Breville Barista Express Impress BES876 vs De'Longhi La Specialista Maestro EC9885M

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, value for money.

Hands-on espresso with a grinder, assisted tamping and both an automatic and a manual milk system, plus cold brew in minutes

Scores higher on build quality & durability, steam power & milk texturing, ease of use & learning curve.

• +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.

• +Two milk systems: one-touch LatteCrema Hot and a manual steam wand.
• +Built-in 15-setting grinder with Sensor Grinding and lever-operated Smart Tamping.
• +Cold brew and iced espresso in under five minutes.
• +Five brew temperatures, 8 presets, and a 2.5 litre tank.

• −Heavy at 35.28 lb and large at 14 x 16.5 x 18.5 in.
• −De'Longhi does not publish the portafilter size.
• −More automation means less room for fine manual control than a separate grinder and machine.