Diletta - Mio

I have a Bambino and Diletta Mio ($1400). When I upgraded I wanted to be sure I wasn't "downgrading" in any area including workflow. Also, a big consideration was going from "consumer" which implements plastic and company specific parts which tend to deteriorate quickly and aren't easily replaceable/repairable to "pro-sumer" which uses higher quality and standardized parts. Right now the Bambino has a faulty steam wand and I'm not looking forward to trying to fix it. The Diletta uses all standard parts that can be easily sourced when something goes wrong and should last me a decade or more. A few other things to consider: 1. I upgraded to a until that is just as easy to use as the Bambino. 2. Quick heat up time. Nothing beats how fast the Bambino thermo block heats up but you can find units that only take a few minutes to get to temp. The Diletta is ready to go by the time I'm done with puck prep. 3. Dual boiler. Relying on a single boiler means dealing with two different temps from the same boiler. This means you are waiting for the single boiler to heat up for steam or cool back down for espresso. The Bambino uses a single thermo block but it is still instantly ready to switch to steam. My new unit has a boiler and a thermo block for steaming that is more powerful than the Bambino and neither is affected by the other and I can steam at the same time I'm pulling a shot. 4. Validation/control of temp and pressure. I had no idea what the working pressure or temp at the group head was with the Bambino. I like adjusting temp depending on the roast and trying different pressure profiles without having to open up or mod my machine. I also don't have to live with the stock pressure from units that are non-stanard (more or less than 9 bar) 5. 58mm portafilter: way more portafilter/basket options in 58mm. The Bambino is 54mm. 6. Group head location: I wanted a unit with a group head located directly connected to or as close a possible to the boiler so I knew the temp in the portafilter was as close to the reading I was getting from the sensor in the boiler. 7. Size and weight: While the Bambino can fit anywhere it weighs nothing. You have to grip the unit with your other hand to tighten the portafilter or the whole unit will move. I never liked that. Most prosumer units are heavier and won't move around when you work with it. I'm not advocating for my particular unit. I wanted to provide some insight based on my experience with my Bambino and what I felt was missing when I decided to upgrade. I was not willing to sacrifice the ease of use of the Bambino. The Bambino was great to learn on but it only lasted me 3 years before I ran into malfunctions. That drove me toward higher quality products with similar workflow. I do believe the coffee I am making is better since I have more control over variables. I have more options to dial in shots of different types and really pull the most out of the beans. I totally agree with all of the advice to get a good grinder. I have a Lagom Mini which is expensive for an "entry level" grinder but it makes great filter and espresso coffee. I recently upgraded to the Timemore 064S and enjoy it. It's not perfect. I don't like the hopper. You need to babysit it or risk beans getting hung up. It also requires seasoning (break-in period). It was really unpredictable until I ran a ton of cheap beans theough it. Now that it has settled in I really enjoy it. It also allowed me to upgrade burrs and go further down this rabbit hole you are now embarking on. Best of luck and enjoy. Let us know what you end up going with.

I would go with the Diletta Mio over the Rancilio Silvia PID at the same price. With the Mio you have steam on a thermoblock so you wouldn't have to wait for the boiler to go from brewing to steam or vice versa if you make milk drinks frequently.

We have the Yellow and love the pop of color it gives. Single boilers are plenty capable for daily life honestly. My wife and I make 2-4 drinks a day, and more if we have company. Its internals are top notch with an incredible build quality. ECM version has a dedicated water spout button. Check out the Diletta Mio, thats a very compelling machine from a reputable company.

Out of the options you listed, my recommendation would be the Gaggia Classic Pro ($350-500 depending on if you buy used/refurbished/new) + install a Gagguino or Gaggiamate for $200ish or, if you are against modding/tinkering on your own, the Diletta Mio or Quick Mill Silvano Evo. I generally advise people to not spend double the price on a pre installed PID because it’s incredibly easy to do on your own and saves you $500+, and the Gaggiamate/Gagguino options are PID systems on steroids. Gaggiamate is closed source and you theoretically run the risk they just stop supporting it, but has better “from the company” support and easy to buy and install packages. Gagguino is open source and has a fantastic community for support, but requires a bit more effort to source parts and install (not much, but possibly a turnoff if you’re not a tech-forward guy). Both are still fairly easy to install if you can follow directions and will save you money over paying for a Silvia with a pre-installed PID system (which is aftermarket anyway), and you get more features than you would with just a PID. Alternatively, if flow profiling and screens aren’t your thing, you can also just get a PID for the Gaggia for $100 which is even easier to install and have the same machine as the Rancillo Silvia PID for less than half the price. If you’re dead set against any work on your end and just want to unbox a machine and go, the Diletta Mio & Quick Mill Silvano Evo have a PID, shot timer, separate thermoblock to give you good steam pressure (with a separate boiler for the actual shots), and both are on sale right now right at that $1200 range. It lacks preinfusion out of the box but generally speaking, if you’re not willing to tinker with a machine once to get everything you want, you also probably aren’t tinkering with preinfusion every time you get new beans either (respectfully).

I just recently got a Diletta mio, which I think is a Quickmill product. What kind of bottomless portafilter will fit on it? I’m struggling to find one that fits well…

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.