Breville Bambino vs Delonghi Dedica | Compact Kings?

When Breville first released the Bambino, I was shocked at how small the form factor was. However, for years before this machine even existed, DeLonghi was selling an equally compact espresso system, the Dedica. Now, these two machines have a lot of similarities, but also a couple of differences. Which one is going to be best for you? Well, today we're going to help you find out. Before we get going, I want to give a quick thank you to Coach Dre, who lent me the Dedica for this review, whereas the Bambino I had purchased previously for another video. I've also left both of these machines linked down in the description below, so that you can check your own local pricing. So, starting off as we always do with the build quality and design, these two machines are actually quite comparable. Both use a mixture of plastic and metal parts, but they chose to do so in slightly different areas. The body of the Breville is stainless steel, where the DeLonghi is plastic, but the DeLonghi has a heavier portafilter and a metal steam switch. In terms of size, they carry essentially the exact same footprint, at around 13 inches deep by 12 inches tall and 6 inches wide. But, the Bambino does clock in heavier at 11 pounds compared to the Dedica's 9 pounds. Aesthetics will always be subjective, and these two machines are so simple looking that I don't think I could pick one over the other based on the looks alone. However, the DeLonghi is available in a variety of colors, whereas the Bambino is currently only available in silver at the time of filming this video. The user interface on both these machines is also quite similar. They both have programmable single and double shot buttons, as well as one to heat up to steaming temperature. On the Bambino, the steam will start right away, whereas on the Dedica, you change the boiler temperature, and then start and stop using the switch on the side. I much prefer the way they have done this on the Dedica, because you can stop and start the steam as you wish, whereas on the Bambino, the steam is either running, or the machine is actively trying to cool itself back down to brewing temperature. Another thing that I prefer on the Dedica is that it has a dedicated power switch. This is not only more intuitive, but it also allows you to program it to turn on in the morning using something like a smart switch or timer. On the Bambino, you have to remember which two buttons to hold to power it off, and it can't be scheduled to power on in the same way that I just described. Warm-up time on the Bambino was much quicker than on the Dedica, taking a blazing fast three seconds to get up to temperature. The Dedica, on the other hand, took a still respectable 40 seconds. When comparing these two based on their espresso quality, they are going to produce very similar results when using pressurized filter baskets and pre-ground coffee. Pressurized baskets have only one pinhole, and allow you to use pre-ground coffee or a less expensive coffee grinder and still get decent results. And I think that at this level of machine, that's how many people will opt to use them. The Dedica has one key advantage over the Bambino in this area, and that is that you can adjust the extraction temperature. Now, this isn't intended for people who want a hotter or colder drink, but it's intended to be able to adjust the extraction for lighter or darker roasted coffees. I found that both of these machines had a slight tendency to overheat, so I generally kept the Dedica in the middle or low temperature mode. Even in doing so, both these machines will require a quick purge of the group head before beginning your shot. If in the future you want to upgrade your espresso quality by purchasing a dedicated espresso burr grinder, it is possible to upgrade to non-pressurized, traditional filter baskets on both, and even bottomless port filters. In this situation, however, the Breville Bambino has a significant advantage. Its wider 54mm baskets and more traditional 9 bar brew pressure is much better suited to non-pressurized use. I was able to pull much more consistent non-pressurized shots on the Breville. Not to mention, there are a far wider range of aftermarket accessories for 54mm machines compared to the less common 51mm port filter on the Dedica. These accessories become useful when you start playing around with the less forgiving non-pressurized shots. Another advantage on the Bambino is its manual shot mode. This will allow you to hold a low pressure pre-infusion for as long as you want, then ramp up to full pressure whenever you want, and stop the shot at will. So, to summarize the espresso performance, I found that the Dedica has a slight advantage with pressurized filter baskets and pre-ground coffee, whereas the Bambino takes the lead if you plan on purchasing a dedicated espresso burr grinder and using non-pressurized filter baskets. Steaming is another area where these two machines begin to diverge from one another. The Bambino opts to use a single hole steam arm, whereas the Dedica features a panarello. One is not necessarily better than the other, they are merely targeted at different end users. The advantage of a panarello is that it will automatically draw air into the milk when heating to create foam. This is convenient if you want to simply start the steaming process and walk away. The disadvantage of a panarello is that you have far less control over the final milk texture because you aren't the one controlling how much air gets added. This results in a more coarse foam, compared to the variety of textures you can create with a manual steam arm. Anything from coarse cappuccino foam to very fine latte foam. Now don't be fooled, it will take some practice to learn to steam properly on the Bambino, but if you do, it will offer you more flexibility and control. A slight hack that can be used to achieve similar control on the Dedica is to remove the outer panarello cover. This will stop the automatic introduction of air and give you more control. Also keep in mind that De'Longhi does sell an essentially identical model with a manual steam arm called the Dedica Arte. If you want to check that one out, I will also leave it down below. In terms of steaming speed, the Bambino did transition up to steaming temperature about five seconds faster, but once steaming, they both took approximately the same time to steam up to a standard temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. So to wrap this all up, I was left feeling pretty satisfied that these are both good entry-level options, just targeted at slightly different end users. The Dedica is overall a more convenience-oriented machine. It had better pressurized and pre-ground espresso performance, and a panarello will be more convenient for those who aren't as picky about getting the absolute perfect milk texture. The Bambino will offer a faster startup and the potential for better espresso performance if you also purchase a good quality espresso grinder and use non-pressurized baskets. It also gives you the ability to create a variety of milk textures with the more manual steam arm. Which of these features is more important to you will completely come down to your particular situation and personal preferences. So again, I will leave both these machines linked down in the description below so that you can check them out. 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