Choosing the best rated espresso machines can feel like a brewing adventure, especially when two budget-friendly options like the Breville Bambino and Gaggia Carezza Deluxe are in the spotlight. Both machines deliver exceptional coffee with unique features, but which one is the right fit for your kitchen and lifestyle? Let’s dive into their design, performance, and usability to help you make the best choice for your morning cup.
Let’s find out the overall facts of these best rated espresso machines.
Design and Durability
Breville Bambino
First of all, this fully functional best home coffee maker comes on a low budget. The body frame is made of stainless steel with good-quality plastic touches all around. When it comes to cheap, plastic is the most common material but not bad quality at all. Many complain that the portafilter lock cannot be unlocked with one hand because the machine is completely moving. But since it is so lightweight, it will naturally be difficult to do with one hand. So, you have to press the machine with your second hand and hold it to open it, not a big issue at all.
Included accessories
- 1 cup & 2 cup Single Wall & Dual Wall Filter, Baskets,
- Milk Jug,
- Portafilter,
- Tamper,
- Steam Wand Tip Cleaning Tool,
- Descaling Powder.
People mostly prefer non-pressurized portafilter but here you will find the pressurized basket. However, those who are new to espresso machines won’t face any issues. This machine is very lightweight only 4.7 kg. That’s why it is so easy to move around, and it’ll take a very small space to arrange. It can hold 1.4 liters of water. The drip tray at the bottom can hold a decent amount of water and comes with a red plastic indicating piece that will slowly start to float so you know when to clean the tray. For the price, it is of good quality and durable enough for home use. Be sure to keep the machine clean regularly, for which its self-cleaning feature is quite helpful.
Gaggia Carezza Deluxe
The retro-style look of the machine will remind you of the old days of radios with amplifiers It is a budget machine with a plastic body and a stainless steel body frame. Where there are multiple switches and a temperature indicator. This indicator is the main reason for the classic look. It has a 1.3-liter capacity tank and is kept transparent from the front so that you can identify the amount of water. The water tank comes out very easily by pulling it forward. Many people do not like the tank that is pulled up because those who have cabinets in their kitchen face the trouble and get blocked at the top. In that case, this architecture will be easy.
We are getting the following equipment
- Espresso Machine,
- Portafilter,
- Filter Baskets,
- Scoop.
It has a spacious removable drain tray that is magnetically attached to the body and can be removed very easily. This tray has a little more space than the Bambino but it does not have a floating indicator like that which makes it difficult to understand whether the tray is full or not. So it is best to keep an eye on this tray and clean it on a regular basis. But we personally didn’t like its design. It is quite wide compared to the Bambino. The Bambino looks much more modern and premium.
Ease of use
Breville Bambino
We have to measure its brewing performance as a cheap budget compact machine, not as a commercial machine. Anyone can use the machine very conveniently from the beginner level. You will understand the procedure very fast. The major function of this machine is done by the Thermo Jet Heating system. Where it heats the water in just 4 – 5 seconds. But it doesn’t have the option to control the temperature. It can get up to 93° Celsius, which is ideal for brewing. Before steaming, do a hot water extract. It is a purification process before steaming. If you brew in the pre-mode setup by pressing the 2 cup button once, you will get the perfect dose of coffee. Or you can manually brew the amount of coffee you want by pressing the 2-cup button for 3 seconds and pressing it again will turn it off.
Later, the machine will store that amount in its memory and will give you that much brew every time until you change it again. You have to buy a grinder if you like to grind coffee beans by yourself. You can buy any auto or manual grinder which is not a bad option. Then comes the matter of milk frothing. If it is not good, then it will not be possible to acquire the perfect type and taste of coffee. The steamer that is here takes about 30-35 seconds to transform the milk into smooth micro foam with a delicious silky texture.
Gaggia Carezza Deluxe
You will find a pressurized portafilter same as the Bambino. Usually, pressurized portafilters are used in most cases for home coffee machines. Since the machine is cheap, the portafilter gives a bit of a cheap feel. However, you can purchase and use a good quality non-pressurized portafilter separately. This is a non-grinder machine, which means you will need to purchase an additional grinder if you prefer to grind whole-bean coffee yourself. The coffee maker is designed so that even those new to coffee making can easily use the machine to make delicious coffee. With the accessories provided with it, you can brew both ground and pre-ground coffee beautifully.
Or there is also high-quality and delicious pre-ground coffee available to purchase. The portafilter can hold 18g of ground coffee, considered the standard these days. The above stainless-steel cup warmer can very well warm the cup at a tolerable temperature. The warm area is up to a certain period and gets cold automatically, which doesn’t make difficulties to hold the machine from the top. Then there is another unique attraction of its stainless steel Pamarello Wand, which is mainly the steamer. The steamer takes only 4 to 5 seconds to heat. You have to use the knob on the top to on/off the steamer and control the temperature.
Coffee brewing performance
You can produce delicious professional latte-type coffee, cappuccino, and many others with both machines. It is amazing to get close to a barista-type coffee from a machine of this price. We have added some good and important coffee-making videos to our discussion for your convenience. These will help you to understand how to use these best rated espresso machines for home and prepare best taste coffee at home. Better practicing can help you to get perfect results.
Breville Bambino
Gaggia Carezza Deluxe
Key differences between these best rated espresso machines
- The Bambino coffee maker is more compact than the Gaggia coffee maker, takes up less space, and looks quite premium.
- In the case of milk frothing, Barbino’s steam works a little better. But only a professional will understand it well. It will not affect beginners that much.
- In Graggia, you can brew both grounded and pre-grounded coffee very well. And because of the ESE pod, brewing is much better. If you want to do that in Bambino, you have to buy different types of portafilter and some other tools. Due to this, Gaggia is a just unpack and ready-to-use type of product.
- The Bambino doesn’t have a temperature indicator and there’s no way to control the steam temperature manually. But the Gaggia has an analog indicator that will let you know how much temperature you have. You can tweak it to your liking and control it manually.
Pros and Cons
Breville Bambino
Pros
- Modern and attractive design,
- Greatly compact and lightweight,
- Can fit in a very small space,
- Steam performance is commendable,
- Has the self-cleaning function.
Cons
- The drain tray area is not enough,
- Pressurized portafilter,
- The portafilter of this one may seem small,
- Can’t lock/unlock the portafilter with single hand because the machine moves a lot.
Gaggia Carezza Deluxe
Pros
- Lightweight and better-built quality,
- Retro look,
- Cup warming surface on top,
- Auto shut-off feature,
- Removable steam wand for latte art,
- Pre-infusion function,
- It can brew with both pre-ground coffee and E.S.E. pods,
- Steaming performance is great,
- Can provide rich and flavorful coffee,
- It has a temperature indicator with manual control.
Cons
- The design doesn’t seem modern,
- Not come with a non-pressurized portafilter,
- It takes up wider space.
Conclusion
Both of these coffee makers were launched quite a few years ago but are still capable of challenging many modern machines. So far, they have been showing excellent performance and quality brewing within the budget as a home appliance. Neither of the two is a machine to be ignored. We have presented their overall characteristics to you with various videos. You can buy anyone according to your preference.
You will not be disappointed and won’t feel regret. Both machines are the best rated espresso machines for home use which will let you make various types of delicious coffee at home with a pretty good experience.If you prefer a modern-looking device Breville Bambino would be a great choice. On the other hand, if you prefer a better brewing machine with manual customizations then Gaggia Carezza Deluxe is the savior. Even if you are on your basics as a barista and practicing at home then, these are the best professional espresso machine for home without a doubt.