What I love about the Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine. An Honest Review

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Read along as I tell you what I love about the Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine.

This blog post contains affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if purchased.  I have linked all the products we currently use with our Breville throughout this post for your convince. Thank you for your support as I continue to create quality content.

Why I Purchased A Breville Espresso Machine

For years I had been eyeing espresso machines.  My husband and I went from a coffee maker, to an aero-press, to a pour over,  to a french press (which we still use on a daily basis).  Needless to say, we are big coffee fans!  So how did we decide on purchasing the Breville Bambino Plus espresso machine? 

I purchased the Breville Bambino espresso machine during the pandemic in 2020.  It was no longer easy to run out and get a vanilla latte at my favorite coffee shop.  My husband and I had been looking into getting one for a while, but did not want to purchase a cheap machine that was going to break after a year of using it.  I grew up on a Breville espresso machine that lasted for years, so I knew Breville was going to be top on my list.

Purchase on Amazon

Another selling point for me was that once I purchased the machine, I only had to buy bulk coffee (no pods!). The machine may be more expensive than some other popular brands that use pods, but I knew it would be a less expensive option in the long run.

After quite a bit of research and looking at reviews, we decided that the Bambino fit the bill for what we were looking for and we decided to pull the trigger and purchase it.  We were also looking for something that small would not take up a lot of counter space.  

A big selling point for me was that it had an automatic milk frother. I did not have to stand there and steam the milk myself! We’ve have had it for three years now, and this machine pulls great shots and it has a powerful steam wand.  The Breville Bambino Plus really is a great machine.  

What I love about the Breville Bambino Plus

Small and compact espresso machine and does not take up too much counter space! 

Automatic Milk temperature gage so you don’t have to babysit the milk frother.  Just push the steam button for the automatic steam wand and walk away. 

Tells you when it needs to be cleaned by the buttons flashing. 

Simple, straight forward and easy to use.

Barista quality performance. 

There is not much of a learning curve! It’s very straight forward and great for beginners. 

What the Breville Bambino Plus comes with

Tamper

Razor Dosing Tool

1 and 2 cup double wall filter baskets

Single-Wall Filter Baskets 

Cleaning Tool

Cleaning Disk

What is helpful in addition to the machine

A coffee grinder with different settings.  If you are going to invest in a nice espresso machine, you might as well invest in a decent grinder.  You will want to have a fine grind for pulling espresso shots and a course grind for the French press.  I am linking the Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder we currently have.  It works well, is easy to use and doesn’t break the bank.  

If you don’t get a coffee grinder right away, just make sure you have pre-ground coffee. 

Bar towels are handy to have when wiping down the machine in-between uses. I use these for everything!

Filtered Water (this will help you go further between cleanings).  We use the Berkey filtration system. This is another great product to invest in.

I have a small cleaning wand like this one on hand for the milk frother.  I unscrew the bottom and clean out the wand with this.  It seams to help. 

I would highly recommend purchasing the Breville brand cleaning tablets.  I have ordered an off brand and they did not efficiently do the job as well as the Breville brand. 

You are going to need a descaling solution. I order this one off of amazon. It comes in a two pack and does a great job.

Breville’s Customer Service 

The first machine we purchased would not stop flashing although we cleaned it properly.  I contacted customer support and was able to send it back (no cost to me) and receive a new machine.  Breville let me keep all of the additional ad ons and just send back the machine.  Now I will have extras in case something breaks. After that experience, I can confidently say that they have very good customer service.

The Breville Bambino is worth the price.  On the scale of espresso machines, I would say it is an excellent choice for a beginner machine or for a single person or couple.  We will upgrade as our children grow and start drinking coffee as well!  Right now they do love hot chocolate.  The nice thing is that the bambino has an adjustable milk temperature and three froth settings and three heat settings.  If I set it to high froth and low heat, it makes the perfect kids hot coco. Another win! Also, it is possible to do latte art with the low froth setting! I am constantly trying to perfect my art.  

Make a Latte With Me

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Purchase From the Breville Website

To check out the Breville Bambino Plus, click here. To see all of Breville products, click the image below to be directed to Brevilles website.