It’s a decent little machine. It depends on what you want out of your espresso and what your budget is. If you want to brew light roasts, stay away from the bambino. If you’re going for medium-dark espresso and lattes then it will serve you well. The warm up time on the bambino is the best thing ever, ready to brew in a few seconds.
I’m going to upgrade it as soon as I can since it limits what I can do and want something to experiment more with my espresso. I’m considering a gaggia classic pro and installing a gaggiuino mod, if you dont mind tinkering with your machine, it could work for you. A manual machine like a flair might be a good idea, some of the best espresso I’ve had was pulled on my flair classic.
Great set up. Curious why the Bambino doesn’t work for light roasts. Water temp? I struggle a little with lighter roast extractions because of my altitude.
Depends what you consider a fair bit of modding. In my opinion the only things you need to get high quality shots from a Gaggia are to adjust the OPV (dead simple) and install a PID (moderately involved). I’ve also added a dimmer switch for flow control and a pressure gauge on mine since both were incredibly easy. The Gagguino mod is more complicated than any of the above options since it requires soldering, but it lets you automate and profile all those variables. Either way, if you have the money and don’t mind spending it on a $1k machine then that would probably be the better option since you get a warranty and higher end components. But if you want similar functionality on a budget then you can’t beat ~$300 all-in for a used Gaggia and the basic mods.
Been really debating a gaggia versus a flair 58 so it’s nice to hear a perspective. I’m an engineering guy so I’m always down to mod but there’s something about learning to do it all manual that’s intriguing as well!
As a fellow engineering guy I can definitely empathize! My previous (and first “real”) machine was a La Pavoni Europiccola, and I still have a Picopresso which I use for travel. Manual lever machines really give you an appreciation for the mechanics involved with making espresso. In the end the repeatability of a semi-auto machine won me over though :P
It’s a decent little machine. It depends on what you want out of your espresso and what your budget is. If you want to brew light roasts, stay away from the bambino. If you’re going for medium-dark espresso and lattes then it will serve you well. The warm up time on the bambino is the best thing ever, ready to brew in a few seconds.
I’m going to upgrade it as soon as I can since it limits what I can do and want something to experiment more with my espresso. I’m considering a gaggia classic pro and installing a gaggiuino mod, if you dont mind tinkering with your machine, it could work for you. A manual machine like a flair might be a good idea, some of the best espresso I’ve had was pulled on my flair classic.
Great set up. Curious why the Bambino doesn’t work for light roasts. Water temp? I struggle a little with lighter roast extractions because of my altitude.
Yeah pretty much. The water temp just doesn’t get hot enough.
Oh ty for the info! Yeah I looked into Classic Pro but I get the impression you have to do a fair bit of modding if you want high quality
Depends what you consider a fair bit of modding. In my opinion the only things you need to get high quality shots from a Gaggia are to adjust the OPV (dead simple) and install a PID (moderately involved). I’ve also added a dimmer switch for flow control and a pressure gauge on mine since both were incredibly easy. The Gagguino mod is more complicated than any of the above options since it requires soldering, but it lets you automate and profile all those variables. Either way, if you have the money and don’t mind spending it on a $1k machine then that would probably be the better option since you get a warranty and higher end components. But if you want similar functionality on a budget then you can’t beat ~$300 all-in for a used Gaggia and the basic mods.
Been really debating a gaggia versus a flair 58 so it’s nice to hear a perspective. I’m an engineering guy so I’m always down to mod but there’s something about learning to do it all manual that’s intriguing as well!
As a fellow engineering guy I can definitely empathize! My previous (and first “real”) machine was a La Pavoni Europiccola, and I still have a Picopresso which I use for travel. Manual lever machines really give you an appreciation for the mechanics involved with making espresso. In the end the repeatability of a semi-auto machine won me over though :P