De'Longhi Dedica EC685: the 14.9 cm wide espresso machine

Will it fit? Begin with 14.9 cm

Every other espresso machine with a verified width in our UK database needs 21 cm of worktop or more. The Dedica needs 14.9 cm, which is the whole reason to look at it first in a small kitchen: it stands in the strip beside a kettle, or between a hob and a wall. Among the espresso machines we list for the UK, only its sibling, the Dedica Duo, is as narrow.

• De'Longhi Pump Espresso Coffee Machine Dedica EC685.M14.9 cm
• De'Longhi Stilosa Manual espresso maker EC230.BK / EC26021 cm
• De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Manual espresso maker EC9155.MB28.5 cm
• Sage the Barista Express (SES875)31.8 cm
• Ninja Luxe Café Premier (ES601UK)33.6 cm

Width is the easy dimension. The body runs 33 cm from front to back and stands 30.5 cm tall, so check how you will get the water tank out and where the milk jug will go. The weight we cannot give you: De’Longhi’s page quotes a packed figure only, and the manual has no specifications table.

What goes in it on day one

There is no grinder inside, and you do not need one to begin. The Dedica brews from ground coffee, and De’Longhi lists it as compatible with ESE pods, the flat paper pods of pre-measured coffee. Whether the pod filter is in the box depends on the version, the manual says, so read the listing. That puts the Dedica among the three machines in our first espresso machine comparison that can live on pods alone, with the Stilosa EC260 and the Krups Virtuoso.

The day you want whole beans, a grinder joins it on the worktop. Two share the Dedica’s price bracket. The De’Longhi KG79 has 16 settings, and its manual reserves the fine position for espresso machines. The Baratza Encore ESP is the one its maker positions as an espresso grinder; it is 13 cm wide, so the pair needs about 28 cm in all. Our budget machine-and-grinder pairings set both routes out bracket by bracket.

The basket question De’Longhi leaves open

Which grinder you need turns on a detail the documents do not give. A pressurised basket builds its own resistance, so shop-ground coffee or a coarse-stepped grinder still yields a shot with crema. A non-pressurised basket leaves the resistance to the coffee and wants a fine, even grind.

De’Longhi uses neither word for the Dedica. Its manual describes one-cup and two-cup filters with a removable perforated disc and a single outlet hole, the usual construction of a pressurised basket. A description is not a specification, though, so we leave that row blank, along with the portafilter diameter, which is not published at all.

What that means for you:

• Staying with pre-ground coffee or pods: the gap changes nothing.
• Planning to learn on non-pressurised baskets: the data cannot promise the Dedica supports it, nor tell you which third-party basket would fit. The Sage Bambino, one bracket up, has both basket types and a 54 mm portafilter in writing; the Dedica vs Bambino head-to-head goes through the two spec sheets.

Steam, cups and a small tank

Milk is yours to froth: a manual steam wand, a jug, no presets. De’Longhi lists a cup warmer on top, and cups up to 12 cm fit under the spouts once the drip tray is out.

The tank takes 1.1 l. Eighteen double espressos of 60 ml would empty it, and steaming and rinsing bring that number down, so a household of cappuccino drinkers will be refilling every day. Heating is by thermoblock at 1,450 W. As for the 15 bar on the box, it is the pump’s maximum rating, and every machine in our espresso machine comparison that gives a figure gives the same one. Do not choose on it.

If the Dedica is not quite it

• You have the width and want the lowest outlay: the Stilosa shares the bracket, is 21 cm wide and 7 cm shallower, but De’Longhi does not name its heating system.
• You like the format and want cold brew: the Dedica Duo has the same case with touch controls, one bracket up.
• You want one appliance that grinds: La Specialista Arte, at nearly twice the width.

Not in De’Longhi’s documents

On the guarantee, De’Longhi’s UK care pages state a minimum of two years for its coffee machines. And if you are not yet sure a portafilter machine is the right kind of machine at all, the machine finder will help you settle that first.