Diletta - Bello+

I have a Diletta Bello+. I love it. The downside is that Seattle Coffee Gear is the exclusive US distributor for them, so I am not sure what that means if I have issues in the future. I did not get an apartmento due to some negative reviews about repair issues and the cup rail on the model I wanted was made of plastic.

[seattlecoffeegear.com](http://seattlecoffeegear.com) has a large selection, and also a lot of demo videos and info. I started with a Rancilio Silvia, still have it at work, but after several years upgraded to a better, bigger machine (Diletta Bello). That has been totally great. You will need to buy a good grinder too. But, it is so much better to be able to make a great espresso or mocha at home.

Love my Diletta Bello, it’s a beast!

As others have said you have to be careful buying a used machine at this expense. The reasoning for the person selling the diletta bello machine seems very weird to me especially selling it at 50% off. Definitely have them show you it pulling a shot in front of you and using the steam wand. You will have to kinda trust your gut to see if you trust the person selling or not at the end of the day. Assuming both machines work well I personally would go with the Diletta Bello. Half the price with essentially all the same basic features (both are heat exchange machines with some preinfusion, neither have a PID which is surprising given their price). Both seem to have similar build quality, but that is just coming from me taking a quick peep at the technical data sheets, so I don't fully know. That said, at $1500 you can buy a new machine of the same/similar quality with a warranty (although when you factor in taxes and shipping you'll be looking at closer to $1200 machine prices which does limit some). BUT, if you don't have a grinder, getting the Diletta Bello at that type of deal and splurging on a nicer grinder will get you the best possible coffee in cup (grinder more important than machine imo).

Buy the diletta and use the remainder of budget for a grinder.

I'd get the Diletto and a good grinder. I disagree with buying new just because. Not much you'll get for a grand would be near the quality. I did something similar to save some $, the good Italian machines are built to last, far better than anything you'd find from Breville, or similar popular consumer brands. Just be sure to match it with a quality grinder and you'll be good for years to come.

I’ll chime in about the Diletta. I bought one new from Seattle Coffee gear and at first I was pretty impressed. Has big water tank, tons of steaming power (little too much in my opinion), and you could steam and pull Shots at same time no problem. However, I started having major temperature fluctuations. I could pull 1 shot in the morning and the next shot I pulled was a mess, it was drastically overheating. It really struggled to keep a constant temperature to the point where I returned it for a Lelit Mara X. Much more stable with internal PID and you get a little better build quality for your money in my opinion. Only gripe is in brew mode I don’t have the steam power to steam/pull at the same time. If you steam directly after pulling it transfers the heat/pressure over and it’s fine. In steam mode you can do both but the temperature isn’t as stable. If you want a Diletta, I would pay the little extra money get the + with the PID. Or at the very least by a thermometer for the group head to help.

Was my understanding that Diletta was made in collaboration between Seattle Coffee Gear and Italian manufacturers with their products being handmade in Italy. Wouldn’t exactly call it American.