Diletta Bello+ Espresso Machine | E61 | PID Temperature Control | Shot Timer | Programmable Preinfusion | Handmade In Italy (Black)

My first upgrade from Breville Barista Express.
Reviewed after 2.5 months of ownership. Paired with a Turin DF64 grinder.In June of 2023 I had bought my first espresso machine in the Breville Barista Express (BBE). To put it shortly: I absolutely loved that machine. When I bought it, I knew absolutely nothing about espresso outside of the fact that I was sick of paying for it everyday at cafe, and that machines were more expensive than most would expect. In fact, I had a pretty good helping of buyers remorse right after I bought the BBE just because of sticker shock. Anyway, I bought the BBE thinking it would be a solid choice for an entry level machine, and it would let me know if this was something I wanted to truly get into, or if it would just end up collecting dust.SPOILER ALERT: Turns out I love making espresso, and felt quickly that I had outgrown my BBE, and so it was time for an upgrade. I chose Diletta Bello Plus (DBP) for a bunch of reasons. For one, Diletta is made by Quickmill, and they have a great QA reputation, and it shows. This thing feels like it’s built like a tank. It has a built in PID that many HX models just don’t have. Cool touch steam wands. A hot water cycle feature that heats the grouphead by cycling water, eliminating the need to purge before pulling a shot.The transition experience:However, I was accustomed to the BBE, which is a SUPER forgiving machine in terms of making novice errors and still producing decent espresso. The DBP, on the other hand, is much more nitpicky, but really in the best possible ways. From my perspective, the BBE teaches you the basic fundamentals to making espresso, and gives you opportunity to hide mistakes easily, while still learning the baby steps of puck prep, and extraction. The DBP takes what I learned on the BBE and forces me to refine, and improve. Please also consider that on the BBE I never used naked, or bottomless portafilters, so I had no real way to visually see if I had channeling issues. This changed when I went to the DBP and began using a naked portafilter. Channeling like crazy. I had a ton of issues addressing high pressure, fine espresso spray. I tried everything. Turns out it was my WDT technique that was causing 95% of my channeling issues. |UNlike the BBE, this machine is NOT novice friendly. There is a learning curve even for intermediate home baristas, especially if you’re used to a 54mm portafilter. This might be off-putting to someone testing the waters of home barista machines. That said: Once you get it, you’ll love it… I certainly do.It’s a heat-exchanger (HX) unit, so it does come with some limitations common among HX machines. However, unless you drink straight espresso often, I think most of the drawbacks are out-weighed by the pros.PROS:- Nice looking machine (I got the white one)- Standard E61 style head. Parts everywhere.- Pre-infuse option- built in PID for HX temp control.- made by QuickmillCONS:- Drip tray too small (subjective criticism)- Factory smell (took a full flushing to get rid of, but did go away)- Price. It’s up there in terms of price. There are other HX machines that offer similar features for much less money, but this had ALL the features I wanted (in an HX), including color options.So, would I recommend it to others?A very qualified Yes.-If you make 2-3 espresso drinks per day-If you primarily have milk based drinks-If you’re looking to upgrade without going full tilt La Marozocco money.

Love it
Amazing

Expensive but good
Had this for 6+ months and have enjoyed so far. Paid $2100 in summer 2025

Nice
Nice machineWorth it