I’ve had my Bambino about six months now and like you was a bit underwhelmed with the portafilter. After reading the forums about it I decided to follow the advice of one commenter and removed the plastic insert at the bottom of the portafilter. Bad idea.
Not only did it make the coffee flow uneven, it also killed the crema. So I called up Breville to order a replacement and they said they’d ship me a new portafilter, no charge.
Now I’m making good shots again - at least good enough for me. I’m a newb home barista, so until I feel like I want to upgrade my whole system I’m not going to mess with what to me seems like a well thought out system.
As for the cup being hard to remove, it will loosen up with time.
