De'Longhi Dedica Arte

De'Longhi Dedica Arte

By De'Longhi · Espresso Machines · Kitchen & Cooking

  • Just 6 inches wide -- built for tight counters
  • 15-bar pump, 3-level temperature control
  • My LatteArt steam wand (manual milk frother)
  • Adjustable double drip tray for taller glasses

Lowest price seen
$299.95
from $299.95 at Whole Latte Love · Checked Sep 28, 2026

Prices are snapshots. Check the current price with the store.

Problems, parts and running costs

Summary

A narrow full-metal manual espresso machine with a real steam wand, made for small kitchens where counter width is the deciding constraint. Check two things before you buy: the steam is adequate rather than strong, and De’Longhi’s own pages disagree on how long the warranty lasts.

Strengths

  • Real non-burn steam wand instead of the panarello nozzle on the cheaper Dedica models.
  • Small 15 cm footprint fits counters where a full-size machine will not.
  • Owner-rated consistency is the highest-scoring attribute in the exact-model pool.
  • The included metal tamper is solid and better than the plastic tampers on similar machines.
  • Fast heat-up: owners pull espresso within about a minute of switching it on.

Weaknesses

  • No 3-way solenoid valve, so you must wait about 60 seconds before removing the portafilter.
  • Steam power is weak and the wand needs patience and practice.
  • Owners report steam pressure fading after months and water pooling under the machine.
  • The descaling indicator prompts too often for some owners and is hard to exit.
  • De’Longhi’s own pages conflict on warranty: a three-year banner against a one-year bullet.
  • The machine runs cooler than some users want.

Verified specifications

ModelDedica Arte EC885M (US) and EC885.M (other regions).
Typemanual espresso machine for ground coffee and ESE pods.
Pump15 bar, manufacturer-rated; a maximum pump rating, not measured puck pressure.
HeatingThermoblock.
Width15 cm (about 6 in).
Water tankremovable 35 oz (1.1 L).
Filter basketssingle, double and a separate ESE pod filter; the US large basket holds up to 18 g, while other regions list 16 g.
Steam“My LatteArt” manual steam wand with a separate steam and hot-water dial, plus a cleaning needle.
Flow stopautomatic, to set the length of the shot.
Cup volumessingle-shot default 35 ml (programmable about 15 to 90 ml); two-cup default 70 ml (about 30 to 180 ml).
Dimensions149 × 330 × 303 mm (W × D × H); 4.2 kg.
Input power1300 W.
Descale cycleabout 25 minutes with the supplied descaler.
Includedsingle and double coffee filters, ESE pod filter, measuring scoop, water hardness test strip and professional tamper.
No 3-way solenoid valvewait about 60 seconds before removing the portafilter or hot water and grounds splatter.
Full research notes and sources

Steam wand and workflow

The Arte is the Dedica for people who care about milk drinks. Where the cheaper Dedica EC680 and EC685 use a small panarello nozzle, the Arte uses a real manual wand, and Tom’s Coffee Corner rates it the best of the Dedica wands and credits the non-burn tube with keeping milk from baking on. Tom also says the steam power is still not great, and owners describe limited wand movement that forces you to hold the jug lower than you expect.

The bigger workflow change is the missing 3-way solenoid valve. Pressure is not released after a shot, so you wait about 60 seconds before pulling the portafilter or it splatters. One owner reports the basket can stick in the group head if the portafilter is left in place.

Reliability and owner reports

The largest exact-model owner pool found is Australian: an average of 2.8 on a five-point scale across 13 owner entries, with consistency the best attribute at 4.0 and build quality at 3.4. Positive owners report fast heat-up, good espresso at a small footprint, a solid included tamper and a machine still running after a year of 5 to 6 coffees a day. Negative reports cluster on steam pressure loss after months, water pooling under the base at around three months, and a descaling indicator that either prompts too often or is hard to exit. On Reddit, one EC885M owner reports the pump stopping mid-shot with water bubbling in the tank and a worn over-pressure valve suspected. These are individual reports on tiny samples; no failure rate can be derived.

Descaling and maintenance

The manual calls for regular rinsing of the brew path and filters, purging the steam wand after use, using the supplied cleaning needle to keep the wand holes clear, and running the descaling cycle when the indicator flashes. The cycle takes about 25 minutes and needs a container of at least 1 L. A water hardness test strip is included.

Owners report descale prompts anywhere from about a week to 5 or 6 months at similar daily volumes, and one attributes the frequent prompts to the indicator counting cycles rather than sensing real scaling in low-mineral water. Treat the indicator as advisory. Repairability is thin: no US spare-parts catalogue for the EC885M was found, and one warranty repair took 4 to 6 weeks while the retailer declined an immediate replacement.

Warranty and value

De’Longhi’s US manual-espresso pages carry a banner advertising a three-year warranty, while the EC885M product page bullet says one year plus one year with product registration. Until the US manual text is read directly, assume the shorter term and confirm it in writing at purchase.

If you need steam volume or back-to-back shots, this is not the machine. The case for the Arte is its width and its wand in a full-metal body, not the 15-bar number. Buy it on sale, because at the top of its street band the thin independent evidence base, the contradictory warranty messaging and the owner reports of leaks and steam loss are hard to ignore.

Which model this is

This page covers the Dedica Arte EC885M in the US, sold elsewhere as EC885.M, with first-party color codes for metal, grey and black. Do not merge it with the sibling machines: the original Dedica EC680 and EC680M, the Dedica Style or Deluxe EC685, the Dedica Maestro EC900 and Maestro Plus EC950, the Dedica Duo EC890, or the La Specialista Arte EC9155. The US 120 V stainless model is ASIN B09HLB4DP4.

De’Longhi’s non-US pages list a 16 g basket and a 12 cm cup height where US and Australian pages list 18 g and 13 cm, a regional content difference rather than a hardware revision. “3-level temperature control” appears only in seller copy and could not be confirmed on any De’Longhi page for this model.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

Buying guides for this category

Related products