I’ve done more research than I care to admit, an affliction that seems common on these subreddits. One thing that I realized after a while, and had reinforced after I saw a video Lance posted about the Bambino, is you’re really just looking for temperature control and 9-bar pressure.
If you have that, you can use a scale with timer to dial-in any espresso.
The Bambino has 9-bar pressure and PID controlled temperature. It heats up almost instantly. With some Normcore accessories and a simple $40 Amazon scale you are getting consistent, excellent espresso at home with little fuss. You can buy these machines scratch and dent from Amazon for as little as $220. The Normcore accessories and scale add maybe another $150-$200.
You of course need a solid grinder to go along with this, but let’s say you grab an Opus conical for another $200.
We’re talking a hair over $600 for a setup that in most cases takes thousands more to move the needle on.
I get Gaggiuino or Decent if you want the profiling and like tinkering. But I have trouble justifying any other expensive machine outside of aesthetics (which, to be fair, the Bambino is fairly utilitarian). What am I missing? Why would you do anything else?
by hisnameisjimmy
11 Comments
>What am I missing?
Dual-boiler features, maybe some temp control for lighter roasts. Not much honestly…the setup you described gets you well into diminishing-returns-land.
That said, I think the grinder has more room for improvement. Something like a DF64 might be a worthy upgrade from the Fellow down the line, or Encore ESP if you’re debating what to start with.
Just a pointer that you don’t necessarily need to buy Normcore accessories in every case (though some are of course worthwhile). There are many well reviewed accessories on Amazon for half the price or less. Just spend some time researching the most popular and well reviewed products.
Bambino and opus conical is my setup and ive never been happier. The burr on the opus crapped out after about a year and they sent me a replacement. Working like new and im in heaven
The bambino with upgraded accessories is the way to go
Let’s talk about the Bambino as a machine, and its core flaws for a second.
So first of all, Breville never designed the Bambino to turn out great espresso, and it was never really aimed at the enthusiast crowd. I’m convinced that it was a small, light, and fast machine designed to compete with Nespresso, ECE and the like. When it first came out, the Bambino didn’t even have a single walled unpressurized basket in the box (that was thrown in later). And why Breville keeps the Barista Express and the infuser in production.
Now the Bambino lacks a few features that more advanced users might want:
* adjustable brew temp
* adjustable pressure (Ok, this one is niche)
* Pressure gauge
* 3-way valve
* group head heater
But more importantly, there are design deficiencies that make it difficult to turn out great espresso shot after shot. I’m not saying you can’t pull great shots, but it will be difficult and often not repeatable. Fundamentally, the Bambino is a single PID, single thermoblock machine, even if Breville’s Thermojet is the best thermoblock on the market. There’s a reason why this type of basic design is typically found in only entry level machines.
Let’s talk about the flaws of this kind of machine:
Steaming power is always going to be weak with a thermoblock, even if the Thermojet is one of the best thermoblock systems. Remember, the thermojet is essentially a tube coil that the heating element heats up, and water passes through. The 110v Bambino is rated for 1560 watts. Account for the pump, the electronics, and give it some headroom, you’re looking at an, I donno, ~1200W heating element.
This means that assuming perfect 100% efficiency (which it isn’t obviously), the heating element can transfer 1200 joules of energy to the water per second. This 1200 joules has to raise the water temp from room temperature to boiling and change the state of the water from liquid to gas. In a pressurized system this might result in 130-140c output steam temperatures.
Remember how the heating element is like, ~1200W or so? This inherently creates an upper limit on the amount of steam that could be output per second. And this is why a Bambino steams milk in like, 30 seconds, while a high end boiler based machine can do it in 10 seconds.
Now FWIW – This limitation is a hard limitation due to the amount of power that a wall plug outputs. No thermalblock based machine can get around it really. And Breville’s Thermaljet is already really high efficiency.
Bambino with my bottomless portafilter and spring tamp is my fav
If it makes the espresso that you enjoy, then you don’t need anything else.
This is the same analogy for every kitchen item. Even something non-electronic and single use like a knife. A $20 IKEA knife cuts, a $2000 Japanese custom hand made Damascus chef knife also cuts.
The majority of consumers will never need anything else, and you won’t really know what you need or want or upgrade until you use something to a point where you feel it is limiting you or that you move outgrown it.
Temperature can be more stable, steam can be more consistent, you want more granular control over functions or even more brew functions like brew by weight, better build quality, larger capacity, direct plumb, lower noise and vibrations, more accessories and compatibility.
Normcore baskets have nano holes that will turn your puck into a showerscreen with a high pressure. I would get an IMS basket. My 2 cents. I have Normcore basket and don’t use it for the reason.
Don’t think that I’ve much to add to what u/Uptons_BJs mentioned. To me comes down to:
– Consistency: the moment you need to pull back to back shots, e.g., guests over or morning pulls for multiple people, you’ll definitely taste the difference.
– Build quality: Although it’s not a badly built machine it’s no where near 1000€+ machines. Usually those also tend to be much easier to maintain and repair. A quick look into troubleshooting posts at r/BrevilleCoffee will speak for itself.
– Aesthetics: Purely personal. I really like the all steel look of E61 machines. They don’t look like another appliance.
In the end that machine is one of the most recommended entry-level machines for a reason. It’s really capable. And a good grinder + good beans + ok machine will always beat ok grinder + ok beans + great machine. However, that doesn’t mean that that aren’t good reasons to eventually get a better one.
edit: formatting and spelling.
I really like my Bambino Plus, but I’m looking to upgrade to something with a proper boiler and a PID controller to get better temperature stability and overall consistency. I have a lot of issues with consistency on this thing.
I’d also like the ability to adjust brew temp to accommodate for different roast levels. I recently had a light roast that my Bambino couldn’t fully extract, even at a long ratio. It needed to run hotter.
I think consistency and control are most of what you’re paying extra for with a more expensive machine. That, and build quality.
With that said though, the Bambino really is a great little machine, and if it’s doing everything you need it to, good! Save your money!
You don’t miss anything. Keep using it until it gets broken… then fix it, if not fixable, get the new best price performance tool. Changing from a device to a prosumer device is painful due to longer wait times, dual boilers just use too much space, for what? Convenience, which you could have with bambino already. I sometimes think of selling mine with some extra cash and get a bambino like one.