Breville Barista Express Impress BES876 vs De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo

The Barista Express with the tamping done for you, so the shot is repeatable from day one

Scores higher on shot quality & extraction, workflow & ergonomics, maintenance & cleaning.

A grinder, a real steam wand and cold brew in one machine

Scores higher on build quality & durability, steam power & milk texturing.

• +Assisted tamping at a fixed pressure removes the step most beginners get wrong.
• +The machine reads each tamp and adjusts the next dose, so the puck is repeatable.
• +A built-in 25-setting conical burr grinder, so there is nothing else to buy.
• +A pressure gauge on the front, which shows whether a shot ran fast or slow.
• +Both pressurised and unpressurised baskets in the box.

• −Breville publishes no warranty term or weight for it, on the page or in the manual.
• −The manual allows up to 55 seconds to heat, against 3 seconds on the ThermoJet Breville machines.
• −The steam wand is manual, so milk is still a skill to learn.
• −A 54 mm basket, not the 58 mm most café accessories are made for.

• +Cold brew in under five minutes, from a function De'Longhi developed with the Specialty Coffee Association.
• +Three infusion temperatures, which De'Longhi calls Active Temperature Control.
• +A manual steam wand, so microfoam and latte art are genuinely possible.
• +A dosing and tamping guide in the box, which is the step beginners get wrong.
• +1600 watts and a 56 oz tank, in a machine 14.4 inches wide.

• −De'Longhi's own page says 8 grind settings in one place and 15 in another, and never resolves it.
• −No portafilter diameter is published, so you cannot check accessory fitment before buying.
• −No bean hopper capacity and no heat-up time are published.
• −One finish only, and no display: control is by button and dial.
• −The machine is sold under two SKUs at the same price and one of them is out of stock.