De'Longhi's best bean-to-cup espresso machine is so cheap that it makes zero sense to get a separate grinder
De'Longhi has spoiled us this Prime Day. The De'Longhi Arte Evo, one of the best affordable bean-to-cups and a machine capable of holding its own against Breville, is just $399 right now. This is such a good price for a machine with a built-in grinder.
Many espresso machines with a built-in grinder can set you back nearly a grand. The Breville Barista Express is the exception to that rule — its MSRP is $699 and but it's currently discounted to $499 at Amazon for Prime Day.
In most cases, grabbing the $399 Arte Evo is actually cheaper than buying a separate espresso machine and one of the best coffee grinders. To prove it, I've selected my competitors: two cheap De'Longhi machines, Breville's cheapest machine, and Baratza's best budget espresso grinder — so let battle commence!
The competitors
Now allow me to introduce some of the competitors. We've got the De'Longhi Stilosa ($99 right now), the De'Longhi Dedica Duo ($199 right now), and the Breville Bambino ($299 right now).
The grinder? The Baratza Encore ESP, my favorite beginner-friendly espresso grinder.
So, let's break it down.
- De'Longhi Stilosa, $99: A small, super-cheap machine with a Panarello frother.
- De'Longhi Dedica Duo, $199: A narrow, pastel machine with a standard steam wand.
- Breville Bambino, $299: An entry-level yet coffee-snob-approved machine.
- Baratza Encore ESP, $199: The best budget/mid-range coffee grinder for espresso.
Versus the De'Longhi Arte Evo, $399.
The math
Let's do some coffee math.
Let's say you buy the De'Longhi Stilosa and the Baratza Encore ESP.
That's $99 for the machine and $199 for the grinder, bringing your total to: $298. This is cheaper, but the Stilosa's steam wand can only make cappuccino (froth) milk, not soft latte foam.
If you buy the De'Longhi Dedica Duo and the Baratza Encore ESP, that's $398. The same price as the Arte Evo.
The Breville Bambino + Baratza Encore ESP = $498. So that's $99 more than the Arte Evo.
Of course, some coffee snobs will tell you not to buy an espresso machine with a built-in grinder, and I half agree. If you want to make coffee into a hobby, then you should not buy an espresso machine with a built-in grinder. You'll want a dedicated grinder for experimentation purposes, and you'll want to invest in a better grinder than those present in bean-to-cups.
However, if you're just getting started and you want to explore being a home barista, you can absolutely get a bean-to-cup and still make great coffee. The machine does a lot of the work for you, not to mention saving you buying a separate grinder before you know you want to take this seriously.
As the Arte Evo is a blindingly affordable $399 right now, I would recommend grabbing it instead of a separate grinder. If you're not a coffee snob. Coffee snobs, look away. You go check out The Coffee Lab instead.
For beginners, the Arte Evo is the perfect machine. It can make espresso just as well as any other De'Longhi, it looks charming, and it can make cold brew. Not only that, but the steam wand is super powerful — I got some of my best latte art while testing this machine — and it has a built-in temperature control for consistently delicious brews.
So, what will it be? Have I convinced you, or are you looking at any other machines? If you have any coffee questions at all, leave them in a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP.
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