DeLonghi Dedica EC685R (Red)

All round a great compact, semi-automatic espresso machine – Background: my nephew & I bought one each on special (from Aldi) last week. We upgraded from simple moka pot (Italian stove-top pot) machines, and occasionally borrowed a full-auto Breville. Also, my coffee-fanatic friend was staying with me... This is our newbie limited experience after about a week. TLDR: Design, looks, features, and results… Read more ·  1

are all solid quality. My morning coffee experience has gone up a level! Quite impressed. No down sides apparently.

It was chosen due to being a compact size for a smallish/standard apartment kitchen, in the hope that even then, we could get a decent espresso. It has not disappointed.

Machine boots up (to build pressure) really quite quickly. Probably half a minute? By the time I grind and warm my espresso cups with boiling kettle water etc, it's already ready.

I haven't used the milk steamer/frother, so no comment. But it looks good.

The tamper is a simple and cheap but effective plastic tool. I'll get a solid metal one soon.

The "grouphead" and "portafilter" (grouphandle) seem to be quality engineered (*). The single and double-sized coffee puck holders also look like quality precision engineered holders. Puck holders in particular look like a type of polished stainless steel that will not corrode and will gracefully handle years of use. We noticed that the coffee puck side has the pin holes you'd expect, but the exit/draw side has such a microscopic hole, that you could miss it. I guess that's how the coffee is drawn while being under pressure.

(*) I just looked up these terms!

To operate: first load up the puck holder using the guide line. If you go over, you won't be able to rotate the handle into the lock position. Thankfully, if you do try to force it in a bit overloaded, the machine doesn't feel like you'll break it. It's quite solid.

Then just press the single-shot or double-shot button (according to which puck/holder you used), and watch in delight as the machine makes all the usual noises and out comes liquid gold, in a matter of seconds. It's the best start to a day! It comes out exactly as expected, with plenty of crema. Note that it can make you a ristretto instead of an espresso, because you can press the button again to stop the extraction. (I'll have caffeine-crazed fun with this, I'm sure...).

Then enjoy ;)

Basically, the whole machine looks engineered to: look good, work hard, and be easy to clean and use.

As well as a metal tamper, the only other thing I'll get is a knockbox... Easier, less mess, and makes recycling old coffee grounds easier.

So, in summary, compared to my moka pot experience: - I now get a crema (that frothy light brown foam)! Clearly critically important things happening! - the same grind tastes much smoother. Definitely more sophisticated! - (perhaps psychosomatically?) the caffeine hit seems faster. Not necessarily more caffeine overall. Just faster. So, possibly, this processes the caffeine in a way which metabolises faster than a moka pot? - considerably faster process; the warm up and the draw only take a few seconds. - a bit less mess; I wash out the puck holder and grouphandle, and wipe down, rather than wash all the moka pot components. - nephew is not yet grinding his own beans, but still reports superb flavour from high quality locally pre-ground coffee beans. - I will switch from supermarket beans to specialist locally roasted beans, and I'm sure (given nephew's parallel experience) the result will be more pronounced and worthwhile.

So, all good, and nothing bad.

Being a bloke, I have an aversion to pulling out the manual to read it. That'll happen soon, I'm sure. At which time, I'll probably have to figure out how to descale or something. (I'm using filtered water though). But daily use is about as simplified as you can expect for a semi-automatic machine (where you retain control over the grind).

I did try "extracting" nothing but hot water (ie with no coffee) as a lazy way to heat my espresso cup. I'll read instructions one day to see if I'm doing something stupid.

Basically, I'm writing this review because so far I'm very happy with this well made, practical and good looking little DeLonghi machine.

One day, I may get too lazy and upgrade to a full-automatic machine, but this is surely a happy place to be indefinitely.

Nice work DeLonghi !

Nb. Coffee cup in the photo is an unusual 150mm size (piccolo size, not espresso or cappuccino).

Can't live without it – Love my ground coffee machine. You can adjust he length of time the hot water flows to around 30 seconds, which is such a time saver. Tried the pods and after trying one, binned the rest. If you want a pod/coffee bag machine I wouldn't recommend this machine, I thought they were awful. As a ground coffee machine I cannot fault it. Easy… Read more

to descale, which in our house is frequent. Easy to operate, minimal buttons, that works for me. My last one played up just inside of its extended warranty last weekend, so same day I returned it and brought the nice new red one home. Straight on for a coffee. I've had so many machines, it this is my favourite. Takes up so little bench space, looks good and does a great job. Mine has been everywhere with us when we go away for child's competitions or training weekends. I cannot fault my experience of my delonghi, so much so we now have a delonghi kettle, toaster and pre ducted aircon we had a portable aircon by delonghi too. I find them reliable and look great.

This machine has been fantastic – We bought our machine in 2012, it makes great coffee every time and it comes with us in our caravan packed away oh so nicely all around Aus including many a dirt road and was dropped once to the ground at Daly Waters pub park & has a pretty good dent in it & it's still producing great coffee. Couldn't ask for any better than that. Cheers Delongi. Show details ·  1

This is the best coffee machine I have owned – Makes a perfect cup of coffee everytime. I love the fact that is tells me when it needs de-scaling and that I can alter the size of the pour according to what cup I am using, so I don't have to constantly watch it Show details

Just ok – A Poor man pays twice!! Had it for a few years, works when it feels like ! Hasn’t been the best unfortunately! Would spend a little more money next time, but can make a good coffee. Show details

Temperamental and not intuitive – I have had this machine for almost 6 weeks. It looks very nice on the bench and doesn’t take up much room. The milk frothier is awkward and not straight forward. You need to dismantle and clean 2 seperate pieces every time you make a coffee. It’s also very temperamental. I use the same coffee but if the tamp is slightly too compacted it won’t even… Read more

push the water through. I’m not new to making coffee...I’ve had several machines previously. I plan to buy a better model as the frustration not worth it. So much wasted coffee.

Gets the pecker peckering in the morning – Was lucky enough to get this on a rewards card so I didn't have to pay. Buying the glass eye and false teeth helped a lot. It makes a terrific steaming cuppa every time, so hot in fact when my new glass eye fell into the cup when I sneezed, it melted the paint off it. The frother works like a beauty too. I can throw the new false teeth in a bit of… Read more

water and they come out gleaming. All the better for a wonderful tasting morning cup of cha to start my day.

Great Machine – Bought this as a gift for my husband about a year and a bit ago and he really loves it . The red colour looks great in the kitchen and the machine makes great coffee . It has a milk frother attached and is just an all round great little machine ! Highly recommend it for any coffee lover !  Show details

Great for small spaces – It's my first coffee machine. I had no issue whatsoever with it after using it for 6 months. It's the best machine to learn the art of home brewing coffee. I experiment with temperature and filter by using pressurised and non-pressurised. I found the quality is very consistent once you know the amount and tamping pressure. The only… Read more

improvement I would suggest is increasing the height of the portafilter docking to allow travel mugs to fit in.

Love it! – I love delonghi products. My last coffee machine (delonghi icona) lasted approx 6 years before I had to replace it. This one is even better! The pressure, heat and steam produced are incredible for a home machine. I have over 10 years experience as a barista and have recommended these machines to countless friends and customers as a home machine  Show details

Coffe and style together! – We are have had this for around six months now and have only good things to say about it. It looks great - really stylish stainless steel and red design, very 'Italian cafe' but the most impotant thing is the consistent output of delicious coffee. It is quite literally the first thing I head to when I get up, after the dunny. I don't froth milk, I just do a shot and sdd it straight from the carton. Delicioso results!  Show details

Quality unit - makes good coffee – I enjoy appliances that are properly made and have a reasonable heft to them. This fits the bill. Its small but very solid. All metal design with a subtle Italian flair. Inside it has a quality pump and can easily make a great short black. You can adjust the time the water passes over the grounds to get perfect results. Lots of potential with this machine  Show details

Top Notch Coffee Maker – This is a tiny but mighty machine. It is literally tiny! Less than 6 inches wide but it makes cafe quality coffee. In an altogether different league than any pod machine. Its nice to look at - all steel construction and easy to operate although it takes a little time to get the "feel" for the correct tamping pressure to make the most of it. Great little shot maker!  Show details

Delighted with this Espresso machine – We carefully read all the reviews and compared machines before buying as out last Sunbeam espresso machine was somewhat of a disappointment - this DeLonghi is quite the opposite. Its exactly what we anted from the start and makes coffee that easily rivals the ;local cafe. Its Finished in stainless steel with read trim and is very tiny considering the powerful pump inside. Definitely recommend this particular model  Show details

Brilliant coffee maker – I was given this for my birthday and it is a winner of a present. Small in size but it makes THE BEST lattes. It has a lot of power for a small machine, more than enough to get great results even with supermarket coffee. I reckon I had about ten coffees the first weekend trying it out. Anyway, i have no complaints at all with this machine (rare) its just a great little coffee maker  Show details

A great piece in my kitchen bench – Easy to use, great color, easy to lift and doesn’t clutter my bench! A great coffee machine for those who don’t like using pods DeLonghi is one of my favorite brands! A Xmas present from my kids. Disappointed it didn’t come with a milk frothing jug. It came with everything else  Show details

Grabbed this on special! – This was up on Amazon for one of thos "lightening deals" and I didnt think twice because this particular machine has a cult following. Well maybe that's going too far but it is very well regarded. Once I got used to it I was pulling superb shots with really healthy crema, even with supermarket coffee. Definitely happy with it and may upgrade it to a single basket soon.  Show details

Lovely coffee maker! – This was a surprise from my partner and , yep I love it! We got it based on the reviews here and and it really does make wonderful coffee, just like everyone says. I think its actually better now that its a few weeks old, either that or we are better at using it (probably both). It stylish looking in the kitchen too. Overall, its a win!  Show details

Great micro sized coffee machine – I knew people said this was a small machine when I ordered it but I was surprised to see it 'in person'. Its VERY slimline but as everyone has noted packs a real punch! It manages to get very "full bodied" extractions from just regular supermarket coffee which tells me it develops decent pressure. I am still experimenting but mostly get it right… Read more

now. (it's all in the tamping down!). I don't drink milk so I can't comment on the steamer but overall I am very pleased with this machine and plan to keep it indefinitely.

Lovely tiny coffee maker – We got this after carefully reading reviews here. We agree! This really is the "mighty mouse" of coffee machines although it took a bit of getting used to. Its quite automatic but the one thing that you do control ( the coffee load in the basket) makes a huge difference and is quite sensitive to pressure. Too much and coffee spills over the… Read more

sides, too little and you get a weak bitter brew. Get it correct though and you are rewarded with GREAT coffee better than many efforts in many cafes. Well worth it!

The little achiever of coffee machines – This is a really diminutive machine. I thought 'you're kidding' when we unpacked it as its so small and slim but my goodness, it performs a swell as the big boys if you know what you are doing. It took me a little while to get the "feel" of how coffee goes through it but now I can reliably make an extraction any time I like. As always, good fresh… Read more

beans and keeping it clean are the keys. As others have noted, the steamer is a little underpowered but no matter. This makes better coffee than many other, dearer machines.

One Of The Better Espresso Machines – As a Melbourne man, I appreciate my coffee and without being OTT about it, think I have reasonable palette for caffeine. I have had plenty of mediocre coffees in my time! That's why I appreciate this little machine. I say 'little" because it really is small but it is very capable and can do a lovely extraction. More than enough crema to satisfy… Read more

this jaded coffee drinker. It was great value too - so I am generally very pleased with it. Like all things it takes a little practise but this machine is capable of delivering!

Great little machine but caps hard to buy! – We have very limited counter space where we live so we picked this coffee machine because of how small it is but found a month later it's impossible to buy some of the cap pods. We called the manufacturer which told us they don't make the pods and gave us a few supplier details when calling they didn't have the ones we wanted or were to far away from us to collect!  Show details

Great Coffee!!! – This is a very good little coffee machine! I checked the reviews here before buying and I can add my voice to the happy customers. It really does an excellent shot and then you can add milk to make a latte or whatever you like. It is easy to use although the milk steamer took a few goes. Its a very compact but made from stainless steel so good quality. Happy with it!  Show details

Lovely Italian Coffee – I have had this for about eight weeks now and it is a very good machine. Its very small but looks like a quality device in the kitchen. Its all about getting the pressure right in the coffee head. I have found the tamping pressure affects the final results a lot. Get it just right and hey presto! Great coffee. I dont have milk but it has a milk heater as well. Very happy with it!  Show details

Easy to use, easy to clean! Cafe coffee at home! – This little machine makes great coffee! Excellent milk frothing ability & delicious tasting coffee. Easy to use (just search for an online video if can't figure out the instruction manual) & it is easy to clean the whole machine. Best thing is that it doesn't take up much bench space either. I purchased this on sale from Harvey Norman & worry my… Read more

local cafe might go out of business. Best coffees & baby cinos in town! My only negative is the colour. Why oh why did i pick red? Perhaps because it was on sale :(

Excellent little coffee maker – so much cheaper than getting a coffee out. It only takes a few minuets and is so simple to use I didn't even need to read the manal and from the first use to hundreds later the coffee is still strong. I have had to clean it twice in the past 12 months but I love how easy it all is  Show details