This is a Pablo&Rusty's newsletter code.
10% less than what you'd pay at The Good Guys etc.
You also get:
• 2 x 250g P&R Porter St Coffee Beans (value between $23-$30)
• Live Roaster Online Demonstration
Which can be redeemed here: https://promotions.breville.com.au/bonus-deluxe-coffee-exper…
This code also works for the Breville: The Barista Pro, The Oracle and The Dynamic Duo - however the discount is not substantial enough over other retailers to warrant being a "deal"
Edited, ty. (1st post)
Babe Ruth
Better to pay the extra and get the Bambino Plus. Awesome piece of kit. Press 2 buttons for great coffee.
How does the Bambino and Bambino Plus compare to the Dedica Arte? If you already have a nice 51mm portafilter and baskets is it worth getting the Bambino, meaning needing to buy 54mm versions?
I had the Dedica Arte and used it alongside a Creatista (pod machine) for the auto-frothing. Sold both and my grinder and got a Barista Touch, but I probably could have kept the grinder and got a Bambino Plus for similar results.
Is it better because of the Auto-froth function? If so not a big deal for the additional cost considering all Italian machines are manual frothing..
I personally love the auto frothing on the Bambino Plus. It's very consistent, and you can adjust heat and foam to get the best result from different milks (I use 1+2 for soy, 2+1 for cow). Plus, you can stop the cycle by pulling it up just as it's finishing (you get used to the sound) and it won't backflush any milk into the stem, then it self-cleans with hot water alone.
Second the plus. $360 from good guys commercial during lockdown last year along with a bonus gift pack from Breville at the time. Win win
Not anymore. It is been $500 at TGGC for many months.
Yessss siir, paired with a Eureka Specialita one of the better investments I've made in life :)
We have had the bambino plus for about four or five years now. It hasn’t missed a beat and is still limping out great coffee.
Limping or pumping?
Ha! Good pickup.
It’s still pumping out good coffee…
I only realised when it was too late, and couldn’t edit the post.
@thedragon: I'm glad! I have a 2.5 year old Bambino Plus that's going strong after a warranty replacement of a leaking elbow joint. Hoping to get a long life out of it.
Thought this was the Bambino Plus when I saw the deal and got excited. I have had it in my Amazon wishlist since last year and it's has been around $500 all the time. Those pre pandemic prices will probably never be back. 😣
Wait plus or buy this?
Isn’t the main difference the auto-milk frothing? Definitely worth it for some, but anyone who is more interested in espresso from a hobby perspective would likely benefit from learning how to manually steam milk and put the extra towards a grinder.
Either way, both are really solid entry level options from what I’ve read.
I got my barista pro for $40 more
Interesting, why you don't say how did you get it for that price - $400?
Display model. Had plastic still on it
Is that machine any good?
No
No
Yep. At least not any worse than these entry level little pump machines.
Why ever buy anything but the cheapest possible option by that logic? A 2022 Toyota Camry is probs on par with a 1991 Hyundai Excel right? Four wheels, engine, seats, boot that opens.
But seriously, the bambino is regarded as the gold standard in its class of coffee machine, and recommended by the majority of coffee review sites, I think that Kmart machine would explode if it hit 9 bar.
Why ever buy anything but the cheapest possible option by that logic? An SKF ABEC-3 ball bearing is probs on par with another NSK ABEC-3 ball bearing. Specific tolerances, materials, spherical shape.
Yep, both do the same.
Espresso machines are a bit more complicated than that. Temperature and pressure vary a lot. I have a Delonghi Dedica and while it makes nice coffee, poor thing struggles to get above 80C, whereas people say you want 93Cish for espresso ideally
Hmmm, surely you are not saying a (random) Breville is overall just better than a (random) De'Longhi, right? Otherwise, you didn't articulate your point well.
Have you tried to max out the temperature? I can make coffee that burns my tongue with it.
Thanks OP appreciate the post but the Code is not working for Android, when I click through cash rewards
Not too sure, perhaps they don't stack? I don't have a cash rewards account so can't test
Did you try on laptop?
Tried on PC
…Cashback is ineligible if using codes not listed on Cashrewards…
also noticed that a couple of colours went out of stock so it could of been that.
Thanks again!
i know this is cheaper, but is the Gaggia Classic Pro worth paying extra?
Yes. The gaggia gives you more room to grow if you're willing to do mods (PID, pressure gauge,etc) and will likely be more resaleable to somebody who would do the mods if you don't want to. It's generally considered the best espresso starter machine. I think the BES series double boilers are the next step from there. I personally just skipped it all because I didn't want to spend twice but that doesn't exactly the stop the upgraditis bug…
EDIT: also you could buy 2nd hand. A rancilio silvia is also pretty well liked as a starter. bit more expensive but better steam
No not really …coffee is about the quality of the bean and the grind ..the difference that a machine makes can only be accounted for by an aficionado..as long as the machine in question can deliver enough pressure it will deliver excellent coffee with excellent coffee beans and crappy coffee with crappy coffee beans and ground. The Breville units heat up super fast , have a PID and generally have a lot going for them but the bambino range will not last as long as the gaggia or similar because it is not as simple and has more electronics with a lot more parts ..not to mention the gaggia and similar use better quality components .. if you value your coffee and are willing to take some effort the gaggia is worth it but if you just want a goood cup of cofee stick with the Bambino or the Bambino plus
Agreed somewhat, imo a good coffee comes from 50% bean 30% grinder and 20% coffee machine. Yet people spend more money on a coffee machine than a grinder.
On appliance level, significant diminishing returns kicks in after Breville Dual Boiler, or on prosumer level, about $2-3k HX / Dual Boiler machines. Gaggia is considered as an entry level prosumer machine. If you don't enjoy making coffee, Bambino or any other consumer machine capable of delivering 8-9 bar 150-200ml/30 sec water flow you'd get a good coffee when paired with a decent grinder. If you enjoy making coffee, you'd start with Gaggia and eventually make your way to HX/DB machines / OR just stop at Breville Dual Boiler.
No it does not…simple fact NO machine in the world will make a good cup with stale coffee that has not been ground correctly..there is zero to argue on that point..a good coffee machine is for people who know the first part and if you know the first part and you know what beans from which region taste like what then the gaggia and the silvia are toys ..AND if you do not know that which is 80% and want a good cup of coffee there is nothing wrong with a Breville..be it whatever model..all of them will produce a drinkable product as good or better than the next door cafe
@shaidas: oh i wasn't arguing about making a stale coffee good, stale coffee will taste shit regardless of machine/grind period. It'll be drinkable with good grind and in milk at best.
@shaidas: AND (love you caps <3 ) saying gaggia / silvia being toys probably isn't a fair comment for people that know their coffee - those two machines would both brew excellent espresso, with very little discernable difference, if any at all, to a default shot from a LMLM or those alike. The extra money you pay on prosumer machines buys you more bell & whistles / adustability / quality bundled with significant diminishing returns.
No one claimed Breville being wrong, they make bang for buck machines. But like you said, they tend to have longevity issues.
Since the grinder is so important, if you don't mind me asking, what does one get by spending more than the $18 on Kmart's basic one?
@wisdomtooth: Kmart is blade grinder, it grinders by chopping beans and you can’t have accurate control over coarseness of grinds. The more expensive grinders are all conical or flat burr grinders. Different grinding action, and have different grind consistency.
How would this rate to a Sunbeam EM7000 or similar level machine? My one is still alive and kicking for years but would be nice to have in mind anyway what I'd buy when it doesn't work one day with a broken microswitch or seal.
I rarely make use of the fact it has the two pumps/blocks for simultaneous steam and water so if this is otherwise close enough …
Stick with it if you are happy and you get a decent cup out of it.. the EM7000 is a superior machine to this one..a machine does not magically create a good cuppa ,, it depends on the operator and what you feed the machine
I have had this machine for over a year and it's a solid machine. Average 1-2 cups a day.
Yes the Bambino Plus has the auto-frothing feature however the steam wand is great for those like myself who don't mind doing it ourselves. Also I think the drip tray might be easier to clean here, although I don't know for sure (someone with a Bambino Plus could chime in here)
I upgraded to this from the Duo Temp Pro and the biggest improvement for me is the heating system (Thermojet vs Thermocoil used in the Duo Temp Pro and all the Express models); allowing it to be ready for brewing almost instantly and also seamlessly move to steaming milk pretty much right after extraction.
The usual caveats with the Bambino series apply though in regards to the super-light portafilter and lack of single wall baskets. I actually use the portafilter and single wall baskets that came with the Duo, but I would have invested more money into them separately if I didn't have it.
Also for reference just cause it was mentioned in another comment, no the Kmart $80 machine does not compare to any of the Breville machines. I had one of those too and it is great for $80, but you hit the limit of quality coffee you can get real quick.
I have the Plus and only occasionally use the auto-frothing, tend to just do it manually, as I find the sensor can be hit or miss and I like my temps to be right. Cleaning the tray isn't difficult, but you do lose space (because of the sensor) so you end up emptying/cleaning more frequently.
My Plus came with both the single and dual wall baskets, but I already had better portafilter/baskets so haven't actually used the ones that came with the machine.
I too highly rate the Bambino. It heats up super quick and makes good cups of coffee.
Just to chip in in agreement here - I bought a Plus last week, and it arrived with all four baskets (single and dual wall, single and double shot)
What's the construction of the portafilter? last one I saw was a super lightweight aluminium (mind you it was in Singapore)
The barista express portafilter is an upgrade from the stock one
@Paudius: I don’t know what it was made from but my Bambino portafilter was a super light compared to the existing one from my Duo Temp Pro, so I just binned it.
@Paudius: Definitely lightweight, likely aluminium. Not sure I'll use them forever, but they're fine for now while I'm getting used to the machine.
My apologies. Last time I was looking at the Plus they only seemed to include the dual wall, at least from the info I saw at the time.
@GeekitTillitMHz: My April 2020 BES500 came with dual wall only, about $200 dollars of accessories later, I now have single wall baskets, a BBE portafilter and a normcore tamper
I ordered a delonghi and my order dissapeared, the OZB thread dissapeared… :(
tip: coarse grind with the included baskets will give you la crema
use single wall basket instead for much better shot..
Yep, if you have one!
Best investment for $10
Is this really twice as good as the DeLonghi?
How does one justify the extra spend? From what I've seen the only major difference is the steam wand. Is that really worth double the price?
(I know people here are discussing whether to spend 1000s on a coffee machine, but I'm an OzBargainer, not an OzSplurger.)
Is this DeLonghi 20 times as good as Blend 43?? Why bother with coffee machines, save your $$$
Wait, you're comparing coffee with machine?? If you compared instant with beans to make your point about quality, at least it would make some sense.
Not only am I comparing machine with machine, but I'm comparing two machines that are often compared bc they target the very same entry level market segment. I'm not comparing the Breville with a Mokka or the DeLonghi with a Gaggia.
Can someone recommend any good value coffee grinder for those 2 x 250g P&R Porter St Coffee Beans?
You want to buy a grinder just to use for these 0.5kg beans?
what should I do for these coffee beans?
The Question should be: Are you going to buy already ground coffee from supermarket to use in your new machine? If yes, then may be gift it to someone else you know or ask your friend to grind it for you Or another option is to ask P&R to post them to me :)
@huntabargain: My question will be: Will Breville the Barista Express be a good value option if I want to grinder coffee by myself?
@JinWu: I can't decide for you, you have 2 options, buy this Bambino $360 and something like Breville smart grinder for $255 or buy Barista express with built-in grinder. There is pro n con for each option.
@JinWu: I hear having brewer and grinder in the same machine is like putting eggs in the same basket — double the trouble if one breaks — plus the grinder is not a friend of the steam.
better known as The Bambino