In my comparison of Breville Barista Touch vs Delonghi La Specialista, I immediately agreed that Barista Touch was a superior option. The purpose of this article is to compare the features and review the details to help you choose the best option.
A lot of baristas and professionals highly recommend Breville Barista Touch. With just 3 seconds of heat, it can reach the optimum extraction temperature. It also offers automatic milk frothing, pre-programmed beverages, and an intuitive touch screen display. You will feel like you’re a professional barista, even if you are just starting out. Also, this home latte machine is a great option if you want to start making latte art.
Delonghi La Specialista is also an excellent runner-up, offering some incredible features. This coffee maker features a smart tamper that helps pack your grounds perfectly and an electronic pressure gauge that lets you monitor your coffee-brewing process. In addition, a steam wand on this machine lets you adjust the temperature of the milk to make it foamy or flat. Using two heating systems at the same time, this machine allows steaming and brewing of coffee to take place simultaneously.
Breville Barista Touch vs Delonghi La Specialista: Comparison Chart
Last update on 2024-05-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Breville Barista Touch vs Delonghi La Specialista: Differences
As a result of comparing the two machines, I found the Barista Touch to be the clear winner. With respect to flavor, ease of use, milk system, and value for money, it beats out the Delonghi La Specialista with a score of 4-0. Although Delonghi also brews coffee and froths milk well, Breville provides better results.
FLAVOR
The winner: Breville Barista Touch
+ Portafilter
Delonghi La Specialista disappointed me since the espresso it extracted was inferior to what it advertised. Although their espresso maker has been marketed as “professionally-inspired”, it only comes with a 51mm pressurized filter basket, the same as the machines that are on the lower end or super-automatic ranges.
Pressurized baskets are beneficial because they make espresso easier and can be used with pre-ground coffee. Espressos made by them are usually thin, watery, lack body and are not velvety smooth. Upon my first pull, the flavor was incredibly weak and there was almost no cream to be found. The machine should offer a non-pressurized option if it is marketed as semi-professional.
In contrast, the Breville Barista Touch comes with its choice of not only non-pressurized but also pressurized baskets. As a result, you have the choice depending on your preference. With an unpressurized basket, you can get a true, high-quality, perfect espresso.
Compared to commercial machines, espresso extracted from the Breville has some limitations, but it is still superior to that extracted from the Delonghi. In the eyes of true coffee connoisseurs, espresso from Barista Touch doesn’t taste that exceptional. But considering the price, the Breville Barista Touch is an incredibly impressive espresso machine and I haven’t found anything better.
+ Grinder
A Breville coffee grinder has two primary settings: how long it grinds for (which determines how much coffee is ground) and the size of the grind. Adjusting the wheel that is located on the left side of the machine will allow us to customize the grind size in 30 steps.
Meanwhile, there are only six settings available for the Delonghi, from fine to coarse. Furthermore, you have control over how much grinding is done with this machine.
If you use the same coffee every day, you may not need to bother about the number of settings. However, when you experiment with different coffees and different types of drinks, you may need to make slight adjustments. As a result, having more options will make it easier to adjust to different types of coffee.
+ Heating System
The first thing that struck me about the Delonghi was its dual boiler, something no other machine under $1,000 has, at least for now. It is beneficial to have a machine with two boilers because you can pull your shot and steam your milk at the same time. In other words, you do not have to wait between two processes.
A dual boiler system, though, is unnecessary in my opinion. Despite having a single boiler, the Breville machine features a quick-heating System, which heats water super fast and enables it to pull a shot and steam milk extremely quickly. Therefore, to be quite honest, I never thought I would need two boilers.
+ Tamping
On the La Specialista, the tamping system is integrated, so there are no messy steps. Tamping the coffee grounds takes only a quick pull of the lever on the machine’s side once we have inserted the portafilter.
It can get messy if you use a Barista Express because it features a basic manual tamper. Nonetheless, this situation isn’t the machine’s fault, it’s just something that happens when making espresso. Beginners may find it challenging. You can get used to it with practice, however.
EASY TO USE
The winner: Breville Barista Touch
+ Pre-programmable drinks
With The Barista Touch, you can consistently make barista-quality drinks without having to possess any skills. As a beginner, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it is to make a really good-quality espresso without knowing how to do it.
This machine is perfect for beginners since it comes with 5 preprogrammed drinks, including espresso, flat white, cappuccino, latte, and Americano. In order to make excellent coffee, all you need to do is grind, brew, and milk as in this machine’s instructions.
You will be guided through each step by the machine and everything will be handled for you. Tamping down the ground coffee before brewing the espresso is the only manual step. But this process is straightforward.
While this machine is highly automated, it can also be controlled manually. For this reason, it is suited for coffee drinkers of every level.
In the Delonghi La Specialista, there are just 3 pre-programmed beverages: espresso, coffee, and Americano.
+ Personalized coffees
Whenever you create drinks that you like, you can add them to the menu with the Breville Barista Touch. Because this machine lets you add up to eight customized drinks, you can easily recreate your favorite drinks whenever you want. Alternatively, if your family has several people, you can save each person’s favorite drink separately.
On the other hand, the Delonghi La Specialista has a “My” button that allows you to customize your favourite recipes. In contrast with the Breville Barista Touch, you cannot control how much coffee is extracted, how much beans are used, or how hot the milk is. Once you press the button again, La Specialista will save this drink setting for all your future drinks. That way, you won’t have to specify a drink profile every time.
BLENDING POWER – MILK SYSTEM
The winner: Breville Barista Touch
Usually, you need to practice a lot to get the right frothing, but with the Barista Touch, automatic barista-quality frothing can be accomplished quickly and easily. After choosing the temperature and froth level, you just need to push the button, then the machine will do the rest for you. By setting the automatic frother at a lower level, it creates amazing microfoam for creating latte art.
On the Breville, you can choose between a manual and automatic steam wand.
There are some customers who would like to do latte art with Delonghi’s Panarello wand, but it is a little difficult to accomplish.
VALUE FOR MONEY
The winner: Breville Barista Touch
In spite of its higher price point compared to Delonghi La Specialista, Breville Barista Touch comes with many great features. I must say that these utilities work quite well, not just because brands want to add them to hype prices. They correspond pretty closely to what the brands have advertised.
In terms of features, the Delonghi has a few that I find intriguing: a smart tamper, dual boiling systems, an analog pressure gauge, a pump pressure of 19 bars, ect. In my experience, some of these features did not prove to be useful or necessary, so I feel that the brand added them just to make the machine seem high-end.
Breville Barista Touch vs Delonghi La Specialista: Similarities
There are similarities between these two espresso machines in their ability to brew excellent espresso, which is why they are recommended so often on coffee forums.
As far as design is concerned, they are both made from stainless steel, so they appear to be durable. There isn’t much difference in their size, either. The Breville Barista Touch measures 12.7x 15.5x 16 inches wide, long, and high. And the Delonghi La Specialista’s dimensions are 14.48 x 15 x 17.5 inches.
Additionally, since both feature built-in conical burrs, a separate grinder is not needed. As well as providing convenience, it prevents the counter from getting messy. Also, a separate hot water spout is provided for making Americanos and dispensing hot tea.
When it comes to cleaning convenience, both espresso machines offer models with self-cleaning capabilities, replaceable reservoirs, and drip trays. They, moreover, have automatic rinsing machines.
Quick Rundown Of Breville Barista Touch
- Item Package Dimension: 17.39L x 16.19W x 16.19H inches
- Item Package Weight - 28.25 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
- Product Type - COFFEE MAKER
Last update on 2024-05-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Quick Rundown Of Delonghi La Specialista
- Please refer to user guide or user manual or user guide (provided below in PDF) before first use
Last update on 2024-05-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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References:
- Breville Barista Touch: https://www.breville.com/us/en/products/espresso/bes880.html
- Delonghi La Specialista: https://www.delonghi.com/en-us/la-specialista-espresso-machine-with-sensor-grinder-and-dual-heating-system-stainless-steel-ec9335m/p/EC9335M
I’m Floyd J. Alcock, an experienced barista with a deep love for coffee. I curate personalized coffee experiences, guiding customers through diverse flavor profiles and suggesting ideal brewing methods. My extensive knowledge of espresso machines enables me to recommend the best equipment to match specific needs and budgets. Sharing my expertise and passion with coffee enthusiasts brings immense satisfaction. I look forward to continuing my journey of coffee discovery with every customer I serve, fostering connections over a shared love for this magical beverage.