Drinking gourmet coffee at home can sometimes seem like a daunting venture into expensive espresso machines. I’ve owned my current De’Longhi 15 bar pump espresso machine – ecp3630 for almost 8 years now, and as I write this De’Longhi ECP3630 review, I’m reminded that this machine makes better coffee than the coffee shops at a very affordable price. I bought this espresso machine in late 2015, and that same machine years later is still very much alive and well. And I love it!
I’ve always liked vanilla lattes and cappuccinos. I experimented with different coffees and syrups to find the flavor I liked best. To be honest, almost anything I tried was better than a coffee shop. But the ECP3630 and the coffee it produces is one of the highlights of my weekend. You can get a silky smooth espresso or a frothy cappuccino or latte.
So let’s get on with the review and talk about all the pros and cons to owning the De’Longhi ECP3630 espresso machine.
Product Specifications
| Dimensions (Inches): | 9.6″ L x 7.25″ W x 11.9″ H |
| Weight (Pounds) | 9.8 LBS |
| Pressure: | 15 bar |
| Water Reservoir: | 37 ounces / 1.09 Liters |
| Materials: | Stainless Steel; Plastic; Silicon |
| Power: | 110 Volts |
| Additional Information | Manuals, Parts, and FAQ’s |
| Portafilter Size | 51 mm |
Pros And Cons
- Makes great tasting coffee.
- Very easy to use. I figured it out without reading the instructions.
- Sturdy and solid construction.
- Steamer/Frother is above average and the components are easy to clean.
- Drip trays are nice and versatile for various mug sizes.
- No easy way to tell how much water is left in the reservior.
- Espresso can come out of the two portafilter spouts unevenly sometimes.
- Portafilter drips long after I stop the brew cycle.
- The warmer on top get’s warm, but not sure how useful it really is.
Design And Features Of The De’Longhi ECP3630
The Body
The first thing anyone will notice in a new appliance is how it looks. So lets start our review of the De’Longhi ECP3630 with the body and style of this espresso machine.
With an almost entirely stainless steel body it will enhance the look of your kitchen and look well with other stainless steel appliances. There are a few areas that have plastic such as the lid to the water reservoir and the base of the drip tray, but these components fit really well with the design of the rest of the machine.
There are elements of chrome in the machine such as the drip tray, but the chrome plating was done well and it looks good. Most espresso machines will some chrome on it. Overall, the espresso maker looks nice and doesn’t look cheap at all.
The Control Panel
Let’s continue on our De’longhi ECP3630 review with the control panel.
The main control panel is centered on the top of the machine and very easy to use. There are four settings that the espresso machine can be in – Off, On; Brew; and Steam. Secondly, there’s a second lever style knob above the steam wand it use the steamer and froth milk.
How To Use The De’Longhi ECP3630
The machine will start in the “Off” position. To start the initial brew cycle you’ll turn the dial one setting over to the right to the “On” position. There are two indicator lights. A red indicator light showing you that the machine is on, and there’s a green indicator light showing that the espresso machine is ready to brew.
When the green indicator light comes on you can then turn the dial again to the “Brew” setting which is the setting all the way to the right. Brew your desired amount of coffee.
There is no automatic off on this espresso machine. So when the brew cycle is over you need to either turn the dial back to “Off” or you can turn the dial all the way to the left to use the steamer and frother.
If you decide to use the steamer and frother you’ll need to wait for the green indicator light to come on. Once it does, you can use the knob on the right side of the machine to either steam or froth your milk. Once you’re finished you can return the dial to the “Off” position.
Water Reservoir
The water reservoir is a 37 ounce reservoir. In the whole De’longhi ECP3630 review process I actually think that my biggest complaints surrounding this machine involve the water reservoir.
A 37 ounce capacity at the recommended fill line is a little small. I like to make cappuccinos in a 16 ounce mug. I also sometimes use the espresso machines to make regular black coffee. We use the espresso machine almost every day in our house and find that we’re constantly refilling the water reservoir.
I can live with refilling the water reservoir though. It’s part of owning a machine that is compact. What’s more inconvenient about the machine is that there’s no easy way to tell how much water is left in the reservoir. There is a window that allows a view to the water level, but since the color is an opaque white on thicker plastic it’s very difficult to see.
It would be very helpful if De’Longhi used an LED light like the Keurig classic coffee makers to assist in reading the water levels.
Portafilter And Filter Baskets
The ECP3630 uses a pressurized portafilter which is common among entry level machines. Basically, it allows the water to come through when an exact pressure is reached. In this case, the De’longhi machine is a 15 bar pump espresso machine.
There’s no big issues with the portafilter overall. I’m not sure if if it’s a difference in pressure or how the coffee is tampered in the portafilter, but for a second or two I’ve found that the coffee will brew out of one spout before the second spout finally brews coffee.
There are two filter baskets that come with the De’Longhi ECP3630 espresso machine. A one shot espresso basket and a double shot espresso basket. The espresso machine is designed to be able to use ground coffee beans or ESE (Easy Serving Espresso) Pods.
Tip: The portafilter and filter baskets are hand wash only. Don’t put it in the dishwasher or the chrome plating will tarnish and come off.
Drip Tray
A drip tray certainly won’t be the most exciting part of the De’longhi ECP3630 review. It’s a drip tray! But it’s a good drip tray. It has a water level indicator on it if the water level is getting high in the tray. My favorite part is that it is removable so the machine can accommodate larger mugs or thermos.
When you remove the drip tray you’ll see another tray underneath. This will help catch spills, but only has a metal footing and doesn’t have a water reservoir that will hold and contain liquids. But it is nice that you can remove the top part in order to make a larger coffee.
Tip: The drip tray is hand wash only. Don’t put it in the dishwasher or the chrome plating will tarnish and come off.
Frother And Wand
I actually really like the frother and wand on this machine a lot more than other machines I’ve used. The reason is that it’s not all plastic. And I think the key word here is “all” when I say it’s not all plastic.
The frother and wand is in two parts. A removable part of the wand which you see as the chrome plated piece. That part is plastic with a chrome plating. But the guts of the wand is silicone. This is the part that is different from other entry level espresso machines like the De’Longhi EC702. Most other machines use all plastic. By using silicone De’Longhi is making the cleaning a lot easier for this area of the machine.
Lastly, on top of the outside part of the wand (chrome plated piece) is a silicone setting that you can slide up and down. This setting basically indicates whether you want to be frothing milk or just steaming milk.
All in all, I think the frother does a very good job at both steaming and frothing milk. If there are any complaints it would be that the bubbles are a little bit larger than higher end machines put out. But for an entry level machine it’s totally satisfactory. I think 99% of the people wouldn’t even notice the bubbles being a little bit larger when frothing milk.
Cup Warmer
If you want to kind of ignore any part of the De’Longhi ECP3630 review this is probably it. To be honest, I don’t really use the cup warmer at all. I understand why it’s there. If you’re brewing espresso you want your cups to be a little warm as the espresso is brewed. But it takes too long to warm up, and I’m not enough of a connoisseur to have the cup warmer matter. It get’s warm. It takes a little while to get warm. I don’t use it, and most likely you wouldn’t either.
Performance And Functionality
This might be the most important section of our De’Longhi ECP3630 review. After all, you want your espresso machine to perform well!
Overall, this is a very good performing espresso machine. In fact, I like the coffee it produces so much that the only time I go to coffee shops now is if I’m travelling. So thi De’Longhi 15 bar pump espresso and cappuccino maker has more than paid for itself.
It has performed well over the years, but there have been some quirks along the way. The minor issues I had ended up being my own fault. At one point, the coffee brewing out of the machine was a very slow drip. I thought after 4 years of using the espresso machine the motor was finally quitting.
After some trouble shooting I realized that the grind size on my grinder had changed to “extra fine” and I was packing the grinds too tight. Lesson learned – make sure you’re on the proper grind setting for an espresso shot which is “fine”.
Since I can’t complain about the taste of the coffee my only other complaint would be the post brew drip. After the coffee is brewed and the machine is off the portafilter will continue to drip coffee for a few minutes. Not really a fan of that. I keep an extra espresso cup around to place under the portafilter to catch the drips.
Cleaning And Maintenance
I see so many complaints about various makes and models of coffee makers that say the maker broke after a few months of use. Not to say there’s not bad machines out there, but I think a lot of issues have to do with poor maintenance. I pay attention to keep up with the manufacturers recommended maintenance.
These parts of the espresso machine should be cleaned regularly.
- the drip tray
- the coffee filters
- the boiler outlet
- the water tank
- the frother and wand
Every 200 cycles of the espresso maker should be descaled. It’s recommended by De’Longhi that you use the De’Longhi descaler
Although I’d always recommend you to follow the manufacturers instructions I have used vinegar to clean my espresso machine before. But cleaning and descaling the machine is pretty easy and does not take a lot of time to complete the task.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What’s the difference between the De’longhi ECP3420 and the De’Longhi ECP3630?
Is De’Longhi a good brand?
Are home espresso machines worth it?
De’Longhi ECP3630 Review: Final Thoughts
After the De’longhi ECP3630 review is finished I think the best question to ask myself and present to you is: “Would I buy this espresso machine again?”. The answer is YES. For an entry level espresso maker it’s definitely worth the money.
The De’longhi 15 bar pump espresso machine is intuitive and very easy to use. The manual has some really good tips in it, but you won’t have any trouble figuring this espresso machine out if you had to. I bought it. I use it. And I highly recommend this entry level espresso maker.