Breville is the brand to go to when it comes to semi automatic espresso machines. Their machines are associated with fantastic aesthetic design and excellent performance and marked at an affordable price. Today, we shall compare Breville Bambino Plus vs Barista Express to find out which is the right model for your home.
Breville Bambino Plus is more suitable if you are just starting out your journey of making your espresso. The automatic milk texturing allows you to start making the milk foam of the ideal texture from Day 1 without prior experience. And it definitely provides faster brewing speed with its 3 second heat up time. Though it’s cheaper, you have to purchase a grinder separately. And a good grinder can cost quite a bit.
Bambino Plus Espresso Maker
If you don’t mind the steeper learning curve to learn milk texturing and the slower heat up speed, then Barista Express makes a good choice since it comes with a high quality integrated grinder.
Breville BES870XL Barista Express
Breville Bambino Plus vs Barista Express : 7 Similarities
1 Brewing Technology
Breville Bambino Plus and Barista Express comes with technology that optimizes the espresso extraction. Their 15 bar pressure pump provides the optimal pressures for espresso extraction. And their pre-infusion technology makes sure water can flow evenly throughout the coffee cake with a moist pre-wetting at low pressure before extraction starts at the high pressures. Their PID controllers make sure that brewing temperature remains constant throughout the extraction to avoid an uneven extraction and the resulting ashy taste in the espresso.
2 Power Usage
Both machines use almost the same amount of power at around 1600 watts.
3 Milk Frother
Breville Bambino and Barista Express comes with milk steam wand for frothing milk.
4 User Interface
Both use buttons to operate the machines which makes it simple and straightforward to operate.
5 Options
1 and 2 espresso shots option are available on both machines.
6 Portafilter
They uses the commercial style portafilter with a 54mm diameters. This will pack sufficient coffee grounds for a flavorful espresso.
7 Water Tank Capacity
Both have almost the same large water tank capacity. Express can hold up to 67 ounces of water while Bambino Plus can hold up to 64 ounces.
Breville Bambino vs Barista Express: 3 Key Differences
1 Integrated Grinder
The most crucial difference lies in the grinder. Barista Express comes with a high quality conical burr grinder made of hardened steel. However, Bambino does not have one. The benefit of having the grinder integrated means that you can keep the freshness of the coffee grounds at the maximum since they are sent directly for brewing without exposure to air.
2 Brewing Speed
Breville Bambino Plus is a newer model. Hence, it comes with the Breville’s latest heating Thermojet technology and this allows water to be heat up in just 3 seconds. In constrast, Barista express takes a longer time of 60 seconds.
3 Milk Texturing Technology
Although both machines have high quality steam wands, Bambino Plus offers automatic milk texturing while Barista Express offers manual milk texturing. If you are new to milk texturing, you can make a professional milk foam from Day 1 with Bambino Plus and you can also select the temperature and texture for the milk and the steam wand will texture based on your preferences. For Barista Express, you may require some practice before you can get the ideal milk texture for your latte.
Breville Bambino Plus Or Barista Express: Which is a better choice?
Both Bambino Plus and Barista Express are excellent machines. They are both equipped with the fundamental technologies for an optimized espresso extraction. Which is a better choice depends on what you are looking for.
Breville Bambino Plus is more suitable if you are just starting out your journey of making your espresso. The automatic milk texturing allows you to start making the milk foam of the idea texture from Day 1 without prior experience. And it definitely provide faster brewing speed with its 3 second heat up time. Though it’s cheaper, you have to purchase a grinder separately. And a good grinder will cost quite a bit.
Bambino Plus Espresso Maker
If you don’t mind the steeper learning curve to learn milk texturing and the lower heat up speed, then Barista Express makes a good choice since it comes with a high quality integrated grinder.
Breville Barista Express
If you like more automation and faster brewing speed, consider the Breville Barista Touch which also comes with a high quality integrated grinder.
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Hope this review on Breville Bambino Plus vs Barista Express has helped you make a choice on which is better to buy.
