What is the Bambino Plus?
Breville's espresso machine with the grinder taken out and the milk automated.
Breville publishes an automatic steam wand allowing milk temperature and texture to be adjusted for microfoam, a 54mm portafilter with a 19 gram dose, low pressure pre-infusion that gradually increases pressure at the start of the shot, and a 4 pound weight in a 7.6 by 12.5 by 12.2 inch footprint.
Automatic milk texturing is the whole product
Steaming milk is the hardest thing to learn on an espresso machine, and this removes it.
Manual steaming means holding a jug at the right angle, at the right depth, listening for the right sound, and pulling it out at the right temperature. Get the depth wrong and you get bubbles instead of microfoam; get the temperature wrong and the milk tastes scalded and will not pour latte art.
An automatic wand measures the milk and stops itself. You set a temperature and a texture, put the jug under, and it does the rest. The result is not quite what a practised hand achieves, and it is reliably better than what an unpractised one does.
That matters because most people who buy an espresso machine drink milk-based coffee, and most of them never learn to steam properly. The Rancilio Silvia has a superb manual wand and asks you to learn it; this asks nothing.
No grinder, and that is the honest trade
It is why the machine is this small and this cheap, and it is not optional to solve.
The Barista Express has a grinder built in and is considerably larger and dearer. The Bambino Plus does not, so you need a separate grinder, and it needs to be a good one: espresso is the grind size where cheap grinders fail.
Budget for that. A Bambino Plus with pre-ground supermarket coffee will make worse espresso than a cheaper machine with a decent grinder, because grind consistency matters more than the machine at this level.
Low pressure pre-infusion, which is a real feature at this price
It wets the puck gently before the full nine bars arrive.
Hitting dry, compacted coffee with full pressure immediately makes it channel: water finds a crack and races through it, leaving most of the bed barely touched. That is the commonest cause of a sour, thin shot from a machine that is otherwise fine.
Pre-infusion soaks the puck at low pressure first, so it swells and settles evenly, then the pressure ramps. It is standard on expensive machines and less common at this end, and it is one of the reasons the Bambino punches above its size.
Bambino Plus vs Barista Express
The same espresso, and the difference is the grinder and the counter space.
The Barista Express is the all-in-one: grinder, machine, tamper, one purchase. It is the easier recommendation for somebody starting from nothing.
The Bambino Plus is smaller, cheaper, and expects you to bring a grinder. If you already own one, or intend to buy a better grinder than Breville builds in, this is the more sensible route and it leaves you free to upgrade the grinder later.
Is the Bambino Plus worth it?
Worth it if you have a grinder and drink milk coffee.
Automatic microfoam and pre-infusion in a machine this size is a lot for the money, and the 54mm basket at 19g is a proper dose rather than a pressurised gimmick.
Breville publishes no pump pressure, no boiler type, no PID, no warm-up time, no warranty term and no water tank size on this listing. The 54mm portafilter is also Breville's own size rather than the 58mm commercial standard, so third-party baskets and tampers are less widely available than for a 58mm machine. This ASIN shows 23 reviews because Amazon counts them per colour; the model itself is long-established.
Who should buy it (and who should not)
Buy it for lattes and cappuccinos in a small kitchen.
It suits somebody who already owns a burr grinder, a narrow counter, and anybody who has decided they will not learn to steam milk by hand.
Do not buy it without budgeting for a grinder. Do not buy it if you want to learn manual milk texturing, which the automatic wand does for you. And note the 54mm size before buying accessories.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Bambino Plus have a grinder?
No. You need a separate grinder, and for espresso it needs to be a decent one.
What does the automatic steam wand do?
Sets milk temperature and texture itself, so you get microfoam without learning to steam by hand.
What size portafilter?
54mm, Breville's own size, taking a 19g dose. It is not the 58mm commercial standard.
What is pre-infusion?
Wetting the puck at low pressure before full pressure arrives, so the coffee swells evenly instead of channelling.
Why does it show so few reviews?
Amazon counts reviews per colour variant. This is the Olive Tapenade listing; the Bambino Plus is a long-standing model.
