De'Longhi La Specialista Review (EC9335M) | Bean & Burr

The De'Longhi La Specialista is the machine people cross-shop against the Breville Barista Express, and it takes the opposite philosophy. Where the Breville hands you every variable to adjust, the La Specialista is built to hide the fiddly parts — its sensor grinder and smart tamping station exist to remove two of the steps beginners get wrong most often.

For someone who wants espresso to feel guided rather than like a science project, that's genuinely valuable. De'Longhi's dual heating system also handles shot and steam temperatures more independently than a single boiler, so milk drinks flow a little more smoothly. The flip side is the trade every guided machine makes: the features that help a beginner are the same ones that get in an enthusiast's way once they know what they're doing.

We've put it here against the Barista Express — the more open tool for people who want to tinker — and the slim Dedica for anyone whose real constraint is counter space.

The short answer

Quick picks

#	Product	Best for	Score	Price
01	De'Longhi La Specialista (EC9335M) The Barista Express's main rival — built to hide the fiddly parts of espresso from you.	Beginners who want it to feel guided	7.8	$727.71Amazon
02	Breville Barista Express (BES870XL) The default first real espresso machine, and it earns that spot: a grinder is built in.	Most people buying their first proper machine	8.0	$547.45Amazon
03	De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685) The slimmest real machine here — barely wider than a wine bottle, and it works.	The narrowest counters	7.0	$249.00Amazon

#ad · Live prices from the Amazon Product API, as of Jul 21, 2026. Where we have no verified live price, we show none — we would rather leave a gap than print a number that has rotted.

In detail

The picks, in full

Beginners who want it to feel guided

De'Longhi La Specialista (EC9335M)

Built-in sensor grinderDual heating systemSmart tamping stationActive temperature control

7.8/10

The Barista Express's main rival — built to hide the fiddly parts of espresso from you.

Shot quality: 8
Steam & milk: 8
Ease of use: 8
Build quality: 8
Value: 7

Pros

The grinder and the tamping station are designed to remove two of the steps beginners get wrong most often
De'Longhi rates it with a dual heating system, so the shot and steam temperatures are handled more independently than a single boiler
Feels approachable out of the box — less dialing-in anxiety than a bare machine

Cons

The guided approach means less control than the Breville once you know what you're doing
Bulky, and the smart-tamp mechanism is another part that can eventually need service

Don't buy this if…

…you want to learn espresso properly and tinker. The features that help a beginner are the same ones that get in an enthusiast's way — the Barista Express is the more open tool.

$727.71View on Amazon

Price as of Jul 21, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to De'Longhi La Specialista (EC9335M)

Most people buying their first proper machine

Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)

Built-in conical burr grinder54mm portafilter15-bar pump1600W ThermoCoil

8.0/10

The default first real espresso machine, and it earns that spot: a grinder is built in.

Shot quality: 8
Steam & milk: 8
Ease of use: 8
Build quality: 8
Value: 8

Pros

The integrated grinder is the whole point — one purchase gets you a grind-to-shot setup, which is what most beginners actually need
Dose, grind size, and shot volume are all adjustable, so you can genuinely dial in rather than being stuck with one recipe
Breville's parts and service network in the US is the least painful in the category

Cons

The built-in grinder is good, not great — serious espresso people eventually add a dedicated grinder and this one becomes the backup
Single-boiler ThermoCoil, so you wait a few seconds between pulling a shot and steaming milk

Don't buy this if…

…you already own a good grinder. Then you are paying for a grinder you don't need — look at the grinder-less Bambino Plus and put the savings toward better beans.

$547.45View on Amazon

$689.9921% off

Price as of Jul 21, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)

The narrowest counters

De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)

4.9-inch wide15-bar pumpManual milk frotherFast pre-heat

7.0/10

The slimmest real machine here — barely wider than a wine bottle, and it works.

Shot quality: 7
Steam & milk: 6
Ease of use: 8
Build quality: 6
Value: 8

Pros

De'Longhi lists it at under five inches wide, which genuinely solves the 'no counter space' problem better than anything else here
Heats quickly and pulls a respectable shot for the size and price
Manual frother lets you learn milk texturing properly

Cons

The small stature means a small boiler and tank — it's built for one or two drinks at a time
No grinder, and the pressurized basket flatters mediocre grinding rather than rewarding good grinding

Don't buy this if…

…counter space isn't your constraint. You're paying a slight premium for slimness — a Stilosa or a Bambino Plus gives you more machine for the footprint you'd otherwise use.

$249.00View on Amazon

Price as of Jul 21, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)

Who should buy the La Specialista

Buy it if you want a machine that makes espresso feel approachable and does more of the work for you — the guided grind-and-tamp is a real confidence-builder for a nervous beginner, and the dual heating helps with milk.

Skip it if you want to learn espresso properly and enjoy the tinkering. The same guidance that helps a beginner becomes a limit for an enthusiast, and the Barista Expressis the more open machine to grow into. It's also bulky, and the smart-tamp mechanism is one more part that can eventually need service.

As with any machine, a scale and fresh beans for espresso matter more to the cup than the choice between these two machines does.

How we picked

We do not run a testing lab

We compiled published manufacturer specifications, computed what each option costs to run where relevant, and cross-referenced aggregated owner reviews, then scored each product against a published rubric. The scores are judgments from documented research — they are not measurements we took, because we do not have a lab and we are not going to pretend we do. Where a number came from a manufacturer or a standard, we name it in Sources.

Questions

Frequently asked

La Specialista vs Breville Barista Express — which is better?

Neither is strictly better — they suit different people. The La Specialista is more guided and beginner-friendly; the Barista Express is more open and rewards learning. Pick guidance if you want it easy, openness if you want to tinker.

Does the La Specialista have a built-in grinder?

Yes — it has a sensor grinder built in, so like the Barista Express it's a one-box grind-to-shot setup. That's part of why the two are cross-shopped so often.

Is the smart tamping station worth it?

For a beginner, it removes one of the steps people get wrong most, which is genuinely helpful. For an experienced user it's one more mechanism that can need service and offers less control than tamping by hand — a good example of the machine's guided-vs-open trade-off.

Keep reading

Receipts

Sources

We do not run a testing lab, and we do not pretend to. Where a measured number came from a manufacturer spec sheet or a published standard, we name it and link it. Where we could not verify something, we say so on the page rather than quietly leaving it out. Read our full method.

Quick picks

The picks, in full

De'Longhi La Specialista (EC9335M)

Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)

De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)

Who should buy the La Specialista

We do not run a testing lab

Frequently asked

Related

Sources