Infuser Espresso Machine

I would look for a used Breville/Sage Infuser! In my opinion, it is a superior machine to the Bambino series. Slightly heftier build, and takes a bit more countertop space, but has better thermal stability, and pre-infusion actually works quite well on it. It doesn't use the ultra-small-thermal-mass thick film heater that the bambino uses, but it still uses a nice block with fast heatup times (much faster than a boiler machine).

Whatever your budget is you should split it 50/50 between machine and grinder. I stepped up my budget to $1000 for my beginning set up and went with a Breville Infuser and Baratza Vario grinder. I was happy I did. It was better quality and allowed me to grow into it. It lasted many years until I was ready to go to Prosumer level.

My Breville Infuser does have the ability to control pre-infusion, actually. It‘s default is 5 seconds at low pressure but you can manually control it to 15 seconds. I do know what you mean about tinkering less and less. When I first really started to get into coffee almost 20 years ago I was always tinkering, trying new brewers etc. These days, all those different pour overs etc. sit in a box in the basement. All I need is my Espro press, and Aeropress for camping. Brewed coffee is the majority of what we drink. I find it much more comforting in the mornings. Espresso drinks are mostly for weekend afternoons. Maybe a shot when I get home from work if I’m especially tired that day. My biggest hesitation is the hot water spout. When I asked my brother about his Micra, he said the hot water comes out all sputtery and superheated because it’s connected to the steam boiler, not the brew boiler.

I had a Breville Infuser for 8 years. It was paired with a Eureka Specialita grinder. This was a good setup. It gave me time to save up for the Linea Mini when the Breville finally died.

I drink mainly americanos and have a espresso machine. To make an americano you need 1 part espresso and 2-3 parts water. In my case I am lazy and just make an espresso in a cup and then add hot water until it's filled. Most coffee cups will allow room for a espresso and 2-3 parts water after all. Since an espresso is the base of an americano then a higher quality espresso will yield a higher quality americano. To me the annoying bit about most machines is the hot water as much espresso machines do not have a hot water spout. Which is why I am fairly happy with my breville infuser which does have a hot water spout.

I was hoping to get either the baratza encore esp or the breville grinder at a discount but neither are discounted. Anyone knows of a good deal on a grinder?

Has anyone found a better deal than a Breville Infuser? And a grinder? The infuser goes for 400 USD but I haven't found a decent grinder at a discount yet (my reference is the breville grinder and baratza encore esp).

As far as I have read on this subreddit in terms of coffee quality the infuser should be on par with the breville barista express, except it lacks the built in grinder and you have to buy one separately. The bambino is a newer machine and it's main benefit as far as I can tell is that it's quick and reliable enough. There's a difference between their steamers but I am not sure I understand what it is. The infuser also has a hot water spout for americanos and such. The infuser takes more counter space than the bambino. The infuser also has a manual mode where you can time your shots if you are into that. I do not know if the bambino has a manual mode or not. Now, IMO the infuser for 400 bucks is probably a better deal than a bambino for 300 bucks (I don't see any discounts on the bambino on amazon).

I have the breville infuser and it works well. Supposedly it is more robust than the bambino if reddit can be believed. I've read that it's slow in heating up but tbh it's never been an issue for me. It takes 20 seconds to start up roughly and then I usually run the single shot without the portafilter. It's not a dual boiler.

You don’t sound like someone who wants to mod/tinker with their machine. That being the case I’d recommend 5he Breville Infuser or one of the Bambinos.

I just got the Breville infuser with a baratza encore which is basically the big brother to the duo temp lol. As good as the combo is, the gaggia is so much more convenient.