Rugged build quality and excellent results make this a top machine for those who want high-quality espresso manually, but don’t have room for a larger machine. Build and features – Excellent and rugged-feeling coffee machine Manual espresso machines can be notoriously complicated to use but this one does most of the number crunching for you. In essence, it has just two extraction buttons, one for a short and one for a double. The default for the single shot is short, barista short – as in a single mouthful. However, extraction length can easily be customised to suit your size of cups. The same applies to the double shot function. Recently, the company acquired Baratza (2020), one of the biggest home grinders companies, and Lelit (2022), a prosumer espresso machine brand. Although these moves irritate some coffee fans, they may represent faster quality improvements and product innovation for home baristas. Breville Bambino vs. Bambino Plus: Side-By-Side Comparison Features

The Bambino Plus is a handsome little machine. It stands 310mm tall and, since it’s only 195mm wide and 320mm deep, doesn’t take up much room on the kitchen worktop. Stainless steel curves attractively all around the sides and the ridged surface on top doesn’t just look natty, it gently heats up to keep your coffee cups warm. The Breville Bambino Plus has more colors available, making it a better option for those looking for a specific palette. Moreover, if you’re a fan of Breville appliances, they have other products in matching colors. In this regard, we found that Breville’s online store tends to have more colors available than other retailers. You may find the coffee a touch cooler and the taste a tad more bitter compared to some top-of-the-range professional machines Each machine also has a low-pressure pre-infusion feature that ensures maximum flavor extraction. The Bambino Plus even has a feature that dampens coffee grounds before pulling the espresso shot, which is usually only found on more expensive espresso machines.

A compact, stylish and easy to use coffee machine that’s perfect for espresso beginners – it’s just a tad on the pricey side, though

There’s been a dearth of good manual espresso machines, with the focus shifting to either pod machines or bean-to-cup models. It’s refreshing to see the Sage The Bambino Plus, then, which is a compact espresso machine with some neat professional features. Whichever you choose, using the Bambino Plus couldn’t be any more straightforward. Three large round buttons on the front allow you to choose a single shot, double shot, or begin the steaming function, and two smaller buttons adjust the milk temperature and amount of foam. There’s precious little waiting around, either: the machine is good to go just a few seconds after prodding one of the front buttons to wake it up. That said, the results are great for both machines. And, in terms of speed and convenience, they are ready to make espresso in seconds. Considering that most commercial and prosumer espresso machines take minutes to prepare, this is quite a feat. With the double shot unpressurised baskets, Sage recommends a dosage of between 18g and 22g – I started with around 19 grams of ground coffee and aimed for shots around the 38-40ml mark which is a fairly standard 1:2 ratio. From my experience, that’s a tad on the high side: it wasn’t until I dialled down the dosage to nearer 17 grams and went for a slightly coarser grind that the Bambino really started to deliver the goods. If you're looking for a pain-free espresso, and are happy to pay a little extra to ensure high quality every time, you'll be right at home with the Breville Bambino Plus. The same is true even if you're a beginner who wants to learn and experiment, with the default temperature settings yielding a smooth extraction process straight out the box, ample instructions on grind sizes and which baskets fit each one, and an automatic milk frothing system.

Unlike many domestic manual machines which boast 15 bar pressure, this one runs at 9 bars. However, according to my favourite UK-based espresso expert at coffeeblog.co.uk, ‘the marketing blurb of many low cost espresso machines will try to give the impression that higher pressure is better, but this isn't the case at all. Nine bars of pressure is still universally accepted as the perfect pressure for proper extraction’. In fact, ‘ever since the introduction of Gaggia’s espresso machines, 9 bars has been the industry standard for espresso making’. So there you go. Bean-to-cup coffee machines: These gadgets are all about convenience: they grind and press the coffee beans and make espresso all in one go, so you get fresh tasting coffee every time. The thing to be mindful of is price, as some models can be expensive. If you're using your machine every day, they may also require more regular cleaning, especially those with a fresh milk operating system.

We found that most customers praise both machines’ brew performance. The heating system is pretty fast, and there’s little wait to switch from espresso-making to milk frothing. Moreover, making a few espressos in a row isn’t a problem either. Both are well-built, compact, and very similar in terms of capabilitiesin terms of quality. Likewise, the main difference between them is that the Breville Bambino Plus has a bigger water tank, therefore delivering more drinks without refilling the tank. The first thing to note about the Bambino is that – like Sage’s other ThermoJet-equipped machines – it’s astonishingly fast to get to brewing temperature. Sage claims that it gets to temperature in 3 seconds and that’s entirely true – by the time you’ve powered the machine on, it’s ready to pour espresso. There’s no waiting around for steam, either: press the button, and after a few immediate spits of water, steam comes gushing through. The Breville Bambino Plus includes a dosing tool that the Breville Bambino espresso machine doesn’t. Other than that, both include a decent milk jug, a solid plastic tamper, and a 58 mm portafilter with a plastic handle. At the rear, an amply-sized 1.9l water tank clips easily and securely into place. Unlike some machines that require you insert the tank from above, the Sage’s design hinges from the bottom so you can remove and refill it without having to slide the machine out from underneath a kitchen cabinet. That’s a huge help in smaller kitchens.