Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine (various colors)

rytangold

Apr 27, 2025 6:41 PM

174 Comments

Joined Nov 2015

rytangoldApr 27, 2025 6:41 PM

174 Comments

Breville Bambino Plus is $100 off, now $399. Breville has other sale up to $200 off on coffee grinder and Espreso machine.

https://www.breville.com/en-us/pr...00BSS1BUS1

Last edited by rachaelm April 27, 2025 at 11:59 AM.

antoon

Apr 27, 2025 8:58 PM

438 Comments

Joined Jun 2015

antoonApr 27, 2025 8:58 PM

438 Comments

Is the plus worth it over regular bambino

cuoreesitante

Apr 27, 2025 9:11 PM

2.1K Comments

Joined Aug 2008

cuoreesitanteApr 27, 2025 9:11 PM

2.1K Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank cuoreesitante

Quote from antoon

:

Is the plus worth it over regular bambino

I'd say yes. You get automated milk steaming plus the 3 way solenoid valve (which is the more important feature). I've had mine for 3 years and love it. For most novice espresso enthusiasts there's no need to get anything fancier.

5

1

BruceInCola

Apr 27, 2025 9:19 PM

2K Comments

Joined Aug 2010

BruceInColaApr 27, 2025 9:19 PM

2K Comments

My only complaint is that the drip plate area and tray are annoyingly small on these. Not a dealbreaker at all, just FYI. I've been using a refurb Plus for about 6 months and love it.

The frother is like magic and works amazingly well.

I also vote for the Plus over the standard.

1

flyalexair

Apr 27, 2025 9:29 PM

1.5K Comments

Joined Apr 2006

flyalexairApr 27, 2025 9:29 PM

1.5K Comments

I have the Breville Express Machine. I use a better grinder so I wonder if this would be a nice uprade?

BoastfulPlant166

Apr 27, 2025 9:46 PM

49 Comments

Joined May 2018

BoastfulPlant166Apr 27, 2025 9:46 PM

49 Comments

Quote from flyalexair

:

I have the Breville Express Machine. I use a better grinder so I wonder if this would be a nice uprade?

I assume barista express. This will help with counter space at the very least since you're not using the integrated grinder. The temp steam feature is super handy since I can prep other steps and not have to watch the milk

D12598

Apr 27, 2025 11:11 PM

26 Comments

Joined Sep 2016

D12598Apr 27, 2025 11:11 PM

26 Comments

How would this pair with Kingrinder K8? I used to have a Solis Perfetta till it went ka boom + I never got 9bar on that machine either, so does this one gets that?

VulnoX

Apr 27, 2025 11:22 PM

1.2K Comments

Joined Jan 2004

VulnoXApr 27, 2025 11:22 PM

1.2K Comments

Any recommendations for a good grinder? I have been using a Lavazza pod based espresso machine but hate the waste of the pods plus the cost for the pods has about doubled in the last couple years it seems. This has a higher cost, but if it's better espresso and in the long run not having the pod costs would be nice.

DarnCrazy

Apr 27, 2025 11:22 PM

2.4K Comments

Joined Feb 2005

DarnCrazyApr 27, 2025 11:22 PM

2.4K Comments

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank DarnCrazy

For those of you who purchase this, I have some tips and tricks.

You can use the steam wand to output hot water by pulling the wand out and pressing the single serve button and the milk texture button at the same time.
You can also re-program the shot length for each button to help dial in your preferred water to coffee ratio. See this quick tutorial: https://www.breville.com/inspirat...emperature
You can remove the plastic liner of the portafilter to fit lager IMS baskets like 18-22g. Note it does take a lot of force to get out, and you need to remove the inner basket spring first. Recommend using plastic chop sticks to help get the plastic liner out as well as some metal picks to pry it out. If you only want to make 12-14g shots, then don't even bother with this.
- Example of larger brew basket for around $17-20
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0922Z67KK
You'll want to buy a better tamper since the one it comes with is pretty terrible. The normcore [amazon.com] 53.3" spring loaded tamper (3 spring included), works very well to make for consistent level and tamping pressure. It's around $43-45 but helped made my shots way more consistent.
You can buy "naked" portafilter to fit even larger baskets than a 18-22g, but you can likely skip that purchased unless you really want to see how your shots are forming and planning to have extra large shots.
You can buy generic coffee cleaning powders like Unrex Puro or Cafiza instead of expensive Breville cleaning tablets.
Update: A less important purchase but helpful one is a dosing funnel and puck screen filter. I didn't think I'd needed either one, but after getting them, it was helpful to prevent grounds from spilling from the portafilter and made for lower maintenance of the shower head. You can simply run another short shot of water to clean and/or a blank shot using the included cleaner plug to flush our any grounds from your system. Combo puck screen and dosing funnels can be found for around $9-12 on Amazon in the 53/54mm size.

Last edited by DarnCrazy April 27, 2025 at 06:18 PM.

29

8

DarnCrazy

Apr 27, 2025 11:38 PM

2.4K Comments

Joined Feb 2005

DarnCrazyApr 27, 2025 11:38 PM

2.4K Comments

Quote from VulnoX

:

Any recommendations for a good grinder? I have been using a Lavazza pod based espresso machine but hate the waste of the pods plus the cost for the pods has about doubled in the last couple years it seems. This has a higher cost, but if it's better espresso and in the long run not having the pod costs would be nice.

Check out reddit espresso subreddit (https://old.reddit.com/r/espresso/) or www.home-barista.com [home-barista.com] forums for some recommendations. New grinders keep coming out and depending on the price point you want to spend, you can likely get some better recommendations there. I'm currently using a older Baratza Vistros dialed to the finest section, and while it works, it's by no mean great for espresso. It's better for pour over and general filter brew coffee.

Some example recommendations include:

Baratza Encore ESP ~$200
Baratza Sette 270 ~$400
Eureka Mignon Zero Espresso Grinder ~ $350
DF64 Gen 2 Single Dose ~$400
LAGOM casa ~ $530
Niche Zero ~ $670

5

android

Apr 27, 2025 11:53 PM

615 Comments

Joined Dec 2007

androidApr 27, 2025 11:53 PM

615 Comments

Quote from antoon

:

Is the plus worth it over regular bambino

The main difference that matters is the solenoid. It makes cleanup easier, as the puck is mostly dry. On the Bambino regular model, the puck is watery, and cleanup can be messier. The Plus model solenoid also allows you to backflush the unit.

The auto-steaming feature doesn't matter to me, as steaming milk is easy either way.

The Bambino is a little narrower on the counter.

Either way you can't go wrong, these are simple and yet powerful machines, heat up in seconds.

shaggymatt

Apr 28, 2025 12:13 AM

1.2K Comments

Joined Jul 2003

shaggymattApr 28, 2025 12:13 AM

1.2K Comments

Quote from VulnoX

:

Any recommendations for a good grinder? I have been using a Lavazza pod based espresso machine but hate the waste of the pods plus the cost for the pods has about doubled in the last couple years it seems. This has a higher cost, but if it's better espresso and in the long run not having the pod costs would be nice.

I've been happy with the DF54, pretty cost effective.

1

zxylene

Apr 28, 2025 12:46 AM

109 Comments

Joined Dec 2009

zxyleneApr 28, 2025 12:46 AM

109 Comments

Quote from DarnCrazy

:

Check out reddit espresso subreddit (https://old.reddit.com/r/espresso/) or www.home-barista.com [home-barista.com] forums for some recommendations. New grinders keep coming out and depending on the price point you want to spend, you can likely get some better recommendations there. I'm currently using a older Baratza Vistros dialed to the finest section, and while it works, it's by no mean great for espresso. It's better for pour over and general filter brew coffee.

Some example recommendations include:

Baratza Encore ESP ~$200
Baratza Sette 270 ~$400
Eureka Mignon Zero Espresso Grinder ~ $350
DF64 Gen 2 Single Dose ~$400
LAGOM casa ~ $530
Niche Zero ~ $670

I highly recommend micoffee df54 or 1Zpresso J ultra I have both and they are great especially for the price. I had the 1Zpresso and upgraded to the df54 after getting tired of hand grinding.

deThalion

Pro

Apr 28, 2025 1:11 AM

217 Comments

Joined Nov 2017

deThalion

Pro

Apr 28, 2025 1:11 AM

217 Comments

Quote from cuoreesitante

:

I'd say yes. You get automated milk steaming plus the 3 way solenoid valve (which is the more important feature). I've had mine for 3 years and love it. For most novice espresso enthusiasts there's no need to get anything fancier.

Counter point: there's no point to overpaying 200 dollars for a minor convenience feature.

Using the regular one right now and I'd much rather invest in a better grinder than in better espresso machine

3

4

rage4order

Apr 28, 2025 3:04 AM

2.4K Comments

Joined Nov 2010

rage4orderApr 28, 2025 3:04 AM

2.4K Comments

I've had this for a few months now and so far so good. I was lucky to get it for $350 back in December. Just a small warning for those who get it- when using the pressurized basket, you will get water spillage into the drip tray and under the machine. This stopped happening after I got a better grinder and started using the non-pressurized basket tho. Also, if you're buying this you are definitely going to want a good grinder. As has already been mentioned, the DF54 is a great entry level one. That is my setup.

2

Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine (various colors)

$400

$500

Editor's Notes

Original Post

Editor's Notes

Original Post

Community Voting

Top Comments

Join The Conversation

44 Comments

Join The Conversation

Related Searches

Popular Deals

Trending Deals