An affordable, perfect espresso. Tips and tricks for the De'Longhi Dedica series

The De'Longhi Dedica Series, with its flagship products Delonghi Dedica 685 and Delonghi Dedica 885, has become a hidden gem in the espresso scene in recent years. The Dedica range shows us: to make a good espresso, you don't necessarily have to spend the equivalent of a small car, but can already dive into the espresso world for around 150 euros.

However, it's not quite that simple "out of the box." To get the best out of your machine and your coffee, we recommend some tricks and also upgrades for the machine. In this blog, we'll take you through step by step and explain how to best operate your machine. You can also watch our video collection for the Dedica 685/885 series.

Grinder

Unfortunately, you can't do it without further investment. You absolutely need a Kaffeemacher that grinds espresso-fine. This can sometimes cost as much as the Dedica itself. However, the grinder is essential for two reasons:

• 1. Ground coffee powder loses a large part of its aroma within a few minutes. If you buy pre-ground coffee from the supermarket, you only taste a few percent of the original aroma.
• 2. With the grinder, you determine how fast the water flows through the coffee grounds. If water runs through too quickly with a coarse grind, the espresso is under-extracted and often too sour. With too fine a grind, the water flows too slowly through the coffee grounds and dissolves too many bitter compounds. The coffee is over-extracted and bitter. You find the right "sweet spot" by adjusting the grind correctly. This only works with freshly ground coffee!

The good news is that you can find good espresso-capable hand grinders for relatively little money. In our hand grinder guide, we've compiled what to watch out for.

The Portafilter

The Dedica comes with so-called "fake baskets." These baskets are designed for pre-ground coffee. The water is forced through an extremely small hole, so that even with old coffee powder you get a kind of "crema" on your espresso.

To brew a real espresso, you need to replace the basket or the entire portafilter with a real, high-quality basket. In our shop you'll find a portafilter with dual spout or also a bottomless portafilter. With both options, you can brew real espresso by adjusting the flow rate of the coffee via the grind of your coffee grinder. A game changer!

The Right Water

Did you know that even the water plays a crucial role in brewing your espresso? To protect your machine from limescale and extract as many flavors as possible from the coffee, your water should have a total hardness of 3 - 6 °dH (German hardness). This value can be achieved with filters or with purchased supermarket water. If you want to know more, read the blog on coffee water.

The Right Coffee

Of course, it also depends on the coffee you choose. We recommend our Bio Apas coffee for getting started, a true all-rounder. Coffee beans from a local roastery also work great. What's important is that you know whether your coffee was light or dark roasted and whether it's 100% Arabica or has Robusta content. This information is important for adjusting the temperature on your Dedica.

Setting the Brew Temperature on Delonghi Dedica 685 and 885

The Dedica machines offer the option to adjust the brew temperature. You have a choice of three levels:

• 1. Level: 90° - 91° C
• 2. Level: 92° - 93° C
• 3. Level: 95° - 97° C

In our tests, we measured all temperature levels precisely and recommend the 2nd temperature level for most medium and dark roasts. Some very dark roasts taste a little better with the 1st temperature level, but the third temperature level is hardly useful for any coffee.

Adjusting the temperature is very simple. With the machine turned on, press and hold the steam button for a few seconds. The extraction buttons now flash rhythmically. Then press the button for the single espresso extraction. Now all three buttons flash in sequence. This flashing symbolizes your temperature level. If you want temperature level 1, press the button for the single espresso extraction. You get temperature level 2 by pressing the double espresso extraction button, and level 3 by pressing the steam button. After a few seconds, the machine confirms with a flash that the new temperature has been saved.

Preparation

Now it's time to get down to business. All preparations are made and we're brewing espresso.

The Dedica is a so-called thermoblock machine. It heats up very quickly and reaches operating temperature within a few minutes. However, in this short time, the portafilter is far from operating temperature—it's ice cold. Therefore, before your first espresso, you should do an empty extraction without coffee grounds. The hot water warms up your portafilter and you're ready to go.

Now you prepare your coffee. The baskets from our shop hold about 16 grams of ground coffee. Make sure not to overfill the basket, as the coffee could burn on the shower screen. After extraction, you shouldn't see an imprint of the screw in the coffee puck.

Once the ground coffee is in the portafilter, compress it first by tapping the portafilter on the table or with a "karate chop" with your hand. The coffee settles and all air pockets are closed. If you skip this step, the water can seek the easiest resistance under brewing pressure. It then doesn't flow evenly through the coffee grounds, but faster in one spot. The espresso will taste sour and unbalanced, despite the correct grind.

Now start preinfusion twice. Press the extraction button again to stop it. In our temperature tests, this little hack showed that you achieve a particularly stable temperature curve around 92° C during your espresso extraction.

The Dedica machines have programmable volumetrics. By holding down the extraction button, you can set how much water your extraction uses. This allows you to set your brewing recipe. We recommend a brewing recipe of 1 to 2 or 1 to 2.5. Your 16 grams of ground coffee should produce 32-40 ml of espresso in the cup. Place a scale under the cup and release the button at about 32 grams during extraction. This programs your volumetrics and your brewing recipe will be correct on subsequent extractions. Since the Dedica doesn't have an expansion valve, the machine will drip a little after you release the button. Keep this in mind and release the button a bit "early" when setting it.

The machine has an "auto-off" function to save power. This can also be adjusted. It comes factory set to 9 minutes. If you want to change it, press and hold the steam button again. When all lights flash rhythmically, press the steam button once more. Now the three buttons flash in sequence again and give you three setting options. The single extraction button sets "auto-off" to 9 minutes, the double extraction button to 30 minutes, and the steam button to 3 hours.

Affordable Perfect Espresso?

Admittedly, if you decide on the Dedica as a beginner, you'll have to dig a bit deeper into your pockets. At least a grinder and a high-quality, real basket are needed to truly dive into the espresso world.

Thanks to our community and our test rounds, we're constantly gathering more knowledge about the finer points of the Dedica series. Even if you have to go the extra mile, with this knowledge, nothing stands in the way of an affordable, perfect espresso. Follow our tips and you'll be amazed at how premium your espresso can taste at home!

Tuning Tips and Useful Accessories for Your Dedica

Here you'll find a selection of accessories and useful additions for your Dedica 685 or 885: Delonghi Dedica accessories.