Breville Bambino Plus: geni.us/rzLTKQS Gaggia Classic Pro: geni.us/vM7uMkE Baratza Encore ESP: geni.us/NU8yw63 Fellow OPUS: geni.us/Uojeo Try our coffee! geni.us/4AAmhpj (As an Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases)

Thank you for your review - have been looking at the Gaggia Classic Evo as I primarily drink espresso and your video made my decision easy

I've had a Gaggia Classic Pro for a couple of years and just bought a new Bambino Plus off Marketplace for half price. My Gaggia has the upgrades including the 9 bar spring and a bottomless portafilter. I have found the Bambino Plus to be much easier to use. Of course the automatic milk steaming is phenomenal. But it seems easier to dial in and get consistent shots with. With the Gaggia, it's very inconsistent from shot to shot. That has been my experience and I upgraded my grinder recently to see if that would help fix it, but it didn't.

These were the exact machines that I considered when buying a espresso maker. I chose the Gaggia after reading about mechanical failures with the Bambino. I have had the Gaggia Pro for three years and love it.

Brilliant video: informative, thoughtful, great opinions without being opinionated, and perfectly paced. Many thanks!

Thank you for this information

Great, insightful, balanced video. I agree with basically everything said. I had the Gaggia for a decade - worked well enough but was a chore to heat up (took ages), get good balanced shots (we didnt have a grinder but bought beans freshly ground) and steam with as the video notes. Have recently purchased the Bambino Plus, and it's a much easier experience all round, especially milk steaming - for which both auto and manual work well. Can't directly compare shot quality as it's been a while since the gaggia broke down for the final time, but the bambino is producing good coffee (may help that we now have a Baratza grinder) so I've no reason to complain at all!

Great video. I chose the Bambino Plus over the Gaggia. It's so easy to use and I use quality beans. If you want a challenge get the Classic; if you want a quick reliable machine get the Plus.

I have a bambino plus and drink only milkies. I never drink espresso straight up. I’ve had espresso machines for decades and know how to steam milk, but the automatic frothing does a very decent job alone so why bother. I can clean the portafilter during the steaming process.

Both machines make good coffee, but the compact size of the Bambino makes the difference. Great video 🙂

Very nice presentation, sounds like the classic is a winner for me, however how often will i need to be dailing in if i make 1 espresso a day? I freeze my coffee, weigh out 15 grams everyday and pop it into my breville express and americanos most of the time.

If you are into good to very good Espresso you go with the Gaggia, if you want a quick and fail proof Latte you go with the Breville /Sage but i would recommend the Gaggia at any time this thing will be on your side for a Decade

I ended up going for the Bambino Plus but it was a really tough choice. I opted for it for the automatic milk steamer and PID I really don't want to fuse too much with trying to get the temperature right. I don't know if that changed in the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro but maybe if it had a PID and a metal knob for the steamer I would have gotten that instead but I am sure the Bambino plus will be more than enough for me once I learn how to do things like pre-infusion and how to set it up or put in an IMS shower screen and all that :)

To me, the heating mechanism is the biggest difference. One is thermal block and the other one is single boiler. Which one is better from espresso quality perspective?

Please make comparisan bambino plus vs dedica plus tq

My first espresso machine purchase was the Bambino and it has been great, but the build quality has become an issue. The water isn’t as hot and the pressure doesn’t make the same sounds it used to. I’ll be upgrading … possibly to the Gaggia because of its robust build and upgradability.

I'm surprised you didn't go into brew temperature stability. Unaure about the Bambino Plus, but with the GCP you need to temperature surf to get a consistent temperature, otherwise you'll inconsistent results. Honestly if the BB+ were available when I had purchased my GCP it would have been a no brainer pick.

More accessories for gaggia, you can trick it out with wood knobs and portafilter handles

I was just debating which one to get yesterday since the gaggia was 100 off for black friday. Then I saw your video of the updated gaggia amd I did want a more manual espresso machine to dial in espresso so I went with the gaggia. Now I'm seeing this brand new video comparing them lol. I think the gaggia is more what I want since I want to get into the hobby of espresso more so than wanting coffee right away. Great video!

Would be cool to watch a vid on talking for worth of upgrade from. Im been using bambino for about a year with ims basket parried with baratza 30. And now watching all your profitec vids Im kind of twisted. Its quite appealing machines... Yet Im into a milk drinks, and not after all this "lite roast with fruity notes". Tully hard to justify spending just for having a shiny gadget. my 0.2$ - resell value for Gaggia probably would be better, + youll be left with proper portafilter baskets in case youll decide to get nonstock ones.

I like my bambino plus a lot but TBH, I want a better machine without going overboard with features. Somewhere between gaggia classsic pro and ascaso steel duo. Maybe a bambino pro model with adjustable PID and active grouphead/ portafilter heating would be the killer of all entry level machines??? Pressure gauge and adjustable opv would be great as well.

An other advantage of the Gaggia: It‘s easy to upgrade or repair and should last you for years. Not so much with the plastic Breville.

Excellent breakdown, quick and to the point! I have the bambino and it’s a great little machine. What would recommend for a grinder to pair with bambino? I have the smart grinder pro but I’m thinking of upgrading.

Is there any middle ground to get the quality of the Gaggia but a less manual experience? Something available in the UK?

I've had both. Sold the Bambino. If you think steaming is hard or not good on the gaggia it's most likely user error.

How much % better is a dialed in gagga espresso vs the breville impress shot

Do you know the WEIGHT of these two machines (ea) .??? I am flying with one of these machines. Thanks. I'm looking, cant find weight.

Dang this is such a tough choice 🫠 I do like Cappuccino's but that is really because I am using the milk to balance out the sour/bitterness of my aeropress espresso shot and I am pretty sure it's user error. I ended up buying the DF64 Gen 2 Grinder and upgraded the burrs and I am gonna learn to see if I can use my aeropress better to make more of what I am looking for. If I could drink coffee black without any additives like creamer or sugar I'd be a lot happier because I did have a coffee I liked black but I can't remember the name of it so I been trying to find it but no luck so back to adding milk. But, I am left unsure which machine to get. I lean towards the Bambino plus because I think it would be easier on the morning routine but I hear with the Gaggia Classic Evo Pro, I could just use a smart plug to have it turn on and heat up as I am waking up so all I'd have to do is purge it and have some water go through it and then I'd be set but I do like the automatic feature for the milk steamer and quicker heat up. I don't mind learning to steam milk manually but I am also not sure I'll get it and will end up spending more time frustrated because I just want to spend 10-15 minutes making my coffee and then having my omelette as I feed my cat in the morning lol then I have to figure out which is easier for my mom to use since she's retiring and living with me so I really don't know what to get since she uses her Keurig and pods lol

HELP! i received the bambino as a gift, can someone recommend a replacement filter that fits? ill be using a high quality grinder

the breville digital buttons WILL screw up. They always do and your buttons wont work without a full teardown.

Nice

I tried a Bambino recently and I was disappointed. The first shot always came out cold.

I disagree on many of the points made in this video, imho the Gaggia is more focused on milk drinks made with darker roasts than the Breville. The Breville itself is more polyvalents and suited for all kinds of straight espressos, but also has good steaming capabilities. The Gaggia is equipped with a bimetallic thermostast with a large dead band which makes temperature stability shot to shot questionable unless you're temp surfing. This can be often an issue with lighter roasts while not really one with lattes and cappuccinos. Assuming that you are temperature surfing (and therefore starting everyshot at the same temp), then the Gaggia's tiny tiny boiler means that every shot is experiencing a stark temperature decrease as fresh cold water is brought in the boiler during every shot, this is good especially with darker roasts. On the contrary, the Bambino makes it easy with its PID controlled temperature and its ability to maintain a high temperature during each shot, it starts a little colder but also ends quite a bit hotter. The ability to maintain high temperatures is very useful if you go for shots with longer ratios, if you're striving for lighter roasts and turbo shots style shots, the Bambino will be better. In the same vein, precision is easier with the Bambino, a scale will severely limit your choice of cup with the Gaggia, not the case with the Bambino, tall cup which will make floral and fruit aromatic easier to smell will be easier to use with the Bambino, whereas the Gaggia is more suited for no scale with a cappucino cup, or a scale with a tiny cup. Finally, pressure consistency is a lot easier on the Bambino with its 9 bar OPV, with the Gaggia you either learn to surf it 13 bar OPV or you need to get an aftermarket OPV. Overall, if you like ristrettos, dark roasts and milk drink a Gaggia will be a nice choice, if you want to venture into lighter roasts straight shots and consistency matters a lot, then the Bambino offers more possibilities and is more suited.

I had the Bambino plus for about two years before it self-destructed. It feels and looks like a big toy and reminded me of colouring pictures by numbers in that it makes it easy to make a coffee. Not much fun really. It’s also overpriced.

The only thing I don't like in Gaggia is the buttons... it feels like a 80s machine...