The Breville Bambino is still one of the best espresso machines you can buy for about $300. It heats up in 3 seconds, pulls real espresso through a 54mm portafilter, and has a manual steam wand strong enough for proper latte milk. The catch is that it needs a good grinder, and its fixed brew temperature makes very light roasts harder. If you mostly drink …
The espresso accessories that make the biggest difference are a good scale, a tamper that fits your basket, and a WDT tool to break up clumps. For most Breville owners, our top tamper is the Normcore V4 53.3mm spring-loaded tamper at $42.29, rated 4.6 stars across more than 3,300 Amazon ratings. Pair it with the Normcore WDT tool and you’ve fixed the two most common …
The Breville Barista Express is the poster child of home espresso. It’s everywhere—Amazon best-seller lists, wedding registries, YouTube setups, and Instagram kitchens. It promises café-quality espresso at home without turning your kitchen into a science lab. But at around $700, the real hesitation usually isn’t “Can this make good coffee?” The real question is: Is this actually easy to live with? And will it last, …