All six machines here can run hot water, but from three different places. The Bambino and the Bambino Plus run it through the steam wand, the Stilosa through its cappuccino maker, and the Barista Express Impress, the Barista Touch and the Barista Touch Impress from an outlet or spout of their own. The manuals of the Bambino and the three all-in-one machines name an Americano, and only the Touch Impress book also names tea.
Through the steam wand: Bambino and Bambino Plus
The Bambino manual lists "instant hot water" as a feature, a hot water outlet via the steam wand for making Americanos and pre-heating cups (PDF page 9). To run it, you press the hot water button when the machine is in ready mode, and water flows through the wand until you press any button (PDF page 13).
The Bambino Plus manual gives a button combination instead: press the 1 CUP and MILK FOAM buttons together in ready mode, and any button stops the flow (PDF page 14). That book does not use the word Americano, so for the Plus the use is yours to infer. On both machines the manual routes the water through the same wand that steams the milk.
Through the cappuccino maker: Stilosa
The Stilosa manual has a section of its own, "Hot water". You turn the selector dial to ON and wait for the READY light, put a cup under the cappuccino maker, then turn the selector and steam dials as the pictured steps show. The manual says not to deliver hot water for more than 60 seconds (PDF page 10). It names neither an Americano nor tea.
From an outlet of its own: the all-in-one machines
The Barista Express Impress manual describes a dedicated hot water spout for making a cup of Americano and pre-heating cups, worked by a Steam | Hot Water dial (PDF pages 8 and 9). Its first-use routine runs hot water through that outlet for 10 seconds, then steam for 10 seconds, and repeats the cycle 3 times (PDF page 13). The Barista Touch manual says the same of a dedicated outlet, with a touch screen button to start and stop, a hot water limit of approximately 90 seconds, and a note that hot water and espresso cannot run at the same time (PDF pages 10 and 17).
The Barista Touch Impress manual names the spout for an Americano, for teas and for pre-heating cups. It also states that the spout and the steam wand cannot be used while espresso is extracting, so you run the water before or after the shot. Its warning gives a filled cup temperature of approximately 167 to 194 F (75 to 90 C) (PDF pages 8 and 18).
If no hot water comes out
The troubleshooting tables of the Bambino and Bambino Plus books list "No hot water" together with "Water does not flow from the group head". The Bambino book gives three causes: an empty tank, a tank that is not fully inserted and locked into position, and a machine that needs a clean and descale cycle. The Bambino Plus book lists the same tank causes and a descale cycle. For the tank, the fix is to push it down completely until it locks (PDF pages 18 and 19).
What the manuals leave out
The hot water passages in the Bambino, Bambino Plus and Stilosa books give no temperature and no volume. They say how to start the flow and, for the Stilosa, when to stop it. In the passages used here, the only temperature is the range in the Touch Impress warning. If the exact heat matters for a particular tea, ask the maker.
Which route suits which cup
- One Americano now and then: the wand route of the Bambino and Bambino Plus, or the cappuccino maker of the Stilosa, is what their manuals describe.
- An Americano every morning, or a second cup straight after the milk drink: a dedicated outlet means the steam wand is not also the water outlet, which is the reason to look at the three all-in-one machines.
- Tea at the machine: only the Touch Impress manual names it, so for the others tea is an inference from hot water, not a use the maker states.
The four drinks without milk guide covers the Americano itself, how the Bambino, Bambino Plus and Stilosa differ covers the rest of the entry machines, and descaling, as the makers describe it covers the hot water path's upkeep. This guide is based on manufacturer manuals and pages, not hands-on testing.
