Amazon.com: Breville Bambino Plus Espresso Machine BES500BSS, Brushed Stainless Steel: Home & Kitchen

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 ideaThe negatives:1. True, it will make a nice cup of coffee…..IFIF you use the EXACT amount of coffee in the filter basketIF 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 overflowIF the aforementioned milk jug is placed EXACTLY in the perfect position to get the best contact with the milk temperature sensor2. 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 less4. 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 wand5. 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…

I am addicted to Starbucks and was looking for something comparable I could have at home. I made a search and asked a couple people and decided to buy this machine. It is very easy to use, reliably produces very flavorful coffee comparable to, and perhaps even exceeding the quality of the coffee in the coffee shops. I have to admit that I have not tried it with any of the domestic coffee brands and only used it with Jola Kaffi from Te og Kaffi ground coffee I brought from Iceland. My son watched a few videos and became a good barista. Overall, I would highly recommend the machine. It is somewhat pricey, though, but I think it’s worth it. All the best!

Small footprint is great for a machine with a pump that makes such great tasting espresso.It’s ready to brew or steam in an instant. The auto froth feature works perfectly and isn’t any louder than frothing will necessarily be.They ought to call it the Maialino and paint it pink from the cute little “oink-oink” noises the pump makes. 🥰The lighter weight of it makes it necessary to brace the machine with one hand while removing the porta filtre with the other.Reservoir is easy to refill, even without removing it from the machine (which is also an option) but be careful as the opening is flush with the top of the machine; if you’ve got demitasse or a tamper up there, they’re prone to falling in. Ask me how I know 🙄.The auto-clean feature for the steam wand is nice in keeping it cleared out and, for idiot proof avoidance of a clogged wand, probably better to have than not, but it can be a little annoying because it clears automatically whenever you retract the wand back into operating position after removing the pitcher from a steam. If you forgot and put it right back down into the next pitcher, you’ll get flush water in your next milk 😜. Also, it tends to fill up the catch pan after a few uses. What I do is put my wipe rag over the grate of the catch pan before lowering the wand to flush so the rag soaks up the flush water and then I have a hot damp rag to wipe off the wand.All in all, it’s a simple, compact, quality espresso machine.7/23/24 edit: had to do the automated clean cycle and had my first encounter with breville’s weird support setup. Their own video was inaccurate on how to initiate the clean cycle (found the solution on Reddit) and there’s no way to provide them feedback on the info error without having a breville account to log in or taking time to call, neither of which I’m messing with. It’s a bit of a convenience fail. Sorry if that makes me a bit of a Princess Karen. Still an awesome machine.

I absolutely love my Bambino Plus! Probably the best thing I've purchased under $500. It makes delicious lattes, espresso, and cappuccinos. Super easy to use. Froths milk perfectly. I use mine daily and really enjoy it. I recommend investing in a high quality grinder to go with this product.