Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine BES500BSS, Brushed Stainless Steel

Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

Easy and quick to use for a dark and tasty espresso. Coffee quality and grind matter a lot. Small footprint, attractive shiny little workhorse. I love my baby Breville!

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Wily Fox

Little workhorse

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

Heats up in a flash. Makes great espresso and takes up the same counter space as the Breville espresso grinder we got to go with it! Easy to clean. Easy to operate.

One person found this helpful

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Art

Great, if you know what you are doing

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2019

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

Update May 2022: I felt this needed an update - 3 years later, the Bambino is still working just fine, making 1-2 lattes and cappuccinos a day. I was somewhat harsh on the automatic milk frother function in my original review, it actually performs just fine. Setting 3 on volume and setting 2 for temp will produce decent texture if you don't overfill the pitcher. Manual frothing will produce better results, but automatic will do just fine for 99% of people.

I had to adjust to new coffee several times and it took a number of days to dial in grind size and extraction times but it is doable. No machine will do it for you with a random bean, if you require perfection.

I am finally amending my rating to 5 stars as this machine has thus far performed above and beyond my expectation. the price, size and performance are just right and I couldn't wish for a better machine at this point

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Update April 23rd 2019: Bambino going strong after 3 months, with a few negatives that don't really deserve a star taken off:

- First the good: manual milk frothing produces absolutely gorgeous microfoam. The wand is great and easy to work with

now the bad:

- portafilter is not that good, basket retention is poor. The basket gets sucked onto the group head so tight that the portafilter comes off without it.

- machine chokes with moderate tamping pressure, it is definitely not designed for standard tamping technique

- machine seems to be extracting by volume which makes dialing in and timing shots very difficult. Not sure if I am correct on this one, but different tamping pressure results in differently timed shots, but they also weigh differently, which is rather odd. One would think it's one or the other. It takes good technique and practice to pull a consistent shot. I still haven't mastered it

- cleaning instructions are very confusing, you have to be patient and let the machine do its thing, LED indicators actually don't seem to match the manual

Original review:

This machine is capable of producing great cappucinos and lattes, if you skip its main attraction/feature - automatic milk steaming and frothing. The automatic process produces weak bubbly froth, but thankfully you can skip it and do it manually.

Pros:

- slim profile, won't take much counter space
- enough space under the portafilter to fit a large mug, this is a huge plus as other machines would only fit a tiny espresso cup
- heats up really fast
- huge water tank
- very decent steam want capable of beautiful microfoam (if done manually) very fast
- pull a decent shot (more on that in cons)
- steam wand auto purging
- comes with a very decent milk pitcher

Cons:

- tiny drip tray. It will overflow after 3 cappuccinos
- cheaper portafilter design than the one that comes with 840 and up, but allows for more room under it
- only comes with double wall pressurized baskets and extra baskets are ridiculously expensive ($50 currently)
- milk autosteaming, one of the main features and contributers to the price of this machine is not very good. It simply is not capable of producing the microfoam you'd expect from a machine in this price range. Luckily you can do it manually

Tips:

- push some steam and let it purge the water onto a cloth right after you've turned the machine on. Push some water through the grouphead onto the cloth to stabilize the temperature. You will use the cloth to wipe the wand. This process ensures the machine is actually up to the correct temperature
- do not overtamp. Double wall baskets are not that sensitive to tamp pressure, but will choke if overtamped.
- clean the basket and the grouphead of any grounds before and after pulling the shot

191 people found this helpful

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Cody Pitts

Not perfect, but pretty darn close

Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2024

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

This machine makes quality espresso every time, and the auto milk frothing is excellent. It’s compact and fits well on any kitchen counter. The only negative is that the drip tray is very small, so you have to empty it almost every day of use, but it’s really not a big deal. Highly recommend!

2 people found this helpful

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SPHW

Most frustratingly temperamental coffee machine EVER!

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2023

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

I’ve thought long and hard about how to articulate this review as clearly and truthfully as I can.

Ok, so I’m not predisposed to negative reviews but this overly expensive coffee machine is awful.

The most important part of this machine is the troubleshooting manual. Keep it to hand - you will need it!

The positives:

1. It will make a nice cup of coffee*
2. The cleaning capabilities for the wand are a good idea

The negatives:

1. True, it will make a nice cup of coffee…..IF

IF you use the EXACT amount of coffee in the filter basket
IF you don’t mind pressing the double cup 3 times to get a single espresso shot - even when you use the right amount and grind of coffee!
IF the coffee machine doesn’t randomly go into cleaning mode (which it does even before forcing a clean every 200 button presses)
IF you use ONLY the supplied milk jug. Using anything else causes the temperature sensor to fail, the steam will never stop and you milk will be boiled and overflow
IF the aforementioned milk jug is placed EXACTLY in the perfect position to get the best contact with the milk temperature sensor
2. As a practitioner of human centered design (making products intuitive and easy to use), I can tell you that this coffee machine is absolutely not easy to use. Too many failure modes, too many unintuitive error states and messages and good functionality ideas are executed poorly - example being the temperature sensor. It works but only IF you do 3 things perfectly first.

2. The need for a cleaning cycle is too frequent. We are having to perform a cleaning cycle every 2 weeks! (And we aren’t coffee monsters!)

3. Water wastage. The wand cleaning wastes SO MUCH water to perform. It could be done using much less

4. The wand cleaning cycle is really messy. IF you position the drip tray in the PERFECT position, you might not have to clean your machine and own clothes from the spray back coming from the wand

5. The wand cleaner is difficult to find, and beware! The sharp pin cover comes off really easily when you are unscrewing the wand tip. Have a bandaid to hand!

In summary, can this machine make coffee? Yes BUT it isn’t easy to use, is highly temperamental and definitely NOT worth the money.

…really wish I could get my money back…

74 people found this helpful

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Stuart E. Schechter

Amazing, but with a few flaws

Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2019

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

The Bambino indeed has a super-fast startup time for both making espresso and steaming milk. A machine that starts up quickly is much less harmful for the environment than one that you need to leave powered up over night, which most of the higher-end machines do.

While the Bambino does start up in 3 seconds, the instructions specify that run a single-cup cycle without the filter before actually starting to make your first shot. This is not going to slow you down if you start up your machine and hit the single shot button before grinding your beans, and the Bambino will be ready before you've finished tamping.

I love the materials and the ease with which the base slides off for cleaning and back on again. It's got a deep tray for water so I haven't had any spills carrying it over to my sink.

However, you should know before you buy that:

(1) There's a good deal of necessary friction to overcome as the filter needs to lock in tight to be sealed under pressure, and the machine is so light that it will slide around your counter before accepting the filter. There's no handle to grab, so the only way I've been able to make this work is by wrapping my arms around the whole (fortunately small) machine. Don't welcome a Bambino into your home unless you're prepared to give it two bear hugs for every espresso you drink. (It gets easier--see update below. A commenter suggested using olive oil as a lubricant, which seems sensible since water boils at 100C and olive oil doesn't burn until ~190C.)

(2) When the steamer self-cleans the tip of the wand, the initial spray often hits the edges of the hole it's supposed to land in. That initial spray contains milk that is being cleared, and the milk splatters. You'll need to keep the towel you used to clean the wand handy to play defense, and prepare to clean up splatter that you miss. Hopefully in v2 the hole will be slightly bigger and the alignment more precise. (Aside from this, the self cleaning function is great.)

(3) The minimum amount of milk required to steam (the min line in the included steel milk jug) is a bit more than will fit in an 8oz mug, especially on the frothiest mode. Fortunately, I've not had any problems after filling a bit below the min line.

I'd definitely buy this again as all the flaws are manageable and I love the quality of the espresso it creates, the ease with which it does it, the ease of cleaning, and the petite size. Having originally eyed the Barista Express, I have no regrets about getting a smaller machine that's easier to clean and starts up more quickly. If my grinder breaks, I can replace it without replacing my espresso maker, and vice versa. I also have no regrets about not getting a double boiler, as having two fast sequential steps (espresso and steam) is just as good as two slower parallel ones. If really I wanted to make multiple espressos faster, I'd get another filter unit so that I can grind one cup while another is brewing.

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Update April 21 2020

After a few months the group head started locking in with less friction (but still makes a good seal), and so the bear hugs are now optional.

I recently had the chance to compare the Bambino with the Barista Express, which I bought as a gift for friends I stayed with for a week. The Barista Express is a more impressive looking machine, also worked beautifully, and when offered for less than the Bambino as it was in January, it might be a better value. The one feature I missed was the automated milk steaming on the Bambino. With the Bambino, I can start milk frothing and move to another task, but steaming is a strictly manual operation on the Express. While the Bambino has a manual option, if I wanted to steam manually, I confess that if I were steaming manually each morning, I'd much prefer the more spacious Express which provides a more ergonomic experience if steaming manually is important to you. The Bambino's automatic steaming does a great job, so manual vs. automatic may simply be a matter of preference.

Only after a year into ownership did I re-read the part of the manual that mentioned tool for cleaning the four holes in the steam wand, hidden under the water tank. It's beautiful industrial design to embed useful but rarely-needed tools where nobody has to see them, but Breville was a little too successful in hiding from. Don't miss it. I had been using a needle from a sewing kit.

When using the two-shot mode to make two small lattes, I found it helpful to have a 600ml (20oz) steaming pitcher so that I can steam enough milk for both. For shot glasses, I've come to greatly appreciate ones with spouts that help me cleanly pour the espresso shots into cup. I use these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GL55KSN.

I've now descaled a few times. Step 8 in the manual instructs that "once the descale solution has been used up, the descale mode will pause." It will actually pause BEFORE all the descale solution has been used up. I believe you can just toss the remaining liquid left in your tank.

After my second descale, the machine started barely producing any espresso during a cycle. I tried another descale, with no luck. Then I tried the instructions under "reset factory espresso volume settings" at the bottom right of page 17 of the manual and everything suddenly worked like new.

1,076 people found this helpful

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Maverick Phantom

Saves money

Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

I'm only comparing it with what I would get from Starbucks. The lattes taste much better than what Starbucks and other coffee shops have to offer. Working with making the drinks more consistent and better tasting; but as far as comparing what I'm making with the $5+ lattes from Starbucks - staying home with my own drinks!

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FRC

Good Results/Smart Compromises

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023

Color: Damson BlueVerified Purchase

The Bambino Plus requires some attention for maintenance but turns out a nice cappuccino in record time and with minimal effort. I have heard that this machine is the best you can do "out of the box" for less than $500; I don't doubt that. And you can frequently find the machine for $400 from reputable dealers. I also don't doubt that you can get better espresso from some more sophisticated and more expensive prosumer machines but this machine makes the right compromises for me for satisfying results, cost, ease of use, ease of maintenance and size,

I had used a Starbucks Barista machine for more than a decade (a just adequate starter) and had to do manually things that this machine does for you. The Bambino Plus has programmed shot size and frothing temperature - although you can vary the programming and easily restore factory presets. Out of the box, I found the shot too small but the steamer right on (producing small-bubbled, silky froth from 2% milk).

The machine is ready to produce in about 3-4 seconds from powering on, and you do not have to wait between pulling a shot and steaming your milk. (It's magic to me.) The frothing is controlled as to temperature by a sensor on the device (so long as you use the provided stainless steel frothing pitcher) and the degree of air-infusion can be set - so you can froth hands-free with excellent results. After steaming, the machine automatically purges the steam wand on your command - but you do, of course, have to wipe it down after frothing. The machine comes with a "device" to unclog the frothing wand (with a tiny, pointed needle to clear the frothing head) which I found to be needed long before anticipated but it is a quick and easy fix.

The machine supposedly wets the grounds before pulling a shot. The water temperature is relatively even from shot to shot. But to get a cup of espresso or cappuccino at the right temperature. you really have to start with a heated cup so it doesn't cool the output. And the Bambino itself will not do that IMO. (I fill my cups with water and microwave first.)

The biggest design drawback is a tiny drip tray which, if you rely upon it for anything more than the occasional "oops", should be dumped after each use.

The machine comes with two cleaning tablets and two descaling tablets, and it will signal when they are needed.

2 people found this helpful

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Mark D.

Great Espresso Maker!

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

I have had this espresso maker for a few weeks now and so far I am very pleased with the results. I have always enjoyed a Latte, Cappachino and everything in between. Just getting the right grind of the coffee itself is the secret. After doing some research on the web about making espresso and frothing the milk I feel like a barista. I really like the frothing capabiliy and the fact that it is automatic and senses the temperature.

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megaman17us

Love love love

Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024

Color: Brushed Stainless SteelVerified Purchase

I bought this machine after lots of research. Worth the money, easy to use, get for first time users and experienced users a like. Big water tank that is easy to fill. Simple to use but can also be manually used to customize your cup of espresso. As per my title love love love this machine. Note I’m writing this after almost 3 months of owning it.

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