Breville Bambino BES450 vs Breville Barista Touch BES880BSS

A first espresso machine: compact, a 3 second ThermoJet heat-up and a manual steam wand, no grinder

Scores higher on shot quality & extraction, value for money.

A household where more than one person makes milk drinks and nobody wants to learn to steam

Scores higher on build quality & durability, steam power & milk texturing, ease of use & learning curve.

• +Ready to brew in 3 seconds by Breville's figure, so there is no waiting for a boiler.
• +PID temperature control and low pressure pre-infusion at the entry price.
• +A 54 mm portafilter with both single wall and dual wall baskets in the box.
• +Four buttons and nothing to program: 1 Cup, 2 Cup, Hot Water and Steam.

• −No grinder, so you need pre-ground coffee or a separate burr grinder.
• −Milk is textured by hand; the automatic wand is on the dearer Bambino Plus.
• −A 1-year warranty, where some rivals give two.

• +Hands-free milk texturing with 8 texture levels and a temperature you choose between 104F and 167F.
• +A 30-setting hardened steel conical grinder built in, dosing to Breville's stated 18g.
• +ThermoJet heating that Breville publishes as reaching extraction temperature in 3 seconds.
• +Two-year warranty, double the one year Breville gives the Barista Express and the Infuser.
• +Five preset drinks plus eight you can create, name and save.

• −$999.95, which buys a super-automatic that also pulls the shot for you.
• −A 54mm portafilter, not the 58mm commercial size, so accessories are less interchangeable.
• −The tamp is still manual, so the one step most likely to ruin a shot is left to you.
• −Breville publishes no pre-infusion pressure and no shot volumes, only the 9 bar extraction.