As of today, the Australian brand Breville/Sage (depending on where in the world you are) is the most popular, successful, and recognized in terms of pump espresso machines for the home. Their catalog is full of machines with built-in grinders, with a few exceptions like the Duo Temp Pro, the Dual Boiler, the Bambino, and the model I’ll be reviewing today, the Bambino Plus.
Breville Bambino Plus
 | disponible | $487,99 in Amazon |
| Power | 1600W |
| Pump | 15 bars |
| Heating system | ThermoJet |
| Portafilters and filters | 4 of 54 mm, pressurized and non-pressurized |
| Control panel | Analog |
| Automatic / Manual dosing |  / |
| Manometer |  |
| Steam wand | 4 holes, manual or automatic use |
| Water tank | 1.9 liters |
| Independent hot water outlet | |
| Size | 19.5 x 32 x 31 cm |
| Weight | 6.6 Kg |
Compared to the rest, the Bambino and Bambino Plus almost seem like toys, not only because of their much smaller size but also because of their lightness. In fact, coming from the Barista Express, the first thing I noticed is that I had to hold the machine to prevent it from moving when I insert the portafilter into the group.
But this compact size is very appreciated. Moreover, the appearance of the machine is fantastic, with a very attractive design that, except for the lightness I mentioned, maintains quality in all finishes, and provides a look&feel that matches what you pay for it.
The Bambino Plus has a very basic control panel, despite having high-end coffee machine features inside. On this control panel, there are two automatic dosing buttons, with a programmed volume of 30 ml for a single espresso, and 60 ml for a double espresso. These buttons can also be reprogrammed with a custom volume each.
A third button accompanies them: the steam button. As I will explain later, we can texture the milk manually or automatically, and if we opt for automatic frothing, we have two other small buttons on the right, each with three levels that adjust the maximum milk temperature and the milk foam volume.
There are no more buttons or dials. In fact, the Bambino Plus doesn’t even have an on/off button: the machine turns on by pressing any of the three main buttons, and turns off by holding down the one-cup and steam buttons, although it also turns off automatically after 15 minutes of inactivity.
The startup is, precisely, one of the things that most attracts attention about this machine, as it only takes 3 seconds to heat up. This is thanks to ThermoJet, a system patented by Breville, which not only offers the fastest heating on the market but also almost immediate use of the steam wand after serving the coffee, or vice versa.
This system also provides a very high temperature during extraction, specifically 93º C. Even so, the ThermoJet system is not absolutely perfect, and one disadvantage of this system is that it is not capable of heating the brew group. Thus, the cup warming tray is practically decorative, and although it is not an essential requirement, it is highly recommended to do a water purge with the portafilter inserted, not only to heat it but also to fully stabilize the temperature.
Another disadvantage of the ThermoJet system in this Bambino Plus is that the temperature cannot be adjusted, even though there is a PID in the coffee machine circuit. It seems that this PID simply ensures that the extraction temperature is always 93ºC, and it does this remarkably well, but not being able to adjust a different temperature can be a problem if you like very dark roasted coffee. It is not so much if you use light or medium roast coffee beans, roasts for which that extraction temperature is ideal.
In any case, one of the most important things in an espresso machine is the consistency of the temperature during extraction and, in that regard, the Breville Bambino Plus excels. Another key feature for a good espresso extraction is a pump working at 9 bars during extraction, and this is achieved thanks to a quality Italian pump and a very well-calibrated OPV (overpressure valve) so that the pump does not exceed 9 bars, moving away from the current trend of many manufacturers to increase pump pressure to 12, 13, or even more bars, resulting in overly bitter and over-extracted coffees.
This consistency in temperature and pressure during extraction makes the Bambino Plus an ideal espresso machine for using specialty coffee beans at home although, logically, you will need to have a grinder capable of grinding fine enough for espresso separately. In my case, I have been testing the Bambino Plus alongside the Fellow Opus, and after the corresponding calibration and dosing work I have made spectacular coffees with the Bambino Plus.
Another interesting feature of this machine is its pre-infusion mode. By default, this lasts 8 seconds, but it is possible to shorten or lengthen it. To do this, you have to start the manual dosing, holding down the one or two-cup button for as long as you want to maintain the pre-infusion; thus, it is possible to shorten it to a couple of seconds if you quickly release the button.
However, it would have been desirable to be able to extend the pre-infusion beyond 10 seconds, as can be done in many other Breville machines. The Bambino Plus stops the pre-infusion at 10 seconds even if you keep holding the button. Thus, the time range for pre-infusion we can play with is 1 to 10 seconds, and generally, the best results I have obtained by extending it to those maximum 10 seconds, which manages to extract more flavor from the coffee and “settle” the ground coffee, avoiding many possible channeling problems.
Beyond espresso, the Bambino Plus is also known for its good milk frothing capabilities. In this area, it is worth highlighting that its automatic frothing system is a very convenient plus for those who do not master the milk frothing technique.
How does this automatic frothing work? In the drip tray of the Bambino Plus, there is a temperature sensor, which is designed to work with the jug included with the machine. This sensor serves two purposes: the first is to stop the automatic frothing when the selected temperature is reached, although Breville does not specify what this temperature is exactly. The second purpose of this sensor is to activate the automatic frothing system itself: if the machine detects that the jug is not on the sensor, the automatic system is deactivated, and only the manual one works.
On the other hand, it must be said that you can really notice the difference between the three temperatures and between the three foam settings, the first being a very light foam, suitable for café au lait or flat whites, the second somewhat denser, suitable for lattes, and the third creates a really dense foam layer, for those who like those well-loaded cappuccinos with more differentiated layers of coffee and milk.
The automatic system is decent, but nothing extraordinary, with foam that has somewhat large bubbles, so the milk texture does not quite have that smoothness and creamy density that characterizes the milk foam of specialty coffee. But I say it is a practical and convenient system for anyone with little experience in milk frothing.
Luckily, using the steam wand in its manual mode, it is possible to achieve perfect milk foam, with a silky texture, that fully integrates with the coffee to prepare delicious flat whites, cappuccinos, and lattes, and the best part is that it does it super fast: the steam wand has a tip with 4 holes that inject a lot of air at the start, and about 30 seconds is enough to have fantastic milk foam.
Cleaning the steam wand is easy. First, because it doesn’t get very hot on the outside, and the milk doesn’t stick too much. And second, because every time you finish frothing milk, whether manually or automatically, the steam wand performs a water purge to clean any milk residues that may have remained inside the holes, and it is also possible to do this purge manually by holding down the steam button for 5 seconds.
The only downside of this steam wand purge system is that it releases water with quite a bit of force into the drip tray, and it’s easy for some water to splash out. In this regard, I must say that the biggest -almost only- flaw of the Bambino Plus is this drip tray: it is too small, fills up quickly with water, and you have to empty it frequently. Additionally, it has a design flaw that causes water to spill out of the tray when you remove it if it’s very full of water.
Why does it fill up so quickly with water? Because the Bambino Plus has a three-way valve, so it “sucks” water from the filter after serving coffee and pours it into the drip tray. Note, having a three-way valve is a good thing, undoubtedly one of the advantages of this Bambino Plus, as it makes it very easy to remove the coffee puck from the filter and allows for backflushing, which keeps the machine in good condition for longer. I just think it would have been a good design solution to have made the tray a bit larger so it would take longer to fill up and with a design that would prevent those splashes and water spills outside of it.
For example, I think Breville/Sage could have made it wider by increasing its height. In fact, the Bambino Plus has a lot of space between the drip tray and the portafilter outlet, so much so that you won’t have any problems using cups of absolutely any size, even using a coffee scale. Breville could have taken advantage of that large space to increase the height of the drip tray, and therefore, its capacity.
On the other hand, the water tank has a very good capacity of 2 liters, and if the drip tray fills up quickly, the water tank takes a while to empty, so in this regard, Breville has managed to fit a large-capacity tank in such a compact machine.
I’m wrapping up this review, and before I do, I must talk about the accessories. The portafilter is 54 mm, and like the rest of the brand’s machines, it includes four filters: two pressurized, for single or double doses, and the same for the other two non-pressurized filters. Along with them, a blind filter, which is what will allow us to do the backflushing.
Something I really like about the portafilter of this Bambino Plus is that the double spout and the handle are aligned at the same height, so the portafilter sits straight on the surface, making tamping with a tamper easier and eliminating the need for a tamping mat or stand.
Unfortunately, the tamper that comes included is very mediocre, so I highly recommend buying a better one separately; in this case, the Normcore V4 tamper makes a great pair with the portafilter of this Bambino Plus when it comes to leveling and compacting the coffee puck inside the filter.
That will also make the Razor tool that Breville has been including in all its machines for some time now useless. I don’t remember using this tool more than a couple of times, and if you have a good tamper, a scale to weigh your doses, and tools like a WDT or a leveler, this Razor tool is unnecessary and will end up forgotten in the darkest drawer of your kitchen.
More useful and necessary are, on the one hand, the Claro Swiss water filter, now common in Breville machines, and on the other, the descaling solution sachet, which is also included, as well as two cleaning tablets for carrying out two backflushes. If you need replacements, you can buy the filter (lasts 3 months), the descaler (in packs of 4), and a pack with 8 cleaning tablets on Amazon.
At this point, I must mention one last inconvenience I have encountered using the Bambino Plus, and that is when the cleaning alert goes off (with the one and two-cup buttons flashing), the machine forces you to perform the backflush, making it impossible to skip it to use the machine normally. Researching, I discovered that this is exclusive to the software that the machine carries in its version sold in Europe, as in the US and English-speaking countries (sold under the name Breville), the Bambino Plus does allow postponing the cleaning alert to use the machine normally.
Conclusion: my opinion of the the Bambino Plus
The Sage the Bambino Plus is deceiving. Due to its compact size and lightness, it might seem like a very simple machine, but inside it hides high-end components and functions: an incredibly fast and efficient ThermoJet heating system, a PID to control the temperature (although with a single temperature setting for coffee), a three-way valve, an Italian pump with an OPV that regulates the pressure very well at 9 bars, a very powerful steam wand with 4 holes that also allows for automatic milk frothing…
As a result of all this, the Bambino Plus makes an absolutely delicious espresso as long as the prior preparation (grinding, dosing, distribution, and tamping) is done correctly, and although the automatic frothing is far from perfect, at least we can froth manually with a spectacular steam wand that froths milk with latte art texture in just 30 seconds. The few defects it has are not crucial, and they do not prevent me from giving it the highest rating as one of the best espresso machines you can buy today.
The best alternative to this Bambino Plus is its little sister, the the Sage the Bambino . In reality, they are two very similar machines, and the Bambino shares with the Bambino Plus the same ThermoJet system and the same pump with an OPV that also works at 9 bars. However, the “small” Bambino does not have a three-way valve or the automatic milk frothing system. Its steam wand is also less powerful, with only one hole in the tip instead of the four that the Bambino Plus has.
De’Longhi also recently attempted to commercially combat the success of the Bambino Plus with a coffee machine of similar characteristics and philosophy, the De'Longhi Dedica Maestro Plus . However, as you can read in the review I did of this machine, the Dedica Maestro Plus disappoints in several key points and is far from the overall user experience and quality offered by the Bambino Plus.
