Bambino

For beginner I suggest you go with timemore 064s with bambino (non-plus). You will also need extra budget for some accessories. Dosing funnel, WDT, self leveled tamp and a weighing scale with timer. Not forgetting a bottomless portafilter for dialing in. Put most of your budget on a good grinder. Df54 might not be suitable for beginner, I see the many issues many have reported here but there are people who swear by it. If you are only doing 1/2 drinks a day, consider a hand grinder to fit in your budget.

Avoid 4 if you care about easy repairability. I personally don't like anything too high-tech. I own a Mini with the BBW scale, and even that annoys me since I have to use their app to modify the target weights. I agree with a lot of the comments about getting a lever machine - that's going to be my next upgrade after the Mini - but since you're not looking for lever machines, the Micra, Mini or ECM Sync II are all great options.

You shouldn't be. I drink a mix of milk drinks (cortados and cappuccinos) and straight espressos and get tasty shots on my bambino even with lighter roasts. For medium and darker roasts I just run a blank with no portafilter while I WDT and it's consistent every time. With anything on the lighter side, I need a little more care but I've had good results running a blank shot and also making sure the portafilter is warmed up.

A manual lever is like driving a stick vs an automatic car. The lever gives you all the control and the best shots I’ve ever had are with profiles only possible on a lever (or very expensive computerized machines). If you are a little adventurous go with a lever machine. Starting with a Flair/Cafelot/LaPavoni/Odyssey will let you learn a lot and make unbeatable extractions. If you don’t need to steam milk then a Flair58 is an excellent choice (I love mine!) and no temperature management like an LP. If a steam wand is important then LaPavoni or Odyssey Argos. If you just want you push a button and get a decent shot easy, then Bambino is for you. And don’t forget there is no good shot without a good grinder.

For 300 bambino for sure More than happy with my bambino, the price/value is crazy I saw you asked about grinder, what is your price range for that ?

I don’t see the appeal for bambino plus if you know how to steam your milk. That and also you got more choices for color. The lack of selonoid valve in bambino for me is a plus, as I don’t see any point of having it if you’re not doing crazy back to bqck shots (which you can’t with a small home machine) and it means I don’t have to do backflushes and i can do some blooming adjacent shots from bambino

Bambino Plus is a great little machine. Don’t get the non-Plus the lack of solenoid is a deal breaker. We are tight on space at our holiday house and the B+ and a Sette 270wi are a great combo and between them are narrower than plenty of machines.

This set up is perfect. I got the same thing for my gf. Initially she also wanted the Convenience of a nespresso. But now she can't live without proper lattes every morning. Go for it