Are you looking to make coffee house drinks like espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes right in your own kitchen? If you’re an avid coffee drinker, it can save you loads of time and even money to skip the coffee shop and make your favorite drink at home.
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If you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on an espresso machine you can still find a model that will get the job done. One such espresso machine is the DeLonghi EC680M Dedica, a baseline product made by one of the most trusted names in the world of coffee. Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll get with this model.
Features
Be Your Own Barista
Bring the ability to prepare a wide variety of coffee drinks right into the comfort of your home. The DeLonghi EC680M gives you all the tools you’ll need to prepare silky-rich espresso, artful cappuccinos, and even delicious lattes. No need to make yet another trip to the coffee shop – you’ll save more than the machine costs in no time.
Professional Quality Espresso
The DeLonghi EC680M applies 15-bar pressure during the extraction, which is enough to drive the water deep into the coffee grinds to draw out their full flavor and aroma. The machine automatically stops the flow when the right volume of water has passed through the grinds, leaving you with the perfect amount of espresso at the right temperature.
Push Button Controls
No intimidating touchscreens or confusing controls. The DeLonghi EC680M is incredibly straightforward when the time comes to whip up a cup of espresso. Turn it on and it will heat up to operating temperature in under a minute, then push the buttons for one shot, two shot, and steam as needed.
No-Fuss Cleanup
Nobody likes more chores, we all have enough on our plates already. Making espresso is unlikely to be a mess-free process, but at least with the DeLonghi EC680M it’s easy. The drip tray is removable for quick wipe-downs, and it can even be put in the dishwasher for more thorough cleanings along with the filters and filter holder.
No Need To Wait
If you’re entertaining a crowd or even just trying to keep up with your family’s coffee drinking habits you won’t want to be waiting for your espresso machine to come to temperature between each extraction. Luckily, the DeLonghi is equipped with an advanced cappuccino system that helps to maintain the operating temperature so that you can brew consecutive cups on demand.
Use Your Favorite Cup
If you’ve ever used an espresso machine before, you’ll likely have encountered a scenario where your cup is just too large to fit under the dispenser. With the DeLonghi EC680M you can easily adjust the bottom tray to fit cups larger than a standard espresso cup. For especially large cups you can simply remove the tray all together.
Your Choice of Filters
The DeLonghi EC680M comes with three filter options for use with the filter holder. Just looking for a standard shot of espresso? Go ahead and dose the single shot filter. Looking for something with a little more kick? The double shot filter will give you extra space to tamp more grinds. For those who prefer to use the convenient espresso pods, there’s even a filter specially designed to accommodate them. The choice is yours.
Minimal Footprint
Counter space in the kitchen is always at a premium, and just the thought of adding yet another appliance to the mix may induce a headache. One of the great features of the DeLonghi EC680M is that it has a slender design with a minimal footprint, so it should have little problem fitting alongside your other kitchen appliances.
Pros
- Make a wide variety of coffee house style drinks, from shots of espresso to foamy cappuccinos and lush lattes – all from the comfort of your own home.
- Sleek, stainless steel construction that will fit in well with the other appliances in your kitchen. The slender footprint of the machine means it won’t clutter your counters either.
- Delivers 15-bar pressure to the coffee grinds during the extraction, meaning you get full flavor from your coffee beans just like they do in coffee shops.
- Accommodates both smaller and larger cups so that you can brew into whatever your favorite cup may be. No need to lean your cup or hold it askew while your coffee is brewing.
- Comes with a selection of coffee bean filters so that you can load the perfect amount of beans for one or two shots of espresso. If you prefer to use easy serve espresso pods, they also include a filter to accommodate them specifically.
Cons
- While the controls are fairly straightforward with this machine, some find that it is a little bit limiting if you want to make tweaks to the settings and save them for use at a later date.
Final Verdict: Should You Buy This Model
Whether or not the DeLonghi EC680M Dedica is the right espresso machine for your is likely to come down to a balance of functionality and your budget. The price of the machine positions it so that it is straddled between the lower end and convenient espresso machines such as the entry level Nespresso units, and the beginning of the higher end espresso machines where the amount of user control starts to increase dramatically.
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On the one hand, it allows you to avoid the capsule system used in Nespresso type machines, which can be quite costly in consumables in the long run. Plus, if you still like the convenience of capsules you can use the easy serve espresso pods which are cheaper than the aluminum capsules. On the other hand, while this machine gives you everything you need to prepare great coffee drinks it is indeed a little bare-bones.
That’s not to say that you can’t make a great cup of coffee with the DeLonghi EC680M, because you certainly can. It’s just a matter of whether or not you’re OK with the features you’re getting. For not too much more money you can get an upgraded model with more control, and for not too much less you can get a completely entry level espresso machine. If you want to dip your toes into the hands-on world of home espresso without spending too much money then the DeLonghi EC680M can certainly be a good choice for you.