All products have been chosen and reviewed independently. This page contains affiliate links and we may receive a commission for purchases made, but this comes at no extra cost to you and helps us to continue to provide high quality content.

DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart ECAM 230.13.B review

Prices (CET) Product prices and availability are as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. The price and availability information displayed on Amazon.co.uk at the time of purchase apply to the purchase of this product.

The DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart is one of the most popular affordable bean to cup coffee machines. And there are good reasons for that. It is very compact with a width of 25 cm and also easy to use. Although the casing is mainly made of plastic, which is typcial n this price range, it nevertheless makes a good impression on us.

the Delonghi compared to a coffee machine

Manual milk nozzle

You can prepare the milk foam yourself with the DeLonghi ECAM 230.13.B. You fill cold milk into your glass (or jug) and hold the milk frothing nozzle into it. Then the milk is foamed with hot steam. Then prepare an espresso and your cappuccino is ready.

A manual milk nozzle is standard in this price range. A fully automatic milk system is only available for around 500 Euros. On the other hand, you have more options for experimenting with the milk nozzle. For example, you can easily change the amount of milk foam and foam longer to get hotter milk foam. At the same time, the manual milk nozzle requires a bit more practice to achieve consistent results.

The milk frothing nozzle is located on the left side. For large milk jugs and glasses, you can turn the nozzle outward . This gives you a little more space at the bottom. The milk frothing nozzle uses hot steam to froth the milk. If you unscrew the nozzle, you have a tap for hot water to make tea. The nice thing is that the milk nozzle is relatively quiet at 58 dB.

The bean compartment

On top of the DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart you will find the bean compartment. It has an airtight and slightly darkened lid. This preserves the aroma of your coffee beans for as long as possible. The bean compartment is easily accessible and easy to fill due to the large opening. It can fit up to 250 grams of beans.

When opening it, we immediately noticed a grille made of plastic. We were skeptical at first, but the grille has a purpose: It ensures that the beans slide evenly towards the grinder. As a result, we did not have to help the be an to cup coffee machine slide down – as was the case with other bean to cup coffee machines in our test.

The grinder

The Magnifica S Smart is equipped with a conical burr grinder made of steel. The grinder can be adjusted, as always with
DeLonghi bean to cup coffee machines.
The grinder can be adjusted via a small dial in the bean compartment. In total, you have 13 levels at your disposal. The labeling is somewhat unusual, as there are 7 levels, each with an intermediate step. So 1 – 1.5 – 2 – 2.5 – 3 etc. This gives a total of 13 levels in the end.

The smaller the number set, the finer the coffee powder. For espresso, we used levels 3 to 4 (labeled as 2 & 2.5) in the test and were very satisfied with them. The finer the coffee powder, the more intense the espresso. For normal coffee, it is best to choose a medium grinder setting. Here, the best level is 6 (labeled as 3.5).

In terms of noise, the grinder is in the midfield with an average of 71.5 dB. This is about as loud as a faucet, but the grinder also only runs for about 10 seconds. If you want it to be extra quiet, take a look at what we found in our bean to cup coffee machine test recommend.

Of course, you can also use the bean to cup coffee machine with already ground coffee. Then the device deactivates the grinder. Put the coffee powder into the flap in front of the bean compartment.

The water tank

On the right side of the device you will find the water tank. It can be easily pulled out to the front. This means you only need a little space next to or above the device. The tank is sturdy and closes exactly with the rest of the casing. A total of 1.8 liters fit into the water tank.

In the rear part of the tank you will find the connection for the included water filter. You can find out how to connect it in the Cleaning section. To prevent water from spilling over, the tank still has a lid. To fill it up, you can remove it or use the small opening.

The brewing unit

As with any bean to cup coffee machine, the brewing unit is the heart of the machine, as this is where your coffee is brewed. Directly behind the water tank you will find the service hatch for the brewing unit. Remove the brewing unit by pressing the two red buttons. Their structure is kept relatively simple, and that’s a good thing. This means that there are only a few corners where coffee powder can accumulate. This makes subsequent cleaning much easier.

For this price category, the brewing unit makes a solid impression. Steel is used instead of plastic in important places. The threaded tube on which the brewing unit moves up and down is also made of steel. Other (more expensive) bean to cup coffee machines have much more plastic. We are convinced of the quality of the brewing unit.

The coffee spout

Nothing should splash past small espresso cups. At the same time, large latte macchiato glasses must fit underneath. The coffee spout must therefore be adjustable in height. On the DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart, it can be continuously adjusted from 8 to 14 cm.

The coffee spout is also made of plastic – a bit wobbly but sturdy. However, you cannot expect high-end quality in this price range. In our test, every drop of espresso finds its way into the cup. And also our large latte macchiato glass fits perfectly. The coffee spout has two outlets, which means you can prepare two drinks at the same time – but this only works for espresso.

Drip tray & coffee grounds container

Both collection trays can be easily pulled out to the front. Once the drip tray is full, a red float rises to the top. Then you should quickly tip the water away, otherwise it will overflow. When the coffee grounds tray is full, a lamp lights up in the display. The container can hold up to 14 coffee pucks.

If your drip tray is full first, you should still empty the coffee grounds tray – even if it’s only half full. This is because the system always resets the counter reading as soon as you remove the collection trays. It is best to always empty the drip tray and coffee grounds tray together.

Both collection trays are made of thick plastic and are robust. Officially, the collection trays should not be put in the dishwasher. But we dared to do it anyway (at low temperature) and nothing happened. There is certainly nothing wrong with putting the containers in the dishwasher every now and then. If you want to be sure, it is better to wash them by hand.

The cup tray on which the cups stand is made of stainless steel. As with many other bean to cup coffee machines, however, it unfortunately scratches very quickly. The cup tray may be placed in the dishwasher.

Display Magnifica S Smart

The display is very legible from the front and can be operated flawlessly even with large fingers. The buttons are logically arranged and all drinks are clearly labeled. What stands out is that there is only one button for 2 espressos. You can only prepare one cup at a time of regular coffee or long coffee.

On the far right you will find the on/off switch. To froth milk, select the button with the steam cloud symbol. We particularly like the rotary knob for adjusting the coffee strength (intensity). Here you can make fine gradations to meet your taste. Here, however, we lack numbers as gradations.

All “Errors” are shown at the top of the display by red illuminated symbols. A jug with drops indicates that the machine needs fresh water. You cannot adjust the beverage quantity without looking at the instructions. On the other hand, the instructions are clearly formulated and well supplemented by pictures and symbols. There is nothing to complain about here.

On the right of the display is the large on/off switch. Before you do this, you have to set the main switch at the back of the housing to “I”, otherwise nothing will happen. After switching on, it takes pretty much exactly one minute until the DeLonghi bean to cup coffee machine is ready to go.

Meanwhile, the Magnifica S Smart performs a thorough rinse cycle and preheats. After that you can prepare several drinks without having to wait again. After 30 minutes without input, the bean to cup coffee machine switches off again. However, you can also extend the standby time.

Espresso

For our test, we brew a normal and an intense espresso. We want to find out if there really is a difference. With the DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart, you can adjust the strength of your espresso in 20 levels. So here you have a lot of room to experiment.

For the first espresso, we set the strength to levels 7-8 (normal intensity). Unfortunately, the levels are not labeled, so we have to estimate the level. For the second espresso, we set the intensity to levels 16-17. In addition, we set afiner grinder setting (from level 4 to 3). This makes the coffee powder finer ground and the espresso even more intense.

The Delonghi requires exactly 34 seconds per espresso to prepare. Both espressos convince with an optimal temperature of 70 °C and have a beautiful light brown crema . As can be seen in the pictures, the crema of the intense espresso is darker. We are also convinced by the taste and have awarded an average of 9 out of 10 points.

If you want an even more intense espresso, in addition to the grinder setting and strength, you can reduce the amount of water. However, there is no button for this on the device. DeLonghi’s standard is an espresso with 40 ml. You can reprogram this to 30 ml. You can find out how to do this in the Settings section.

Next, we prepare two espressos at the same time for our test. To do this, we press the “2x Espresso” button. Here, the device grinds twice the amount of coffee beans. Since there are not 2 grinds, the preparation is very fast at 46 seconds. Here, too, the taste, crema and temperature (70°C) are convincing. Verdict: The Delonghi Magnifica S Smart can make good espresso.

Coffee

The normal coffee from a bean to cup coffee machine is basically a very long extracted espresso. This means that more water is pressed through the coffee puck. Due to the long extraction, it may happen that more bitter substances are released. You can counteract this by setting the grinder setting a little coarser. We recommend level 6 here (labeled as 3.5).

In our test, we brewed a somewhat stronger coffee. You can also choose from 20 levels via the rotary switch. We have selected the coffee strength level 15. The reference took a total of 57 seconds. The coffee is decently hot at 70°C. 180 ml of coffee ends up in our cup. Here you can also reprogram the beverage quantity to your cup.

Overall, the regular coffee is well done and has a light crema. Our testers are satisfied, but the coffee Long we show you next has convinced even more.

Coffee Long with surge brewing method

For the Long Coffee, the surge brewing method is used. This is done by forcing water through the coffee puck in several spurts (surge). This should make the coffee taste more aromatic and full-bodied. We will soon find out whether this works.

For our test, we leave the coffee strength at the same levels as for normal coffee. This gives us a good comparison. We recommend strength levels 12 to 15 for normal coffee and coffee long. But that is of course a matter of taste. After we press the Long button, the machine grinds the beans. In 3 second bursts, the coffee finally lands in our cup.

After about half the time, the Delonghi Magnifica grinds coffee beans again and presses another fresh coffee puck. Again, the coffee lands in our cup in short bursts. After about 2 minutes, our coffee Long is ready. Shortly after brewing, the coffee has the perfect temperature of 70°C.

Compared to regular coffee, Long Coffee tastes more aromatic and less bitter. Here, the testers award 9 out of 10 points. This is a clear plus point for the Delonghi Magnifica S Smart, because the Long is not available in the predecessor. The longer wait is actually rewarded with better taste =)

Milk foam with the milk nozzle

The Magnifica S Smart is equipped with a milk foam nozzle to quickly prepare creamy milk foam. The best way to do this is to fill the milk into a milk jug. How much milk you need depends on your drink. More about that later. Now press the cloud symbol on the device. Now the machine generates water vapor. As soon as the beverage icons stop flashing, you are ready to go.

Immerse the milk nozzle about 1 cm into the milk and set the switch at the top left to “I”. Now slowly move your milk jug (or glass) up and down. The milk is heated by the hot steam and forms foam. The device is relatively quiet when frothing milk. We measured just 58 dB here. Bean to cup coffee machines with integrated milk systems are usually much louder.

One challenge is to hit the right temperature. The target is between 65°C and 70 °C. It is best to use a thermometer to get a feel for it. You can recognize the perfect temperature when the milk jug is too hot to touch from below. Then set the switch back to “0”. To remove any last large bubbles, swirl the milk jug or tap it lightly on the countertop. With practice, you’ll get better and better, then it won’t be necessary.

The children in the household are especially happy about this. The beauty of manual foaming is the flexibility. Some like the milk foam hot, others want it lukewarm. Some prefer to prepare the espresso first (classic), others the milk foam first. Here you have all the possibilities to experiment – we like this freedom. The milk frothing nozzle is also ideal for preparing hot milk for cocoa. The milk frothing nozzle is also ideal for preparing hot milk for cocoa.

Cappuccino

The basis for good cappuccino is an intense espresso. Add to this between 100 – 160 ml of milk foam. The amount is up to you with the DeLonghi Magnifica. Just adapt them to your taste and feel free to try something. The first thing we do is prepare an espresso. Here you can of course adjust the coffee strength to your taste. Here we choose level 15 out of 20.

This is how we prepare the cappuccino:

1. Prepare espresso
2. Measure 120 ml of milk and pour into milk jug
3. Press button for steam (unit preheats)
4. Dip nozzle 1 cm into milk
5. Set switch to “I
6. Slowly move the milk jug up & down ( 30 -40 seconds)
7. Set switch to “0
8. Pour milk foam on espresso

While the espresso is brewing, we pour about 120 ml of milk into our milk jug. By the way, the milk jug is not included. Of course, you can also froth directly in the glass. In the beginning, we measured the milk exactly. In the meantime, we have quite a good sense of proportion. Once the espresso is ready, we froth the milk with the milk nozzle. For our test, we heat it to approx. 70 °C. The milk should not be hotter than this, otherwise it will taste burnt. Then we slowly add it to the finished espresso.

What strikes us is that the finished espresso waits a good minute for the milk foam. Meanwhile, he is already cooling down a bit. You could also prepare the espresso after foaming the milk, but then the milk foam cools down. You see it is complicated. Unfortunately, the DeLonghi Magnifica does not allow us to prepare both at the same time. Nevertheless, our finished cappuccino reaches a temperature of 68°C. That’s perfectly fine.

The milk foam has uniformly fine bubbles. Only a few larger bubbles are visible in between. You can burst them by gently swirling the milk jug or tapping it on the table. In our spoon test, the milk foam adheres well. So it has a good consistency and is not too runny. However, some fully automatic systems manage to do this a bit better.

Some think the preparation with a manual milk nozzle is more time consuming. However, we cannot confirm this. After 1:57 minutes, the finished cappuccino was in front of us. So we were almost as fast as an automatic milk system.

Latte Macchiato

For the latte macchiato, we use a 350 ml glass and fill it about halfway with cold milk (180 ml). This time, we froth directly in the glass and then prepare the espresso. You should also only fill your glass halfway. This is because foaming can double the volume of the milk. And if you’re not careful, everything overflows… it’s already happened to us. 😉

We again prepare our espresso (just under 40 ml) at coffee strength level 15 of 20. The ratio of espresso to milk should be about 1 to 5 for latte macchiato. This is a good starting point for experimentation. If you like it stronger, just prepare a stronger espresso or even two. It becomes milder with more milk or a less strong espresso. There are no fixed rules here. But now for the preparation.

First, we activate the water vapor via the “cloud icon”. The device heats up – as long as this happens, all beverage buttons flash again. As soon as they stop, the device is preheated. Now we lightly dip the frothing nozzle into the milk and start the steam. We use a thermometer this time to measure the temperature of the milk foam. Our target is 65-70°C.

We turned off the steam too late. The temperature rises very quickly here you have to pay attention. In our test, the milk foam has 72°C. Not ideal, but still okay. As you can see, you have to get a good feel for the perfect temperature. When we are not shooting a video it works better. A little practice is necessary, however.

Next, we prepare the espresso and then measure the temperature of the entire drink. The ideal temperature is 65°C – this is how a latte macchiato is served, at least in the catering trade. When covering, the three layers are clearly visible. The heavy hot milk at the bottom, the espresso above and the airy milk foam on top. Our glass could even have been a little fuller. We’ll just use a little more milk next time.

Now we measure the temperature – 69°C. Not perfect, but still good. If the milk hadn’t gotten a little too hot for us, we would certainly have made a precision landing. And we know that some of you like the milk foam also nice and hot. The consistency of the milk foam is also convincing, as you can see in the picture. The bubbles are uniformly fine and the foam does not drip from the spoon.

Our testers are convinced of the taste. *Shoulder tap* At about 2 minutes, preparation also takes no longer than with a fully automatic milk system.

Hot water

Who needs a kettle? For tea, you can simply prepare hot water from the milk nozzle. To do this, set the switch at the top left to “I”. Be careful not to get burned, because there’s a lot of pressure behind it. You can also use the hot water to preheat your cup. In our test, the water is only around 75°C. This is ideal for green or white tea but too little for black, herbal and fruit tea. You should infuse this with 95°C hot water.

Coffee with ground coffee powder

Like many bean to cup coffee machines, the DeLonghi ECAM 230.13.B has a compartment for pre-ground coffee. The user manual gives the impression that we should best not use this at all. Many times it is pointed out that the tray can easily clog. Delonghi even advises against making 2 espressos or regular coffee. Why is that?

We are only allowed one level scoop at a time, and that seems to be enough for only one espresso. For a normal coffee is not enough the amount of coffee. After all, we are allowed to prepare a coffee “Long”. Here we need to fill a second measuring spoon after half.

To activate the coffee powder compartment, we turn the coffee strength switch as far as possible to the left. There you will also see a symbol for the coffee spoon. Then we put a level measuring spoon in the top of the flap for pre-ground coffee. Then we choose an espresso. Now the device uses the pre-ground coffee powder.

Now we will give you an overview of what you can set with the device. You do not have the option to create multiple profiles or save recipes. You won’t find one in this price range either. This is reserved for the more expensive models.

Customize drinks

As you can see from our rating, the DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart’s settings are very limited. You can easily adjust the coffee strength via the rotary switch. Here, the device uses more or less coffee powder accordingly. The coffee strength cannot be saved differently for espresso and coffee. So if you like to drink a strong espresso (level 15) and a mild coffee (level 7), you have to readjust the rotary switch when you change beverages.

You can adjust the beverage quantity to one cup and prepare it again and again. For example, you can generally program espresso to 30 ml and coffee to 200 ml. However, the machine does not have pre-programmed levels like other bean to cup coffee machines. For this you have everything in your own hands. We will now explain exactly how this works using the example of an espresso.

Place an espresso cup under the coffee spout and press and hold the espresso icon for 5 seconds. Now the espresso symbol flashes and the grinding process begins. Now also already starts the reference. Once you are satisfied with the amount, press the espresso icon again. By doing so, you stop the purchase and exactly this amount is saved for the future. As soon as you press the Espresso button again, you will receive exactly this amount.

For espresso, it is best to use a kitchen scale to accurately determine the beverage quantity. In our case, 5 ml still dripped into the cup after the 2nd press. If your target is 30 ml, press the button again at about 25 ml. This is tedious but unfortunately there is no other way. You can only adjust the beverage quantity by eye or with the help of a scale.

Once you have adjusted the beverage quantity, there is no way to reset the device to the original beverage quantity. We do not find any reference to this in the instructions. If you are satisfied with the preset beverage quantity, it is better to leave it as it is.

The following table shows you which beverage quantity is preset and which range is programmable:

You cannot automatically prepare a 200 ml cappuccino with the correct espresso-milk ratio. Also, you need to adjust the amount of milk itself to your cup. It will take you a couple of moves to get the hang of it. Logically, the bean to cup coffee machine does not have a milk system. But that’s exactly what many people expect from a bean to cup coffee machine. Therefore, the DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart only scores an average mark in the settings section. In return, the device is inexpensive and makes good coffee. Those who can do without many settings and like to take things into their own hands are still well advised with this model. 😉

Set temperature

With the DeLonghi ECAM 230.13.B, you can adjust the brewing temperature in 4 levels. Level 2 of 4 is set ex works. How many degrees are involved in each level is not given in the instructions. In the test, our espresso hadabout 70°C on level 2 . One level higher, we then measured around 73°C. Apparently, the difference per level is 3°C .

Stand-by & power saving mode

After a certain time, the vending machine switches to sleep mode to save energy. Ex works, this is 30 minutes. You can adjust this time. For this you have 5 levels from 15 to 180 minutes.

For programming you have to switch off the device (not the main switch). Then press and hold the Long key until the red LED symbols light up. Use the Espresso button to select the desired level. The illuminated symbols again represent the different levels – 15, 30, 60, 120 or 180 minutes. For example, level 2 stands for 30 minutes. Confirm your selection with the Long key.

You can also activate an energy-saving mode. For this, too, we have to go into standby mode. Then press and hold the steam button until the red LED symbol for lime lights up. When the icon flashes, the power saving mode is deactivated; when it is permanently lit, the mode is activated. Again you can confirm with the Long key.

When it comes to cleaning, you need to take special care of the following: the milk frothing nozzle, the brewing unit and the collection trays. In total, the effort is about 12 minutes per week. For this estimate, we assumed 20 drinks per week.

In addition, the DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart performs an automatic rinse cycle when switched on & off. Regular decalcification is also important. Depending on how calcareous your water is, you need to descale your bean to cup coffee machine every 1-3 months. The program takes about 45 minutes, but the effective effort for you is only 5 minutes.

We have selected the original DeLonghi and a cheaper alternative for each of the most important care products. Especially when it comes to descaler, we recommend that you use the original, at least during the warranty period.

Clean milk frothing nozzle

Compared to an integrated milk system, a milk frothing nozzle is very easy to clean. There is no milk container and no hoses.

It is best to wipe the outside of the nozzle with a damp cloth immediately after foaming. After that, you can directly prepare hot steam again for 5 seconds.

Once a day, take off the two parts, i.e. the outer tube and the small nozzle, and rinse them thoroughly by hand. Once a week you can put the two parts in a
milk system cleaner
to remove any residual milk fat.

Unfortunately, there is no reminder of the cleaning, e.g. in the form of a small LED. All in all, cleaning the milk frothing nozzle takes only 1 minute per day.

Drip tray & coffee grounds container

You should always empty the coffee grounds tray and the drip tray at the same time. When you remove the collection trays, the counter for the coffee pucks is automatically reset.

A red LED in the display and a red float remind you to empty. By the way, the coffee grounds tray can hold up to 14 coffee pucks. This is in comparison to other
bean to cup coffee machines in the test.
quite a lot.

To empty the containers, you can simply pull them out to the front. Once a week you should clean the containers thoroughly. The collection tray has a few corners that are not ideal to reach. Overall, however, both parts are quite easy to keep clean.

According to the instructions, both containers must not be put in the dishwasher. We did it in eco mode (max. 40°C) anyway and nothing happened 🙂 Per week you are only about 3 minutes with the cleaning of the containers.

Cleaning the brewing unit

According to the instructions, the brewing unit must be cleaned 1x per month. We recommend cleaning the brewing unit 1x per week . This is where the most important process of a bean to cup coffee machine finally takes place – extraction. For good espresso and coffee, a clean brewing unit is extremely important.

Direct praise to DeLonghi here: We hardly found any coffee powder on the brewing unit. This is not self-evident as we noticed with other devices. Coffee powder from previous brewing processes can negatively affect the taste. The less coffee grounds we find in the brewing unit, the better.

On the DeLonghi Magnifica S Smart, the brewing unit is accessible via a service flap behind the water tank. And this is how you clean the brewing unit according to the instructions:

1. 1. Switching off the bean to cup coffee machine (stand-by)
   2. The brewing unit moves to the rest position
   3. Remove water tank & open service flap
   4. Press the red buttons & pull out the brewing unit
   5. Place brewing unit in warm water for 5 (no rinsing agent!)
   6. Rinse brewing unit
   7. let dry in the air
   8. Reinsert brewing unit (clicking sound)

Before reinserting the brewing unit, it is best to clean the interior from coffee powder. For example, you can wipe the interior of the plunger (when you reach up to the left) with a damp kitchen towel.

Overall, cleaning the brewing unit is done in about 3 minutes per week when you look at the effective effort. It definitely sounds more complicated than it is. After a few times you will have developed a real routine.

You still have a question yourself or tips for other users about this device? Then feel free to leave us a comment.