Kev. But then, and couple of months in, the density just disappears and we end up with almost non existent foam. Not as good as I’ve got from the Sage Barista Express, though, or the Bambino Plus. This is a real user review of the Sage Bambino Plus espresso machine, or the Breville Bambino Plus if you’re outside of Europe. I say real review of the Sage Bambino Plus, by the way, because it’s rare when searching for coffee machine reviews (or when searching for any kinds of reviews) to find an actual user review. Kev. What an absolute steal for what I hope will be a very good introductory system for a budding novice. Sorry for the delayed reply David. I like steaming milk manually, it’s taken me ages to (just about – but still not quite) master the art of properly texturing milk, and I don’t really want to press a button. I’ve steamed milk with quite a number of espresso machines, including domestic espresso machines, prosumer machines, all the way through to multi-group commercial machines, and I can honestly say that I’ve found the Bambino plus to be one of the best machines I’ve used when it comes to ease of use. When you’re done with pre-infusion, just let go of the button and the pressure will start to increase. Just enter the discount coupon CB999 at bluecoffeebox.com. Businesses will reduce their prices when they need to compete in order to move their stock. Remove the filter from the water tank. Thanks a lot, Hi how i can back to Factory settings after Manual mode, Hi Maraym. Hi Chris. I can’t imagine it being an issue with the basket. Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated! But here’s a quick tip for you, if you are looking for a coffee machine to use in an office or another room which isn’t close to a sink. MYR2,799.00. The lights will flash 3 times, to indicate that the volumes have been reset. Standard filter baskets have a load of holes at the bottom, to allow the extracted coffee to filter through while preventing the coffee grinds from ending up in your espresso. https://www.sageappliances.com/content/dam/breville/uk/assets/miscellaneous/instruction-manual/espresso/BES500-instruction-manual.pdf Here's is our review on the coffee machine we think every parent should have! All the necessary tools you’d need to start pulling single or double espresso or making regular drip coffee is in this compact machine. It’s very lightweight machine, so it has a tendency to slide around when you lock and unlock the portafilter – you’ll just get into the habit of holding it with one hand as you lock & unlock the portafilter with the other. So if you want to backflush before the Bambino winks at you, just do it manually, by doing putting the cleaning tablet on the backflush disk and then pulling five or six 10 second shots, or until the tablet or power dissolves. The guys who design these machines are very clever, I’ve met one of them, and I know this is a team of people who pride themselves on going much further than most other coffee machine designers, even inventing a lot of the parts required to make their ideas possible. For more on this see 15 bar machines & pressured baskets. Actually, as I discovered when making the videos I’ve shared below, as long as you’re using decent coffee beans in the first place, with the Bambino the espresso via the dual walled baskets is OK. This wouldn’t put me off buying the Bambino though. We found that the resulting milk has much better texture and taste than … We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. This is easier said than done, but here are a few tips. I feel that starting with a machine that has a pressurized basket was like training wheels – it allowed me to make lattes for my wife and kids immediately while I was fiddling with dialing in my espresso with big boy baskets. Thermoblock machines or small single boiler machines with the ability to provide hot water don’t tend to do a great job of it in terms of speed and temp, but if you have a heat exchanger machine or dual boiler machine, with water being provided via the boiler (as is the case with the Profitec Pro 600 I’m using at the moment) hot water is properly hot, and is dispensed just like turning a tap, so it really does beat using a kettle for Americanos. To be fair to pressured or dual walled baskets, although I’ve just referred to them as only being fit for being used as indoor frisbees, I can actually see the benefit of these baskets. when pulling a shot? My Gaggia classic old model is still going strong after 17 years. Watch my manual milk steaming tutorial with the Sage Bambino plus below for more on this. This flipping smug little machine can almost do as good a job of texturing milk at the touch of a button as I can manage manually after four or five years of trying to master the art of manually texturing milk! In short, I think this is an amazing little espresso machine. The capability of this little machine when it comes to milk texture, is really, really impressive – when done manually. The machine features a small footprint and is very easy to use. I’ve been searching the web extensively because we are now onto our third machine. For anyone who’s after a bit more detail, and has some more time to kill: Size: 19.5 cm wide, 32cm deep & 31cm tall. It doesn’t appear possible to go into the backflush cycle manually, I tried this in the video below and later reported that I realised I’d made a fairly common schoolboy error, in that I’d actually simply re-programmed the single shot button to the maximum, rather than entering the backflush mode. Live. You’ll know it’s starting the descale when the single shot button light and steam button light both go solid – at this point, press either the single shot button or the steam button to start the descale cycle. So overall, unless you find the Duo Temp Pro for a bargain, I’d go for the Bambino. I have both machines, I don’t own them (I own the original gaggia classic), both are on long term loan to me while I’m continuing to create content on both, and they’re both great machines. We have been cleaning the machine as per the handbook, more often in fact than it tells you too, but it just gets progressively poorer in quality. Turn the machine off, so it starts to cool down while you’re getting ready to descale. Is there anything you have experienced on this subject? Keep the sensor dry. So the fact the Bambino plus comes at 9 bars out of the box, is a very positive thing for this little machine. It may just be that the machine needs vigorous descaling/cleaning on a much more regular basis than the manual, and indeed the machine itself, prescribes. Then the next time you steam, stop stretching when the milk reaches that point. Cleaning tablets are pricey. If you’ve read any of my other posts, you’ll know that coffee blog is completely different to commercial blogs. Hi Kev, really appreciate your time making enquiries. Total price: £617.99. I’ve had people round (often my mum), back when things were normal, and I’ve been caught without the main espresso machine I’ve been using at that point being ready to pull shots. Yeah you should have got that with the Bambino, unless at some point they were shipping them without? https://www.sageappliances.com/content/dam/breville/uk/assets/miscellaneous/instruction-manual/espresso/BES500-instruction-manual.pdf. Ray Shaw. Hi Calum, you mean the razor tool? I tried this because I worked at McDonalds as a kid, and we used to use a very similar powder for cleaning down metal machines, I can’t remember the name of that stuff but this powder looks and smells very similar, so I tried it to see if it would do the same job, and it does. BREVILLE BAMBINO PLUS COFFEE MAKER (1560W) BES550 . Know when to stop stretching. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Bambino is leaps and bounds above the lower cost espresso machines on the market that I’m aware of, when it comes to milk texturing. The next thing to impress me about this machine, is the ridiculous 3 second warm up time – and by the way, this is real, it’s not a over the top marketing, this machine really does heat up in 3 seconds. I upgraded my Bambino with a bottomless portafilter (which taught me a lesson or two), paired it with a Specialita and I could not be more happy. To do this, you simply press and hold the shot button, and pre-infusion will begin at this point. BODUM BISTRO BLADE PORTABLE ELECTRIC COFFEE GRINDER (BLACK) BISTRO BLADE. Definitely recommend the upgrade, it always keeps me in check when I get sloppy. Espresso Machine & Coffeemaker Combos; Espresso Machines; Semi-Automatic Espresso Machines; Steam Espresso Machines; Super-Automatic … Wow, bargain! Cheers, Kev. It’s such a disappointment because we love everything else about the machine. Yes indeed, we are very careful to push the wand down, allow it to self purge (and I can see 4 decent jets coming out the nozzle so no need for the needle trick), but then, to be extra sure (because quite often see that the residue it squirts out after foaming the milk is still quite milky, implying there is milk drawn up inside the tube) we put some clean fresh water in the rinsed milk jug and let it do a quick little steam and purge of that, so it is doubly clear. FREE Delivery in the UK. We follow the instructions in the manual but all that happens is that it does a single cycle and then stops. Free Shipping by Amazon . EKM 150. Sage Bambino Plus Review – My User Review. Nearly all of the Sage machines have only been available at the RRP or close, since all this madness, meaning that they’re costing a lot more in general than they were available for before, as there was usually a deal to be found. grind size, tamp pressure, dose or pre-infusion time. Couple of questions, I’m on somewhat of a budget, what grinder would you recommend and also, a good scales that would fit on the drio tray nicely? I’d definitely get in touch with the retailer, cheers. Make sure you’re involved, by joining  the “brew time” newsletter, click here. I made passable espresso out of the box with a cheap burr grinder and the pressurized filters but it really shined once I got a sette 270 and real baskets. The big white thing with the numbers on the top, this is your water filter, take that out, and then fill the water tank to the “DESCALE” line – which is at the 1L mark. Thanks and keep up the good work. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. When you want to stop the shot, press the flashing shot button again. I’d go so far as to say that if you were thinking of buying any other consumer level semi auto espresso pump espresso machine, so basically just about any other machine on the market at under £300 – you’d probably be making a better decision by spending a little bit more on the Bambino. The machine has an integrated semiautomatic steaming wand to compliment its semiautomatic brewer. Do you push the wand back down after each use to auto purge, and do you give the wand a good wipe too? Your whole website is most helpful. It’s also a great machine in terms of portability, I stuck the bambino in the boot recently when we went on holiday to Cornwall, it took up hardly any space, and there was no faffing around at all getting it set up once at the holiday cottage, just straight out of the boot, plugged in, filled up – and ready for much needed coffee within seconds. Does your Sage contact have any ideas? Cheers, Forums. Or if it is a long term design fault. Similar Products . The truth is simply that 15 bar pressure works for very low cost machines, especially for those that are designed to work with pressurised baskets – and more on them shortly. The position of the jug is towards the back of the drip tray, so you have to remember to push the jug towards the back so it’s sitting on top of the sensor. I’m not surprised about that, Sage do make very shiny, pretty looking espresso machines, but I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the water tank. The reviews I write are real user reviews I’ve created of the coffee machines, espresso machines, coffee grinders, coffee brewers etc., that I’ve first used for long enough to allow me to create true user reviews. Pulling a shot manually doesn’t change the factory settings. With the way things are currently though, you’re probably going to end up paying the RRP unless you’re very lucky. Let us know if the 53mm tamper fits please, and feel free to link to where you got it from. Deal: Breville The Bambino (BES450BSS) - Black - $349 @ BIG W, Store: BIG W, Category: Electrical & Electronics. Originally it would cycle a full tank of water? The Bambino decides when. While machines like the Bambino are really designed to last the 2 year warranty, and any more use you get out of it after that is considered a bonus – the Classic is a more old school machine which can be fettled with, serviced and maintained over the years & will probably still be going strong in ten or even twenty years if looked after. As I mentioned earlier, machines like the Gaggia Classic and Rancilio Silvia have to be modded in order to benefit from PID control, so the fact that this machine, at this price point, as a PID, is a really bit plus for the Bambino. What this means is that the Bambino has the potential to create better tasting espresso than other domestic machines. A PID controller, usually just referred to as a “PID”, which stands for Proportional Integral Derivative, is basically an algorithmic temperature controller. Sent from and sold by Amazon. Also, although I’ve said it’s slow compared to more commercial machines, in terms of overall steaming time, you’ll find it very similar to other single boiler machines, but for some reason it just appears to deliver the steam in a way that is easier to control. If you really do want to work on reducing milk wastage, then try using a 350ml jug, and filling this to just below the indentation of the spout. There’s the Sage Barista Pro, which is the newer version of the Barista express, and there’s the Barista Touch, which is the touch screen version. It has a bigger water tank than many other small espresso machines, at 1.9 litres, which is a really good size for such a compact machine. I soon discovered that the Bambino’s steam wand can also be used manually! I’d expect them to be on offer again at some point, and if you shop around you’ll often find retailers with offers. Maybe I’m missing something – probably, I’m no machine designer! On most jugs I find you need to fill them to just below the indentation of the spout, and with 500ml jugs (which I prefer to use) this will mean that if you’re drinking 6 or 8 ounce drinks, you’ll probably have some milk left in the jug after pouring. Hmm, no I’ve not had any experience of this, but I’ll speak to Sage and see if I can shed any light on a potential cause/solution. I’ve experienced exactly this! thanks chris. i have tried descaling, new water softener. Kev, Bonjour, If you’re a home barista, with an expensive E61 group machine, for example – you may occasionally run into an issue based on the longer warm up time with your machine. At the moment Breville website and Amazon … Deals. Only 8 left in stock (more on the way). Peut on faire des cafés long avec la Bambino ? With the Breville Bambino Plus you can easily brew cafe standard coffee at home. Backflushing is where you use a blind disk, or “backflush disk” which blocks the holes on the filter basket, and you put a cleaning tablet, or a bit of backflush powder into this, and pull a series of short shots, basically. This little machine isn’t going to take up much room on your kitchen work top, and it’s only likely to enhance the look of your kitchen. If a bit of modding is done to these machines (namely PID being fitted, around £100-£150, and a smaller less expensive pressure mod on the classic), and if paired with a higher end espresso grinder, then these machines may, in my opinion, perform slightly better for shot quality than the Bambino plus. We absolutely love it and use it to make, on average, 4 cappuccinos each day, but we keep hitting the same problem and are really now wondering if it is something we are missing or doing wrong. The machine features a fast heat-up time. A one-stop electronics ownership platform. If you’ve already bought one of these and yours only came with pressured baskets, you can get them directly from Sage Appliances, when they’re in stock, for a fiver. To be fair, as I said earlier, straight out of the box the Bambino would probably beat the Classic in a scrap, in terms of espresso quality & shot consistency thanks to the PID on the Bambino which the classic lacks, and the 9 bar pressure of the Bambino vs 12 bars with the Classic. For me with the texture I prefer for my flat whites, I’m stopping the stretch after it’s risen by about 1cm. It has a PID (digital temperature control), which you’re very unlikely to find on other cheaper (or even more expensive) consumer level machines. I think it’ll be a while until we start to see decent offers again on coffee machines. The brewer sports some of our favorite Breville … Sorry if you’ve already answered this elsewhere! Add all three to Basket. It has to do with the programmable features of the machine. The drip tray is very small, but this is something you’ll get use too also. If I go to a local coffee shop (or when I can again post lockdown) – if I ask for espresso grind they do it in front of me on the same machine they use for their espresso – so would that not be appropriate to use at home in a single wall (non-pressurised) basket? I’ve used the Bambino a number of times since using the auto steaming feature, and it really is very good. These are integrated grinder machines, which I can see the benefit of in terms of cost, but overall I do recommend going for a separate espresso machine and grinder combination than going for an integrated grinder. There’s the Sage Barista Express, which you could at one point get for around £400 – but which are also mainly only available at the RRP of £599 or close, during this strange period while deals are hard to come by. That's incredibly fast and a huge benefit for the espresso lover … Experiment with temp and foam settings. Whenever I get a new bean, I reprogram the machine. You can use both machines for more than 4 to 5 years since they use the best quality stainless steel. if so twin or single walled? Delivering barista-quality performance using a 54 mm portafilter with 19 g for full flavor and automatic milk texturing. I am just starting my espresso making journey and you convinced me to go for the bambino plus. My gripes are: the 54mm portafilter means accessories are not as easy to come by and options are limited. This compact machine also features low pressure pre-infusion, where the … To conclude – I’m hugely impressed with the Sage Bambino plus. December 4, 2018 4 min read. You using dual walled baskets or single wall (standard baskets)? Hi Julia :-), Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. If you have a Bambino plus, disaster avoided, you just fire that up, and no disappointment required, your friend or family member gets the lovely coffee they were hoping for. Malaysia. On page 16 of the manual, it shows how to use the steam tip cleaning tool to remove the steam tip and unblock it. If you already own these things, it’s not an issue, but otherwise the price of the machine may as well be bumped up $150 or more. Cordialement Modar, Salut Modar. This is made possible by the 4 keys formula. It’ll produce good tasting espresso (as long as you use great quality coffee of course), it’ll create great textured milk, and it’s cleverly designed to produce a great user experience even for the complete home espresso novice. The price is the only thing that would potentially put me off the Sage Bambino plus at the moment if I was in the market for a new espresso machine. It has low pressure pre-infusion, which is factory set to about 8 seconds, but which you can also control manually. I love the quick startup of the machine and I expect that this feature alone will keep me from upgrading for a while. Wouldn’t like to know what it would produce if we knocked it down to two or one. So all the above, combined means the Bambino plus has the ability for better espresso and better textured milk than with practically any other espresso machine on the market within a price range of up to around £300. I think your reply makes a lot of sense, I agree that non-standard PF size is a pain, as is the lack of a hot water tap, but on this point, this is where a HX or dual boiler machine is needed really. The Bambino Plus doesn't compromise on the 4 key elements of café quality coffee. Hi Ed, yeah I’m pretty sure any 54mm (Barista Pro, Barista Express, Duo Temp Pro) will work with the Bambino plus. Do you know if Portafilter with dual spouts on side from Barista or Duo Temp work on Bambino Plus? There’s the older Sage Duo Temp Pro, at an RRP of £380. I think the reason for this misleading info in the instructions is that initially the backflush disk had a hole in it and water did come directly out of the group, but they changed this and didn’t change the instructions. Thanks so much! Just cleaned my old cheaper DeLonghi EC330S machine to sell on eBay, turns out it wasn’t broken at all, just blocked. While some espresso machines can look a bit industrial, Sage espresso machines never do, they’re always designed to look as pretty as possible in modern kitchens. You’ll see most lower cost espresso machines, and even some at a similar price point to the Bambino, being marketed as 15 bar pump machines, along with marketing blurb which appears to insist that 15 bars of pressure is a good thing. the Bambino Plus Espresso Machine by Breville, BES500BSS1BUS1 Café quality coffee in a compact footprint Like a commercial machine, the Bambino Plus doesn't compromise on the 4 key elements of café quality coffee. If you’re a seasoned barista, and you’re used to the entire process taking 15-30 seconds, then OK you’re probably going to find this a bit slow – but if you’re a beginner home barista, and you’re just honing in your milk texturing skills (which are much harder to develop, and take a lot more practice than most people realise), then I think you’ll find the Bambino plus a great machine when it comes to developing your milk texturing skills. It’s actually fairly inexpensive for a dual boiler machine, to be fair – even at the full RRP. The classic isn’t for everyone, it’s definitely not as user friendly and as beginner friendly as the Bambino, but for anyone who sees themselves as a home barista, and is focussed on being able to pull the very best quality shots possible, and doesn’t mind doing a bit of modding, at £399 – I think the Classic is a better bet.