Breville - Bambino Plus BES500

My husband and I upgraded from our Nespresso to an espresso machine. We previously had both the vertuo and original lines and liked them a lot! Now we have the Bambino Plus and Baratza Encore ESP grinder. In terms of taste, it is better especially if you are drinking straight espresso. Day to day it is not really that much work. We always use the same beans and have a coffee scale so it takes like 5 min to weigh out 2 shots, grind the beans and pull the shot. The Bambino heats up instantly basically. Day to day clean up is also just dumping the grounds and rinsing the portafilter. There is more deep cleaning work. One thing that is nice about the nespresso is there is more variety that I would realistically try. For a real espresso machine you have to “dial in” and fiddle with the grind size, weight of grounds, etc, when you get a new bean. We always get the same beans from the same roaster so there is not as much variance bag to bag to avoid this part. This is where the extra work really is. I think the Bambino is one of the least expensive machines to get good espresso. I think base is like $300 and pro is like $500. Grinder matters too so factor a decent one into your costs. For actual cost of coffee buying the beans is less expensive than what we were spending on pods. Overall, I think it’s worth it if you are just getting your basic latte or shot everyday, it definitely is an upgrade for the basic drinks. If you like trying a bunch of different pods or are putting like a ton of syrups in your drinks anyway it may not be worth it.

I went from BBE to Bambino Plus. BBE is a great intro machine, but the grinder isn’t the best. I am loving the Bambino Plus (I have Lagom Casa grinder with it). All Brevilles are super easy to use and I think you’d be happy with either

I was actually happy enough with the BBE grinder (older model). But seeing constant posts about it not being the best had me curious. I know see that the steps between settings on the BBE are a little big and I am able to get better results with the Casa.

I personally love hand grinding and you can get a lot better bang for your buck as long as you don't mind putting in the work. There are a few combinations that would work for you and they are suggested over and over here: 1. Machine - either the Bambino/Bambino Pro or the Gaggia Classic. The Gaggia Classic can be modded if you really get into it. 2. Grinder - DF54 if you want electric and J-Ultra if you are willing to hand grind. With any two of these you can learn to make a great cup of espresso and/or espresso based drinks and hit your budget. Good luck.

You will not beat a Nespresso for ease of use. They even make decent espresso. If you want to up your espresso game, however, within your price range it is easy to do and relatively hassle free and more cost effective than buying pods. An example starter system would be: Breville Bambino Plus DF54 or DF64 Grinder Accessories This can produce some great espresso. But it will require not just cleaning and maintenance, but there is a learning curve in producing quality coffee. That is your real time sink and effort - not cleaning, but learning how to dial in your espresso making rather than popping in a pod. Another route is buying a super automatic that automate most everything for you and have easy cleaning routines for the most part. A Kitchenaid KF7 is a highly rated model in your price range. It will not make nearly as good a cup of espresso as a separate machine and grinder, but it has ease of use, makes milk drinks automatically, and you can use real beans. It might be a reasonable compromise for you, although I doubt many on this forum (for expresso hobbyists mostly) would support the decision.

If you’re open to alternatives, the **Breville Bambino Plus** is honestly worth considering, especially if milk drinks and workflow matter to you. The fast heat-up and consistent steaming make a huge difference day to day, and you don’t have to fight temperature surfing between shots.

**the steam performance on the Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine is generally considered good for home use, including steaming several milk drinks in a session but it isn’t a commercial-grade steam system designed to crank out endless drinks back-to-back without a breather**

if you must have everything in one machine, i suggest breville barista pro. better grinder. same burr as esp. otherwise bambino plus and separate grinder is a better deal. don't get things with auto dose or auto tamping.

Was in a similar boat and recently got the Bambino Plus and Niche. Got a bunch of accessories too and was about £1100 all in and would recommend it

That's more to do with the Gaggia not having a PID than the dual boiler. I went from a Eureka Specialita and Bambino Plus to a Profitec Pro 600 dual boiler. Yes the consistency and shot quality improved somewhat due to adjustable PID so I could pick different temps and didn't have to temperature surf. When I upgraded the Specialita to a Philos the shot quality and consistency improved drastically. The Philos is a great grinder, rock solid consistent. I could dial in 3 beans at different grind settings and go back and forth and the shots would pull exactly the same. Switch to pour over and espresso and get exactly the same results at the exact grind setting. I logged every single shot with it on Beanconqueor using a group head pressure gauge and BT scale with flow rate. So it wasn't just in cup but also shot data telemetry that I could double check. I am not saying going from an entry level to a higher quality espresso machine won't make a difference. The difference will be a lot bigger with a better made grinder and burr combo. If you want to play go get a 1Zpresso K-Ultra or J series hand grinder and compare it to your Sette.

The Bamino is not similar in performance. It is adequate for what it is but any e61 machine will out perform it for coffee and steaming. I have owned both and returned the Bamino within a month because I got annoyed with how inconsistent it was shot to shot. You have to really work hard at getting it temperature stable.

You really think the only difference between those two are Heat Exchanger vs Thermoblock? Breveille Bambino Pros: \- Fast heat up. \- Easy to use with programmable buttons. \- Cheap. \- Auto Milk steaming. \- Good for quick milk drinks. Cons: \- Inconsistent shot to shot. \- No temperature or pressure control. \- Light weight needing two hands for portafilter engagement, \- Adequate steam power but much less than Mara X \- Hot water requires non-obvious convoluted button sequence. \- Appliance grade construction. Lelit Mara X Pros: \- Hx machine with good steam power. Steam milk faster \- PID control (3 temperature settings) \- Adjustable pressure. \- Hot water dedicated spout. \- Better consistency and control over shots \- Can be upgraded with flow control. \- Can add brew group pressure/temperature gauges. Bluetooth pressure gauge easy install for graphing with apps. \- Much better built, heavy and solid. Cons: \- Manual lever to operate needs concentration instead of programmable volumetric buttons. \- 3x more expensive. \- Slow heat time (30 mins +) \- Brew group temperature can keep increasing longer machine is on. Breville owns Lelit so customer service is a wash. If you want to pull excellent shots the Mara X will give you lot more control and upgrade options to do flow control etc. If you want good shots to put into milk drinks in an easy to use package the Bambino Plus is a great machine. You can literally by 3 Bambino plus machines for the price of a Lelit Mara X. Both are great machines depending on the use case. With a new born coming I think Bambino would be the way to go. You can quickly make a cup of coffee anytime you need it and it will be easy to use sleep deprived for both parents.

Tbf, the Barista Express is a great machine. Yes the grinder being included is not ideal but for someone in a rush that's pretty great from a workflow stand point. If/when the upgrade itch hits, they can always upgrade just the grinder. Alternatively, Baratza Encore ESP and a Sage Bambino Plus could be a good starting point. OP, if you're looking at Sage machines, do look on ebay and backmarket. Refurbished machines go for much less and still have a one year warranty.

I think the only reasonable upgrade is a Gaggia Classic EVO PRO or if you can find a used profitec go. Just be aware that you’ll most likely need a bunch of new accessories since these are 58mm compared to 54mm. If you’re happy with the bambino plus and had no complaints then get a new bambino plus since it’s on sale right now.

The bambino plus and DF54 are great choices!