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Bean & Burr

HUB 01 · Espresso Machines

Breville Bambino Plus Review (BES500)

The smallest serious espresso machine — reviewed on what the tiny body includes, and the one thing it deliberately leaves out.

By Stephen V.Updated How we research
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The Bambino Plus is Breville's answer to a specific buyer: someone who wants real espresso from a machine the size of a toaster, and who either owns a proper grinderor is willing to buy one. Strip the grinder out of the equation and this is arguably the least-compromised small machine on the market — Breville's ThermoJet heater has it ready in about three seconds, and the same 54mm portafilter ecosystem as its bigger siblings.

The headline convenience is automatic milk texturing: the wand steams to a chosen temperature and foam level and stops itself — genuinely credible microfoam with zero technique, which makes it the strongest milk-drink machine per inch of counter it occupies. Manual steaming remains available when you want the skill rather than the shortcut.

The honest catch: no grinder, and pressurized-friendly basketsout of the box that flatter pre-ground coffee. The machine's ceiling is far higher than its floor — it just makes you supply the grind. Below, we've set it against the Barista Express (the buy-the-grinder-built-in answer) and the De'Longhi Dedica (the slim-machine rival).

The short answer

Quick picks

#ProductBest forScorePrice
01
Breville Breville Bambino Plus (BES500)
Breville Bambino Plus (BES500)

The one to buy if you already have a grinder. Tiny, fast to heat, and it auto-steams milk.

People who already own a grinder
8.2
$498.49Amazon
02
Breville Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)
Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)

The default first real espresso machine, and it earns that spot: a grinder is built in.

Most people buying their first proper machine
8.0
$549.95Amazon
03
De'Longhi De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)
De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)

The slimmest real machine here — barely wider than a wine bottle, and it works.

The narrowest counters
7.0
$229.99Amazon

#ad · Live prices from the Amazon Product API, as of Jul 26, 2026. Where we have no verified live price, we show none — we would rather leave a gap than print a number that has rotted.

In detail

The picks, in full

01
Breville Breville Bambino Plus (BES500)

People who already own a grinder

Breville Bambino Plus (BES500)

No built-in grinder54mm portafilter3-second heat-upAutomatic milk texturing
8.2/10

The one to buy if you already have a grinder. Tiny, fast to heat, and it auto-steams milk.

Shot quality
8
Steam & milk
8
Ease of use
9
Build quality
7
Value
9

Pros

  • Breville rates it at a 3-second heat-up — you genuinely can go from cold to a shot faster than a kettle boils
  • The automatic milk-texturing wand froths to a set temperature and texture with no technique required, which is the feature beginners actually benefit from
  • A tiny footprint that fits a cramped counter where the Barista Express won't

Cons

  • No grinder, so you must own or buy one — factor that into the real price
  • Small water tank means frequent refills if you make several drinks a day

Don't buy this if…

…you don't have a grinder and don't want to buy one. Pre-ground coffee makes bad espresso in any machine, and this one gives you nowhere to grind — get the Barista Express instead.

$498.49View on Amazon

Price as of Jul 26, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Breville Bambino Plus (BES500)

02
Breville Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)

Most people buying their first proper machine

Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)

Built-in conical burr grinder54mm portafilter15-bar pump1600W ThermoCoil
8.0/10

The default first real espresso machine, and it earns that spot: a grinder is built in.

Shot quality
8
Steam & milk
8
Ease of use
8
Build quality
8
Value
8

Pros

  • The integrated grinder is the whole point — one purchase gets you a grind-to-shot setup, which is what most beginners actually need
  • Dose, grind size, and shot volume are all adjustable, so you can genuinely dial in rather than being stuck with one recipe
  • Breville's parts and service network in the US is the least painful in the category

Cons

  • The built-in grinder is good, not great — serious espresso people eventually add a dedicated grinder and this one becomes the backup
  • Single-boiler ThermoCoil, so you wait a few seconds between pulling a shot and steaming milk

Don't buy this if…

…you already own a good grinder. Then you are paying for a grinder you don't need — look at the grinder-less Bambino Plus and put the savings toward better beans.

$549.95View on Amazon

$689.9920% off

Price as of Jul 26, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to Breville Barista Express (BES870XL)

03
De'Longhi De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)

The narrowest counters

De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)

4.9-inch wide15-bar pumpManual milk frotherFast pre-heat
7.0/10

The slimmest real machine here — barely wider than a wine bottle, and it works.

Shot quality
7
Steam & milk
6
Ease of use
8
Build quality
6
Value
8

Pros

  • De'Longhi lists it at under five inches wide, which genuinely solves the 'no counter space' problem better than anything else here
  • Heats quickly and pulls a respectable shot for the size and price
  • Manual frother lets you learn milk texturing properly

Cons

  • The small stature means a small boiler and tank — it's built for one or two drinks at a time
  • No grinder, and the pressurized basket flatters mediocre grinding rather than rewarding good grinding

Don't buy this if…

…counter space isn't your constraint. You're paying a slight premium for slimness — a Stilosa or a Bambino Plus gives you more machine for the footprint you'd otherwise use.

$229.99View on Amazon

Price as of Jul 26, 2026. Prices change — Amazon's is the one that counts.

#ad · we may earn a commission from this link to De'Longhi Dedica Deluxe (EC685)

Who the Bambino Plus is actually for

Buy it if you already own a capable grinder, or you are deliberately building the classic two-piece setup — small machine plus serious grinder — which out-brews any all-in-one at the same total spend. It is also the default pick for small kitchens and for milk-drink households that want the automation.

Skip it if you own no grinder and want one purchase: the Barista Express bundles a decent one for roughly the cost of the Bambino plus a separate equivalent. And if you just want occasional espresso-ish drinks with zero fuss, be honest with yourself and read the pods comparison first.

Whatever you pair it with, a 0.1g scale matters more here than on most machines — the small single-wall baskets punish eyeballed doses.

How we picked

We do not run a testing lab

We compiled published manufacturer specifications, computed what each option costs to run where relevant, and cross-referenced aggregated owner reviews, then scored each product against a published rubric. The scores are judgments from documented research — they are not measurements we took, because we do not have a lab and we are not going to pretend we do. Where a number came from a manufacturer or a standard, we name it in Sources.

Questions

Frequently asked

Does the Bambino Plus need a separate grinder?
For real espresso, yes — that's the design. It ships with dual-wall (pressurized) baskets that make pre-ground workable, but the machine only shows what it can do with a burr grinder that reaches espresso fineness and the single-wall baskets. Our espresso grinder picks start cheaper than people expect.
Bambino Plus vs the regular Bambino?
The Plus buys you the automatic milk texturing (temperature and foam-level presets, auto shut-off) and a slightly larger water tank. The core shot hardware is essentially shared. If auto-milk doesn't tempt you, the standard Bambino is the value play; if lattes are daily, the Plus earns its premium.
Is the Bambino Plus good for lattes?
It's arguably the best latte machine of its size: the auto-texturing wand produces genuinely usable microfoam unattended, and the ThermoJet means no wait between shot and steam. The constraint is throughput, not quality — back-to-back drinks for a crowd is prosumer-machine territory.

Keep reading

Related

Receipts

Sources

We do not run a testing lab, and we do not pretend to. Where a measured number came from a manufacturer spec sheet or a published standard, we name it and link it. Where we could not verify something, we say so on the page rather than quietly leaving it out. Read our full method.