DeLonghi has long been a solid producer of entry-level espresso machines, and the Dedica Maestro Plus continues this trend. With a price point below $500, this machine really is bursting with features for its price. Let’s take a look at what the DeLonghi Dedica Maestro Plus offers!
Look and Feel
If you’ve seen any of the numerous machines in the Dedica line then you’ll be familiar with the look and feel of the Maestro Plus. This narrow machine offers a great footprint, with minimal impact on your counter space. This is achieved with the compact internal components, such as a thermoblock heating element that gets water up to temp quickly without the need for a larger boiler.
The compact case is absolutely a solid pro for this machine, but in terms of feel you can expect a machine that is in line with its pricing. While the Maestro Plus offers good design and construction given its entry-level nature, there is still a lot of plastic in its external design. This is obviously very common with sub-$1,000 machines, and not something we feel is excessive here at all.
Performance and Features
As noted above, the quick heating time with the thermoblock heating element gives you rapid access to your coffee and milk frothing. Temperature stability is solid given this machine’s entry-level nature, and we like the shots that the Maestro Plus produces. This extends to the milk steaming as well. With this machine you can create delicious lattes and cappuccinos within minutes of setup, not something that can be said about many similar options!
The “Plus” in the Maestro Plus comes into play with this machine’s additional features. For starters, this machine offers automatic dosing, so you don’t have to worry about starting and stopping the water flow yourself. This is a helpful tool for getting up to speed on the machine and getting your drinks as quickly as possible. Another nice piece of brewing tech that the Dedica Maestro Plus offers is its adjustable temperature. While it's not equipped with a PID Controller, it does offer three different temperature settings, which is quite unique for a thermoblock heating element.
The other piece of automation that the Maestro Plus offers is automatic steaming. This is yet another helpful feature that allows you to set your milk up to steam and then focus on other tasks. What we like about this option is it does also give you the flexibility to steam the milk yourself, if you prefer. One nice feature of the Maestro Plus is that the temperature sensor is actually contained within the steam arm, meaning that it produces milk at a more accurate temperature than some other automated steaming systems.
Finally, this machine comes with both pressurized and unpressurized baskets. This is a huge bonus for those wanting to grow with their machine, as you’ll be able to get more complex flavors out of your coffee with the unpressurized portafilter, at the expense of a more challenging dialing in process and need for a dedicated espresso grinder.
Who is it For?
So who is the DeLonghi Dedica Maestro Plus for? We recommend this machine for the new user who is a bit on the fence over automation. For many home baristas, brewing espresso is not just a simple task, it’s a hobby and a skill. The Dedica Maestro Plus gives you the opportunity to dip your toes into the manual side of this skill without sacrificing some automation in case you find that you prefer that approach over the more hands-on option.
We think this is a machine that you’ll really love as a new user, and want to use for years before upgrading to something with more complexity either on the superautomatic side or the semi-automatic side.
If you would like to see this machine in action, you can check out our video review below!