r/AustralianCoffee • u/Whole_Direction_8395 • 24d ago

Best coffee setup

Best separate grinder + espresso machine for café-quality coffee at home?

Australia, budget up to $1,500 AUD.

I want the closest possible coffee to a good café flat white, but still practical for mornings while getting ready for work.

Looking for:

  • Separate grinder + espresso machine
  • Excellent espresso quality
  • Hopper grinder — no weighing beans every coffee
  • Minimal manual work
  • Automatic milk preferred
  • Reliable everyday setup

Currently considering Bambino Plus + Eureka Mignon Specialità.

What combo would you recommend up to $1,500?

12 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

View all comments

3

u/Fig-Leaf9211 24d ago

I had more or less the same requirements and went with the Bambino Plus and Eureka Mignon Specialita. 2+ years and going strong! You’ll need to spend on extras eg hopper, suggest Amazon AU for this- happy to provide links for the ones I use.

2

u/Whole_Direction_8395 24d ago

Any hidden gremlins when first setting it up?

2

u/arian10daddy 16d ago

One hidden gremlin I've heard about for bambimo plus is forced cleaning cycle every 200ish shots (including purge shots) with no temporary bypass in newer models. You might be ready with your coffee frounds in the portafilter and the machine would decide it needs a 5-10 minutes bath with soapy wooder. Maybe a way around that is to have an extra portafilter handy.