Well if you're that set on it, I would go with the Bambino plus based on the fact that it can basically auto steam milk and heats up really fast.
Coming from someone who just purchased a Quick Mill Pop-Up, it's a beautiful machine and I'd purchase it again, however it takes at least 5mins to fully heat up and the milk steaming is a learning curve. The same is to be expected from the other machines you listed.
For the grinder, I would avoid the DF54 as it's prone to clogging and other reliability issues. I personally went with the Eureka Mignon Zero and I'm quite happy with it, absolutely solid and no faff. You could go with the Silenzio or Facile since you want a hopper and timer.
Baratza Encore Esp/Pro could be another good option.
A dual boiler like the BDB or Silvano might not be necessary if OP is mostly making drink for themselves only though.
I have a Quickmill Popup and it gets to steaming temp in 30secs. Hardly worth the 1000$ premium with the Silvano (in Canada) in my case, and I make 2 flat whites every morning.
Quickmill pop up instead of the mara. Varia vs4 or df64 or malkonig cheaper grinder instead of df54. Ikape convex basket instead of vst basket. Blind shaker instead of wdt. Timemore scale instead of maestri. Not sure what the kettle is doing there also, but I assume it's for filter, if not, would also not invest right away in one.
Hi-we have a popup and have struggled to make a good foamy milk. For comparison, I have a DeLonghi (super low end “!) espresso machine and I was able to make great microfoam so when I wasn’t able to do the same with a better” machine I was pretty distraught…I’ve reached out to Chris’s Coffee for guidance (not the seller of this particular machine) and the recommendation was to lower the temp of the steam however we’ve checked and it’s at the lowest temp already. We’ve probably made 50 cappuccinos and while the espresso has been great, the cappuccinos have not been great at all…we’ve tried super cold milk, tilting the pitcher, positioning the wand at the top then submerging the tip etc and all we can think of is that possibly the unit’s Steam temperature is just too hot…?
I’m wondering if this unit is just not set correctly for steam…a lemon perhaps…? Do you have any input ?
Yes, we do purge and lately I’ve done a more gentle 2nd purge, doing as you suggest, a couple of purges. It finally seems that we are getting some good frothed milk and I can only attribute it to, yes a purge or two, but also adjusting the angle of the wand (or rather the pitcher itself)so the steam doesn’t screech and also keeping the wand tip at the very surface of the milk. Doing all of this I’ve consistently gotten great frothed milk now but I think the skill to do this must be way beyond what you would need for other machines. I think this must be because of the force of steam for this machine is extreme and this prevents the milk vortex from forming and then you end up easily overheating the milk. Add to this the need to use a smaller pitcher (because of the shorter wand) which only accentuates the vortex issue further. Having said all this, I do love this machine. Thanks!
I don’t have issues with back to back steaming. I occasionally have to hit the steam button a second time if I’m taking too long and the steam function times out but it’s not a issue as the machine gets right back up to temp very quickly. The only issue I have with back to back Capps is if I choose to do espresso then steam/froth and want to return again to espresso again. There’s a significant delay to be able to extract again as the temperature of the machine needs to drop back down to 199. Even if I purge the steam etc it still takes awhile…So I prefer to do the extractions/espresso for both drinks and then do two frothings for the drinks. I could froth once but I like to make sure each drink gets enough foam etc. I’m still having some issues with reliable froth/foam especially if I’m frothing 100ml or less. The manual does suggest not frothing under 100ml (or it’s somewhere close to that if I recall) so perhaps I am having trouble due to the low amount of milk…it drives me crazy but I just keep practicing…
Quick mill pop up. You can experiment with flow profiling with your espresso to get more nuance in flavors. Though I suppose you could do this a flair as well, but a much more involved process.
One thing nobody really admits in this and similar forums is that we don't just upgrade because we are bored and have too much money, we upgrade because sub $1000 setups barely make good espresso. I had the Bambino plus and eureka silenzio, it was decent. Recently I upgraded to a quick Mill pop up, and the difference is pretty astonishing, it's just better in every way. I get at least twice as many good shots out of the quick mill.
I think the only time you would be inconvenienced at all with a single boiler is when you are making those three or four milk drinks in a row. But it doesn't sound like that will be often.
As an alternative to the profitec go check out the quick mill pop up it's pretty badass it's built really well. It also has flow control. The boiler water heats up in less than 2 minutes and steam is ready about 40 seconds
Just get a better espresso machine, one with an actual boiler. It makes a huge difference. Profitec go or quick Mill pop up. Heats up pretty quick makes better espresso, has flow control if you really like forking around.
You might look into the quick mill pop up. Much more similar quality to you apartamento with heat up time of something like 2 minutes for the water to get to temp, 5 or so minutes is better to get the group head and other stuff hot. I have never been bothered by waiting for this machine to heat up. It's an absolute joy to use, and makes amazing shots. I would not recommend going to a Bambino, it's a decent machine, but definitely not built to last, and it feels like a cheap little machine because that's what it is.
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Breville
Bambino Plus
77% positive of 1,081 users
Fast heat-up, easy for beginners; inconsistent shots, annoying cleaning.
alstc
