Taking advantage of having had a few days with me and being able to thoroughly test the Specialista Arte Evo by De’Longhi, I wanted to compare it with another coffee machine that it is often compared to, the Barista Express from Breville.
Although they are two fantastic coffee machines and I could recommend either one, both have their pros and cons. Throughout this article, I will mention them all, and at the end, I will give you my opinion on which of the two is more recommendable.
| Breville the Barista Express | De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo | |
|---|---|---|
| Grinding settings | 16+8 | 8 |
| Removable hopper and grinder |  |  |
| Solenoid valve | | |
| Filter size | 54 mm | 54 mm |
| Included filters | 2 pressurized, 2 non-pressurized | 2 non-pressurized |
| Direct temperature adjustment | | |
| Programmed drinks | 1 (espresso) | 2 (espresso, americano, cold brew) |
| Included accessories | Milk jug, Razor leveler, magnetic tamper, cleaning disc and tablets, cleaning brush and tool, Allen key, descaler, water filter | Tamper, tamping mat, dosing funnel, milk jug, small drip tray, descaler, water filter |
| Casing | Stainless steel | Plastic |
| Where to buy |
Amazon |
Amazon |
Better grinder in the Barista Express
The big difference between the two coffee machines is, without a doubt, the grinder, and this is where Breville wins convincingly. Both grinders are conical and made of stainless steel, but the Breville has 16 grinding settings, compared to only 8 on the De’Longhi grinder.
However, that is not the key factor, but the fact that the coffee bean hopper in the Barista Express can be removed, giving access to the upper burr of the grinder, which can be extracted not only to clean it with a brush but to access 8 additional much more precise settings, allowing for even finer coffee grinding.
This possibility is not available in the Specialista Arte Evo, and the 8 grinding settings it has are the only ones available. It’s a difference of 24 to 8, quite significant. It’s true that at level 1 the Breville grinder can grind fine enough for espresso, but the greater number of intermediate steps allows for much more precise grinder calibration in the Breville coffee machine than in the De’Longhi.
Better thermal performance in the Breville the Barista Express
The fantastic thermal performance of the Breville the Barista Express is one of the things that surprised me the most when I first tried this coffee machine. Both coffee machines have a Thermoblock with a PID that controls the temperature, but while the Breville heats the entire brewing group and the top of the machine, the De’Longhi does not.
What does this imply? In the Breville, when you insert the portafilter with the machine on, in just 15 minutes you have the filter and the brewing group hot, which not only favors extraction when using light or medium roast coffee beans but also helps keep the coffee in the cup hot for longer, as the first obstacle the coffee encounters during extraction is a hot filter and spout.
The thermal block of the De’Longhi heats the water to the indicated temperature for dispensing, but the brewing group and filter are cold, so the coffee starts to cool down sooner when it reaches the cup. With medium roast ground beans, extraction is also somewhat reduced (they are less soluble).
This better thermal performance also translates into a better function of the cup warmer tray, which in the Breville really serves to warm them, while in the De’Longhi it is just for show.
In favor of the De’Longhi La Specialista Arte Evo: a more complete control panel with programmed drinks
The De’Longhi Specialista Arte Evo also has its strong points. The main and most obvious one is that it has programmed recipes with automatic dosing for espresso, americano, and cold brew drinks. The Barista Express only has two buttons to serve coffee, which can be programmed with the desired amounts.
It is the cold brew, above all, the star recipe of the Specialista Arte Evo, but the possibility of comfortably preparing americano coffee is also a point in its favor. And all this in a great control panel that has more buttons and settings than the Breville Barista Express.
One of these settings is the temperature, which in La Specialista has a specific button to choose three temperature levels: 92ºC, 94ºC, and 96ºC. The Breville also has three very similar temperature settings (91ºC, 93ºC, and 95ºC) but they are selected through a button combination that is hard to remember. Undoubtedly, it is much more practical to have the button as the Specialista Arte does.
Another button that is very good in the De’Longhi is the one for one or two cups, and it allows dispensing the programmed amounts to serve a single or double coffee for any of the recipes. All this makes the La Specialista Arte Evo a more versatile coffee machine.
The pump: De’Longhi’s experience is noticeable
Another great advantage for the De’Longhi is its Italian 15-bar pump. It’s not that the Breville’s is bad, but it is known to operate at too high a pressure, 14 or 15 bars. This means that when we grind very fine medium or light roast coffee beans, the pump shoots the manometer above the optimal extraction range. There are even tutorials online that teach how to adjust the valve that regulates the pressure of the Barista Express pump.
This does not happen with the Specialista Arte, whose pump seems to be better calibrated. In almost all my tests with this coffee machine, I achieved a smooth extraction always within the optimal range for espresso, something difficult to achieve with a barista-type coffee machine. This is a clear advantage for novices in this type of coffee machine, greatly facilitating calibration and dosing for espresso.
In this section, De’Longhi’s experience in manufacturing Italian pumps at its Treviso factory is noticeable, and the La Specialista Arte carries one of them.
The three-way solenoid valve, another small advantage in the Barista Express
Again in favor of the Breville, we find a great advantage in its three-way solenoid valve. When it finishes serving coffee, this valve releases the pressure in the portafilter, completely cuts off the supply, and prevents more coffee from being poured, so only a few drops are poured once the extraction is finished. The coffee puck is also drier and more compacted, and it is very easy to remove from the filter.
The De’Longhi Specialista Arte Evo does not have this type of valve, and the pressure generated during extraction is maintained for a few more seconds in the filter until it “dissipates” on its own. During those seconds, coffee drops continue to fall because some water has remained in the filter. As a result, the coffee puck is also wetter and more difficult to remove from the filter.
This feature is not decisive for choosing one coffee machine over the other, but it certainly makes the Breville a bit more convenient to clean on a day-to-day basis.
Other minor differences, with pros and cons for both coffee machines
Differences in the steam wand
Something that surprised me quite a bit about the De’Longhi Specialista Arte Evo is that its steam wand is very powerful, much more so than the one on the Breville Barista Express. This means it froths and heats the milk much faster.
But this is a double-edged sword, as the lower power and slowness of the Barista Express steam wand facilitate controlled milk frothing and achieving optimal results, even if you have little experience with manual milk frothing. The De’Longhi steam wand achieves perfect milk foam for latte art, but it requires more practice to master it.
It should also be noted that the Breville steam wand has greater mobility, especially vertically, but it has a disadvantage: it gets very hot, causing the milk to dry quickly on the wand, which forces you to clean it with a cloth immediately because if you wait too long, it becomes difficult to clean. On the other hand, the steam wand of the De’Longhi Specialista stays cooler, so the milk does not dry out and is much easier to clean.
Included accessories and components
Regarding the included accessories, there are things in favor of one and the other coffee machine. Breville includes in the Barista Express 4 filters, two pressurized and two non-pressurized, while the De’Longhi Specialista Arte only comes with two non-pressurized filters. The diameter of the filters of both coffee machines, by the way, is 54 mm.
Coffee machines like these are designed to be used with non-pressurized filters, but it is still good to have a set of pressurized filters for those occasions when we want to use decaffeinated ground coffee or coffee beans with a roast older than a month, and therefore, that have already lost freshness.
The Specialista Arte compensates with its barista kit, consisting of a tamping mat, a dosing funnel, and a tamper. They are not the epitome of quality, but they are essential accessories in a barista-type coffee machine. The Breville only comes with a tamper, and it is of poorer quality. The funnel is also an indispensable accessory in the Barista Express that should already be included with the coffee machine. In recent times, Breville has already started to include it with the machine, but when I bought it, it did not have it, and I had to buy it separately, an additional expense that you will not have with the De’Longhi.
Then, both coffee machines come with a stainless steel jug for frothing milk, although here the Breville wins; larger and with an integrated thermometer that makes it super easy to control the temperature of the milk, key to achieving good foam for lattes, cappuccinos, and flat whites.
Drip tray
Another difference is regarding the drip tray, and it is that the second drip tray of the De’Longhi Specialista, the plastic one that goes under the steel grid, is more difficult to wash by hand due to the number of pieces and gaps it has. The plastic tray on the Barista Express is smoother and much easier to clean and dry.
Another difference between the two machines is that the Breville has the drawer to store the filters and cleaning tools hidden behind this drip tray, and to access it, you must first remove the drip tray. The De’Longhi Specialista Arte has it on the top of the machine and easily accessible.
The Specialista Arte also comes with a small supplementary drip tray, designed to prevent splashing when using small cups. The Barista Express does not have this, but it does not need it either, because the height between the portafilter outlet and the drip tray is smaller.
Design
The Breville Barista Express has a more solid construction, thanks to a casing made mainly of stainless steel with an elegant brushed finish, although it is also possible to buy it in black, and what is curious about this second option is that in the black model, the casing is plastic.
In contrast, in the De’Longhi Specialista Arte Evo, we find a casing with more plastic presence, so it does not feel as solid in this sense. However, its appearance is very attractive and elegant, and it is undoubtedly more eye-catching than the “functional” and somewhat boring appearance of the Barista Express.
Conclusions: Which one to buy?
Both coffee machines are fantastic, they are among the best barista coffee machines of the moment and any type of user will be satisfied with either one; from the most experienced barista to the most novice who is going to buy their first coffee machine of this type. However, the Breville Barista Express is more geared towards the former, while the La Specialista Arte Evo by De’Longhi is more geared towards the latter.
Obviously, the De’Longhi Specialista Arte Evo is also a more recommendable option for those who like to prepare cold brew. Now, outside of this, and in general terms, the Breville Barista Express is a bit more complete, especially for two key reasons: its grinder and its better thermal performance.
Even so, I repeat that you will hardly be disappointed with either of the two coffee machines. When I reviewed the Specialista Arte Evo, I already said that I had a great time using it and that I found it very easy to prepare fantastic espressos with it, and I would probably recommend it over the Breville for anyone who is going to buy their first coffee machine of this type, leaving the Breville Barista Express as a recommendable option for those who already have more experience with them.
