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Summary
✔ What We Liked
- Barista-level coffee beverages
- Many customization options and user profiles, including the ability to create and save new recipes
- Automated cleaning reminders with on-screen instructions
- The removable milk container allows you to store milk in the fridge for later use
- Overall ease of use and design
✘ What We Didn't Like
- Water tank could be bigger to avoid refilling so frequently
- Water/milk drippage when changing between water spout and milk container
- Mobile app is limited in its use
- Pre-ground coffee container only fits one scoop of coffee
The De’Longhi Dinamica Plus is a fantastic espresso machine. You can’t go wrong if you’re looking for an automatic espresso machine that makes high-quality beverages. We have been using the Dinamica Plus for a few months and only have a few nitpicks.
I have two minor issues with the machine: I wish the water tank was larger and the mobile app had more uses. In a household of two coffee drinkers who drink multiple cups throughout the day, we have to refill the water tank at least once per day. The mobile app only has a few worthwhile features, like creating new drink recipes. The other features are not very useful.
The main buying factors are whether you want an automatic espresso machine and if the price tag works for you. If you want a hands-on coffee experience, we recommend looking at a manual espresso machine. If the price tag is too high, many other excellent espresso machines are a fraction of the price.
Taste Review
We purchased this machine in the summer of 2023 and have used it consistently over the past five months.
I’ve tried almost every beverage this machine can make, and I am a huge fan. Whether you’re an espresso lover wanting a single shot in the morning or a cappuccino aficionado, you will love the coffee this machine makes.
Espresso
First, let’s talk about the espresso this machine makes. It makes practically perfect espresso with the touch of a button. Every shot has a beautiful honey-colored, tiger-striped crema with a dark, rich body. It also comes out at the perfect temperature on the medium temperature setting. Every espresso shot I’ve had from this machine has been dangerously drinkable.
To be fair, we also use high-quality, whole beans in the machine, which undoubtedly helps get these beautiful flavors. The Dinamica Plus has a container for pre-ground coffee and whole beans, but we recommend using whole beans, preferably single-origin or other high-quality varieties. The machine has a built-in conical burr grinder that will ensure consistent coffee grounds.
Milk-based Drinks
The machine makes excellent steamed milk and milk foam. This De’Longhi machine has a standalone milk container that you can plug in when you want a milk-based drink. The container has a dial that allows you to set your foam settings from a little foam to a lot of foam. I love foam, so I generally keep mine on the highest foam setting.
The foam this machine makes is like drinking a cloud. It has small, tight, uniform bubbles. The foam has a strong structure. The only time I’ve seen the machine not produce excellent foam is when I’ve used the non-barista version of non-dairy milk. We recommend purchasing the barista version of your favorite non-dairy milk if you don’t drink cow’s milk. The barista version will foam like regular cow’s milk.
I also love using the “Hot Milk” recipe to make tea lattes for myself. I’ve made many great matcha lattes and herbal tea lattes with this machine. Simply brew your tea in hot water, leaving some space in the cup, and then select the “Hot Milk” recipe to add steamed or foamy milk.
Overall
I’ll touch more on this in the features section of the review, but the machine also lets each user have a profile where they can customize their drinks. If you want to make a foamier cappuccino or a triple-shot latte, you can easily do that. The machine will save it to your profile, and each time you make the beverage, the machine will make it to your preferences. You can also create and save new recipes using the mobile app. If you spend some time customizing the drinks, it’s easy to get a perfect coffee every time.
Overall, this machine has reduced my coffee shop consumption because the drinks I can make at home are as good as or better than what I can buy at a coffee shop. Since I’m a lazy coffee drinker, I love that I only need to push a few buttons to get a perfect cappuccino in the morning. My favorite drinks that the machine makes are cappuccinos and flat whites. I wasn’t a huge flat white drinker before purchasing this machine, but it makes incredible flat whites, so I’m now a convert.
Ease of Use
Overall, this machine is a dream to use. I have a few nitpicky issues with the Dinamica Plus that I cover in the features section of the article, but for daily use, this machine is excellent.
Features
This espresso machine is bursting at the seams with features. For brevity, I will not cover every feature of the appliance. Instead, I will highlight the basics and some of the best, most unique features.
Of the basic features of the machine, I have two qualms. The first is the water tank. I wish it held more water. For two people who drink multiple cups per day, you may need to refill the tank once a day or more frequently. Besides the capacity issue, the water tank is easy to refill and clean. It also has a slot for a water filter.
The second qualm I have is with the spout. To the left of the espresso spouts is the water/steam spout. You can swap this spout between a water spout for hot water or the milk container for hot milk. These spouts are easy to switch, but some water or milk dribbles onto the drip tray when switching. The drip tray catches it, so it’s not a big deal, but it still annoys me.
The Dinamica Plus has a bean container (hopper) and a pre-ground coffee container. We recommend using high-quality whole beans instead of pre-ground coffee for the best taste. However, you can still make drinks with the machine if you only have pre-ground coffee. The only drawback to the pre-ground coffee container is that it only fits one coffee scoop (to make one cup).
The whole bean container has a conical burr grinder. De’Longhi recommends making a few cups before you adjust the grind settings. Even if you change the settings, you won’t need to adjust it every time you make coffee (unless you want to alter the coffee’s taste).
Customization & Mobile App
One of the best features of this machine is its customization abilities. You can have up to three user profiles saved on the Dinamica Plus. For each user, you can customize every single drink to that user’s preferences. If you like your cappuccino with less foam or more espresso, you can customize that and save it to your profile. One drawback to customizing the recipes is that it will make the drink while you customize it, so be prepared to drink the coffee after customizing it.
You can customize your coffee in almost any way you can think of. There are options for temperature, brew strength, coffee/espresso amount, milk amount, milk foaminess, and more. You should read through the instruction manual and mobile app to understand all the customization options. In short, you can make your perfect cup with this machine.
The machine also has a mobile app, but it is somewhat limited. The best feature of the mobile app is that you can create drink recipes and save them to the machine. We used the mobile app to make a cortado recipe since the machine didn’t have one pre-installed.
The app also houses the instruction manual for the machine and provides step-by-step instructions on how to clean each component. You can also adjust some settings in the app, like water hardness, energy-saving mode, and coffee temperature.
You can use the app to prepare a cup of coffee, but you need to physically turn the machine on and place a cup on the drip tray. Its functionality in this regard could be more useful. If you were between buying this machine and the cheaper model without the app, the mobile app shouldn’t be the critical factor in your buying consideration.
Milk Container: LatteCrema System
One of the genius features of this machine is the removable milk container. The removable container lets you store milk in your fridge, so it’s ready to plug into the Dinamica Plus. If I had to pour milk into the machine every time I made a cup of coffee, I’d probably use it less frequently.
The milk container plugs into the same spot where the hot water spout plugs in. It’s easy to switch from the hot water spout to the milk container. My only qualm when switching is that some water will drip onto the drip tray.
Another great feature of the milk container is the dial that lets you customize the foaminess of your beverage. It has three major settings, but you can set the dial to any position between each setting. Because I’m a foam lover, I usually set it to the foamiest setting.
Finally, after every use, the machine will ask you to move the dial to the clean setting. The machine will then run super hot water through the spout to clear any milk residue. This clean cycle helps keep the spout and container clean, so you only need to handwash it every few days.
| Time to brew | 1-3 minutes, depending on the drink |
| Supplies needed | None |
| Coffee grind size | Adjustable |
| Yield |
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| Cleaning |
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Cleaning
This machine has many, many parts to clean. Thankfully, the cleaning is manageable. The machine and the app will remind you to perform specific cleaning functions, such as replacing the water filter or descaling. In some situations, the appliance will even provide step-by-step instructions on the touchscreen.
The De’Longhi manual, available on the mobile app, has detailed instructions on cleaning every part. The most crucial components to clean regularly are the milk container, water tank, drip tray, grounds container, and grinder. You should wash the milk container every two to three days, especially if using cow’s milk. Because the container has a plastic spout, smells can linger on it if it’s not cleaned regularly. Follow De’Longhi’s instructions for cleaning each of these parts.
Most importantly, regularly maintaining and cleaning the machine will extend its life. If you don’t do this regularly, you risk components or the entire appliance failing.
For me, the maintenance and cleaning required for this machine are worth it for the high-quality beverages it makes. However, if spending time maintaining this machine is too much, you should consider a simple coffee maker, like a drip coffee machine or a manual coffee maker, or purchasing your coffee at coffee shops and cafés.
Appearance
The machine looks great on a countertop. The exterior is colored plastic with some stainless steel components.
The Dinamica Plus has a sleek design. It is surprisingly slim despite everything it does. Its measurements are approximately 9.3 inches wide, 17 inches deep, and 13.7 inches tall. Despite its depth, the nine-inch width gives it a relatively slim profile on the countertop, so it doesn’t feel imposing.
Its relatively short height also allows it to sit under kitchen cabinets. We have low-hanging kitchen cabinets, and we placed the machine under the cabinets. Because the bean container, or hopper, has a removable lid, it’s easy to add beans without the lid banging the kitchen cabinets. For reference, most drip coffee makers are too tall alone or with their lids open to fit under our kitchen cabinets.
Value
This machine is expensive. But, in our opinion, it’s 100 percent worth the price. It makes fantastic coffee drinks on par with or better than what you can find at many coffee shops.
| Current price on Amazon | $849.99 |
| Cost for supplies | N/A |
Because it’s an automatic machine, it’s accessible to newbie coffee drinkers or those who don’t want to deal with a manual espresso machine at home. While the initial outlay is high, you’ll find that this machine pays for itself because you won’t be buying $7 coffee drinks when you can make them at home.
Rebecca is the co-founder of First Coffee Then. She has written for numerous publications, including ValuePenguin, Inc.com, Business.com, Christian Science Monitor, StartupNation, and NASDAQ. She loves to get into the nitty-gritty of how things work and applies this philosophy to all things coffee. Her favorite coffee beverage is a cappuccino (though La Colombe Oat Milk Draft Lattes are an extremely close second).
