De'Longhi La Specialista Arte vs Prestigio vs Maestro
View the La Specialista Arte, Prestigio, and Maestro
- You'll get important barista tools included
- The built-in bean grinder grinds the right amount of coffee beans
- It has 3 preset coffee recipes
- You can froth milk manually and pour it in your cup yourself
- The piston machine doesn't have a display
- The automatic tamper evenly presses the ground coffee
- The built-in bean grinder grinds the right amount of coffee beans
- It has 3 preset coffee recipes
- You can froth milk manually and pour it in your cup yourself
- The piston machine doesn't have a display
- The machine froths milk automatically
- The machine has 8 preset coffee recipes
- The automatic tamper evenly presses the ground coffee
- The piston machine doesn't have a display
Compare the La Specialista Arte and Prestigio and Maestro
| Arte | Prestigio | Maestro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Make coffee Manually vs automatically | Manually | Semi manual | Automatic |
| Built-in bean grinder | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Milk frothing method | Steam wand | Steam wand | Steam wand and milk reservoir |
| Preset recipes | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| My function | No | Yes | Yes |
Make coffee Manually vs automatically
Arte: manual
The La Specialista Arte is a starter model in the La Specialista series. This piston machine suits you if you like to do many things yourself when you make an espresso. You'll get all the important tools you need to become a real barista. This way, you can choose how much coffee you put in your portafilter and you can press the ground coffee in the portafilter. You can also froth the milk yourself.
Prestigio: semi automatically
You'll have to tamp manually with the Arte, but the Prestigio presses the coffee for you with the Smart Station Tool. This automatic tamper presses the coffee consistently to an even level. The milk frothing method makes it less automatic. You have to froth the milk yourself and pour it on the espresso.
Maestro: fully automatic
The Maestro is the premium model of the La Specialists series. This piston machine does everything for you that could be automated. From grinding the coffee to frothing the milk.
Built-in bean grinder
All La Specialista piston machine have a built-in bean grinder. The advantage of this is that you only have to put the coffee beans in the machine and the machine grinds them automatically. All machines have a bean grinder with 8 grind settings, so you can choose the grind size of the coffee beans. This way, you can easily adjust the grind size to the blend of the coffee beans.
Milk frothing method
Arte: steam wand, with a push of a button
With the steam wand, you can froth the milk for a cappuccino or latte macchiato. Press the button and the steam heats up. The steam wand provides a powerful steam burst, so the milk froths and heats up quickly. You'll also receive the milk pitcher to get started.
Prestigio: steam wand, dial on the side
With the Prestigio, you can also froth the milk for a milk specialty yourself. Turn the dial on the side of the machine. This way, the steam heats up and it's ready for use after a few seconds.
Maestro: steam wand and milk reservoir, froths automatically
The Maestro has a steam wand to manually froth milk, just like the Arte and Prestigio. It also has another way to froth milk. The LatteCrema system froths milk for you automatically. Click this system onto the milk pitcher and the machine does the rest. This way, you don't have to make sure the milk has the right temperature. The Maestro does this for you.
Preset coffee recipes
The advantage of a De'Longhi La Specialista is that the machines have preset coffee recipes. The Arte and Prestigio have 3 recipes. These are coffee, espresso, and an americano. The Maestro has 6 recipes. These are coffee, espresso, americano, cappuccino, latte macchiato, and a flat white. Thanks to the My function, you can adjust the coffee specialties to your taste. The Prestigio and Maestro have this function.
Conclusion
If you buy a La Specialista, you'll get a good and user-friendly piston machine. They all have a built-in bean grinder and steam wand. The La Specialista Arte is the starter model of the series. With that machine, you can do many things manually. The further down the series you go, the more automatic the machines are. The Prestigio and Maestro tamp the coffee for you automatically. The Maestro also froths the milk for you in the extra milk reservoir.
