Breville Bambino Plus Stainless Steel Espresso Maker Silver BES500BSS

Takes a bit of hand and arm power to use in the beginning. Especially because the machine itself is so tiny in comparison to our previous manual breville. Attaching and removing the porta filter for the first couple of weeks was a workout! It has eased up a bit and probably shouldn’t be too surprising. Separating the puck from the porta filter does require using the “razor” tool - bracing it in the little hole on the edge for leverage. Once I figured that out, it all works well. The extraction brewing works well, the water reservoir is sufficient and well designed. All in all, after getting used to it, it’s a keeper! Let’s hope it lasts as long as our previous espresso machines.

Bad quality pieces. I bought this product a month ago, and one of the pieces (photo attached) already broke. Disappointed for the price point of this product. I expected more.

At first I couldn’t get the frother to foam. Tried multiple types of milk and minimal foam but then I took the pin provided under the water container and cleaned the frother. Amazing how much better it works. Makes me think either it gets clogged during manufacturing or the machine was used. Either way I’m very happy with it now.

Quick and quiet. It’s perfect for everyday use and it’s a great size for my condo.

This is my first espresso machine, I did a lot of research, I'm extremely happy with my purchase, it has everything a beginner and someone experienced would need. It was easy to learn and that was a huge plus for someone new. One thing I didn't care for was the weight, it could be a little heavier as it will slid/slip if you don't hold the machine. I solved this by putting a non-slip mat underneath. I would absolutely buy this product again and recommend it.

The machine is so light it’s hard to insert or remove the portafilter. Also the programmed settings haven’t been working well at all.

Ya know, this is a good machine. Makes great shots and steams milk well. It's basic and easy to use. The one thing that is absolutely mind blowing to me is that there's no warning that a clean cycle is coming up and will literally happen to you at 6 AM between your shot and steaming milk leaving you hanging. The clean cycle takes 10-15 minutes. That 10-15 minutes gives my fresh shot plenty of time to go cold. It is by far, the absolute worst design flaw I have ever experienced. This thing is supposed to dose my morning stimulant, that's its only job. Some places on the internet say you can skip it but you absolutely cannot, at least not all of the time. It's bad software that just sucks. I'm about sell mine for nothing and get something else that doesn't have such a ridiculous oversight built in. Whoever thought that it should work this way clearly doesn't drink coffee in the morning. I need the machine to work when I'm going to use it. Forcing a clean cycle is so dumb. Bad engineering and terrible foresight on how your customers will use this machine. I actually used to wake up early just to see if it was going to throw a clean cycle requirement so I could turn the clean cycle on and take a shower to come back to a working machine. That's ridiculous. Don't buy this machine. Make sure their other machines don't do this because it's going to catch you and it'll ruin your morning.

I had a breville touch for 8 years loved it! Should have just bought another. Hate

This product is great for the average peraon wanting an excellent cup of espresso. It is reasonably priced and works amazing. Easy to use and evan allows customization of the shots pulled. The steamer is really well made! I love it.

This has been a great purchase so far. It’s been very effective for learning the art of espresso. Very forgiving machine that has made some great coffee. It’s a bit light so it can be annoying to attach/remove the portafilter, but you get used to it. Great value at this price point.

My husband loves it so far. But we are disappointed that bottom part of the portafilter is plastic. For a $500 dollar machine it should have all stainless steel layers in the portafilter through the expresso process. Makes no sense.

Pretty straight forward. Works as intended. New to grind expresso so took me a bit to dial in. Overall works. Great!

I love how fast the Bambino heats up and the automatic steam feature that the plus provides. Previously, I was using a Nespresso vertuo machine and can tell the difference in taste and experience. The Bambino is light weight which is nice but because of that I have found that I need to hold down the machine at times to install my portafilter before pulling my shot. Other than that, this is a great machine and would definitely recommend.

Great espresso. I am very pleased with my purchase.

Generally a 4-star machine (mostly good, compact, albeit underpowered for finer grinds) with a 1-star cleaning and descaling UI. Three key improvements needed: 1) Separate cleaning and descaling lights and buttons. Why? Because it has overly fussy and confusing blinking patterns that you constantly have to look up to figure out what the thing wants. 2) Remove cleaning and descaling blocking behavior. If the machine decides it wants cleaning, you, a human, can not force it to skip it and just make a cup. Even if it's 5am and you're rushing out the door, nope... dumb robot won't let you simply grab one last pull until cleaning schedule is convenient for you. Infuriatingly poor product UX engineering. 3) More powerful pump for finer grinds. I'd say it fails on at least 1/3 of pre-ground espresso bags due to not being able to push water through a standard tamper pressure, which is too high a failure rate. If your favs happen to be coarser ground, cool. If not, this is not the machine for you.

Quick and very easy to use. Nice and compact. Price is a bit high. Base could be more heavy. Need to really hold down the unit when putting on and taking off espresso container. Makes amazing espresso.

This took me a few days to decide not to return it. I'm glad that I took the time to figure out a few things. The auto milk works fine but I don't use it. The movement of the steam wand is limited to just straight up and right back down. I love the quick heat up and the consistency of the coffee. I wish it was heavier so it would stay in place when I insert the portafilter. It also needs a bigger Drip tray. I have to empty it every time I use it. The temp adjustment is great and the froth adjustment works well for milk. Footprint is small and accessories are abundant! I plan to use this machine for many years.

The coffee doesn't come out very hot and splashes a lot outside the cup

The best cup of coffee ☕️ I have ever had!

It's been really nice to have. I've been making cappuccinos every day before I go to class. It's really fast and I like that it froths and heats the milk automatically. Easy to set up as well. I had never had an espresso maker before so I was a bit hesitant but it has been super worth it.