol

 

[Divine Worm Ma]

burnt cardboard isnt an exaggeration btw, I let my brother use mine on the long setting with my normal grind and the whole kitchen smell like ash

 

[In Search of Sc]

The americano method is objectively the correct way and anyone telling you different is just being lazy. The machine won’t over extract your grounds and the water temperature from the pitcher is consistent. All you have to do is adjust how much water you use to control the brew strength. No debate here.
The Long button exists because Delonghi knows that most buyer are not going to take the time to prepare the machine correctly. For those who bought a bean to bean machine for the purpose of making americanos, if they are not using the shot plus water function then they are wasting the machine.

 

[Proud Peccary]

The americano method is objectively the correct way and anyone telling you different is just being lazy. The machine won’t over extract your grounds and the water temperature from the pitcher is consistent. All you have to do is adjust how much water you use to control the brew s…

how much water do you usually add for an americano though? like 1:3 ratio or more?

 

[In Search of Sc]

how much water do you usually add for an americano though? like 1:3 ratio or more?

Double shot, roughly 120ml of hot water on top. Adjust to taste but that's the starting point.

 

[Funk]

the long button is fine if you arent picky

 

[Bright Bird]

burnt cardboard isnt an exaggeration btw, I let my brother use mine on the long setting with my normal grind and the whole kitchen smell like ash

You're describing your specific setup not the machine. My Long button cup doesn't taste like ash because I adjusted the grinder.

 

[Electric D]

had a magnifica s for about 4 years before the brew unit gave up. Used the long button for first year then switched to americanos for the next two then bought a separate kettle for shot plus kettle water as the wand started to get scaley. I ended up preferring the americano route but got a gooseneck and any kettle as the water from the wand isnt that hot, measured at 78c versus the 90c needed for an americano. Small thing but makes a difference when drinking black.

 

[Proud Peccary]

had a magnifica s for about 4 years before the brew unit gave up. Used the long button for first year then switched to americanos for the next two then bought a separate kettle for shot plus kettle water as the wand started to get scaley. I ended up preferring the americano route…

oh interesting, does descaling fix the wand water temp issue or is it just a limitation of how the machine heats it

 

[Tough Turtle]

i mean its a 500 quid machine not a la marzocco, just press whatever button and get on with your day

 

[Electric D]

oh interesting, does descaling fix the wand water temp issue or is it just a limitation of how the machine heats it

descaling helps a bit but its mainly the thermoblock, the machine heats the water on demand but the wand isnt as hot. Nothing you can do about it.

 

[Divine Worm Ma]

i mean its a 500 quid machine not a la marzocco, just press whatever button and get on with your day

agree with this. The americano debate is so overblown for a machine that grinds on a flat burr the size of a 50p coin

 

[Enviou]

Coffee button user here and I genuinely cant tell the difference between coffee button and americano methods. Maybe my palate is broken but I think most of this is people convincing themselves that the extra step with the coffee button is important. With decent beans and the correct grind both methods are going to taste the same.

 

[In Search of Sc]

Coffee button user here and I genuinely cant tell the difference between coffee button and americano methods. Maybe my palate is broken but I think most of this is people convincing themselves that the extra step with the coffee button is important. With decent beans and the corr…

You cant blind test yourself, that's not how blind testing works. You prepared both the coffee and the americano so you knew which was which.

 

[Enviou]

You cant blind test yourself, that's not how blind testing works. You prepared both the coffee and the americano so you knew which was which.

my partner poured both into identical mugs and labeled the bottoms while I was out the room, im not an idiot mate