De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine Review

What dad really wants is coffee. At least that’s the case for this dad. For Christmas this year, my wife bought me (or should I say “we,” as this gift benefitted us both) a De’Longhi espresso machine. She picked the model—De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine—after reading reviews of multiple similar products online. Today we’ll provide a more in-depth look at the performance and value of the machine.

• Purchase Today on Amazon for $399.99

Ease of Use

I opened the De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine on Christmas day and it was up, running and a regular part of our morning routine days later (after we bought great coffee beans from our local shop, Tinker Coffee). Setup is pretty straightforward and mostly involves a bit of cleaning that is well-explained in the instruction manual. Using the machine is also fairly simple. Press the one cup button for one espresso shot, the two for a double, and the steam button to either warm milk or water, or froth milk.

I will say the De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine can be finnicky. For example, it’s struggled to brew a few times and we haven’t been able to pinpoint the exact reason. A little tinkering and restarting the machine worked for us. The instruction manual lists cleaning efforts as the primary resolution to most problems and we hadn’t utilized the machine enough for it to be substantially dirty, so that wasn’t the problem for us. Regardless, we were able to get the machine running again, and have only had issues with about a handful of cups out of the more than one hundred brewed without issue. 

Quality of Espresso

The De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine brews a great espresso. And I’ve had the real deal in Italy, so that’s no small compliment. I will say, and most people know this, but he quality and freshness of the coffee bean matters more than the machine. Invest in excellent quality beans and you’ll get excellent quality coffee. This does, however, mean you’ll need a bean grinder. We use this simple Mr. Coffee coffee bean grinder which is affordable and quick.

Noise Level

Perhaps I never realized espresso makers are loud, as I’ve only ever had espresso in coffee shops filled with talking people. Well, espresso machines are kind of loud, and that includes the De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine. That said, I’m more than willing to pause conversation for a few minutes in order to get a great cup of Americano each morning, so while this is my lowest star rating at a three, it doesn’t bother me.

Pace of Brewing

When I first got the De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine, I told my wife I’d probably only use it on the weekends when I have more time to spend on creating my cup of joe. Quickly after beginning to use the machine, and getting used to its settings, I changed my tune. Start to finish, you can have a cup of espresso in less than three minutes, and that includes grinding the beans.

The only reason I didn’t rate this component a 5-star is because sometimes when you want to make two cups the machine doesn’t complete the full brew. You have to be very careful not to press your grounds in too tightly or the machine will lock up and not brew. You sometimes have to wait a minute or so for the heating function to work, so making anything that requires hot milk will take a little additional time.

Cost

When researching espresso machines, my wife found the size and cost of machines varied widely. Many machines cost several hundred and upwards of one thousand or more dollars. The cost of the De’Longhi Dedica DeLuxe Pump Espresso Machine lands almost squarely in the middle of the pack, cost-wise.

We got ours on sale (the white model was less than others around Black Friday) for around $300. I’ve never had one of the larger $500+ machines, but I will say this one has met every one of our coffee needs, and we do utilize the machine for espresso and specialty drinks like macchiatos and cappuccinos.  

The Pros

• Relatively affordable at around $350 regular price
• Produces a quick cup of espresso
• Takes up very little space
• Can make specialty drinks and regular espresso

The Cons

• Somewhat noisy
• Can be finicky without on occasion
• Can take a minute or so for the liquid warming or frothing functions to work well

Overall, this purchase has been a solid 4-star addition to our household. While I originally thought it would be utilized only for the occasional treat, it’s been upgraded to a daily part of our routine. In fact, I’m turning into such a coffee snob that we put our typical coffee maker into the storage room in the basement, with no plans to bring it up unless we have an espresso-disliking guest (which may never happen).

• Purchase Today on Amazon for $399.99