GrinderBaratza
Baratza
Encore ESP
Best for a first espresso grinder under $500You want something forgiving to learn on.
Stepped$180–$230
Espresso machineBreville
BrevilleEspresso machine
Breville Bambino Plus
Best for hands-off milk drinks under $500
You want microfoam without learning to steam.
A Bambino with the milk step automated. You set temperature and texture, it steams while you do something else, and it is one of the few machines under $500 that will reliably produce microfoam without practice.
Best forMilk-drink households
Not ideal forEnthusiasts who want to texture milk by hand
$420–$500
reference range · reviewed Aug 2026 · not a live price
- Heating system
- ThermoJet
- Grinder included
- No
- Steam wand
- Automatic
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Compared from manufacturer specifications and technical documentation · independent, no paid placement · how we work
In short
The Breville Bambino Plus is a semi-automatic with ThermoJet heating and a 54mm portafilter, typically $420–$500. It does not include a grinder, so budget for one alongside it. It suits milk-drink households and beginners who want good results immediately. It is the wrong choice for enthusiasts who want to texture milk by hand and back-to-back drinks for a crowd.
How it fits
Preinfuse ratings, not measurements. Each one is produced by published rules from the specifications below — open any row to see which facts moved it.
What it does well
- Automatic milk texturing with three temperature and three texture settings — genuinely hands-free.
- Same three-second heat-up and small footprint as the Bambino.
- Both basket types included, so it grows with a better grinder.
- The cheapest sensible route to consistent cappuccinos without learning to steam.
Where it gives ground
- No PID temperature control.
- Still one heater, so shot and milk happen in sequence.
- The automatic wand is excellent at dairy and less predictable with some plant milks.
- 54mm portafilter limits the accessory market.
Buy it for
- Milk-drink households
- Beginners who want good results immediately
- Small kitchens
- Anyone who would rather not learn to steam milk
Look elsewhere if
- Enthusiasts who want to texture milk by hand
- Back-to-back drinks for a crowd
- Buyers wanting temperature control
Decided?
This machine needs a grinder. The pairings below are the ones that suit it, or the setup builder will split a budget across both.
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Price and availability may change on Amazon. The range above is our own research reference, not a live price.
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Living with it
Ready in seconds. Grind and tamp yourself, pull the shot, then drop the wand into the jug and press once — it stops at the temperature and texture you set.
Where people go next: Breville Barista Touch Impress, Breville Dual Boiler.
Before you buy
The milk automation is the reason to choose this over the plain Bambino. If you want to learn manual steaming, save the money.
As with the Bambino, the grinder is the part that decides how good the espresso actually is.
Specifications
Every value carries a source marker. Values marked as Preinfuse derivations are our normalisation, not the manufacturer's wording.
Identity1
- Machine type
- Semi-automatic
Sets how much of the shot you control. Semi-automatic machines ask you to grind, dose and time; super-automatics do all of it behind a button. Neither is better in the abstract — they suit different mornings.
Classified from the manual brew control documented by Breville; only milk texturing is automated.
Heating & temperature4
- Heating system
- ThermoJet
- Brew and steam at once
- No
- PID temperature control
- No
- Heat-up time (manufacturer claim)
- 3 s manufacturer claim
The single biggest structural difference between espresso machines. Thermoblock and thermocoil designs heat water on demand, so they are ready in seconds but cannot brew and steam at once. A heat exchanger or dual boiler can do both simultaneously, at the cost of a long warm-up and a higher price.
Decides whether you wait between pulling a shot and texturing milk. It matters most if you make several milk drinks back to back, and barely at all if you drink straight espresso.
A single ThermoJet heater serves both circuits.
A PID holds brew water within a narrow band instead of letting a thermostat swing around a target. It makes shots repeatable day to day; it does not by itself make coffee taste better.
Not documented by Breville for this model.
How long from switch-on to first shot, as stated by the manufacturer. Short heat-up is the difference between espresso on a weekday and espresso only on a Sunday.
Brewing3
- Portafilter diameter
- 54 mm
- Baskets supplied
- Both pressurised and non-pressurised
- Pre-infusion
- Automatic low-pressure
58mm is the commercial standard, so baskets, tampers and distribution tools are easy to find and often better made. 54mm and 51mm work perfectly well but the accessory market is smaller. It changes what you can buy later far more than it changes what is in the cup.
Pressurised baskets fake crema and forgive a bad grind, which is why they ship with beginner machines. Non-pressurised baskets reward a good grinder and are what you graduate to. A machine supplying both lets you start easy and progress without buying parts.
Wetting the coffee gently before full pressure helps the puck settle so water does not carve a channel through it. Most machines that offer it do so automatically and briefly; programmable pre-infusion is a control-lover's feature.
Milk & steam2
- Steam wand
- Automatic
- Steam source
- Shared with brew circuit
An assisted wand froths milk reliably but produces bubbles rather than the dense microfoam latte art needs. A manual wand can make genuinely good milk but has a learning curve. An automatic wand hits a set temperature and texture without you standing over it.
A dedicated steam boiler gives dry, powerful steam and no waiting. A shared circuit has to switch modes, which is why single-boiler machines make you pause between shot and milk.
Steam is produced by the same ThermoJet heater used for brewing.
Grinding1
- Grinder included
- No
An integrated grinder saves counter space and a separate purchase, and gets a beginner running immediately. The trade-off is that you cannot upgrade the grinder without replacing the machine, and integrated burrs are usually a step below a good standalone grinder at the same total spend.
No grinder appears in Breville's accessory list for this model.
Practicalities6
- Water tank
- 1.9 L
- Depth
- 7.4"
- Height
- 14.3"
- Power
- 1,560 W
- Housing material
- Stainless steel
Determines how often you refill. A small tank is a daily annoyance in a household making several drinks a day.
Counter depth. The number that most often catches people out, because standard cabinets leave limited clearance.
Overall height. Check it against wall cabinets, and remember the water tank often has to come out from the top.
Draw on the circuit. Relevant if the machine shares a kitchen circuit with other high-draw appliances.
Stainless steel housings feel and last differently from moulded plastic, and cost accordingly.
Grinders that suit this machine
Chosen because the grind resolution matches what this machine can show in the cup, and the pair fits a sensible budget split.
GrinderDF64 Coffee
DF64 Coffee
DF54
Best for a grinder you keep under $500This outlives the machine you buy it for.
Stepless$230–$300
GrinderBreville
Breville
Smart Grinder Pro
Best for fast mornings under $500You want the grinder to keep up with you.
Stepped$200–$250
Compared with the obvious alternatives
Why this, not the Bambino?
The Bambino Plus is ahead on being forgiving to learn on and speed in the morning. The Bambino is ahead on counter space and control over the shot. Neither is wrong — pick the one whose strength is the thing you actually care about. The Bambino also costs less, at $280–$350.
Sources
Every specification above carries the document it came from. Checked 2026-08-30. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
Sources and specifications (3)
- the Bambino Plus Instruction Book (BES500)
Relied on for: Water tank capacity, electrical rating
- the Bambino Plus — product page
Relied on for: Heating system, portafilter size, pre-infusion, automatic steam wand, dimensions, housing material
- Preinfuse normalisation method
Relied on for: Classification of machine and grinder architecture into one shared vocabulary, and unit conversions, derived from the manufacturer documentation cited elsewhere on the same product.