Bambino

They call their Bambino a beast they'd never give up.

“you'd have to pry my Bambino from my cold dead hands. Its a beast.”

They didn't like their Bambino: cheap materials and poor shots.

“my wife and I tried the Bambino before and didn’t like it. Just felt like cheap materials and it wasn’t pulling shots well.”

Their Bambino with a K2 makes the best americanos they've had.

“My wife got the bambino and we've been using the K2 grinder with good results.”

They love their Bambino: straightforward and solid.

“the bambino is a pretty straightforward, solid machine.”

Three years with their Bambino, which treated them well.

“A grinder that costs 5-10x as much and the Bambino will treat you well! Used mine for about 3 years before upgrading.”

Their Bambino with a DF64 Gen 2 lasted three good years.

“I had the regular Bambino and that grinder and it lasted me a good three years”

With a 46 mm step-down basket they preferred their Bambino's shots to an LM Mini blind.

“I did a blind a/b tasting against a LM Mini and the bambino was my preference.”

After 5 years their Bambino spoilt them with its ease of use.

“Must say the Bambino spoilt me for its ease of use”

They love their Bambino and Smart Grinder Pro.

“I love my little machines. Bambino and SGP til their death”

Their Bambino makes great drinks, is easier to dial in than their Barista Express and is great value.

“The bambino makes great stuff. It feels like an upgrade over the express because it’s easier to dial in and takes up less than half the counter space.”

Their Bambino and budget grinder make cafe-quality shots.

“I have spent $411 minus unnecessary accessories for a bambino and a mokkom 64mm flat burr grinder and i make shots cafe quality.”

Three years with their Bambino and it gives the taste they expect.

“I settled for my Breville Bambino and upgraded my grinder from Baratza Esp to DF64. I have had it for 3 years now”

Their second-hand Bambino is doing great after three years.

“I got a bambino and grinder second hand had it for three years so far and it’s doing great.”

They love their Bambino, ready to pull a shot 10 seconds after switching on.

“I love my bambino! Turn it on a pull a shot 10 seconds later”

Their Bambino is so light they have to hold it down to lock in the portafilter.

“it doesn’t have enough weight to it and I have to hold it down to turn the portafilter in place”

Three years with their Bambino and no issues: quick start-up, good for learning steaming, but struggles with light roasts and steams slowly.

“I've had mine for 3ish years and it's shows no issues that indicate it's failing.”

Their caravan Sage Bambino is a fantastic machine for the money.

“The Bambino is a FANTASTIC machine for the money”

Uses their non-Plus Bambino almost daily and enjoys the hands-on process despite the cleanup.

“I have a Bambino (not Plus) and Baratza ESP that I use almost everyday.”

Their regular Bambino heats insanely fast, pulls very consistent shots and doesn't feel cheap; steaming takes about 50 seconds.

“The insanely fast heating + PID makes it a no brainer for the price”

Loved their non-Plus Bambino, which a friend now uses daily.

“I had the Bambino non-plus and I loved it”

Loves their non-Plus Bambino and calls these the best low-budget machines, ideally with a bottomless portafilter and non-pressurized basket.

“I have a non-plus Bambino. I love it.”

After a month their Bambino made sour espresso outside dark roasts and results varied with temperature; fine for darker roasts.

“Bambino was making more sour espresso for me outside of dark roasts.”

Enjoyed the Breville Bambino they owned before selling it in a move.

“Used to own a Breville Bambino. Enjoyed it. Sold it during a move.”

Their Bambino leaves a lot to be desired: slow and its flow 'pisses' out; they want flow control and temperature settings.

“Leaves a lot to be desired. I hate how slow it is and how it "pisses" out lol”

Their Bambino pulls lovely shots and they see no reason to upgrade.

“My Bambino pulls lovely shot... I have no reason to upgrade only except for a double boiler”

Their Bambino gets the job done and they don't plan to upgrade until it dies.

“Well... my Bambino gets the job done”

After a few years with a Bambino they found it amazing for the price: fast heat-up, fairly consistent shots and surprisingly good steaming.

“the bambino is an amazing machine for what you pay for it. Fast heat up times, and fairly consistent shots, and surprisingly good steaming capabilities.”

Calls their Sage Bambino their biggest purchase regret: too small a footprint and it constantly leaks out the back.

“Having used similar range machines, this is by far the worst. The footprint is far too small, forcing me to spread my mess across the countertop.”

Three years with their Bambino: served them well overall, sometimes behaves oddly, and the small footprint is a plus.

“I've had this machine for 3 years and and served me well overall but it does behave weirdly sometimes.”

Didn't like their Bambino much because its temperature wasn't consistent.

“Have to agree, didn’t like my bambino that much as I found it was not temperature consistent”

Loves their Bambino paired with a Turin grinder; a great little setup.

“Love my Turin D54 grinder, and breville bambino set up.”

Happy with their used Bambino, though they'd like the Plus's auto froth and auto shut-off.

“I have a Bambino. My sister has the plus. Some things I would want to have that the plus has: auto froth for those lazy days.”

Nearly gave up on their Bambino because of inconsistent shots, which they put down mostly to the grinder (an Encore ESP); after pre-infusing longer they now get great coffee every time.

“I almost gave up on my machine and I think it was mostly the grinder, I would always get inconsistent shots because of inconsistent grinds = channeling”

After a Braun machine didn't do the trick they bought a Bambino and are happy with it.

“We went first with a Braun ... and that didnt quite do the trick, so we went with a Bambino and are happy with that.”

Has used a Bambino for a few years and it has been great; they don't expect to replace it soon.

“The Bambino had been great and I doubt I'll replace it any time soon.”

Had a Bambino briefly before moving to a dual boiler, and found the dual boiler far more repeatable and comfortable to use.

“I had bambino for a short time and then upgraded do a dual boiler and repeatability difference is massive as well as comfort of use.”

Has a modded Bambino (not the Plus) with a Niche Zero and hasn't found a reason to upgrade for medium to dark roasts.

“Im not a light roast fan so the setup is pretty good and havent found a reason to upgrade yet.”

Their Bambino heats up insanely fast thanks to the Thermojet.

“Bambino uses a Thermojet, though. I have a Bambino and the heat up time is insanely fast.”

Would have bought the Bambino Plus instead of their Bambino, because their partner won't steam milk manually.

“I’d have bought the Bambino Plus over the Bambino.”

After about four years with a Bambino and DF54, the steam wand has become a constant battle for consistency and they are looking to upgrade.

“I've been struggling with the Bambino for the last while as the steam wand is a constant battle for consistency.”

Gets excellent espresso from their Bambino, though without temperature control they gave up on dialling in a light roast.

“Also considering this, but realized I already get excellent espresso out of my machine.”

Loves their Bambino: very easy to use, great milk drinks, good steam wand placement and helpful dial-in instructions; the portafilter and tamper aren't great.

“I have a Bambino and I love it! I snagged mine at TJ Maxx. It’s very easy to use and makes great milk drinks — I really like how the steam wand is placed.”

Started with a Bambino and a Kingrinder K6 and found it a great beginner setup.

“I started off with the K6 and Bambino. Its a great beginner set-up.”