If you are wanting the convenience of cafe-quality coffee from the comfort of your home, a fully automatic espresso machine is for you. These machines take the work out of brewing, and produce speciality drinks with the push of a button.
There are hundreds of different bean-to-cup machine available, all offering different features. In this article, we are going to look at the Delonghi Dynamica Plus. This sleek machine offers superb quality espresso for an affordable price and is in our opinion, one of the best machines on the market at present. So read on to find out if it is a good fit for you.
Delonghi Dinamica Plus Overview
The Dinamica Plus is a great value bean-to-cup machine. It offers a variety of features to help you brew high-quality espresso at home. Highlights of the machine include automatic milk frothing, 16 pre-programmed drink recipes, and the ability to connect to the De’longhi coffee link app and control the coffee machine from your phone.
This machine produces high-quality coffee drinks for a fraction of the price of other machines.
Delonghi Dinamica Plus Review
Specs
Design
The Dinamica Plus is a basic coffee machine with a simple, straightforward design. It certainly isn’t the most flashy or stylish machine out there, but it is well-built and produces high-quality drinks. The exterior is made almost entirely of plastic and comes in three colors; black, silver or grey.
The Dinamica Plus is relatively compact for a bean-to-cup machine, but it will still take up a large chunk of your kitchen counter. The machine is narrow but deep, measuring 9.3 x 17.32 x 14.17 inches. You will also have to ensure enough clearance if the machine is situated under a counter, as the bean hopper is accessed from the top.
The water tank has a good capacity, and the water level is clearly marked. It comes with a water filter that can be installed in the tank, which helps protect against scale build-up and ensures you are using good-quality water. The other helpful feature is that the water tank is accessed from the front of the machine, making it easy to take out and refill.
The coffee machine has a double dispensing spout allowing you to brew two espressos at once. THe spout is also height adjustable to cater to different sizes of cups.
Key Features
The Dinamica Plus is a fairly basic machine in terms of features. But it does have a few worth mentioning. So what does the Delonghi Dinamica Plus bring to the table?
Conical Burr Grinder
The first impressive feature of the Dinamica Plus is the grinder. It has a built-in stainless steel conical burr grinder with 13 grind settings. This grinder is unique in that it grinds finer than other super-automatic machines. The built-in grinder allows you to use freshly ground beans which is essential for brewing high-quality espresso.
As is typical of bean-to-cup machines the grind setting can only be adjusted while the grinder is running and it can take brewing a few cups to see the change take effect due to grind retention. Users generally recommend a grind setting of 3-4 for espresso.
The grinder has a bypass doser giving you the option of using pre ground coffee rather than coffee beans. This is a helpful feature if you want to be able to have a flavored or decaf coffee. The grinder has a large 11.5 oz /300g bean hopper.
3.5″ Color Touchscreen Display
A large 3.5” color touchscreen dominates the front of the Delonghi Dinamica Plus. From here the user can select from 16 different barista-style drinks. Anything from espresso, to cappuccino, latte, macchiato or a flat white. The Dinamica Plus also offers the option of brewing a 6-cup pot of coffee or over-ice drinks.
Each drink can be customized according to individual preferences. Users can adjust the coffee temperature from 4 levels, and the strength (or coffee aroma) to 5 levels. There is then the option to adjust the quantity of espresso brewed in 4 sizes.
The touchscreen has what is coined a smart-one-touch system, whereby the machine recognizes the most popular drinks and is programmed to list these on the first screen of the display for ease of use.
Finally, there is the option of creating 3 different user profiles with customized beverages, which is a helpful feature if there are different people in a household using the machine.
Coffee Link App
The Dinamica Plus can also connect via Bluetooth to the Delonghi Coffee Link app. From the app, you can keep track of cleaning and maintenance alerts. But most importantly, you can brew beverages with the touch of a button, from the comfort of your bed.
Most users find the app easier to use and customize drinks than the touch screen. The app also offers additional options such as setting a coffee quantity in mls or adjusting the milk quantity by pouring time.
LatteCrema Milk Frothing System
Perhaps the best feature of the machine is the LatteCrema Milk System. This automatic frother heats and froths the milk, then delivers it directly to the cup for one-touch beverages. The milk system consists of a thermal milk jug, which can be stored in the fridge when not in use. This is filled with milk and attached to the front of a machine. A dial on the top adjusts the level of froth from no froth (hot milk) to maximum froth. It produces hot, frothy milk that is thick and velvety.
A removable water spout also attaches to the milk spout allowing you to create Americanos or to use for tea.
Ease of Use
If you have decided to invest in an automatic espresso machine one of the key considerations should be how easy the machine is to use. And this is one area where the Delonghi Dinamica Plus excels. The machine will produce delicious coffee without any skill required.
The most difficult step in using the machine is customizing the beverages to get a coffee you like. While this can be done on the screen, as mentioned above, it is far easy to change settings on the app. The machine allows you to adjust a wide variety of settings including grind size, coffee temperature, strength, and size. In addition, for milk-based drinks, you can adjust the level of froth and quantity of milk delivered.
The good news is that once you have saved the settings for your favorite drinks, brewing is then as easy as turning the machine on and selecting your drink, and you will get a perfect cup of coffee delivered to your cup every time.
Coffee Quality
The Dinamica Plus is an impressive automatic espresso machine when it comes to shot quality. The espresso it produces is balanced and complex, topped with a thick layer of crema. And that is one of the reasons this machine is so popular. The coffee quality is excellent considering the price, and better than some coffee shops.
The milk quality is a little lacking, and certainly not as good texture as you would get using a manual steam wand, producing thick, frothy milk rather than microfoam. However, the automatic milk frother is very easy and convenient to use and the milk temperature is good.
Cleaning/ Maintenance
The Delonghi Dinamica Plus requires minimal daily cleaning. The machine automatically empties the ground coffee into the bin and rinses the coffee spout after use. It also prompts you to turn the milk frother dial to clean after each use.
Usual cleaning tasks include emptying the drip tray and coffee grounds container and rinsing this out (the machine alerts you when this is due). Rinsing the water tank and refilling it. The milk container also needs regular cleaning, however, this is dishwasher safe (on the top shelf). The brew group is removable, allowing you to give it a good rinse under the tap regularly.
The only other cleaning task is to descale the machine, which is required of all espresso machines. The Dinamica Plus alerts you when this is due and has a descaling program you can run which takes around 45 minutes to complete.
Who Is The Delonghi Dynamica Plus For?
The Delonghi Dinamica Plus is a standout machine, offering superb shot quality for an affordable price. This machine is really for someone who wants to be able to make good quality drinks with the push of a button. With 16 pre-programmed espresso drinks and automatic milk frothing it allows you to brew a decent cup of coffee with no effort or skill. The machine pairs well with the Coffee Link app, allowing you to easily customize drinks to suit your personal tastes. All-in-all this is a machine, and one of the best in this price range, capable of competing with any coffee shop.
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Delonghi Dinamica Plus- Final Thoughts
The Delonghi Dinamica Plus is a great value machine that produces high-quality espresso and milk-based drinks with the touch of a button. The LatteCrema Milk system is one of the highlights of the machine, automatically heating and frothing milk before delivering it directly to the cup. The other standout feature is the app connectivity, allowing you to control the machine and customized drinks from a phone.
The Dinamica Plus is a solid choice for anyone looking for a high-quality and user-friendly espresso machine. However, it is worth noting that it is a mid-range machine, so does not have all the features and capabilities of a high-end espresso machine.
