The catch
De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
You tamp outside the machine, using the supplied precision tamper.
Side by side
De'Longhi La Specialista Touch vs Breville Barista Touch compared: Both still need a hand tamp, De’Longhi adds household profiles
Quick verdict
Guided setup for different beans, separate household profiles and cold brew point to the La Specialista Touch. A familiar 54 mm espresso workflow with automatic milk and saved favorites points to the Barista Touch. A separate tamper is still used on both, so neither is a fully automatic puck machine.
Before you buy
Why, and what it costs you
Adding favorites is not the same fix as adding users
Eight saved drinks on the Barista Touch do not add up to eight user profiles. For four people who each want their own preferences, DeLonghi’s four profiles fit more cleanly.
Where this comes from
Look at what is being stored instead of raw counts. It is eight shared recipes against four user profiles plus six bean profiles.
The catch
Breville Barista Touch
Distributing and tamping every puck is still your job.
De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
- Why pick it
- You switch beans and want setup guidance from the machine
- Cold brew plus dedicated guidance for dairy or plant milk is what you want
- The catch
- You tamp outside the machine, using the supplied precision tamper.
Breville Barista Touch
- Why pick it
- The Breville 54 mm accessory system is your preference
- Hot espresso drinks and a simple favorites list are mostly what you want
- The catch
- Distributing and tamping every puck is still your job.
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What this page compares
EC9455M La Specialista Touch and BES880 Barista Touch weighed on guided bean setup, milk presets, saved drinks and dedicated cold extraction.
Which one fits
Pick the situations that sound like you
I cycle through several coffees and lose track of my settings
Bean profiles are stored by DeLonghi, which also adds setup guidance.
- De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
- Better fit
- Breville Barista Touch
- Good
Each of four people wants their own saved preferences
A shared favorites list is less organized than four user profiles.
- De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
- Better fit
- Breville Barista Touch
- Depends
I have Breville 54 mm accessories that I can still use
The BES880 stays on that nominal portafilter system, provided the fit is exact.
- De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
- Depends
- Breville Barista Touch
- Better fit
I'm done with tamping by hand
A separate tamper is still used on both.
- De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
- Caution
- Breville Barista Touch
- Caution
In practice
Differences you will notice
Adding favorites is not the same fix as adding users
Eight saved drinks on the Barista Touch do not add up to eight user profiles. For four people who each want their own preferences, DeLonghi’s four profiles fit more cleanly.
How we worked this out
Look at what is being stored instead of raw counts. It is eight shared recipes against four user profiles plus six bean profiles.
Remembering beans does not clear out leftover coffee
Six bean profiles save the settings for six coffees, but one fixed hopper cannot keep six coffees isolated, so changing beans still takes a physical hopper and grinder routine.
How we worked this out
The point is a logical distinction between stored settings and the machine’s single integrated grinder. No zero-retention claim is made.
Breville marks twice as many grind positions
Against DeLonghi’s 15, the listed 30 positions are double. This covers dial choices only and says nothing about usable spacing or taste at a given setting.
How we worked this out
30 / 15 = 2. There is no matched measurement of burr range or grind distribution.
Option A
De'Longhi, EC9455M
La Specialista Touch
You stay in charge of the portafilter and learn espresso with help from guided grind setup and automatic milk.
- Best for
- Automatic milk plus guidance when you try new beans
Facts we checked
- Bean Adapt guidance for 15 grind settings
- Four user profiles, six saved bean profiles and 10 preset recipes
- Four milk-temperature settings and five froth levels on an automatic steam wand
- Cold brew in under five minutes through Cold Extraction Technology
Option B
Breville, BES880BSS
Barista Touch
Automatic milk, saved drinks and fast heating come with this touchscreen grinder machine, though tamping is ordinary and manual.
- Best for
- Automatic milk when you do not need assisted tamping
Facts we checked
- A 54 mm portafilter and 30 grinder settings
- ThermoJet heat-up advertised at three seconds
- Eight milk texture levels, and up to eight personalized coffees
Spec by spec
Where they really differ
| Spec | De'Longhi La Specialista Touch | Breville Barista Touch | In practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bean setup | Bean Adapt guidance with six bean profiles | You dial in the grind and dose | When you go back to a coffee you know, DeLonghi helps keep the settings organized. |
| Household memory | Four user profiles | Up to eight saved drinks | Favorites keep recipes in a shared list, whereas user profiles keep people apart. |
| Grind positions | 15 | 30 | More positions are marked on the Breville, but a finer grind distribution is not proven. |
| Milk adjustments | Five textures and four temperature settings | Eight texture levels and adjustable temperature | Milk is automated on both, though the controls and preset structure are different. |
| Cold extraction | Dedicated Cold Extraction Technology | No dedicated cold extraction documented | A regular cold-brew routine is better covered by DeLonghi. |
| Tamping | Separate precision tamper | Separate manual tamper | Each needs a hands-on puck step done outside the machine. |
Trade-offs
What each pick costs you
With De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
- Bean profiles store settings, but they do not act as a hopper or clear out old grounds.
With Breville Barista Touch
- Pulling a shot and steaming milk cannot overlap.
Decision guide
How to decide
The question is whether guided bean setup and a cold program count for more than the portafilter system you already know.
The extra guidance covers the coffee itself, not only the display
On the La Specialista Touch, the screen assists with grind, dose, pre-infusion and temperature. The Barista Touch makes choosing a drink and adjusting milk approachable, yet establishing the espresso recipe is still up to you. Someone learning with new beans will feel that difference more than someone who already knows how to dial in.
In a shared kitchen, compare the kind of memory on offer
Eight favorites sound generous, until several people start editing the same drink. Four separate profiles can make ownership clearer even though the number looks smaller. Bean profiles do something else again. They restore the settings for a coffee, but you still have to change the beans and deal with the grounds left in the grinder.
Neither becomes a bean-to-cup machine just because milk is automatic
Grinding into a basket, tamping, moving the portafilter and removing the puck afterward are all on you. The milk stage is automated on both, with different texture controls. DeLonghi’s cold extraction is a useful extra method, whereas Breville makes more sense if your routine is hot espresso and you value a familiar accessory ecosystem.
What this page can’t tell you
- The number of grind positions and milk settings reflects control options and is not a measured quality score. No winner is declared on taste or on total preparation time.
By the numbers
What the data shows
What we found across the espresso machines we compare, plus the checked facts behind each finding.
How many fit
Only 7 of the 62 models checked meet every need here: “I'd rather be guided than guess”, “I want milk textured automatically”, “I often go for oat, almond or soy milk”, “Iced or cold-extracted coffee is what I make”, and “Saved drinks for several people”.
7 models fit, out of 62 checkedShow the facts and the math
How we countedThe count uses each product's current fit ratings for “I'd rather be guided than guess”, “I want milk textured automatically”, “I often go for oat, almond or soy milk”, “Iced or cold-extracted coffee is what I make”, and “Saved drinks for several people”. A need with no documented match is not counted.
| Product | Needs it meets | Facts we checked | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| De'Longhi La Specialista Touch |
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| Breville Barista Touch |
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Ready to buy
See today’s price and what owners say
Open either model on Amazon for the current price, customer reviews and delivery options.
De'Longhi La Specialista Touch
You switch beans and want setup guidance from the machine
See price & reviews on AmazonBreville Barista Touch
The Breville 54 mm accessory system is your preference
See price & reviews on AmazonEach link opens in a new tab.
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