We Try: Breville the Bambino coffee machine that delivers barista results
Looking for an affordable, easy way to make coffee at home, this editor put a popular coffee machine to the test.
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Like over one quarter of Australians, according to McCrindle research, I don’t fancy trying to get through my day without coffee.
And in recent months, more time spent working – and hanging out – at home has presented a glaring gap in my life begging to be filled: a shiny coffee machine perched conveniently on my kitchen bench.
Keen to be able to roll out of bed and clutch a warm mug of flat white in my hands within minutes, I felt it was time to take the plunge. Enter: the Breville Bambino coffee machine. At $449.95, the Breville Bambino isn’t cheap per say, but compared to other models on the market, it’s definitely a great entry level purchase into the at-home coffee making world. So how does it stack up? And can it honestly make coffee as good as the $4.5 cup your barista makes? I put it to the test.
FEATURES TO KNOW
– A ThermoJet heating system helps you to achieve optimum extraction temperature in just three seconds, so you’re not left waiting for your morning cuppa
– Powerful steamer pressure at 93ËšC ensures milk is frothed efficiently
– Commercial style 54mm portafilter delivers full bodied coffee
– Digital Temperature Control ensures water is delivered at the exact temperature for precise coffee extraction
– 1 year product warranty
– Made from stainless steel
– 1.4 litre water tank capacity
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
After gleefully unpacking this coffee machine, my first thought was how grateful I was for the simple display. The control panel boasts just four buttons – one cup, two cups, hot water and steam. Pretty hard to screw that up, even when it’s 5:30am and you’re bleary eyed, right?
Just like your barista-made coffee, the Bambino can deliver third wave specialty coffee using the 4 keys formula (a combination of creating the perfect dose, time, yield and temp – which I’ll go into in more detail later on). With a heat up time of just three seconds – three! – you can ensure you’re not left waiting, caffeine withdrawals kicking in, each morning.
Using the Bambino took a little bit of getting used to, but a couple of months in, my partner and I now have it down pat and can serve up a delicious flat white in as little as two minutes.
HOW TO MAKE COFFEE USING THE BREVILLE BAMBINO
The method? Firstly, ensure the machine is filled with water and turn it on, press either the single or double cup button placing a cup underneath to collect the water (this will ensure the machine’s temperature and pressure is good to go). Next you’ll need your coffee beans. Either buy some already ground or use a coffee grinder to get the perfect amount and pop the coffee into the group handle basket, ensuring you have 17 grams of the good stuff in there.
Next, tamp the coffee down evenly – but don’t be too aggressive here, you don’t need to use excessive force. Insert the group handle into the machine and tighten then press the double cup button (ensuring your cup is waiting eagerly underneath, naturally) and watch the golden elixir of the gods stream in.
Now it’s time to heat up your milk with the steamer, and, according to Pablo & Rusty’s head barista Adam Young, there’s a trick to getting this part right. “Once you’ve got your milk in your jug ready to go, insert your wand tip just below the surface, just off centre and at an angle that’s going to allow your milk to spin around in a vortex,” he tells me. “Activate your steaming wand and carefully adjust it so your milk starts to spin and it should make a ‘tis tis tis’ sound. Once you’ve got a good spin happening, gently lower your wand until the tip is covered and let the milk keep spinning.
“As the milk spins and heats up the movement will start to pull in bigger bubbles you initially created and you’ll start to see a smoother texture develop. At this point the sound will also change, the ‘tis tis tis’ will be gone and the pitch of the milk will deepen. This also happens as the milk temperature rises.”
You can tell your milk temperature is right when the side of the jug becomes a little too hot for you to touch. At this point, press the steamer button to turn it off and slowly remove the jug. Gently pour the milk into your awaiting coffee cup. Et voila – your coffee is ready to be devoured.
THE VERDICT
While my partner and I haven’t quite nailed how to make our coffees look pretty, I can honestly say the Breville Bambino makes them taste as good as a barista-made coffee, so I’m more than happy to let the aesthetics slide.
Now we’ve got the hang of using the machine, I rarely buy a coffee unless I’m out and about, so I figure that eventually, maybe, this coffee machine will be saving me a little money.
However, that brings me to reiterate that this coffee machine has been a serious gateway into, well, us buying more coffee-related paraphernalia. Since it was welcomed into our home with a loving embrace, we’ve gone on to purchase a coffee grinder (we bought the Breville The SmartGrinder Pro (shop it at Amazon here, Bing Lee here or Breville here) and it works a treat) and a designated milk jug.
Plus, we got a little carried away and purchased some digital kitchen scales - you can buy them here - to ensure we get the correct dose of the coffee (I know, I know but good coffee is sacred in my household).
While I’m sure one day it’ll balance out the daily $15+ we’d likely spend on buying coffees if we didn’t own it, it’s worth remembering you’ll likely be making some future purchases to feed your caffeine habit if you invest in a coffee machine.
One unexpectedly great feature of the Breville Bambino? Coming in at a height of 30.9cm, width of 19.5cm and length of 19.55cm, it’s about as diminutive as a coffee machine is going to get, and doesn’t completely overwhelm our kitchen bench space. Plus, I can make my daughter babycinos in our kitchen easily, zero need to schlep it to a cafe and pay $2.50 for 30ml of overpriced frothed milk anymore. If you’re keen to try a coffee machine, this is a dependable, affordable model definitely worth trying.
RATING OUT OF 5
★★★★½
OTHER OPTIONS TO CONSIDER
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE COFFEE MACHINE
With over 4,600 5-star reviews on Amazon, this coffee machine is a proven crowd pleaser. With the one-touch control panel, choose from an espresso, latte or cappuccino and let the machine do the work for you. Plus, have your milk frothed exactly as you desire by turning the dial that can select just how frothy your milk will become. One five-star reviewer noted: “I’m pleased to say that this machine was everything I had hoped for … The taste of coffee for me is even better than outside coffee, it allows me to customise milk to coffee ratio. The auto functions work perfectly.”
THE DELUXE MODEL
Jura S8 Chrome Automatic Coffee Machine, The Good Guys, $2650
No matter your distinct coffee tastes, you can be certain this coffee machine will make it for you. With one-touch you can create up to 15 different coffee specialties from a latte macchiato to a stock standard espresso. With a fast and precise AromaG3 grinder and fine foam technology to bring you perfectly frothed milk every time, this machine makes it near impossible to screw up your cup of coffee. One reviewer summed up their experience of the coffee machine as: “Makes superb coffee, while also being super convenient and very easy to use and maintain.”
WHAT IS THE 4 KEYS FORMULA FOR COFFEE MAKING?
According to Young, the four keys formula ensures a delicious coffee every time and refers to the right dose, time, yield and temperature. “Dose is the amount of dry, ground coffee that you put into the group handle. With the Bambino, we aim for 16-19g in the double basket,” he explains. Time is the amount of time it takes for the espresso to fully drop from the time the button is pressed to the time it stops. Yield is the amount of coffee (in weight) of espresso coffee that you are left with after extraction. This is something you don’t have to worry about with the Bambino, as they have pre-set yields. Finally, temperature is the temperature that the coffee is extracted at. Again, don’t need to worry about this on a Bambino as they have pre-set it for us. However, the optimal temp is 93 degrees celsius.”
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BAMBINO AND THE BAMBINO PLUS?
“Both the Bambino and Bambino Plus have a staggeringly quick heat up time, only 3 seconds which means you can be brewing delicious coffee really quickly. Gone are the days of waiting 10-15min for your home machine to heat up! The price point of the Bambino along with the gorgeous range of colour options makes it a very atricative machine for the budding barista with limited bench space but who craves quality coffee at home.”
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