An inexpensive, perfect espresso. Tips and tricks about the De'Longhi Dedica series

The De'Longhi Dedica series, with its flagship products Delonghi Dedica 685 and Delonghi Dedica 885, has made a name for itself in recent years as an insider tip in the espresso scene. The Dedica series shows us that you don't necessarily have to spend the equivalent of a small car for a good espresso; you can enter the world of espresso for as little as around 150 euros.

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

Grinder

Unfortunately, it's not possible without further investment. You absolutely need a coffee grinder that grinds fine enough for espresso. This can sometimes cost as much as the Dedica itself. However, the grinder is essential for two reasons:

• 1. Ground coffee loses a large part of its aroma within a few minutes. If you buy pre-ground coffee in the supermarket, you'll only taste a few percent of the original aroma.
• 2. The grinder allows you to control how quickly the water flows through the coffee grounds. If the water flows too quickly through a coarse grind, the espresso will be underextracted and often too sour. With too fine a grind, the water flows too slowly through the coffee grounds and extracts too many bitter substances. The coffee is over-extracted and bitter. The right "sweet spot" is found by correctly adjusting the grind size. This is only possible 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 have compiled what to look 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 you get a kind of "crema" on your espresso even with old coffee grounds.

To brew a real espresso, you need to replace the basket or even the entire portafilter with a real, high-quality basket. In our shop, you'll find a portafilter with a double spout or even a bottomless portafilter. With both options, you can brew real espresso by adjusting the coffee's flow rate via the grinder's grind setting. 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 bottled supermarket water. If you want to know more, read the blog about coffee water.

The Right Coffee

Of course, the coffee you choose also matters. For beginners, we recommend our Organic Apas coffee, a true all-rounder. You can also use coffee beans from a local roastery. It's important to know whether your coffee has been dark or light roasted and whether it's 100% Arabica or has Robusta content. This information is important for the temperature setting on your Dedica.

Setting the Brewing Temperature on Delonghi Dedica 685 and 885

Dedica machines offer the option to set the brewing temperature. You have a choice of three levels:

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

In our tests, we precisely measured all temperature levels 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.

Setting the temperature is very simple. With the machine switched on, press and hold the steam button for a few seconds. Now the brewing buttons will flash rhythmically. Then press the button for a single espresso shot. Now the three buttons will flash one after another. This flashing symbolizes your temperature level. If you want temperature level 1, press the button for a single espresso shot. Temperature level 2 is obtained by pressing the double espresso shot button, and level 3 by pressing the steam button. After a few seconds, the machine will confirm with a flash that the new temperature has been saved.

Preparation

Now we finally get down to business. All preparations are made, and we're brewing espresso.

The Dedica is a 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 still ice cold. Therefore, before the first espresso, you should run a blank shot without coffee grounds. The hot water will warm up your portafilter, and you'll be ready to go.

Now prepare your coffee. The baskets from our shop fit about 16 grams of coffee grounds. Make sure not to overload the basket, otherwise the coffee could burn on the shower screen. After brewing, there should be no screw impression visible in the coffee puck.

Once the ground coffee is in the portafilter, tamp it down 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 forget this step, it can happen that the water, under brewing pressure, seeks the path of least resistance. It will then not flow evenly through the coffee grounds, but faster in one spot. The espresso will then taste sour and unbalanced, despite the correct grind size.

Now, start the pre-infusion twice. Stop it again with another click on the brew button. Our temperature tests showed that with this little trick, you achieve a particularly stable temperature curve around 92° C during your espresso shot.

The Dedica machines have programmable volumetric control. You can, by holding down the brew button, set how much water your shot uses. This allows you to set your brewing recipe. We recommend a brewing recipe of 1 to 2 or 1 to 2.5. So, your 16 grams of coffee grounds should yield 32-40 ml of espresso in the cup. Place a scale under the cup and release the button during brewing at about 32 grams. This way, your volumetric control is programmed, and the brewing recipe will be consistent for subsequent shots. Since the Dedica does not have an expansion valve, the machine will drip a little after releasing the button. You should keep this in mind and release the button a little "too early" when setting it.

To save power, the machine has an "auto-off" function. This can also be adjusted. It is set to 9 minutes by default. If you want to change it, press and hold the steam button again. When all the lights flash rhythmically, press the steam button again. Now the three buttons will flash one after another, giving you three setting options. The single shot button sets "auto-off" to 9 minutes, the double shot button to 30 minutes, and the steam button to 3 hours.

Affordable path to perfect espresso?

Admittedly, anyone who chooses the Dedica as a beginner will still have to dig a little deeper into their pockets. At least a grinder and a high-quality, genuine basket are needed to truly dive into the world of espresso.

Thanks to our community and our testing rounds, we are continually gathering more knowledge about the intricacies of the Dedica series. Even if you have to go a few "extra miles," with this knowledge, nothing stands in the way of an affordable, perfect espresso. Follow our tips, and you'll be amazed at how high-quality your espresso can taste at home!

Tuning tips and useful accessories for your Dedica

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