This seems like a really solid price — do you think it’s worth it at this price? I’ve been eyeing the Bambino Plus for a while now, and seeing it drop below $400 has definitely caught my attention. I know it's a popular entry-level machine for home espresso, and people seem to love the fast heat-up time and decent milk frothing. I mainly want something that’s beginner-friendly but still capable of producing a good shot and decent milk texture for lattes and flat whites. I don’t have space for anything huge, so the compact size is a plus too.
Is there anything I should know before buying? Are there better options in this price range? Any accessories I should plan on picking up right away?
by thain82
12 Comments
I have a Bambino Plus. It is great for coffee lovers to start moving into the world of espresso. Very easy to use. As you gain experience, you will probably upgrade to a bigger one in perhaps several years time or probably never, if you’re happy with the product as I do here. You can’t go wrong in this respect. One thing is you do need a very good grinder. I bought a Sage Grinder Pro. Great complement.
I really like it. The opinions in this sub skew towards the high end but for me it’s been perfect. The only update I did to it was buying Italian baskets and a normcore weighted tamper. It’s great at making espresso. It doesn’t handle light roasts very well (they turn out sour) but dark roasts and espresso roasts turn out well.
Even at 600$ it was worth it. It’s a solid, hassle-free beginner setup. With an Eureka grinder I’m set for years.
I love mine. Don’t forget the necessary cost of a high quality espresso grinder. The affordable way is a hand grinder but this takes a lot of time.
Warm up the machine with an empty shot into the portafilter, then dry and add coffee. I think mine didn’t come with a proper non-pressurized basket? This is 100% necessary. I also upgraded the crappy tamper, added a bottomless portafilter so I could see what I was doing, and a magnetic dosing funnel and a WDT tool.
I didn’t get the appeal of plus over regular?
Yes, good deal
I bought one on this deal to see if it would replace my deloghi dedica. I’m confident after a week that it has.
From what I could tell on camel camel camel and other searches this is the cheapest it’s been.
I honestly don’t know what I’m doing coffee wise, I also have the baratza encore esp, but it comes with most of what you want to explore that. It now does come with both pressurised and depressurised baskets in America.
The auto milk is very convenient, if I just want a coffee with pre grounds I can get something very nice very quickly with little faff. I would definitely recommend this to friends who weren’t into coffee and have them buy pre ground, would be far nicer than Nespresso etc.
My biggest gripe is the size of the bloody drip tray, by the time you make a coffee and milk it has filled the thing up every time. Happy to answer any other questions
My Bambino Plus broke down 3 times of unknown causes. Because of this reason I didn’t like this machine, but I enjoyed the great customer care. At the third machine I was sent back, i just sold it and got a new Lelit Mara X for 750€. Funny enough Lelit was acquired by Breville in the same year. I love my MaraX.
I got it for full price and then noticed the sale. The store I got it from gave me a gift card since it was so close in time. Ordered a Fellow Opus for grinder as I’ve already got an X-Ultra hand grinder but got that for pour over and espresso would take too much work if I’m doing both everyday. Basically I got an Opus for $100 so if I don’t like it, I can sell it and maybe get the Encore Esp Pro which comes out soon, or just get the regular Encore Esp which will probably go on sale. If it’s just for you, maybe get a cheap hand grinder for now and lots of towels as learning can be messy!
I think your “main” drink makes a difference too. I’m drinking pour overs 80% of the time. So most of my money goes towards beans and a grinder and a kettle. I also have a Barista Express that is still going strong after 10 years. I don’t feel a need to upgrade, and when it does bite the bullet, I’ll probably buy another $400-$600 machine to replace it. But if my main drink was espresso or milk based, I’d probably want to save up a bit more for something a bit nicer or more consistent.
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