Using a home espresso machine comes down to a repeatable sequence: water, basket, coffee, tamp, shot, milk and cleanup. This guide walks through that sequence using the Breville Bambino and Bambino Plus instruction books as the worked example, because they spell out each step with numbers you can check. Other machines use different buttons and limits, so treat the figures as examples tied to those models and confirm them in your own manual. No tasting panel or test of ours is involved.
How do you use an espresso machine? The short answer
Short answer To use an espresso machine, fill the tank with fresh water, choose a filter basket, grind and dose coffee to that basket, distribute and tamp it level, then flush the group head, lock in the portafilter and start the shot. On the Breville Bambino, Breville says flow should begin after 8 to 12 seconds and look like dripping honey. Steam milk if you want it, then rinse the basket and portafilter.
That sequence is common to most pump espresso machines with a portafilter. What changes between machines is the basket size, the tamping guidance and the controls. The Bambino and Bambino Plus manuals, for example, give the same basket capacities but different tamping pressures, which is a good reminder to follow the book for your exact model.
- Water: fill the removable tank with potable water to the MAX line.
- Basket: single wall for freshly ground beans, dual wall for pre-ground coffee.
- Coffee: dose to the basket: 8 to 11 g for the 1 cup basket, 16 to 19 g for the 2 cup basket on both Bambino models.
- Tamp: firm and, above all, consistent; tamp level with the line the manual describes.
- Shot: flush the group head, lock in, brew, and watch when the flow starts.
- Cleanup: rinse the basket and portafilter right after use.
Before the first shot: setup and first use
New machines need a rinse cycle. Breville tells Bambino owners to wash the drip tray, grid, portafilter and baskets in warm water with a gentle dish liquid, then fill the tank to MAX, place a 17 fl oz (500 ml) container under the portafilter and steam wand, and press the 1 Cup button to run the first use cycle. That cycle, the manual says, rinses the machine and primes the heating system. The Bambino Plus follows the same pattern after you press the 1 CUP, 2 CUP or STEAM button to turn it on.
Warmth matters before every session, not just the first. Breville’s Dual Boiler manual warns that a cold portafilter and filter basket can reduce the extraction temperature enough to significantly affect the quality of your espresso, and the Bambino manual lists an unheated portafilter as a cause of coffee that is not hot enough. Plan the counter around this routine with our small-kitchen espresso station guide.
- Wash removable parts: drip tray, grid, portafilter and baskets before first use.
- Run the first use cycle: with a 500 ml container in place.
- Preheat: rinse the portafilter and cup with hot water before brewing.
- Know the off switch: Bambino: 1 Cup and Hot Water together; the manual says it enters standby after 10 minutes idle.
Choose the basket and the dose
Both Bambino models ship with single wall and dual wall baskets. Breville’s advice is to use single wall baskets with fresh whole beans you grind yourself, because they let you experiment with grind, dose and tamp, and dual wall baskets with pre-ground coffee, because they regulate the pressure and help optimize extraction regardless of grind, dose, tamp or freshness. The Bambino Plus manual adds a freshness line: single wall for beans roasted less than 30 days ago, dual wall for pre-ground coffee and beans past the 30 day roast date.
| Basket | Use it with | Designed dose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup, single wall | Freshly ground whole beans | 8 to 11 g |
| 2 cup, single wall | Freshly ground whole beans | 16 to 19 g |
| 1 cup, dual wall | Pre-ground coffee | 8 to 11 g |
| 2 cup, dual wall | Pre-ground coffee | 16 to 19 g |
Generic recipes do not override your basket. Breville’s own dialing-in article says 18 to 22 grams is a safe start, while the Bambino’s 2 cup basket is designed for 16 to 19 g, so on that machine you stay inside the basket range. Our basket and portafilter fit guide explains why basket capacity is a fit question, not a taste preference.
Grind, distribute and tamp
Breville describes the target grind as fine but not too fine. If it looks like powder and feels like flour between the fingers, water will not flow even under pressure and the shot will be over-extracted, dark and bitter; too coarse and water runs through too quickly, giving an under-extracted shot lacking color and flavor. A grinder you can adjust in small steps makes this far easier; see our grinder selection guide and the espresso grinder comparison.
To fill the basket, Breville says to grind enough coffee to fill it, tap the portafilter several times to collapse and distribute the grounds, then tamp firmly. The Bambino manual suggests about 30 to 40 lbs of pressure; the Bambino Plus manual suggests about 22 to 33 lbs. Both say the amount of pressure is not as important as the consistent pressure every time, and that the top edge of the tamper cap should sit level with the top of the basket after tamping. On the Plus, the Razor tool then trims the puck to height.
- Beans: Breville recommends a bag with a Roasted On date and suggests using beans 5 to 20 days after it.
- Distribute: tap the portafilter to settle the grounds evenly.
- Tamp: the same pressure every time; your manual gives the range.
- Wipe the rim: stray grounds on the rim can stop the portafilter sealing.
Pull the shot and read what happens
Before locking in, run a short flow of water through the group head. Breville says this stabilizes the temperature before extraction. Insert the portafilter at the INSERT position, rotate it toward the center until you feel resistance, and set your cup on the drip tray. The Bambino’s preset buttons deliver about 30 ml for 1 cup and about 60 ml for 2 cups, then stop automatically; holding the button longer gives manual pre-infusion.
| What you see | What Breville calls it | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Flow starts after 8 to 12 seconds, like dripping honey | Correct extraction | Nothing; repeat the recipe |
| Flow starts in less than 7 seconds, runs fast | Under-extracted | Grind finer or increase the dose |
| Drips but does not flow after 12 seconds | Over-extracted | Grind coarser or reduce the dose |
If you weigh your drinks, grinder maker Baratza offers one simple test recipe: 18 g of ground coffee to 36 g of liquid espresso in 25 to 32 seconds from start to finish, adjusting the grind finer if the shot is sour and quick and coarser if it is bitter and slow, while keeping the dose constant. Check that dose against your basket first. Breville’s advice is to adjust one factor at a time; our dialing-in guide and troubleshooting checklist turn that into a notebook routine.
Steam milk, then clean up
For manual steaming on the Bambino, Breville says to place the wand tip about 3/4 inch below the milk surface near the right side of the jug, start steam, lower the jug slightly to introduce air while keeping a whirlpool, then raise it to heat. The milk is at the right temperature, 140 to 149 °F, when the jug is hot to touch. Purge steam through the wand afterward to reduce blockages. The Bambino Plus can do this automatically; see our milk steaming guide.
Cleanup is part of using the machine. Breville says to rinse the baskets and portafilter under hot water right after use to remove coffee oils, not to put the portafilter in the dishwasher, and to empty the drip tray after each use. The Bambino flags its clean and descale cycle by flashing the 2 Cup button. Our cleaning guide and the cleaning product comparison cover supplies.
- After every shot: knock out the puck, rinse basket and portafilter.
- After every milk drink: wipe and purge the steam wand.
- Daily: empty and wash the drip tray.
- When flagged: run the cleaning or descaling cycle your manual describes.
