Sage Bambino Plus

If you want café-style espressos and milk drinks at home without wrestling with a bulky machine or learning pro-level steaming, this is the category most people search for: fast, reliable espresso with consistently textured milk. The Bambino Plus shrinks a lot of café tech into a compact 19.5×32×31cm footprint and puts a 54mm stainless-steel portafilter and an automatic milk texturing system where they actually make a difference. ## What makes it worth it The Bambino Plus wins by removing two of the biggest barriers to great home espresso: waiting and milk. Sage’s ThermoJet boiler reaches extraction temperature in about 3 seconds, so you can pull shots almost instantly, and the Auto‑Milk system (three temperature/textures) produces repeatable, latte‑art‑capable microfoam without manual steaming. It also includes a proper 54mm metal portafilter and a 1.9L tank, so you get café-style hardware in a counter‑friendly package and don’t have to refill constantly. ## Where it falls short The Bambino Plus is an entry‑to‑mid level machine rather than a prosumer rig: the 54mm portafilter is smaller than the 58mm commercial standard and there’s limited manual-steam nuance if you’re a trained barista. At roughly £350–£400 it’s pricier than barebones entry machines, though cheaper than full-size prosumer models. If you want quick, hands‑free milk drinks and near‑instant heat‑up on a small counter, buy the Bambino Plus; if you need full commercial 58mm hardware or absolute manual steaming control, look at prosumer machines such as the Rancilio Silvia or Gaggia Classic Pro instead.

£399