Breville Bambino Plus (BES500BSS) review

Hands-free microfoam from a jug sensor, with an island of foam now and then8.5/10

The automatic wand is the reason to choose the Plus, and milk steaming is widely liked. You set the jug on a temperature sensor, choose a milk temperature and a texture, and the machine does the rest. Alternative Brewing describes the result as "glossy wet paint microfoam"1, and Men's Journal admits the machine may have textured milk better than its tester did by hand.

The wand also works manually, and its multi-hole tip is quick and strong for a machine this size. The arm only swings forward and back, which limits how you angle a jug when steaming by hand.

The automatic mode is good, not perfect. Tom's Coffee Corner calls it hit and miss, sometimes just right and sometimes too frothy, and Serious Eats found the foam can sit as an island in the middle of the pitcher. Craft Coffee Spot reports weaker results with non-dairy milks, and Coffee Parts measured more water going into the milk than a rival's manual wand adds. Alex Hitt warns that the milk temperature sensor can lose its accuracy over time, which would leave the automatic mode useless.2

Balanced shots under dense crema, at a fixed temperature that favors darker roasts7.4/10

The espresso is widely liked, and better than the machine's size suggests. Serious Eats says it pulls "excellent espresso shots"3 with little effort on any coffee it tried, and Home Grounds describes rich sweetness, a heavy mouthfeel and a dense layer of crema. The machine has a PID temperature controller and pre-infusion, and you can lengthen or skip the pre-infusion by holding a brew button.

The grinder decides how much of that you get. Alternative Brewing is blunt: skimp on the grinder and you will be frustrated. The pressurized baskets in the box help a beginner get started, and the shot is the same one the cheaper Bambino makes, so nobody should pay for the Plus expecting better espresso.

Heat is the caveat. The brew temperature is set inside the machine and cannot be changed, and Tom's Coffee Corner would not recommend it for lighter roasts, only for medium-dark and dark.4 Coffeeness found its espresso too tepid, and blames the cold portafilter the fast heater leaves you with. Lance Hedrick's thermal testing was kinder: he judged the temperature more than adequate without elaborate flushing routines, though he still purges before each shot to keep control.5

Hot water in 3 seconds, and a blank flush before the cup that counts8.7/10

Heat-up is praised almost without exception. The ThermoJet heater has water at brewing temperature in 3 seconds, and Lance Hedrick confirms the claim holds: "within three seconds no joke"6. The move from brewing to steaming is just as fast, and the purge afterward takes only moments.

The heater is quicker than the metal around it. The group head and portafilter start cold and pull heat out of the water, so a shot pulled the instant the lights stop flashing can come out sour and vary from day to day.7 Alex Hitt calls the heat-up "a technical reality, but an operational myth"8.

The fix is simple: run a blank shot of hot water through the empty portafilter first. The other limit is that the machine does one job at a time, so you cannot pull a shot while it steams milk.

11 lb with plastic in the body, and more inside that could go wrong3.4/10

Build is the clear weakness. The machine weighs 11 lb and mixes metal with a good deal of plastic, and almost no one has a good word for how sturdy it feels. Lance Hedrick advises against opening it up to descale or repair, because "it is cheaply built"9, and he will not vouch for how long it lasts.

The light weight shows every time you make a coffee. Locking the portafilter in or out takes a firm hand on the machine, or it rotates and slides on the counter. Coffeeness puts it more strongly: unlock the portafilter carelessly and "the whole machine goes flying"10. The portafilter has a plastic insert that draws complaints, and the drip tray feels flimsy.

Durability is uncertain, not condemned. Coffee Kev points out that the air pump and milk sensor are extra parts that can fail, and Alex Hitt warns that the heater's narrow tubes scale up easily on ordinary tap water. On the other side, Craft Coffee Spot reports long daily use without a fault.11 The buttons are a bright spot, tactile and responsive.

A wand that purges itself into a tray you empty every day4.8/10

Cleaning divides opinion, because the machine's best habit creates its biggest chore. The wand flushes itself automatically after steaming, so you wipe it and walk away. The solenoid valve also leaves a dry puck that knocks out cleanly.

All that purged water goes into a very small tray. Lance Hedrick says "the drip tray is absolutely tiny"12 and recommends dumping it after every use. An indicator shows when it is full, which helps, but the tray fills fast enough that a household making several drinks will carry it to the sink more than once a day.

The purge itself is forceful. Craft Coffee Spot finds it fires repeatedly and can make a mess13, and Home Grounds says it is hard to avoid some spray on the counter. The machine also counts shots and demands a cleaning cycle at set intervals that cannot be skipped, a welcome reminder in some kitchens and a nuisance first thing in the morning in others.

Simple buttons for a beginner, with button holds for power and hot water6.7/10

The Plus is easy to use, with conditions. The buttons are few and clear, the 64 fl-oz tank goes a good while between refills, and a sensor warns when the water runs low. With the milk automated, the only skill left to learn is dialing in the grinder.

That last skill still matters. Alex Hitt blames "terrible sour coffee on day one"14 on buyers treating it like a pod brewer. The programmed shot buttons also proved less accurate than Serious Eats wanted, so watch the first few pours.

A few quirks come from the compact design. There is no power button and no hot water spout: both jobs take a button combination, which Coffee Kev finds a pain if you make Americanos or tea often. Clearance under the portafilter is tight for taller cups.

Strong for the features at $499.95, before the grinder goes on the bill5.7/10

Value divides opinion, and the split is about what you compare it with. Judged on features for the money, the Plus does very well. Lance Hedrick calls it "the best sub 500 espresso machine on the market"15 out of the box, and it comes with a milk jug, cleaning tools and a trimming tool.

The machine is not the whole cost. There is no grinder built in, the shots depend on a good one, and Alex Hitt reckons a capable grinder pushes the true starting cost well past the sticker. The box holds only pressurized baskets, so single-wall ones are an extra purchase. The tamper strikes some as sturdy and Lance Hedrick as slightly too small for the basket.

Against its cheaper sibling the case narrows to milk. The espresso hardware is identical, and Men's Journal finds the premium over the standard Bambino "hard to justify"16. It is easier to justify if the automatic wand is something you will use every morning. The Plus also goes on sale less often.

Our verdict

Buy the Bambino Plus if milk drinks are the daily routine and you want them without learning to steam by hand, from a machine that fits a small counter and needs no warm-up. Skip it if you drink straight espresso or light roasts, where the cheaper Bambino or a machine with adjustable temperature makes more sense, or if you want something heavy and built to keep. Set money aside for a capable espresso grinder from the start. In the shop, lock the portafilter in and see how firmly you need to hold the machine, then pull out the drip tray and judge its size for yourself.