Sage/ Breville Bambino Plus Review Part 4 - Pulling Shots Manually.
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- čas přidán 1. 05. 2020
- Another update to my Sage Bambino Plus review. In the initial video, I pulled the shot manually, but I didn't explain what I was doing, so someone asked in the comments why I was holding the shot button.
By the way, if you're in the UK or Europe (including Ireland, Germany, France and most other countries in mainland Europe) see: coffeeblog.co.uk/sage-applian...
For the blog post review of the Sage Bambino Plus: coffeeblog.co.uk/sage-bambino...
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Bambino Plus from Breville Worldwide:breville.oie8.net/BXYKOW
Bambino Plus from John Lewis: john-lewis-and-partners.pxf.i...
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Ta
Kev
Really like what your doing here. Thanks brother!
Thanks :-)
Just got mine few days ago and now waiting for the smart grinder to arrive, buzzing to try it. Good video timing
Thanks Emmanuel, hope you like it.
You know this guy grows on ya. Good vid.
Haha, thanks :-). like a wart? ;-)
This is a nice reference, thank you Kev! Received a Bambino today (with the non-pressurised single wall baskets included), I'll be experimenting with manual control as often as possible
Thanks Mihkel, let me know how you get on.
How’s it going with the Bambino?
🙏 thank you for the quick instruction
You're welcome :-)
Thanks. Actually bought this a while ago and didn't know how long to hold the button.
No worries :-).
Thanks for this, just got my Bambino and when I'd ground freshly roasted coffee and used the double shot button I was getting very little out of the machine!
Hi Alfie, how much is very little? I could just be that you're grinding too find and choking the machine. Are you using the single wall or dual wall baskets? Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev hey ! Just got my breville bambino and I was actually getting like 6 sec of pre infusion and then 2-3 sec of espresso… I am using a dual wall but ordered a single. Will this make a difference ?
Never knew, glad ur video came up 👍. A question: some how my machine ain't pulling shots anymore...?
Do you know how to fix it? Thanks
very useful thanks!
Cheers :-)
Hi!
Quuick question, I followed along on the descaling and cleaning process through your videos and got through it but now when I want to just have an espresso, doesnt matter if its double or single the machine fillis it waaay to much with water ( like half of a normal coffe cup)I tired running the cleaning process again but nothing is happening and I still have the same problem. Any ideas what is wrong or if I did something wrong?
Hi Kev, great videos.
Just on the programming mode - my preference when manually pulling is about 8/9s pre infusion with 22/21 pump. If I program my 2 shots am I only programming the 22/21 part? Is there a way to ‘program’ the pre infusion time too, or is that just an output of your grind/tamp?
It would’ve been nice if he responded. I’d like to know this too lol
Great video, thanks.
Question: If I want to weigh my shot as it's being made, what scale do you recommend that will fit under the cup on the bambino plus. My current scale is a nice coffee scale, but it will not fit on the drip tray. I need a smaller scale.
We want quick video about the shots and how to get perfect shot, and the best ratio from your point of view.
OK, leave that with me, thanks Yaser :-)
@@Coffee_Kev still waiting :)
yes please @ukcoffeeblog
Thanks for this! Could you also please do a video on how to properly adjust your sage grinder pro in order to combine that with a manual shot from the bambino? I'm a bit confused on how to adjust my grinder (size and time) if I can just manually make sure that my espresso shot takes around 20-30 sec.
Thanks Marvin, will do :-).
Hey, binge watching your videos, just got a bambino yesterday, poured my first espresso today and noticed that not a lot came out so going to try do it manually tomorrow and this time get a timer and a scale too. What is pre-infusion by the way?
Sorry for the delayed reply. How did you get on? Pre infusion is where water is introduced to the puck of coffee under low pressure, before the pressure is ramped up - this helps to reduce channelling, which is where water finds paths of less resistance through the puck and leads to uneven extraction and poor tasting espresso. Cheers
How does it do for a party? I get family and I would have to be making 4-5 double shots in a short period. Do you recommend this or the Gaggia Classic Pro?
I’m looking to purchase
@ukcoffeblog Hi Kev, Thank you for the content on the Bambino Plus I have the Breville Bambino Plus. It did not come with single wall baskets and Breville told me that they are out of stock at the moment. Are you using single wall baskets in this video and in mostly all your videos. Was wondering about pre-infusion and if it makes a difference with pressurized baskets. There are not many bloggers making videos on the Bambino Plus and I am so happy you are. Thanks,
Hi Conrad, thanks for the comment and apologies for the delay! Yeah in most videos except the ones where I'm specifically testing the dual wall baskets, I'm using the single wall. Preinfusion will probably help prevent channelling with dual wall baskets too. Cheers
Can you control pre infusion in the same way with The Bambino?
Thanks! Dumb question though; so the pre-infusion starts before you hear the pump start? (i.e. as soon as you press the button?)
Not dumb at all. Yes, low pressure pre infusion starts as soon as you press the button.
Thanks!
You're welcome! :-)
Hi Kev, about to get my hands on one of these. What scales do you use that fits nicely into this drip tray? Cheers
Hi David, I use the Brewista smart scale II. Ta
Thank you for doing this! I’m thinking to buy either a Bambino or the Infuser. What do you suggest?
Depends really. If you want to make Americano then I'd probably go for the infuser as it has a hot water spout. Also the infuser allows you to tweak the brew temp.
Great series of vids on this machine, thanks! I was wondering about pre infusion. Is 8 seconds the machine default or something you have experimented with to get a good result? Thanks!
Thanks Greg. Actually I think the machine default is slightly less, I'll time it. I'd generally go somewhere between 6-10 seconds, but preinfusion isn't something I've done a great deal of experimenting with to be honest, this figure is what I've learned via research rather than via experience. At some point I'll do some experiments with different pre infusion times with the bambino plus and see what difference it actually makes in the cup. Cheers.
Hi Kev. Will be very interested in this too and maybe a video on preinfusion. Do you use 8 seconds for most of your ground coffee irrespective of brand?
Thanks for answering this Kev. Really useful for me - I recently bought the same machine. I was going to ask the same thing. It’d be good to know more about pre-infusion, and how long to do it for. I don’t really know what it is!
@@0utd00rsy thanks David. Pre infusion means to gently (under reduced pressure) soak the puck of coffee, helping to ensure that when the pressure then ramps up, the water continues to pass through the puck more evenly. One of the biggest causes of poor shots of espresso is channelling, where the pressured water finds channels of lesser resistance to flow through, leading to some of the coffee being over extracted and some under extracted. Low pressure pre-infusion helps to reduce channeling, basically. It's actually an amazing feature to have on such a low cost machine, not only pre-infusion but being able to manually set the pre-infusion time too. In terms of time, I usually go for 8 seconds, I've not noticed any difference from changing this by a couple of seconds either way. Cheers
I forgot to say - I timed it and the pre-set pre infusion appears to be 8 seconds, which is what I'd usually go for anyway.
What is the steam temp and pressure set to (1,2,3)?
Hi mate. Just ordered the Bambino after watching your review, along with the sage smart grinder pro. Now I’m looking for a coffee subscription. Do you think I should look for a company that offers a roast for espresso option or does it not matter? Thanks for the videos 👍
Hi David. Personally I have a number of subscriptions, and I use all the coffee I get for espresso, and for brew, interchangeably.
I often find that coffee sold as being roasted for espresso doesn't taste great via brew methods such as aeropress, but I rarely find a coffee not specifically roasted for espresso doesn't taste good for espresso. I've just had a flat white I made with espresso via a natural processed Colombian I got via one of my subscriptions (this one came from www.batchcoffee.co.uk) which isn't specifically for espresso, and it tastes amazing!
See www.coffeeblog.co.uk/subs for my thoughts on the various subscriptions I use.
Cheers :-)
ukcoffeeblog cheers for reply? I went with PACT for the time being and currently enjoying their Gran Fondo espresso roast which i treated myself to for Xmas 👌
Thanks for great series of videos on this lovely machine. Just wondering if you want a shot of hot water for Americano then is it ok to take it directly from the group head (with the portafilter off)? So rather than separately boiling a kettle, after you pull a shot of espresso, then remove portafilter and press another shot of hot water for the Americano? Also would you recommend heating the portafilter with hot water prior to pulling a shot (for a hotter shot)?
Cheers,
Patrick
Good question! In theory yes you could do this, in practice I'm not sure if doing this very regularly would put additional stress on the thermoblock. I'll ask Sage and come back to you. I'd recommend water first then espresso, by the way. I'd always preheat the portafilter just after the machine has turned on and heated up, in order to ensure the group and also the portafilter is nice and warm.
ukcoffeeblog that’s great, thanks a mill. If you hear anything back from Sage, do let us know. Cheers
@@patrickmolitor9239 You can manually express hot water from the steam wand by holding the 1 cup and froth setting buttons for a couple of seconds with the steam wand extended. Press 1 cup again to stop hot water coming out.
This has actually stopped working for me now, not sure why...
Sage have confirmed to me there’s a 5-second limit on preinfusion, counting on pumping time. If you try to preinfuse beyond that it will skip straight to the main cycle to avoid soaking the puck.
That's weird, if you try it, and listen to the pump, you'll hear that even the auto pre-infusion time is about 7-8 seconds, and if you pull the shot manually you'll find you can prolong the pre-infusion an additional couple of seconds beyond the auto. Ta
I noticed you’re counting pre-infusion before the pump starts, is there any actual water flowing at that time? Mine doesn’t seem to start infusion until the pump actually activates, and seems to have a hard limit of 5 seconds.
Edit - Everyone else is also pulling 8 second shots which seems to be the sum of the 3-second “warm-up” time and the 5 second limit. I’ve yet to see someone actually pull an 8 second shot on one of these. You can actually eliminate the warm-up time if you pull consecutive shots, you don’t get the 3 second wait for the pump.
Thanks for your video! How much coffee should it approximately produce? I can’t figure if mine is over extracted - maybe I tamped too hard
Hi Maya, it depends on what brew ratio you're going for. I'd say 1:2 - 1:2.5. I usually go for 1:2, so 19g in, 38 out. You'll usually get around 19g in the sage baskets. I'd aim for the shot to pour in a total of around 28-32 seconds, including the pre-infusion time. Cheers
Hi Kev. Is there any way of adjusting the machine settings so you don't have to hold the button for the pre-infusion time of 8 seconds. And the machine can do the pre-infusion for 8 seconds followed by stopping once the correct volume has been achieved?
Hi Fawad, actually since this video I've discovered the factory set pre infusion is about 7 or 8 seconds anyway. You cant change the pre set pre Infusion, but I'd be more than happy with the factory preset time. Re volume yeah you can very simply re-program the shot buttons, although I always prefer manual shots to using volumetric buttons. Cheers, Kev
@@Coffee_Kev how do the volumetric buttons actually work? Does it sense how much water has come out or something? How does it know when to stop for 60ml?
What is pre infusion?
I am curious as to how much you are putting in ? The manual says 19g but I have found it very difficult to get 19g into the portafilter, and that's before trying to polish and tamp.
Also, after the manual pull , are you looking for twice the amount in your shot , or are you going by sight ??
Use a scale and stop the extraction when the weight hits your target
What's the longest time you can hold for pre-infusion? Mine seems like make no difference whether I hold it or not.
about 10 seconds. After that it'll ramp up to full pressure even if you don't release the button. Cheers
Strange I find it if you push the button, it will start anyway and does not do any manual pre-infusion. What I do is to push a few second and then push 2 time to stop the machine effectively. Counting 20s I will push the button again and let it run through the cycle.
By doing this manually as you demonstrated, could you do the 8-second preinfusion, then let go of the button and it would then pour the shot and, hopefully, you could just let it continue to put in lots more hot water so you end up with an americano, then press the button to stop?
You could, but from a taste perspective at least, I'd prefer to pull the shot into hot water already in the cup, rather than to pull the water through the coffee. I'm not sure but I'd imagine this would be better for the longevity of the machine too as less stress on the pump etc. Cheers
@@Coffee_Kev could you use the steam wand to heat the water up enough to do that? The reason I ask, is Im considering this for a special campervan build, and the diesel cooktop takes about 22 minutes to boil 1 litre of water from cold start in the morning. So the idea of avoiding using the cooker would be very useful.
Hi, I have been using pre ground coffee beans that are relatively coarse and was using a dual wall basket. No problems nice coffee. I have gotten some new coffee beans that are pre ground to a much finer grind. I tried to make an automatic pre programmed 2 shot coffee as normal but no coffee was been extracted at all. I tried using a single wall basket and only a couple of drops were coming out. Any suggestions? With a finer grind does the machine need a long extraction time? I will try a manual shot next
Thanks
Hi Ronan. Wow, it's rare that pre-ground coffee beans are fine enough to choke an espresso machine with standard baskets, but this is what's happening it would appear. Grind size will influence the flow rate with single walled baskets, finer will result in a slower pour, but it should be around 30 seconds, if its talking much longer than this in a standard, single walled basket, it must be too fine. Are you using the razor tool to ensure the optimal dose? Cheers
ukcoffeeblog
Hi thanks for getting back to me. It’s coffee from a local roasters so it’s like fine flour. I had been using the razor for optimum dosing. I have ordered the sage grinder pro as the roasters recommended it. So would you recommend 30 seconds extraction ? With 8s pre infusion? So around 40 seconds in total?
Thanks! quick question, if I do manually pull a shot, will I be able to reset it back to original factory settings?
Yeah, manually pulling a shot doesn't change the factory preset volume for that button. To re-program the volumes, you press and hold the 1 or 2 shot button for about 2 seconds, until the button starts to flash, then press the button once more to start the shot, and then press it once again to stop it, that will be the new volume setting of that button. But if you ever do want to re-set back to factory settings, that's easy. Turn the machine off, then press & hold the 1 cup & 2 cup buttons together for about 5 seconds, until the buttons light up. Then press either of the shot buttons, you should see the lights flashing 3 times which tells you that the volume buttons have been reverted back to the factory settings.
Cheers.
ukcoffeeblog Thank you for the quick reply and thorough explanation! On a totally different topic, I’ve found that skimmed milk froths better (when compared to full fat) using this machine’s automatic steaming, maybe this is something you can test it out soon. However, I still haven’t managed to make latte art (mainly due to my beginner skills). Have a great day, and thanks again.
@@alanoudalmalik9061 No worries :-). When you say it froths better, how are you defining better? I'd define the quality of the texture but the size of the bubbles and how well distributed they are. What I'm looking for in textured milk is very well distributed micro bubbles so tiny that you don't see them, you just see a glistening surface, it looks like gloss paint or melted ice cream. My opinion on skimmed milk (and it's just a theoretical opinion as I've not done much with it) is that it's likely to steam well, it's the protein content which is important here rather than fat content - but that skimmed milk is likely to take a bit more skill on the pour, due to the lack of fat. Someone like Dritan Alsela would have no problem here ;-), but mere mortals like you and I, may do. See czcams.com/video/60_XOaIVNXg/video.html he makes it look easy but notes that you have to be quicker with skimmed milk as the texture gets stiffer quicker - but yeah I'll certainly do a video on skimmed milk, thanks for the suggestion :-).
ukcoffeeblog All the qualities you search for are present with skimmed milk steaming. It’s true, the pouring is very difficult. Can’t wait for you video!
Regarding “manual” mode, it’s worth pointing out that if you keep holding the button beyond 8-10 seconds, it will automatically start extraction even though you didn’t release the button. This prevents over-infusion I guess. Also, in my experience, it will stop brewing regardless around 45 seconds, even if you haven’t pressed the button to stop it. So, it’s not TRULY manual like many espresso machines where you have full control over extraction time. Is this your experience too?
Apreciate ya!
Thanks so much :-)
I purchased machine the other day, i find i have to do manual shot pull as I am not getting the full volume of the shot on preset button due to my grind. Would i need a finer grind ?
The volume won't be down to the grind. The shot time will be down to the pour, but if you're not getting enough volume you just need to adjust the volume of whatever button you're using (single or double). Press and hold both shot buttons together for about 2 seconds, until the button lights flash - then press whatever shot button you want to re-program, and press it again when you get the desired volume - your shot button is now re-programmed.
I would recommend doing it manually anyway. Cheers :-)
For my experience with Bambino Plus, the max. manual pre-infusion time is 10 seconds ? Anyone could getting longer ??
Hmm, I'll experiment and report back. Cheers.
@@Coffee_Kev Please I can also get no more than 10 seconds of pre-infusion. Also does this also re-program the button.
Thinking about buying this machine. Can you adjust the temperature?
You can adjust the milk temp for auto milk steaming, but not the brew temp. Cheers.
I always manually pull with my Bambino+, but even with 8-10 sec preinfusion, the shot reaches about 1:2 g way less than 28-30 seconds. I keep playing with grind, etc. but can never get that perfect 30 sec and 1:2.
Hi Andrew,
Are you using the Dual walled basket or the standard basket?
If your using the dual wall basket ignore the shot time. If you are using the standard basket this is more a grinder issue rather than the machine. But depending on the grinder I'd be happy with the range of 28-32 seconds
Cheers
Kev
@@Coffee_Kev thanks Kev! I'm actually using an upgraded IMS basket. I upped the pre-infusion time and went down a tick on my grinder, has helped somewhat, but still getting more like 1:2.5 or 1:3 around the 30 sec mark. The color and taste seems mostly there, so I'll not be too worried for now. Thanks!!
When i turn on the coffee machine, the steaming button keep flicker. I cleaned many times and went to the service center. Do you know why is that?
When you say flicker, you mean flashing off and on? If so - it probably means you're not allowing the machine to go through it's full cleaning cycle. Make sure when you run the cleaning cycle that you leave it to fully complete. If you are leaving it for plenty of time and this is still happening, I would assume it's a fault. Cheers
Check out the wand holes, may be it was stuck with milk.
Hello Kev, my current setup is Bambino plus and Breville smart grinder pro. Currently I am using the pressurized basket, my grinder setting is 5.5 which produces 28 seconds of total brewing time. Now,, I am going to switch over to non-pressurized basket tomorrow, what is your advice on how to switch over to non-pressurized basket in terms of grind setting, tamping as compare to pressurized basket setting?
Hi Callum. That's an impressively long shot for a pressured basket, I couldn't get anywhere close. How were your shots tasting? I'd usually start somewhere between 12 and 14 and dial in from there, but they're not all set up exactly the same, and it depends on the coffee too. I'd recommend James Hoffman's series on dialling in: czcams.com/video/lFwJF-_SUr0/video.html cheers.
ukcoffeeblog hi Kev, honestly, the taste is not bad, this is the best taste that we can achieve over the past 2 months with pressurized basket. Anyway, I had switched over to non-pressurized basket, lots of challenges in terms of channeling which related to tamping and dosing amount, and different beans. Really fun!
@@BaysviewPg yeah using standard baskets is definitely a challenge, but it's worth it in my humble opinion for the potential improvement in shot quality.
@Callum What is your inner bur set at on the smart grinder pro?
Hi Conrad, my inner setting is usually between 4 to 7. I hardly go any other numbers. The inner setting is usually a more refine setting than the outside knob.
For example, 5.5 means outside knob set at 5, and inner burr is set at 0.5. Hope this helps. But setting will vary depending on the beans - freshness or old beans.
Is weird how everytime i dont do manual shot, the machine always goes short
Hey! You can set a custom time for both sizes, the manual mentions which buttons to press to program this.
Yeah you'll just need to re-program the shot buttons to increase the volume, or just do it manually. Cheers
Life changed 😹
Haha ;-)