The Sage Bambino Plus is a £350 espresso machine that leaves the espresso brewing to you but automatically steams the milk at the press of a button. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but this is probably the best beginner’s espresso machine on the market. Whether you’re starting out or just want to upgrade from a more basic machine, such as the excellent De’Longhi Stilosa, it’s a great choice.
The simple design and ease of use are all part of the appeal and are among the reasons why I still enjoy using it as much as I do, despite far pricier machines dotting my household. To be clear, this isn’t a fully assisted machine that holds your hand throughout the process. You still need to learn the manual espresso ropes by dialling in the correct grind size and dosage for the perfect shot. But the combination of the useful tools in the box and an informative, helpful manual means that even beginners will soon find their feet.
Once you’ve done your bit – brewing an espresso to the best of your ability – the Bambino Plus is happy to take over. Fill the supplied stainless steel jug with a little milk, place it on the drip tray and submerge the steam wand, then all that’s required is to press one of the little buttons on the machine’s front and wait. The quiet rumble and splutter turn to a rhythmic pulse, and after a minute or so, your jug of cold milk is steamed to a hot, silken froth. Pour the milk into your espresso, and voilà – you’re now a barista. Congratulations. I’ll have a cappuccino, please. No sprinkles.
What you need to know
The Bambino Plus’s silver exterior evokes the polished metal of far pricier machines, but its compact footprint tiptoes more daintily on the kitchen surface, making it perfect for slotting in neatly between microwave and food mixer. And its price, while hardly pocket money, puts it firmly in the realms of the affordable runaround when compared with the four- and five-figure tags of turbocharged enthusiast machines.
Almost everything you need comes in the box. There’s a stainless steel milk jug, a light plastic tamper, a razor tool for getting the pucks of ground coffee just so. There’s also a little pin mounted on a plastic fob for clearing the steam wand’s nozzles when they inevitably get blocked with dried milk. You get a light metal portafilter, which is helpfully accompanied by a range of baskets for single and double shots.
The reason I say almost everything is because the one essential missing is a coffee grinder. I’d recommend something like Kingrinder’s K6 (£99), if you can put up with a hand grinder, or Baratza’s Encore ESP (£159.94), if you can stretch to it. A pair of scales to measure out your dosage of beans would also come in handy. I’d recommend buying some that are accurate to at least 0.1g.
The selection of filter baskets is useful, especially for those just starting out. The single- and double-shot pressurised baskets are ideal if you want to make espresso from supermarket ground coffee: the dual-wall construction aims to increase the brew pressure to create a frothy, rich crema from coffee that’s neither ground finely enough nor as fresh as it could be. If you do have access to fresh, good-quality coffee and a grinder, then you can use the unpressurised baskets instead. That’s what I’d recommend doing.
Specifications
Type: manual espresso machine with automatic milk frothing
Dimensions: 19 x 36 x 30cm (WDH)
Water tank: removable 1.9l
Replaceable water filter: yes
Accessories supplied: 54mm portafilter (3 ear), tamper, razor dosing tool, water filter, 480ml milk jug, pressurised baskets (single and double), unpressurised baskets (single and double), cleaning tool, back flush disc
Time to heat up: 6secs
Time to steam milk: 56secs
Grinder included: no
Noise: 46dB (brew), 59dB (steam)
Weight: 5.9kg
Warranty: two-year repair, replace or refund at Sage’s discretion
What we love
The Bambino Plus is easy to get to grips with. The front fascia is simply laid out, with a couple of bigger buttons for pouring single or double shots. There’s a button to start the milk frothing and two smaller buttons to tailor the milk temperature and frothing level – each of which is adjustable through three preset amounts. It doesn’t hurt that the user manual is written to be read and referred to rather than flung immediately into the recycling bin.
Around the back, the removable 1.9-litre water tank feels sturdy and clips home with a reassuring thunk. There’s a single ClaroSwiss water filter in the box, which slots into the bottom of the tank and provides up to three months of filtration. Replacement filters cost £14.95.
That water is heated by a Thermoblock boiler, which takes only three seconds to heat up, unlike traditional boilers. Turn on the machine, and the buttons flash for a few seconds, then illuminate constantly once the brew temperature is reached. Unlike most sub-£500 machines, that brew temperature is managed by a PID temperature controller to maintain the right degree of heat, crucial for creating a consistently rich, flavourful espresso. There’s even low-pressure pre-infusion, a feature generally found only on pricier machines, which saturates the coffee puck with water for a more even extraction.
Pouring a perfect espresso still requires trial and error – par for the course with any manual espresso machine – but Sage’s user manual and catalogue of YouTube videos make it as undaunting as possible for beginners. Even if you don’t have accurate scales, the razor tool ensures you don’t overfill the filter baskets, and getting that unctuous texture of espresso – almost slowing to a drip but just barely flowing into the cup – is a fairly simple case of adjusting the grind size and dosage. As with most things, a little patience reaps rewards.
Those rewards are uniformly lovely indeed. I tried various medium- and dark-roast beans from my usual roaster, Craft House Coffee, and the Bambino Plus did a good job with all of them. The only potential shortfall is that the preset brew temperature isn’t hot enough to get the best from light roasts, so it’s tricky to get a balanced-tasting shot – they tend towards sourness. If light roasts are your thing, you’ll need to look for a pricier machine with an adjustable brewing temperature.
For anyone wondering why they can’t just save a few bob and opt for the standard Sage Bambino instead, well, you can – but I’d advise against it. The Bambino omits the automatic milk frothing and lacks the pressure-relief valve of the Plus. The utility of the latter shouldn’t be underestimated: if you grind so fine that the machine chokes and espresso slows to a drip, the Plus will release that pressure into the drip tray. Do the same on the standard Bambino, and your only option is to remove the portafilter, at which point the pressure will escape suddenly and sneeze coffee grounds and brown water in every direction. Scientia potentia est-presso.
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What we don’t love
Getting the best from the machine requires a little coaxing, but it’s not complex. For instance, pouring a few shots of hot water through the empty pressurised portafilter gets everything nice and hot, making it easier to get consistent-tasting shots. You can use that water to preheat your cups – the top of the Bambino Plus has a ridged area for cups, but it doesn’t get usefully hot enough.
If you’re wondering why there isn’t a hot water button for americanos and the like, then you’ll find the answer on page 14 of the manual. Press the single-shot and milk-foam buttons simultaneously, and the steam wand will do exactly that. Frankly, though, a dedicated button wouldn’t have gone amiss – hopefully Sage will add one for the Bambino Plus’s eventual successor.
If you’re a fan of fast, hassle-free coffee and you’ve managed to read this far, then I’d still strongly advise that you consider this purchase carefully. The theatrics of grinding, measuring, tamping and brewing are all part of the appeal of manual espresso, but this is still nowhere near as immediate as a capsule or bean-to-cup machine, despite the Bambino Plus’s rapid warmup and automatic milk frothing. I’d keep a less involved brewing method – a cafetiere, AeroPress or perhaps even a basic capsule machine – close to hand for when you want a less involved brewing process.
My final quibble is that the price could be more competitive. Pre-pandemic, the Bambino Plus used to retail for about £250 – the price soared during the appliance shortages of lockdown and never came back down. If its current price of £349.95 is too spendy for your liking, then patience will reap rewards: you’ll regularly find it discounted during sale periods.
Warranty and repairability
Sage provides a two-year repair or replace warranty against faulty workmanship and materials – as you’d expect, anything deemed to be standard wear and tear isn’t included. If a replacement machine is warranted, it’s worth noting that the original warranty period is not extended.
Should issues arise outside the warranty, however, most of us would rather avoid retiring a coffee machine to landfill. I spoke with Radu Bria, the owner of espressorepairshop.co.uk, a coffee and espresso machine repair business in Stockport, to get his opinion on the Bambino Plus’s repairability.
It gets off to a good start: Bria indicated that it was easy to disassemble the machine to access the internal parts, which isn’t always a given on more affordable machines. He did raise that sourcing replacement parts can take time, as there’s only one official supplier in the UK, and restocking takes several weeks.
Going by the Bambino and Bambino Plus machines that pass through his workshop, the most common problems are a faulty solenoid coil, a faulty temperature probe/sensor or a blocked thermojet due to hard water – and repairing these costs from about £80 to £120. If you’re hoping to keep the Bambino Plus brewing beyond its warranty period, it should be possible to maintain it for a good few years. However, when it comes to a blocked thermojet, don’t think that the included filter – or a simple water-filter jug – will prevent limescale. It won’t: you’ll need an under-sink water softener or reverse osmosis filter to achieve that.
Sage Bambino Plus: should I buy it?
Quibbles aside, the Bambino Plus is quite possibly the most perfect beginner machine. Over the several years that I’ve owned one, it’s been one of my favourites for its ease of use, small footprint and quality brews – and that’s despite a multitude of pricier pretenders having attempted to usurp its place in the kitchen. The only question that remains is whether I really need a fourth cappuccino before lunchtime. Thank heavens there are some decaffeinated beans in the cupboard.
Sasha Muller is a freelance tech and consumer journalist, avid coffee drinker and craft beer enthusiast with more than two decades of experience in testing products and avoiding deadlines. If he’s not exploring the local woods with his kids, boring people talking about mountain bike tyres or spending ill-advised amounts on classic drum’n’bass vinyl, he’s probably to be found somewhere swearing at an inanimate object
