DeLonghi Dedica in Test 2026: What it can really do

The espresso from the capsule machine doesn't taste good? The office only has stale coffee from the fridge-sized Kaffeemacher? The instant coffee at the company always gives me stomach aches. A real espresso, now that would be something. Strong, powerful, and not bitter or sour. Or a creamy cappuccino? Just like at my favorite café.

There are countless reasons why more and more people are searching for high-quality coffee. When it comes to espresso and cappuccino, most people encounter lever machines and are immediately put off. They cost several thousand euros, and then you need an expensive grinder too. Maybe a new capsule machine would be better after all?

The De'Longhi Dedica line promises something different. For just 200 to 250 euros, you should be able to enjoy a delicious, real espresso. Anyone who reads a bit in coffee communities will find that Dedica machines are probably the most-purchased entry-level machines. But have they earned their good reputation? Can you really buy a usable espresso machine for so little money? We're also excited about the Dedica machines, and we'll tell you why!

Focus on the Dedica 685 and 885

There's a whole range of Dedica machines. In our article, we take a closer look at the current versions Dedica 685, for around 200 euros, and the Dedica 885 for around 240 euros.

Here are the differences between the two machines:

The Steam Wand

The Dedica 885 comes with several new features. The most striking upgrade is a new and really useful steam wand on the Dedica 885. The cheaper Dedica 685 has a so-called Pannarello steam wand built in. With this technology, water vapor is mixed with air in a stainless steel tube to froth the milk. To achieve latte-art-capable, fine-pored milk foam, you must determine the air supply yourself during the pulling and rolling phases of milk frothing. This is almost impossible with a Pannarello steam wand. If you don't want to tinker with your machine and want a suitable steam wand right away, you should go for the Dedica 885.

If you have a Dedica with a Pannarello steam wand, check out our href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ae1Uda2br4&t=674s"videohref="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ae1Uda2br4&t=674s" with tuning tips, where we also replace the steam wand with a Rancilio Silvia steam wand.

The Included Accessories

The 685 and 885 also differ in terms of accessories. With the cheaper 685 version, you only get a plastic coffee dosing spoon with tamper function, which is completely useless and can be discarded immediately. In the accessories of the 885, on the other hand, you'll find a real, high-quality tamper that closes flush with the portafilter. Additionally, you also get a small, robust milk pitcher for frothing milk.

In summary, you can say that the additional cost of the Dedica 885 is definitely justified, since you would pay significantly more for a real tamper, a milk pitcher, and converting the Pannarello steam wand, and you would even have to get your hands a bit dirty.

What makes the Delonghi Dedica machines the perfect entry-level machine?

The Price

The price. As simple as that may sound, the price really makes the machine interesting. For around 200 euros, or often significantly cheaper used, you get a good introduction to the world of espresso.

The Thermoblock

The Dedica machines are thermoblock machines. In these machines, the water from the water tank flows through a heated block during espresso extraction, similar to a flow heater. The water is heated and brought to the correct brewing temperature. This is much faster than with espresso machines with a boiler, where the entire boiler first has to be brought to operating temperature. That takes a good half hour.

It's different with thermoblock machines. The Dedica is ready to use after just 20 seconds. This is great for beginners who don't want to plan ahead for when they'll make an espresso. Want an espresso? Switch it on and go.

Not least, thermoblock machines consume much less electricity. That's not bad either!

Built-in Volumetric Control

To brew a perfect espresso, you need a good brewing recipe. We often recommend 1 to 2.5, so for example, 18 grams of ground coffee in the portafilter becomes 45 milliliters of espresso in the cup.

With the Dedicas, you can easily adjust the water volume for single and double shots. You can place a scale under your cup and hold down the shot button until you reach the desired fill level in the cup. The machine saves this value and you won't need a scale for future shots. This volumetric control is extremely practical, ideal for beginners, and is not even built into many expensive machines.

Adjustable Brewing Temperature

Another special feature for an entry-level machine is the adjustable brewing temperature. Not only the often-advertised pressure of an espresso machine is crucial for taste, but also the correct brewing temperature.

The Dedicas offer three temperature levels to choose from. For most medium to dark roasts, we recommend level 2 at 92° – 93° C.

The luxury of adjustable brewing temperature is far from available on all machines, especially not in the lower price range.

As you can see, both the Dedica 685 and the Dedica 885 have several very useful features that are truly remarkable for this price range. This makes them, especially at their low price, really interesting entry-level machines.

But to be completely honest, the Dedicas don't open the door to the espresso world "out of the box." To do this, you'll need to make some upgrades, which we'll briefly explain below.

Upgrades for the Dedica Machines

New Baskets

The Dedica machines come with so-called double-walled baskets. Instead of many holes, these have only a tiny hole through which the coffee is forced with enormous pressure.

By now, it's common knowledge that crema on espresso is a quality indicator. The extreme pressure that the double-walled basket produces creates crema with almost any old or incorrectly ground coffee, no matter how terrible the espresso tastes. Even worse, a little old coffee always remains under the rubber ring in the double-walled basket. This is unhygienic and certainly doesn't contribute to a delicious drink.

Real espresso, the way we understand it, is achieved through a natural resistance that you create through the grind size of the coffee grounds. For this, you absolutely need href="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/siebe-51mm"matching single-walled basketshref="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/siebe-51mm". In our shop, you can buy a href="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/siebtrager-fur-delonghi-dedica-mit-2er-auslauf"portafilter with 2-spout outlethref="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/siebtrager-fur-delonghi-dedica-mit-2er-auslauf" or also a href="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/bodenloser-siebtrager-delonghi-dedica"bottomless portafilterhref="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/bodenloser-siebtrager-delonghi-dedica". These come with high-quality baskets included. An absolutely necessary upgrade!

A Grinder

Ground coffee loses most of its flavor within just a few minutes. For this reason alone, it would make sense to buy coffee as beans and grind it fresh.

The second reason is: you determine through the grind size how quickly water flows through the coffee grounds. The coarser the powder, the faster the water runs through it, and vice versa. Just think of fine and coarse sand in a sandbox. You roughly hit the best taste, the so-called "sweet spot" of a coffee, with an extraction time of 25–35 seconds. So you need to choose a coffee grinder that can grind espresso-fine and adjust it accordingly.

A good electric grinder can easily cost another 230 euros. Those who don't want to invest that much should buy a good href="https://kaffeemacher.de/blogs/espressomuhlen/handmuhlen-guide"hand grinderhref="https://kaffeemacher.de/blogs/espressomuhlen/handmuhlen-guide".

A Real Tamper

If you've bought the Dedica 685, you should replace the supplied coffee dosing spoon tamper (the word alone sounds terrible) with a high-quality tamper. With the tamper, you compress the coffee grounds and create an even surface for uniform extraction. 51 millimeter tampers, such as href="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/51er-tamper"this onehref="https://kaffeemacher.de/products/51er-tamper" in our shop, fit Dedica machines.

Further Upgrade Options for Your Dedica

In addition to the three important upgrades described above, there are also a few gadgets that can be practical and helpful, but don't directly affect the quality of the espresso.

Since the Dedica's drip tray is somewhat impractical, we recommend purchasing a drip grid or having it href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5413155"3D-printedhref="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5413155" in our shop.

Since the footprint of Dedica machines is quite small and two cappuccino cups don't fit under it at the same time, there's another extension. You can have a platform extension href="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4854768"printedhref="https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4854768" or purchased. Even though these two upgrades don't directly affect the taste, they still enhance the machine considerably.

If you have a Dedica 685, you can upgrade the Pannarello steam wand without technical know-how. First, you can simply slide off the outer metal tube and froth with the silicone hose. This works better than with the Pannarello tube. We recommend fixing the silicone hose with cable ties so it doesn't slip off. If that's too makeshift for you, you can also simply pull the hose onto the inner tube and secure it with a clamp. A detailed guide is available in our href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ae1Uda2br4&t=674s"videohref="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ae1Uda2br4&t=674s".

We're curious what you think about your Dedica. Feel free to leave us a comment or send us an email.

See you soon and happy brewing!