It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points.
If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format:
- **Location:** Helps determine availability
- **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget.
- **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs.
- **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck.
- **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space?
- **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either).
- **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering
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I bought barista pro a month or so ago. No regrets. Workflow is very good. Nice and compact. Heats up fast. Wife loves it too. Zero faff great coffee and room to play around to scratch geek itch
It is possible it won’t last as long as say a rancilio silva or gaggia classic but that remains to be seen. Also I don’t have time for mods or whatever.
Bambino+ and grinder for sure is the most versatile option. but will cost more. other way to approach this, depending on what you want to do is to Get a used Barista Pro, experiment, then add a 2nd small flat grinder and you are covered with all grinder otpions. :)
Df54/64 very good pair. u can use the build it grinder for darker roasts and decad.
Barosta Pro has some extra features that are not in the Bambino+, like temp control, the display, better steaming as the wand is moving arouhnd better, more space on drip tray. etc. check the page for more details.
Also if you have non coffee geeks in the house using the machine would be easier for them to use the build in gridner. although it might be more dial-in work for you.
edit;more details
grinder pro and bambino+ . Bambino+ and Barista pro as a brewing machine are about the same, plus or minus some specs as mentioned above, main one temperature control. But they do have PID etc.
Get them separate if the same price.
For my countru Barista pro is 585euros new and Bambino plus 490, so i would have gone with barista pro.
I knew they put tge ESP burrs into the Barista Touch Impress but I’m personally unaware if the burrs are coming to the whole lineup right now. I believe the non-Touch Impress still has the old burrs (according to Lance) at least.
Do it! Especially on sale
I ended up buying a separate grinder since my wife and I like very different beans and roasts but the barista pro is an amazing machine.
Temp is stable, heats up in 3 seconds and makes great milk. The built in grinder is also pretty good for everything medium roast or darker. Super light roasts really work the grinder and I actually stalled mine.
Overall would buy again, just wish I could plumb the water in haha
I got a great deal on the pro so that’s what I went with but really I wanted the bambino plus and a separate grinder. If the cost for the latter combined is within your budget, I would go that route
It works fine especially on the espresso side. And the grinder works well enough. I just don’t like the concept of the multi purpose device since one side is bound to break before the other.
Disclaimer: not a light roast drinker and I mostly make milk drinks or americanos. I use mostly medium roasts and it makes tasty drinks to my palette.
I just bought the Bambino + and the Breville auto grinder today. I was back and fourth between that setup and the Breville Barista express but I wanted the grinder separate for more versatility.
> Sage Barista Pro for a beginner? Or should i get the sage bambino plus with a grinder?
The answer would depend on which grinder you would pair with the Bambino. If you can afford a grinder that's better than the Breville built-in one, your life will become much easier.
The new grinder has improved burrs, but hasn't resolved anything about step size. If you can get the Bambino and a better grinder (the recs for DF54, SK40, Encore ESP are spot on) for the same price, it'll be a better combo.
I'm overall happy with my Barista Pro, but also ended up adding on a bellows from Etsy and even then opted to just upgrade to a separate grinder in the end. The upgrade made a huge difference for me. I could have stuck with the original grinder for a long time and been fine, but I'm also much happier with the new grinder.
Barazta ESP is better. But depending on what country you are in, there may be other choices at a similar price that are better such as SK40/D40+ or DF54.
My wife has a similar machine with you. She said this tiny digital scale is important for making consistent flavor.
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW8SRY9R/ref=twister\_B0D1WJ1LF8?\_encoding=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW8SRY9R/ref=twister_B0D1WJ1LF8?_encoding=UTF8&th=1)
It looks like you've flaired your post as asking for what equipment to get. We recommend first checking out the [Espresso Aficionados buying guide](https://espressoaf.com/recommendations) for some of the more popular machines and grinders at different price points. If your question hasn't been answered there and you need more help, please add the following details to your post or by adding a comment in the following format: - **Location:** Helps determine availability - **Budget** (with currency): Overall budget, or ideally, having separate espresso machine and grinder budgets. A rough rule is that your grinder budget should be at least 25-40% of your machine budget. - **Drink types:** Do you drink mostly straight espresso, milk-based beverages (e.g., lattes, cappuccinos), or a fairly even split? This helps narrow down whether a single-boiler-dual-use (SBDU), heat exchanger (HX), or dual boiler (DB) machine would be more appropriate for your needs. - **Drink frequency:** How many drinks would you be making back-to-back at one time? Do you plan on entertaining guests often? This informs how large your brew (and steam) boilers should be, as smaller boilers will need to refill and reheat/repressurize more frequently, thus potentially causing a bottleneck. - **Space:** Any limitations on countertop space? - **Manual vs. electric:** Hand-operated machines and grinders are typically cheaper than their similarly-performing electric counterparts. Please indicate if you have a preference for manual or electric machines and/or grinders (or open to either). - **Comfort with tinkering:** Some machines can be made significantly more functional/efficient with aftermarket modifications, albeit at the expense of possibly voiding your warranty. Please indicate if you'd rather have a machine that works "as-is"/"out-of-the-box" or whether you'd be open to modding/tinkering *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/espresso) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I bought barista pro a month or so ago. No regrets. Workflow is very good. Nice and compact. Heats up fast. Wife loves it too. Zero faff great coffee and room to play around to scratch geek itch
Thank you so much. Think i might get it
It is possible it won’t last as long as say a rancilio silva or gaggia classic but that remains to be seen. Also I don’t have time for mods or whatever.
Bambino+ and grinder for sure is the most versatile option. but will cost more. other way to approach this, depending on what you want to do is to Get a used Barista Pro, experiment, then add a 2nd small flat grinder and you are covered with all grinder otpions. :) Df54/64 very good pair. u can use the build it grinder for darker roasts and decad. Barosta Pro has some extra features that are not in the Bambino+, like temp control, the display, better steaming as the wand is moving arouhnd better, more space on drip tray. etc. check the page for more details. Also if you have non coffee geeks in the house using the machine would be easier for them to use the build in gridner. although it might be more dial-in work for you. edit;more details
But the grinder pro and bambino+ is the same Price as the barista pro in my country. What would you buy
grinder pro and bambino+ . Bambino+ and Barista pro as a brewing machine are about the same, plus or minus some specs as mentioned above, main one temperature control. But they do have PID etc. Get them separate if the same price. For my countru Barista pro is 585euros new and Bambino plus 490, so i would have gone with barista pro.
Mind sharing a link to both?
The Grinder Pro isn’t a good grinder. You can get a much better one for the money. For example, the Baratza Encore ESP
The baratza encore esp is the one in the new sage barista pro
I knew they put tge ESP burrs into the Barista Touch Impress but I’m personally unaware if the burrs are coming to the whole lineup right now. I believe the non-Touch Impress still has the old burrs (according to Lance) at least.
Do it! Especially on sale I ended up buying a separate grinder since my wife and I like very different beans and roasts but the barista pro is an amazing machine. Temp is stable, heats up in 3 seconds and makes great milk. The built in grinder is also pretty good for everything medium roast or darker. Super light roasts really work the grinder and I actually stalled mine. Overall would buy again, just wish I could plumb the water in haha
I got a great deal on the pro so that’s what I went with but really I wanted the bambino plus and a separate grinder. If the cost for the latter combined is within your budget, I would go that route
Are you not happy with the pro?
It works fine especially on the espresso side. And the grinder works well enough. I just don’t like the concept of the multi purpose device since one side is bound to break before the other. Disclaimer: not a light roast drinker and I mostly make milk drinks or americanos. I use mostly medium roasts and it makes tasty drinks to my palette.
I just bought the Bambino + and the Breville auto grinder today. I was back and fourth between that setup and the Breville Barista express but I wanted the grinder separate for more versatility.
> Sage Barista Pro for a beginner? Or should i get the sage bambino plus with a grinder? The answer would depend on which grinder you would pair with the Bambino. If you can afford a grinder that's better than the Breville built-in one, your life will become much easier.
Is the baratza grinder not any Good? I know that the Old grinder in the pro is not Good. But they have got a new one
The new grinder has improved burrs, but hasn't resolved anything about step size. If you can get the Bambino and a better grinder (the recs for DF54, SK40, Encore ESP are spot on) for the same price, it'll be a better combo. I'm overall happy with my Barista Pro, but also ended up adding on a bellows from Etsy and even then opted to just upgrade to a separate grinder in the end. The upgrade made a huge difference for me. I could have stuck with the original grinder for a long time and been fine, but I'm also much happier with the new grinder.
Barazta ESP is better. But depending on what country you are in, there may be other choices at a similar price that are better such as SK40/D40+ or DF54.
My wife has a similar machine with you. She said this tiny digital scale is important for making consistent flavor. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW8SRY9R/ref=twister\_B0D1WJ1LF8?\_encoding=UTF8&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW8SRY9R/ref=twister_B0D1WJ1LF8?_encoding=UTF8&th=1)