Steel Uno PID

If you like the convenience factor with the Bambino, I'd look at the Ascaso Steel Uno/Duo PID; also the Lucca Tempo at Clive Coffee.

I don’t have any personal experience with it, but you might wang to look into the Ascaso steel uno/duo. They are high quality thermo block machines, and probably the fastest machine to heat up. Note that most machines need longer to get hot and ready to brew than just the boiler heat up time. After

The steel uno PID is a solid machine, in this price range, quality control isn't always the best. Plenty of profitec's with issues, probably more than ascaso. The main benefit of the ascaso is heat up, if you go for the PID version, this one has the most configurability. The Lucca is decent, but kee

The grinder is perfectly fine on that budget. I would spend more on the machine though. I had a Bambino Plus and it's fine for what it is at $500. But I really dislike the lack of a heated group head on the Bambino, which makes it a pain to warm up everything when you want to pull a shot. You end up

This sort of thing is asked a million times a day. Personally, I would strongly recommend just getting a new grinder first! I think worrying about choosing and getting used to one new piece of equipment at a time makes more sense to me. And honestly if you make milk drinks, the Niche Zero is great!

I recently went from the Bambino Plus to an Ascaso Steel Uno and it's a huge upgrade, while still being pretty easy to use and most importantly it doesn't take forever to heat up.

Congrats! I've found that with this machine it's best to practice 1 brand of milk at a time as different brands for me tend to steam differently. Also if you're interested in pimping it up, I have gathered some bits over the years (most are in German, so sorry about that): If your cups keep slipping

Not yet mentioned here, I'd be tempted by an Ascaso Steel Duo PID--personally and at least in my mind, I would find it hard to go back and vary much from the Bambino's near instant-on capability. (But note that the electrical demands for the Ascaso Steel Duo can vary by country--in the U.S., a 20Amp

Ascaso Steel Uno for fast heat up (or the Duo if you can stretch the budget a bit) The Specialita should be good 👍🏻 Also Mahlkonig grinders are known for their build quality, so maybe check out the X54.

It sounds like you prefer dark espresso based on your description. A good conical grinder and any reputable machine will get you there. You only need a single boiler machine. I’d pick whatever you think looks best on you counter. More expensive machines often have group heads that take a long time t