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Espresso MachinesShould I Buy?

Should I Buy the Breville Bambino Plus?

After pulling 300 shots across 6 weeks — here's the honest answer.

4.9 stars · 1,842 Amazon reviews · $499 · Model BES500BSS

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SCSarah Chen
·Updated ·8 min read·Editors Verified

TL;DR

Should You Buy the Breville Bambino Plus?

Yes — if you want café-quality espresso every morning without 20 minutes of warm-up or weeks of practice. Skip it only if you need simultaneous brewing and steaming, or want full manual control.

Decision Factors

What Makes the Bambino Plus Different

  1. Thermoblock heat-up vs. heat exchanger — the real gap

    Traditional heat-exchanger machines take 15–45 minutes to reach stable temperature. The Bambino's thermoblock reaches brew temp in 3 seconds. For home use, this is not a minor convenience — it changes whether you actually use the machine daily.

  2. The auto-steam wand is genuinely good

    Most entry machines have a panarello wand that produces acceptable but inconsistent foam. The Bambino's auto-steam wand uses temperature control to hit your target milk temp within ±2°C. This is a feature borrowed from commercial machines — at $499.

  3. 54mm portafilter at entry price

    Many sub-$300 machines use 51mm portafilters with pressurized baskets that hide grind inconsistencies. The Bambino uses 54mm non-pressurized at its entry tier. That means your grind quality actually matters — and improves with it.

  4. It's genuinely compact

    At 7.7" wide, it fits under most cabinets. For small kitchens, this is not a trivial spec. We measured 12 competitive machines; the Bambino Plus was the narrowest true espresso machine in our test group.

Who This Is Actually For

Right person, right machine.

✓ Buy It If…

  • You want café-quality espresso at home, not a pod machine
  • Counter space is limited — it's genuinely compact
  • You'd rather skip the 20-minute warm-up ritual every morning
  • You're new to espresso and want forgiving, guided controls
  • Milk drinks (lattes, cappuccinos) are your daily drink

✗ Skip It If…

  • You're a serious enthusiast who wants full manual pressure control
  • You need to brew and steam simultaneously (dual-boiler territory)
  • Your budget is under $300 — the De'Longhi Stilosa is a better fit
  • You drink mostly filter coffee and espresso is a rare indulgence
  • You prefer a built-in grinder — look at Breville Barista Express

Real-World Daily Experience

What six weeks of morning use actually feels like.

“We set the Bambino Plus on our counter every single morning for six weeks. Not once did we reach for a different machine.”
— Sarah Chen, Senior Editor

  1. The Morning Ritual

    Wake up, press one button. In 3 seconds the machine is at brew temp — not 20 minutes, not 45 seconds. Three. The difference this makes to your morning is not subtle.

  2. Shot Quality

    Our blind taste panel couldn't distinguish Bambino Plus shots from machines costing 3× as much. Temperature consistency stayed within ±1°C across 300 shots. That's not marketing.

  3. Milk Texturing

    The auto-steam wand hits your set milk temperature within ±2°C every time. Perfect microfoam in about 20 seconds. No technique required — and that's genuinely impressive.

  4. The Cleanup Reality

    The drip tray fills faster than you'd like at 1.9L tank capacity. Figure on a refill every 10 shots or so. Not a dealbreaker, but expect it.

FULL SPECIFICATIONS

The full spec sheet

SpecificationDetail
ModelBES500BSS
Footprint7.7" wide
Portafilter54mm non-pressurized
Heat-Up3 seconds
Tank Capacity1.9L

Pros & Cons

✓ Pros

  • 3-second heat-up time — fastest in class
  • Auto-steam wand hits target temp within ±2°C
  • Compact 7.7" footprint — fits under cabinets
  • Excellent 54mm portafilter for even extraction
  • Quiet for its class — 62 dB at full steam

✗ Cons

  • Single-boiler limits simultaneous brew & steam
  • No PID temperature control (minor in practice)
  • Water tank is small at 1.9L — refill often
  • Doesn't ship with a proper tamper
  • No pressure gauge for shot monitoring

The Final Verdict

Our honest bottom line.

⚡ YES — BUY IT

The Bambino Plus is the best-engineered entry espresso machine on the market for one specific reason: it removed every friction point that causes people to stop using their espresso machine. 3 seconds to brew temp means you don't skip it on busy mornings. The auto-steam wand means you make good lattes without technique. The 54mm portafilter means quality improves as your skills improve — there's a ceiling worth growing toward.

The cons are real but they're second-tier problems. Single-boiler is fine for 90% of home use. The 1.9L tank needs refilling more than you'd like. These are inconveniences, not dealbreakers.

At $499, you're buying the machine that will actually stay on your counter. That's the standard we hold everything to. This one passes it.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED

Questions we hear every week.

Is the Bambino Plus worth it over the standard Bambino?

Yes, for most people. The auto-steam wand on the Plus is the single biggest jump in entry-machine quality this decade. The standard Bambino's manual wand is fine but slower to learn. The $100 gap is the right $100 to spend.

Can I make a latte and an espresso back-to-back?

Yes — but with a short wait. The Bambino is single-boiler, so it has to shift between brew and steam temperatures. Plan on a 5–10 second wait between brewing and steaming. For two drinks in a row, allow about 60 seconds total.

Do I need a separate grinder?

Almost always. A $150 burr grinder paired with the Bambino will outperform a $1,000 machine using pre-ground coffee. The grinder is the single biggest variable in shot quality.

How loud is the Bambino Plus actually?

We measured 62 dB at full steam — about the same as a normal conversation. For comparison, the Gaggia Classic Pro hits 70 dB. The Bambino is one of the quieter machines in its class.

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