The Bello+ is an E61 heat-exchanger espresso machine, the category most home enthusiasts step up to once they’ve outgrown a single-boiler machine like the Breville Barista Express. It adds a PID controller and a shot timer to that traditional layout, and Seattle Coffee Gear’s review treats it as genuine prosumer gear at a price meaningfully below comparable E61 machines — but it’s still a fully manual machine with a real warm-up tax.
What an E61 heat exchanger actually buys you
Diletta lists the Bello+ with a 1.8L insulated stainless steel boiler and E61 heat-exchanger group, fed by a 3L water tank, running on 1500W at 120V through a 58mm portafilter. A heat exchanger keeps a single boiler hot enough for both brewing and steaming without switching modes, which is the main advantage over cheaper thermoblock or single-boiler machines: you can steam milk and pull a shot in quick succession rather than waiting for the boiler to retarget. The tradeoff, inherent to the heat-exchanger design generally, is a phenomenon called temperature surfing, where the water briefly overshoots or undershoots ideal brew temperature right after steaming.
A PID that helps, but doesn’t remove the manual part
The added electronics are real: a digital PID display and a shot timer, plus programmable pre-infusion of up to ten seconds for more consistent extraction. Diletta’s newer Eco Mode also holds the boiler at 165°F instead of shutting off completely between uses, so you avoid a full reheat every time the machine goes idle. None of that changes the brewing itself — you still pull the group lever by hand to start and stop each shot, and Seattle Coffee Gear’s review confirms it ships with only a bottomless portafilter out of the box, which is unforgiving of an uneven grind or tamp for anyone new to it.
The warm-up is the real cost of entry
Diletta’s own spec sheet lists a 15-minute warm-up; Seattle Coffee Gear’s hands-on testing measured at least 13 minutes 30 seconds before the machine reached proper temperature and pressure, noting it’s considerably slower than a drip machine or French press. The same review also reported that even after the display indicated target temperature, the water was occasionally not actually hot enough for a proper extraction, producing a cooler, less smooth shot — the temperature-surfing issue showing up in practice, not just in theory. This is not a machine to turn on five minutes before you need to leave.
What the reviewers liked
Seattle Coffee Gear’s crew review was largely positive on the fundamentals: rich, smooth espresso with pronounced crema, an effective steam wand that handled difficult milks like oat, a larger redesigned drip tray that needs emptying less often, and retro stainless styling available in multiple finishes. Their main criticism beyond the warm-up and learning curve was price — listed at $1,899, which is real money even set against comparable E61 machines that cost more.
Before you buy
- Budget 13–15 minutes of warm-up before every session — this isn’t a grab-and-go machine.
- Plan to buy a spouted portafilter if you want one; it ships with only the bottomless version.
- Learn temperature surfing before you buy: pulling a shot immediately after steaming can run cooler than the display suggests.
- Compare the $1,899 price against other E61 heat-exchanger machines before deciding it’s a bargain in absolute terms.
Specifications from Diletta’s own product page; testing observations from Seattle Coffee Gear’s crew review of the Bello+. CoffeeLogik has not tested this machine in person.
