Unless you're keen to keep to pre-ground beans, you'll need to pair the machine up with a grinder to get the best use out of it.
However, relative to other manual machines I've used in the past, I found the hardware to be relatively subdued when it came to the noise it produced during use.Īs with machines like the aforementioned Dedica Arte, the Breville Bambino's smaller form-factor does come with a fairly significant caveat. The Bambino is naturally a little louder in action than something that works with coffee pods. There are a total of four keys here, with the remaining two buttons handling hot water and steam output on the built-in foaming wand. You slide the handle in, select either a single or double shot and watch the magic happen. Operating the Breville Bambino is much the same process as with other manual coffee makers, though I was a little thrown off when the machine jumped right into an automatic cleaning routine the first time I booted it up.īeyond that, familiar territory awaits.
It's a decent haul, though the tamper does come across as a little cheap compared to the one that comes with the De'Longhi Dedica Arte.
The coffee-making machine also comes bundled with a quartet of filters, a portafilter group handle, a plastic tamper and some cleaning solution. Setup for the Bambino was even more elegant than usual, with the entire unit coming more-or-less assembled out of the box. As someone who doesn't have a huge amount of space to play with, I really appreciated both this kind of attention to detail and inclination towards streamlining. The stainless steel chassis makes it easy to keep the Bambino clean between uses and the loop-shaped handle for the lid on the water reservoir makes refilling the reservoir feel that much more elegant.
Rather than look like an industrial-sized machine, it's a sleek and curved presence that feels like an addition rather than a burden on the limited kitchen bench space. The Breville Bambino feels designed to play up the contrast as it subverts those expectations. Compared to pod machines or drip coffee makers, machines of the Bambino's ilk are often bigger and harder to ignore. One of the biggest downsides associated with manual espresso machines tends to be their size and noise.