The full story
By the Espresso Rated editors · Published Nov 12, 2026 · Updated Nov 13, 2026
The Bambino is a narrow machine with a fast heater, a manual steam wand and very little else, which is why it is cheap and why the results depend on your grinder and your hands. The shots and the speed earn steady praise. The light body, the slow wand and the mess around the group split opinion.
Full shots under solid crema, at a temperature you cannot change7.4/10
**Shot quality is widely liked, and it depends on what you put in front of the machine.** TechGearLab reports being "consistently able to pull full, robust shots with great flavor and solid crema"1, and Morgan Eckroth, Versus Lab and Coffeeness land in the same place. Alternative Brewing goes furthest: move past the pressurized basket, and it is "capable of shots that rival machines triple its price"2.
The grinder decides most of it. The pressurized baskets are forgiving of a modest grinder and a rough tamp, which Seattle Coffee Gear counts as a kindness to beginners. The Bean Radar counts them as the machine's biggest drawback for espresso. With a weak grinder and a standard basket, Xhynet Useinovski warns, you will blame the machine.
There are limits. The brew temperature is fixed, and Men's Journal finds it best suited to medium-dark and dark roasts3. The group head and portafilter hold heat poorly, so the first shot of the day comes out weakest, which Alternative Brewing calls "first pancake syndrome"4. A blank shot through the empty portafilter warms the metal. Eric the Coffee Guy also misses some of the texture and mouthfeel of a higher-end machine.
Hot water in 3 seconds, and steam a few moments behind9.1/10
**Speed is praised almost without exception.** The ThermoJet heating system reaches brewing temperature in 3 seconds5: the lights flash, go steady, and you can pull a shot. The move from espresso to steam is nearly as quick, so the milk can start as soon as the shot ends.
The heater is fast, but the jobs themselves are not all quick. Morgan Eckroth found the milk took quite a while to steam, and Seattle Coffee Gear notes a brief pause and a thumping sound before the steam arrives. The machine also cannot be scheduled to switch on, though with a warm-up this short that matters little.
The caveat is the same cold metal that affects the first shot. Hot water arrives at once, and the group and portafilter lag behind it. Allow a moment for a warming flush.
A single-hole wand that teaches real microfoam, and takes its time6.1/10
**The wand divides opinion: the foam is good and the pace is slow.** Seattle Coffee Gear, Coffeeness and Alternative Brewing all got silky, pourable milk from it. TechGearLab's testers with barista experience preferred it to the automatic wand on the Bambino Plus6. The arm sits on a ball joint with a wide range of movement, so finding a comfortable angle is easy.
The complaint is power. The tip has a single hole, and The Bean Radar timed a jug with the line "it would take 1 minute and 34 seconds to steam this milk"7. Eric the Coffee Guy places it slower than a boiler machine and faster than some rival thermoblocks.
“it might take a decade to steam your milk but you can still get amazing latte art with the brevel Bambino”
Two habits are worth learning early. The wand spits a fair amount of water before the steam comes, so Xhynet Useinovski purges it into the tray before the jug goes under8. Steam is controlled by a button on the front, and it winds down slowly after you press it, so stop a little before the milk is done.
Fair money at $299.95, until the grinder and a proper tamper join the bill7.3/10
**Value is widely liked.** At $299.95 it is not the cheapest starter machine, and Coffee Kev's answer to whether it is worth the extra is yes, "without question"9. Coffeeness calls the price more than fair for what it produces, and Coffee Coach RYDE names it the only machine to buy on a tight starting budget. Versus Lab adds that it is discounted often.
The box is a mix. The milk jug is good enough for latte art. The tamper is light plastic, and Men's Journal calls it "quite pathetic"10, a verdict repeated in gentler words almost everywhere. The 54mm portafilter has a wide range of aftermarket baskets and tools, so replacing it is cheap and easy.
The larger cost is the grinder. There is none built in, and TechGearLab notes that buying one separately limits both the value and the space saved11. Price the pair together before you decide.
A stainless shell light enough to need a hand on top4.7/10
**Build suits some and not others, and the weight is why.** Men's Journal says the machine feels "light to a fault"12, and locking in the portafilter means holding the body down with the other hand. The pump vibration is enough to cause what Coffee Kev calls "cup-walk"13, where the cup creeps toward the edge of the tray.
The portafilter draws the same criticism as the tamper. It is short, largely plastic and stiff to release from the group. The top of the machine looks like a cup warmer and does not warm cups.
The case for the build is its record. The exterior is stainless steel where some rivals are plastic, and the insides are simple, with little to go wrong. Eric the Coffee Guy's machine has run for years without a problem14, and Xhynet Useinovski reports nothing broken over the past year. These are single accounts, not proof of how every unit will last.
Plain buttons and saved shot sizes, with grind and milk to learn together6.4/10
**The controls are simple, and the learning is not.** There is a button each for a single shot, a double, steam and hot water. Shot volumes can be reprogrammed and are remembered, and holding a shot button runs a manual shot. The manual includes an extraction chart that Just A Dad Approved found useful.
What the buttons cannot do is teach you. Versus Lab points out that a beginner here is learning to dial in espresso and to texture milk at the same time15. Just A Dad Approved reports "probably 40 minutes dialing in this espresso machine"16 on the first day, and takes part of the blame. Expect to waste some beans in the first week.
Smaller points split by kitchen. The water tank strikes most as generous for the size, while Coffeeness refilled it constantly. Switching off means remembering a button combination. The single basket is hard to dial in and rarely used, and the hot water button is handy for Americanos in some homes and ignored in others.
Wet pucks, a dripping group and a wand to wipe yourself5.8/10
**Daily upkeep is easy in its parts and a little messy overall.** The machine has no three-way solenoid valve, so the puck comes out wet and the group keeps dripping after the shot. Just A Dad Approved's advice is to "be sure to have some old towels around"17.
The wand is manual here too. It does not purge itself, so you purge and wipe it after every jug, or the milk crusts onto the metal. That is a habit to build early.
The tray gets better marks. It slides out easily, the grate lets grounds fall through, and an indicator pops up when it is full. Coffee Kev finds the small tray ample, while Coffeeness spilled water from it during a preheat flush. A flashing light tells you when to descale.
Our verdict
Buy the Bambino if you want proper espresso from a small, cheap machine and are willing to learn the grind and the wand. Skip it if milk drinks for several people are the daily routine, or if you want a heavy machine that stays put. At the counter, lock the portafilter in and out to feel how much the body moves, and price an espresso grinder and a metal 54mm tamper alongside it. At home, flush a blank shot before the first pull and keep a cloth by the wand.
9 sources quoted in this story (17 notes)
- 1techgearlab.com · written review “We were consistently able to pull full, robust shots with great flavor and solid crema.”
- 2Alternative Brewing · 11:40 “For those willing to go beyond the pressurized filter basket and commit to the craft, this machine is capable of shots that rival machines triple its price.”
- 3Men's Journal · 3:00 “Both Bambino models have a fixed brew temperature of 200° Fahrenheit, which means they're best suited for medium-dark to dark roasts.”
- 4Alternative Brewing · 6:57 “The group head and the porter filter don't really retain heat well and this creates what you could call the first pancake syndrome.”
- 5Versus Lab · 1:27 “the same Thermojet heating system that hits brewing temperature in about 3 seconds”
- 6techgearlab.com · written review “Our testers with barista experience actually preferred this machine to the upgraded model, the Bambino Plus, specifically because of the steam wand.”
- 7The Bean Radar · 4:39 “if you guessed it would take 1 minute and 34 seconds to steam this milk you won congratulations”
- 8Xhynet Useinovski · 4:07 “look how much water just came out of the wand before it even started steaming your milk well to me that's a pretty substantial amount of water”
- 9coffeekev.com · written review “The real question is whether it’s worth the extra money vs the many slightly cheaper machines on the market, and in my view it is, without question.”
- 10Men's Journal · 2:31 “The included tamper on the base Bambino is quite pathetic. Very cheap, lightweight plastic.”
- 11techgearlab.com · written review “the smallest and least expensive machine we've found that can produce cafe-quality results, but the lack of a grinder somewhat limits both its value and space-saving design”
- 12Men's Journal · 1:17 “Both machines feel light to a fault. You'll have to use one hand to hold the machine down while tightening the portafilter.”
- 13coffeekev.com · written review “they do shake quite a bit, causing something called cup-walk, where your cup tries to dance its way off the drip tray”
- 14Eric the Coffee Guy · 15:30 “this machine right here is about 3 years old and I've never had a problem with it”
- 15Versus Lab · 2:21 “With the standard Bambino, you're learning two things at once. How to dial in espresso and how to texture milk.”
- 16Just A Dad Approved · 6:09 “I have spent probably 40 minutes dialing in this espresso machine with the grind size and the amount now partly that was my fault”
- 17Just A Dad Approved · 5:49 “be sure to have some old towels around because we're you know it's kind of always making a mess”
