Gear Dossier · Espresso machines · No 01 of 4

BrevilleBambino Plus.

The verdict in one line: Breville's own spec sheet clears our espresso guide's 9 bar pump and tamper requirements and matches the low end of its 18 to 19g dose range, but the one-touch shot buttons are volumetric and the box ships without a grinder or scale, so hitting the guide's 36 to 38g by-weight target means bringing outside gear and cutting the shot by hand.

15 bar (9 bar extraction)
Pump pressure
54mm stainless steel
Portafilter
3 seconds to extraction temperature (ThermoJet)
Heat-up time
64 ounces
Water reservoir
3/6
recipe checks
Breville Bambino Plus espresso machine, stainless steel
Bambino PlusImage: Breville

The fit meter

Not a score. A count.

Every requirement below comes straight out of our own brew guides. Each segment is one requirement; hover or focus any segment to see the exact check it stands for. Lit means the published spec meets the recipe. We do not light what we cannot cite.

Espresso guide's gear list calls for an espresso machine capable of 9 barEspresso guide doses 18 to 19g in, distributed flat and tamped level (Counter Culture 18g, Square Mile 19g)Espresso guide's gear list calls for a tamper matched to the basket diameterEspresso guide's gear list calls for a burr grinder, stepless preferred, as separate equipmentEspresso guide's gear list calls for a digital scale, 0.1g resolution, as separate equipmentEspresso guide cuts the shot by weight and by watching the stream, at 36 to 38g out and 25 to 35 seconds, not a fixed preset

3 of 6 checks pass · every unlit segment is stated, not hidden

Every check, shown working

The recipe interrogates the spec.

Requirement, from our guide
Our number
Manufacturer spec
Fit
Espresso guide's gear list calls for an espresso machine capable of 9 bar
Espresso machine capable of 9 bar (espresso guide, gear list)
15 bar Italian pump delivering 9 bar extraction pressure with low pressure pre-infusionbreville.com
Espresso guide doses 18 to 19g in, distributed flat and tamped level (Counter Culture 18g, Square Mile 19g)
18 to 19g in, distributed flat, tamped firm and level
54mm stainless steel portafilter dosed with 18g of freshly ground beans, the low end of our range. Breville does not publish a separate figure for a 19g dosebreville.com
Espresso guide's gear list calls for a tamper matched to the basket diameter
Tamper matched to the basket diameter (espresso guide, gear list)
Included accessories list a 54mm tamper, matched to the machine's 54mm stainless steel portafilterbreville.com
Espresso guide's gear list calls for a burr grinder, stepless preferred, as separate equipment
Burr grinder, stepless preferred (espresso guide, gear list)
Breville's listed accessories for the Bambino Plus run to a 54mm tamper, the Razor precision dosing tool, a 16 fl.oz stainless steel milk jug, filter baskets, a cleaning tool and a cleaning disc. No grinder appears on that listbreville.com
Espresso guide's gear list calls for a digital scale, 0.1g resolution, as separate equipment
Digital scale, 0.1g resolution (espresso guide, gear list)
The same accessories list (tamper, dosing tool, milk jug, filter baskets, cleaning tool, cleaning disc) does not include a scalebreville.com
Espresso guide cuts the shot by weight and by watching the stream, at 36 to 38g out and 25 to 35 seconds, not a fixed preset
Cut at 36g (Counter Culture) to 38g (Square Mile) out, at 25 to 35 seconds, judged by weight and by watching the stream blonde
Convenient one-touch 1 & 2 shot volumetric control and steambreville.com

Plain speech

Buy it, or don't.

For you if

  • You already own a burr grinder and a 0.1g scale and want a compact 54mm machine that clears our espresso guide's 9 bar pump requirement
  • You want a machine Breville states reaches extraction temperature in 3 seconds, so back-to-back shots don't mean a long wait between pulls
  • You're comfortable overriding the one-touch 1 and 2 shot buttons to cut the shot manually against a scale, per our guide's 36 to 38g by-weight target

Not for you if

  • You want an all-in-one machine with a built-in grinder or scale: Breville's own accessories list for the Bambino Plus has neither
  • You want the shot to stop itself at your target weight: the one-touch buttons are volumetric, 1 and 2 shot presets, not weight-based, per Breville's own listing
  • You need the confirmed top of our 18 to 19g dose range: Breville states an 18g dose, not a published figure up to 19g

Where to buy

Bambino Plus · Breville

Fits the grind windows in 1 of our brew guides.

Buy at 1st in Coffee→Also on Amazon

Transparency: the buttons above are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Fit notes come from manufacturer specifications read against our brew guides, not hands-on trials.

Questions, answered plainly

FAQ.

The Breville Bambino Plus is a 54mm portafilter machine built around Breville’s ThermoJet heating system, which the manufacturer states reaches extraction temperature in 3 seconds. Our own espresso guide calls for a machine capable of 9 bar; Breville’s spec sheet lists a 15 bar pump delivering 9 bar of extraction pressure with low pressure pre-infusion, clearing that requirement.

Dose and cutoff are where the numbers get more specific. Breville’s basket is rated for 18g of freshly ground beans, the exact floor of our guide’s 18 to 19g range, and the box ships with a 54mm tamper sized to match. But the machine’s one-touch buttons are volumetric, “1 & 2 shot volumetric control” in Breville’s own words, not weight-based, so pulling a shot to our guide’s 36 to 38g target means overriding the presets and watching a scale rather than trusting the button.

The Bambino Plus also arrives without a grinder or a scale. Breville’s own accessories list for the machine runs to a tamper, a dosing tool, a milk jug, filter baskets and two cleaning items. A burr grinder and a 0.1g scale, both required by our guide’s gear list, are not on it.

FAQ

Does the Bambino Plus come with a grinder?

No. Breville’s own accessories list for the Bambino Plus (BES500) runs to a 54mm tamper, the Razor precision dosing tool, a 16 fl.oz stainless steel milk jug, filter baskets, a cleaning tool and a cleaning disc. A grinder is not on that list, so our espresso guide’s separate “burr grinder, stepless preferred” requirement is on you to supply.

Does it come with a scale?

No. The same accessories list has no scale on it. Our espresso guide’s gear list calls for a digital scale with 0.1g resolution regardless of machine, since dose in and yield out are both weighed, so that’s a baseline requirement rather than an extra cost created by this machine specifically.

Can I dose the full 18 to 19g our guide calls for?

Breville states the basket dose as 18g of freshly ground beans, matching the low end of our guide’s 18 to 19g range. Breville does not publish a figure for the top of that range, so the 19g end, Square Mile’s recipe, is not confirmed by the manufacturer’s own numbers.

Do the one-touch shot buttons cut the shot at 36 to 38g?

Not by default. Breville describes the buttons as “one-touch 1 & 2 shot volumetric control,” a preset by volume, not the weight-based cutoff our guide uses. Hitting the guide’s 36 to 38g out target means watching a scale and stopping the shot manually rather than relying on the presets.

What is the water reservoir capacity?

Seattle Coffee Gear and Whole Latte Love both list a 64 ounce reservoir for the Bambino Plus. Breville’s own product page does not publish a reservoir figure, so this number comes from two independent retailer listings rather than the manufacturer.

Sources & data