★★★★★ 4
Actual espresso! Great as a backup or for vacation home or hotel room.
Color: Anti-Fingerprint Silver
I'm an experienced (20+ years) home barista. But my Italian "prosumer" machine (Andreja Premium) is in the shop for new gaskets & gauges, and I have no real backup. Nespresso is easy to use but not true espresso--looks good but not espresso flavor; adequate with Aeroccino to make fake cappuccino. Tried the "inverted Aeropress" hack. Nope--strong black coffee but still not espresso. My old camping Handpresso+Illy pod? My arms ache from pumping and barely any crema till end of brew--spewed all over the sink.
This java junkie needs her 'spro! Found myself standing in Target staring at a Breville Bambino...for $200? $50 steam toys? Been there, done that. Saw this surfing Amazon, and thought "for just one Benjamin, why not?"
Arrived overnight. Surprisingly sturdy, easy setup. Not used to tiny (51mm) portafilter (which the manual calls a "funnel" and is taller than my pro 58mm portafilters) but I also have a good wood&steel tamper I bought for my first Krups pump machine 40 yrs ago. (The plastic one with the scoop at the end in the box makes a great cat toy). Filled it, did a cleansing steam wand "purge" per the easy to follow instructions on a sticker on the side of the machine. Ground some Metropolis "Red Line Blend" espresso beans. First try "choked" the machine so I ground a bit coarser. Hit the button and...OMG! Real espresso! Flowed out in rusty brown "monkey tails!" Medium brown crema! Piping hot! Tasted it and OMFG! It's the real thing!
Noisy, but so are all true vibe-pump espresso machines. Only reason to remove a star was that the puck is wet and takes several slams against the bar of my knockbox to dislodge the grounds. The espresso it makes is nearly as good as what came out of my Andreja Premium (which demands careful dialing-in, WDT stirring, leveling and calibrated tamping). Certainly better than what Starbucks serves (much less the superautomatic machines in gas station convenience stores). Haven't tried the steam wand yet, but I bet it'll make finer pourable microfoam than the stiff stuff from my Aeroccino. Maybe not latte art quality, so what? But the espresso is good enough that you'll likely want to drink it straight.
TIPS:
1. RTFM ("Read the Friendly Manual")! Keep the nice illustrated quick-start card close by.
2. Use the 2, not the 1-cup basket. Unless you're an absolute newbie, don't rely on the automatic "1-2 cup" button; rather, use the power switch (has a little "hand" icon signifying "manual") to start and stop the extraction before "blonding" (pale crema) occurs.
3. Don't grind as finely as you would for a prosumer machine, especially not a heat exchanger with an e61 grouphead. You might find that the cheaper burr grinder you use for drip or press, on its second-or-third-click-from-finest setting, works better than a commercial grinder. (Mine's a 2-yr-pld Baratza Encore, not even advertised as for espresso). A pricy hand grinder is overkill.
4. Don't tamp as hard as you would for a prosumer machine either. In a pinch, the plastic "cat toy" in the box is fine.
5. Run a couple oz. of water, w/o the portafilter in place, after you brew your shot and knock out the puck; then wipe the group screen dry.
6. To turn the machine off, press the power/manual-brew button for at least 2 seconds till the light turns off (otherwise you'll be releasing water through the group screen).
7. Use fresh beans less than 3 wks old (preferably 7-10 days post-roast date). Grind for each shot, or at least each brew session. Keep them in an opaque canister, preferably one that lets the air out but not in (the expensive mechanical twist vacuum ones are not necessary). For the love of everything holy, NOT the fridge or freezer!
THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO BUY: Knockbox--doesn't have to be a pricy one. (You don't want to accidentally dump your portafilter's basket into the sink or worse, the trash can or compost pail). Spend $10 or so for a good tamper. (But let its weight do the work, and don't try to spin it). WDT needle and weighted leveler tools are overkill--as is a dosing funnel if you aren't using a Mazzer grinder with a doser (Newbies--if that sounds like gibberish, you aren't using one). The manual advises against using a blade grinder (that cheap "whirly" kind better suited to spices), and recommends a "grind type mill" (i.e., a burr grinder).
Don't get me wrong--this espresso won't be "God shots," nor "Third Wave" barista champ quality, no matter how mad your skilz. But pair it with fresh beans, filtered water and a good burr grinder (Baratza Encore or better) and with a little practice you will be rewarded with the real thing! For $99--just a little more than those "steam toys" that brew into glass carafes--if it lasts me a year, I'll be delighted. I won't be giving it heavy use once my prosumer machine comes home, but it will more than just "do."
EDIT 3/23/26: Decided to try steaming milk, to see if it’s controllable for microfoam. (My Andreja Premium is too powerful—heats the milk too fast after stretching (and even 2 seconds is too long to stretch before getting thick foam). Well, it will take a little patience to wait and then bleed off some water. But it is quite gentle and controllable. Do I want to use two machines (at opposite ends of the room) to make a drink with latte art? After all its shots are not as good as from my prosumer machine, which steams too powerfully. But it DOES what it’s supposed to.
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Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2026
