Infuser Espresso Machine

If you basically like your bambino but just want a little more, I would say take a look at the Breville infuser, which is still available on Amazon for about US$600. Better build, better thermal stability, volumetric control, temperature control, hot water dispenser, 30-second heat up time…it ticks a lot of boxes.

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).

Ninja is more automatic while the breville is more manual I have the breville infuser and I love it I heard and reviewed nothing but great things

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.

would be great to know your bean/roast level preferences, and a budget. Of the Brevilles: - Bambino/Plus - Limited pre-infusion (8sec), temp stable-ish, good for medium-to-dark; might struggle with lighter roasts. - Yes, the Plus has an automatic mode steamer, but you totes don't have to use it. Steaming is slow but not terrible. - Heat-up time is spectacularly short. - Base Bambino lacks a 3-way exhaust solenoid; so, your workflow slows down waiting for pressure to dissipate when you finish a shot -- but, you can do blooming shots which are handy for light roasts. - Infuser - IMHO, best bang for the buck espresso machine (if you like the spectrum of roast levels). - Because it can do proper low-pressure (3bar) pre-infusion for as long as you damn well please (the entire 60sec duty cycle of the pump, if you want, effectively doing low-pressure turbo/soup shots). Great for light roasts, better in cup than my old Linea Mini which was a stupid flat-9 bar. - Breville Dual Boiler - I mean, yes? If you can swing it? - All other Brevilles with integrated grinders - just, no. None of the integrated grinders are worth the jank and eventual jams and failures. Grinders: - Baratza ESP (or Pro, but I haven't used this). - Great burr (Etzinger), marginally better burr carrier/adjustment mecha/grind chamber; very usable for espresso, surprisingly un-terrible for filter. - Will certainly beat the pants off of the blade grinders. - DF64 - A great entry level grinder, because it is a towering achievement in low-cost manufacturing for a platform that can accommodate the plethora of 64mm burrs out there; which is a good space for exploration. - You will likely appreciate it in comparison to the blade grinder you have at home, but as a former barista it will likely infuriate you with its clogging chute, weird alignment issues, and janky adjustment collar. - Shardor 64mm - Inexpensive, plastic knock-off of a Mazzer Super Jolly; also takes standard 64mm burrs. - Low cost has the luxury of low expectations -- great platform to camp on while you decide what to save up for. - Eureka anything - Not worth the price. Terrible dial adjustment, proprietary burrs, antediluvian grind chamber and chute, designed to retain as much coffee as possible because, reasons. uhm...that was a lot. i'll stop now. hope something is useful in there.

I went with the Breville Infuser instead. I wanted to be able to control my grind better than the limited settings on the Barista Express. Also, I didn’t want to deal with the possibility of the built-in grinder breaking down. I love my Infuser. I stopped brewing coffee and now exclusively use my espresso machine for lattes and Americanos. Also I’ll add that I previously owned the Bambino, but the pump broke after only one year of use. Comparing the two, all the materials on the Infuser far outclass the Bambino, which felt cheaply made.