Hey team,
Nice deal on the Bambino. Sometimes the Plus gets this low but doing some reading, there's some pros and cons to both.
Make sure you do a price check which will bring the price to $379 and then apply the PAYDAY coupon bringing it down to $339. The white-ish colour (sea-salt) is also available.
Plus can auto steam milk (although can never be as good as manual, convenient though). Has a 3 way valve that sucks water out of the basket when your shot is finished (dry puck). I don’t think there are cons on the plus that aren’t on the regular version (if any).
Pretty well regarded in the coffee community as a starter machine, however you'll be frustrated if you make back to back coffees waiting it to reheat. Good if you drink a 1-3 coffees at home every day, but if you're making more than 1 at a time you might want to get something more expensive that will hold its thermal mass when making back to back drinks (breville dual boiler is the well regarded option, but it's close to 1k new)
Disagree, 3 second heat up time and I have made back to back coffee with this machine for years no wait time or problems at all.
Fair call, I haven't owned one and am just going off what I've heard in reviews. I've only had the dual boiler, and then the oracle, both 2nd hand.
I've never owned the basic version but on my 2nd Plus (recent but got 5 years out of original) and would buy again in a heartbeat. I use the Breville Smart Grinder with it and drink 4 coffees a day and wife drinks 1.
Personally I love the press 2 button and your coffee is done - once for the coffee, once for the milk. The temperature setting for the milk is awesome and I find always immediately wiping the steam wand down before it does it little purge means far less blockage. I actually have 3 of the steam nibs which is great for always having consistent froth and I use denture cleaner once a week in order to keep the milk frother nice and clean.
While I see the appeal of the integrated Breville, having separate units for grinder and coffee machine is a bonus. I used to have a bigger unit which was more than the cost of my current setup and getting consistent milk doing it manually was a PITA.
The only "issue" I have now is the coffee is so good at home from the Plus, I really buy a coffee as the consistency of the Plus is why I would buy another if this one fails (5 years was good for 1st one - I paid 339 for Plus at start of COVID)
I have the same setup! Curious to know then what grind setting you put on the Breville Smart Grinder along with what coffee beans you're using.
Grind is set to 12 (down towards expresso) and I use the Aldi Medium Roast Arabica beans (predominantly white packaging - 16.99/kg now as went up a couple of months ago). I use single wall filter but double shot with 11.2sec grind with very little wastage.
@CachePC: Thank you so much! I'm currently still using my Moccamaster to brew but when I switch back to the Bambino I'll be sure to follow..
Some of the reading I did -
The plus has been a similar price to this before, but it's not such a good deal atm.
This doesn't have a 3 way solenoid valve which means
-when the pump stops, it continue to drips for 30 sec or another 6-10ml. It's harder to have a very precise control on the yield if you are very serious about your espresso
-as it doesn't stop immediately, you can't pull another shot immediately. Not a problem if you make milk based drink only. The machine takes almost a minute to froth
Love my plus. I’m no pro home barista, I just want decent coffee. Makes frothing milk and cleaning a breeze.
Love my Breville barista. Had this machine for a few years now and hasn't let me down. Some LB beans and this is a great entry machine. Love the minimum bench space and the milk cleaner function.
Sounds like the Bambino Plus is the one to go for. Using the same method its $479. Looking at past deals Bambino plus has been under $400.
Can someone please explain if there is a big difference in taste between frothing the milk using a steamer vs using a microwave to heat up the meal and using a milk frother
Interested in getting a coffee machine but only drink 3-4 coffees a week at home. So want keep bench/kitchen space and low budget
Microwaving milk for coffee? You go sit in the naughty corner..
Im so tempted to buy one so when im in the office, I can make my own coffees and it will be narrow enough to fit in my work locker.
Love my Plus after having quite a few different coffee machines. I have the Baratza ESP to match, and they sit on top of each other.
I don't buy coffee out as I can make just as good at home now, and many have commented to me the same thing.
It's great for small places and also to take with you camping due to its size and the space it takes up.
Definitely recommend.
Yeah one of my reasons that I prefer to WFH is the coffee I buy at the office is not as good as home. Hence why im considering buying this for my 2 days in the office.
Need a deal on the plus soon!
What are the pros and cons to the plus? Please elaborate