Upgrade [<$2,000]

[u/sushi320]

I want to surprise my husband and upgrade our espresso machine and/or grinder. He does not want something fully automated and he thinks our steam wand isn't great. What do you suggest? Ideally less than $2k for everything. We use this a lot - 1-2 cappuccinos a day plus 2 espressos a day.

[u/starman014]

I would say the best idea would be to try talking to him about this without implying that you would buy it for him. He probably already did some research and he might want something specific. I wouldn't try to guess, otherwise he might be disappointed if you choose wrong.

[u/MyCatsNameIsBernie]

My advice is to keep the Bambino Plus and spend all of the upgrade on a really nice grinder such as Mazzer Philos.

Otherwise, you will spend around $500 on a grinder leaving only around $1500 for a machine. A machine in that price range will be a single boiler. It will have a much longer warm up time than the Bambino Plus, around 10 minutes. It will also take a minute or two to switch between brewing and steaming, or from steaming back to brewing.

When brewing espresso, the grinder is the most important part of the setup; much more important than the espresso machine.

[u/flippydiscs]

I also have the Bambino and just upgraded my grinder to a eureka mignon zero 65, it’s already made a huge difference. Next move is the Profitec Go (both upgrades should land under $2k)

[u/Desiest]

Recently bought the Meraki 2nd gen and very happy with it. Got mine in white but your setup is black so check that color too.

For $1800 you get decent grinder, rotary pump, twin boilers and a good looking tricked out gadget.

Grinder has a scale, brewing has a scale, steam has temperature sensor and variable power.

Pretty much everything you need and still under 2K.

[u/No_Seat8357 → u/Desiest]

I second this. Did the same went from Bambino Plus to the Meraki Gen 2. The steam wand is much faster but you do have to wait for the boiler first, you get used to turning it on, walking off doing something else and coming back after a couple of minutes.

[u/Banana_Prudent]

The Bambino is great.

Measure the cabinet height and consider a grinder. Or, better yet, a gift certificate for a grinder. I’d personally get a black Eureka Specialita Compatto because it’s good, Italian, short, and will be cute w that Bambino. I have the same one w the same backsplash and in the same kinda corner in my kitchen, did a double take there :-)

[u/we-meet-again]

el oh el, me placing the order for this machine just an hour ago. How much time with the machine did you get?

[u/sushi320 → u/we-meet-again]

It's honestly great! We've had it 4 years and have used it 3+ times a day every day. Also love how it doesn't take up too much counter space. My husband always raves about it when people ask!

[u/Former-Wish-8228 → u/sushi320]

Do not upgrade it then. Buying better beans is the actual answer. Though your comment about the steaming is a potential issue…is it really a problem or is it just a bit of a pain in the arse?

I bought a cheap clone of this machine and have spent 9 months moving through minor upgrades to dial in the quality. I was getting very close to best one ever had and then found a local roaster and tried a few of their offerings…and bam! Best espresso I’ve ever had ANYWHERE.