DilettaBello+ Espresso Machine (White)

Reviewed after 2.5 months of ownership. Paired with a Turin DF64 grinder.In June of 2023 I had bought my first espresso machine in the Breville Barista Express (BBE). To put it shortly: I absolutely loved that machine. When I bought it, I knew absolutely nothing about espresso outside of the fact that I was sick of paying for it everyday at cafe, and that machines were more expensive than most would expect. In fact, I had a pretty good helping of buyers remorse right after I bought the BBE just because of sticker shock. Anyway, I bought the BBE thinking it would be a solid choice for an entry level machine, and it would let me know if this was something I wanted to truly get into, or if it would just end up collecting dust.SPOILER ALERT: Turns out I love making espresso, and felt quickly that I had outgrown my BBE, and so it was time for an upgrade. I chose Diletta Bello Plus (DBP) for a bunch of reasons. For one, Diletta is made by Quickmill, and they have a great QA reputation, and it shows. This thing feels like it's built like a tank. It has a built in PID that many HX models just don't have. Cool touch steam wands. A hot water cycle feature that heats the grouphead by cycling water, eliminating the need to purge before pulling a shot.The transition experience:However, I was accustomed to the BBE, which is a SUPER forgiving machine in terms of making novice errors and still producing decent espresso. The DBP, on the other hand, is much more nitpicky, but really in the best possible ways. From my perspective, the BBE teaches you the basic fundamentals to making espresso, and gives you opportunity to hide mistakes easily, while still learning the baby steps of puck prep, and extraction. The DBP takes what I learned on the BBE and forces me to refine, and improve. Please also consider that on the BBE I never used naked, or bottomless portafilters, so I had no real way to visually see if I had channeling issues. This changed when I went to the DBP and began using a naked portafilter. Channeling like crazy. I had a ton of issues addressing high pressure, fine espresso spray. I tried everything. Turns out it was my WDT technique that was causing 95% of my channeling issues. |UNlike the BBE, this machine is NOT novice friendly. There is a learning curve even for intermediate home baristas, especially if you're used to a 54mm portafilter. This might be off-putting to someone testing the waters of home barista machines. That said: Once you get it, you'll love it... I certainly do.It's a heat-exchanger (HX) unit, so it does come with some limitations common among HX machines. However, unless you drink straight espresso often, I think most of the drawbacks are out-weighed by the pros.PROS:- Nice looking machine (I got the white one)- Standard E61 style head. Parts everywhere.- Pre-infuse option- built in PID for HX temp control.- made by QuickmillCONS:- Drip tray too small (subjective criticism)- Factory smell (took a full flushing to get rid of, but did go away)- Price. It's up there in terms of price. There are other HX machines that offer similar features for much less money, but this had ALL the features I wanted (in an HX), including color options.So, would I recommend it to others?A very qualified Yes.-If you make 2-3 espresso drinks per day-If you primarily have milk based drinks-If you're looking to upgrade without going full tilt La Marozocco money.

After 50 minutes or an hour, a flush it is needed. Everything in this machine is high quality, Steam great, I keept at 119 Celsius degree so steam it not at its best but brewing under control. It gets really hot every where so be aware of that. I am very happy, after a months. working great as expected. My espresso has improve from a Silvia V6 so not surfing but flushing from time to time. 4 double shot in a row work wonderfull. it recover quickly while puck prepping. Support from SCG excellent. highly recommended.

Hope to get another 30y from this one. Manual shots but who is so busy that they can't stop for 30 sec and admire the crema. Nice (new feature for me) - you can program 0-10 sec of pre infusion. Heater is strong and holds @230f with extended steam. Quiet vibratory pump. Same commercial E61 group head as the Wega. Came earlier than was promised. Packed super well. Bagged with a drawstring closure. Inside a box with foamed supports, inside a larger box filled with soluble foamed "pookies". Came with two porta filters. One with a double spout and one bottomless. All three sizes of filter baskets (3,2,1) and a solid cleaning basket. Water tank is large enough for a week and easily to fill. If you buy espressos or any other type of coffee drinks regularly. This machine (or really any like it) will pay for itself in a year and totally spoil you. Especially if you research beans (ccmcoffee). You must have a good burr style grinder to get the best from a great espresso machine. So, count that into the price.

Love everything from the aesthetics to the functionality. Ultimately, a perfect double shot for a perfect taste.

This machine catches EVERYONE’s eye as they walk into the kitchen. It conveys a serious interest in coffee – and it delivers!! A great conversation starter.The machine has an absolutely beautiful finish. The water and steams wands have a deliberateness to them – with form meeting function. The oversized wooden knobs are a classy attention to detail. The brew group is sturdy and solid which has stood the test of time (E61).This generation has a computer on it – which is quite handy. First, I changed it from Celius (made in Italy) to Fahrenheit which was easy to do. Then set the steam temperature to 248F. Note: you are setting the steam temperature on the display – which equates to a brew temp (water) of 201F and is perfect for most. From there each 2F move in steam temp results in about a 1F move in Brew temp. You can also set pre-infusion and other power mgmt features – but I haven’t used yet. This machine is a tinkerer’s paradise.The water reserve is very well sized. It will last for weeks if you are just pulling a couple of shots daily. Obviously less time if you like to use the water for Americanos or steam milk frequently. There is no filter in the water reservoir… so we are filling ours directly from the fridge water (filtered). The manual indicates you’ll never need to descale if you used filtered.The portafilter is a generous 58mm. Make sure your accessories match that size.The experience of pulling a shot:- The pressure dial is very easy to read and clearly indicates when you are in the correct range (green)- For espresso: we do 20g beans, 40g water with a 30 second pull.o The machine’s shot timer starts as soon as you open the valve.o My Acaia scale starts timing as soon as the first drop hits the cup.o A lot of religion there – as whether to start timing when the water hits the beans or hits the cup.Between 20-30s at the cup or 30-40s on the beans seems to be about right.- Enjoy the aroma… and the complexity of flavors (you’ll pick up on fruits, chocolate, etc.).Anyway – really great machine. I would highly recommend it. It not only is a great espresso machine, it really is a kitchen designer piece.That written – it takes some practice to pull a perfect shot. Modifying the fineness of the grind plays a huge role. But once you get your bean of the week dialed in you get a nice predictable result. You can really get sucked into playing with all the variables -- great pastime.Enjoy some pictures of us trying to pull a prosumer shot at home. I’d say my grind is still just a little too fine.(Note: the scale, grinder, and black portafilter funnel are something I highly recommend but are not included.)