Have 15 year old Mazzer Mini with doser. And got NZ this year. My answer is strong YES. Sadly the tariff bumps it to a more expensive category. But still worth it. They hit the mark on this piece. And it looks great on the counter.
Consider this and the link to "choosing an espresso machine rationally"
[https://www.home-barista.com/advice/izzo-alex-duetto-iv-4-year-review-t102661.html](https://www.home-barista.com/advice/izzo-alex-duetto-iv-4-year-review-t102661.html)
Plus, you have to get a good to excellent grinder. Another rabbit hole for you. As important or more so.
I have a Quick Mill Vetrano. My first one lasted almost 20 years. Another great unit that doesn’t get enough chatter on these forums is the. Izzo Alex Duetto. It’s a tried and true built like a tank. I had the Bianca for a couple weeks. It felt flimsy to me. So I exchanged it for the Vetrano 2B Evo. Chris Coffee has a one month return policy they honored with zero friction. Mark over there is a really good advisor. Their customer support is next level. So keep in mind the Vendor you are buying from. And think about what water you will be using.
I agree with this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3-ixio7fSg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3-ixio7fSg) and to me flow control adds unncecessary complexity. Beans and grinder way more important
Maybe a Quick Mill Silvano with thermoblock for steam will fill the bill. Get an excellent grinder. I have a Niche Zero and an old Mazzer Mini.
Another plug for Chris Coffee
I love the Niche Zero. Had Mazzer Mini for twenty years. Not a fan of light roasts. It defeats purpose of coffee and taste is like grassy or grainy. Niche is great for normal coffee. Amazing taste. With my E61 Vetrano
i have an atom 75 and i love it. better shots than i got from my mazzer mini plus its quieter and much faster. love the setting knob for grind, and the controls.
Your OXO grinder is going to be the bottleneck here, more than the machine as you start to scale up. I started with an old Breville myself and didn't start pulling shots the way I actually wanted them until I upgraded to a good grinder, I splurged and bought a Mini Mazzer grinder - it was a big purchase at the time but I've had mine for 20 years now and it's been flawless through multiple espresso machine upgrades. For your budget, I'd grab the Bambino Plus and put the rest toward a quality grinder like a Eureka Mignon Notte (on a budget) or used Mazzer if you can find one. The grinder is honestly where much of the magic happens, and like buying guitars, once you get the bug you'll keep wanting to upgrade anyway so might as well invest in something that'll last.
You could get something like a used Mazzer Super Jolly or Mini, they are a lot more robust and inexpensive to repair, including replacing burrs. They are basically bombproof. You should get a used one for under your budget (but I don't know your used coffee appliance market, although I have had great coffee in Chang Mai when visiting as a tourist).
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Great value for espresso, but clogs and poor for pour-over.
DrMushie
