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Sage the Bambino Plus Espresso Machine, Coffee Machine with Milk Frother, SES500BTR - Black Truffle

£199.475£398.95Clearance
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There’s a hefty-feeling portafilter (this is where the ground coffee goes) and, unlike its rivals, Sage bundles the Bambino Plus with a stainless steel milk jug, a coffee tamper, and its own “Razor” tool for gauging how much coffee to use, so you don’t need to splash out on accessories. It’s also nice to see a water filter supplied as standard. This slots into the bottom of the water tank and makes sure your espressos are scale-free. The Breville Bambino Plus has the upper hand with a manufacturer’s 2-year limited warranty in terms of durability and reliability. Considering the versatility, style, and warranty offered for the Breville Bambino Plus, it’s slightly better than the Breville Bambino. The Breville Bambino Plus does, of course, come with its own frustrations. That smaller drip tray meant a little more maintenance and the lightweight form factor did require some extra attention when inserting the portafilter. However these design quirks are easy enough to live with. The symmetry of both machines’ control panels is notable– with single and double shot options on the left side and steam or water buttons on the right side of their respective control panels. For our tests we used the same good-quality ground coffee that we’ve used to make hundreds of cups of coffee with a French press, but we found that the Bambino Plus surpassed our expectations, and gave us a smoother and tastier cup of coffee. Note that you won’t be able to grind beans with this machine as you can with Breville’s pricier Oracle Touch machine.

They both have pre-programmed settings and are easy to use, making them perfect for espresso novices. However, a few key differences may make one machine better for your needs than the other. If, however, you’re short on space and like the idea of a hassle-free manual espresso machine, then the Bambino makes a very good case for itself. It’s compact, stylish, easy to use and the sheer speed at which it brews coffee and delivers steam and hot water makes it easy to whip up coffees in fairly rapid succession. If you really can’t stretch to the Bambino Plus, the Sage Bambino will be a little bundle of joy. If, like me, you drink smaller coffees like a flat white, the included milk jug may not gel with your needs quite as easily as it would for a latte or cappuccino. It's a little too wide for preparing these smaller drinks, with the minimum fill line (designed to cover the tip of the milk steam wand) sitting a little higher than our milk requirements. The Bambino Plus has a smart finish and looks every bit a premium espresso machine. From the metal steam wand to the quality portafilter, the machine has a professional feel about it, but it’s compact, so won’t take over your kitchen. Whichever you choose, using the Bambino Plus couldn’t be any more straightforward. Three large round buttons on the front allow you to choose a single shot, double shot, or begin the steaming function, and two smaller buttons adjust the milk temperature and amount of foam. There’s precious little waiting around, either: the machine is good to go just a few seconds after prodding one of the front buttons to wake it up.

Serious espresso. Plus auto milk.

After 200 extractions, the Sage The Bambino Plus will flash the 1 Cup and 2 Cup buttons to show you that you need to use the cleaning mode with an espresso cleaning tablet. When it’s time to descale, the 1 Cup and Steam buttons flash, and you then need to follow the descaling instructions in the manual. The Breville Bambino Plus includes a dosing tool that the Breville Bambino espresso machine doesn’t. Other than that, both include a decent milk jug, a solid plastic tamper, and a 58 mm portafilter with a plastic handle. There’s nothing to complain about in terms of the finished product. The crema was nice and oily, with a fine texture without bubbles, and it lasted for a couple of minutes after pouring. I measured the espresso temperature at 55ºC, which is just a little on the cool side. Each machine also has a low-pressure pre-infusion feature that ensures maximum flavor extraction. The Bambino Plus even has a feature that dampens coffee grounds before pulling the espresso shot, which is usually only found on more expensive espresso machines.

Aesthetically, both machines have a similar style. So, besides the colors, they look nice and compact. Indeed, they don’t look like prosumer gear, but it’s easy to imagine a good-looking coffee bar with any of them. Overall, the Breville Bambino Plus has a better milk frothing performance. I would say thathere is where the price difference becomes more evident between the Breville Bambino and the Bambino Plus.

In This Article

Both espresso machines have straightforward panels, with a few buttons and few adjustments available. Here, the Breville Bambino Plus has more customizations for milk frothing, but that doesn’t complicate or smoothen the user experience. Manual espresso machines can be notoriously complicated to use but this one does most of the number crunching for you. In essence, it has just two extraction buttons, one for a short and one for a double. The default for the single shot is short, barista short – as in a single mouthful. However, extraction length can easily be customised to suit your size of cups. The same applies to the double shot function.

READ NEXT: These are the best Nespresso machines to buy right now Sage Bambino review: Should you buy it? Our range of support options ensure you experience an easy and hassle free process when you need to talk to us about your Product Care ™ plan. Whether you are experiencing a fault, or wanting to redeem your entitlements, we will provide you with guidance and support every step of the way. Advantage Effectively, with the right beans and grind size, The Bambino Plus can hold its own against the best. Milk drink quality That said, the results are great for both machines. And, in terms of speed and convenience, they are ready to make espresso in seconds. Considering that most commercial and prosumer espresso machines take minutes to prepare, this is quite a feat. If you like cappuccinos and lattes, then this is the machine for you. The Bambino Plus’ thermojet-powered steam wand produces one off the silkiest and creamiest micro froths in cappuccino land, and you can set both the temperature of the froth mixture and its consistency from low to high.Breville was founded in the 1930s by Bill O’Brien and Harry Norville in Melbourne, Australia. The company started out as a small business that produced radios. The company set a new direction in 1953 after another company bought Breville’s radioelectric business. Then, Breville began to expand and started making kitchen appliances. We found that most customers praise both machines’ brew performance. The heating system is pretty fast, and there’s little wait to switch from espresso-making to milk frothing. Moreover, making a few espressos in a row isn’t a problem either. Most users claim that it’s easy to operate the Breville Bambino Plus and the Breville Bambino. For cleaning and maintenance, it’s pretty straightforward too.

Naturally it helps if you use the best coffee beans you can buy and in this respect I highly recommend anything in the Spiller & Tait range, Union Revelation and good old Lavazza for those emergency ration runs down the local supermarket.Considering the water capacity in the Breville Bambino Plus and the Breville Bambino, you can easily prepare dozens of shots without filling the tank. And although the Breville Bambino Plus has more water capacity, that doesn’t seem to be that important in a home setting.

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