Sage The Barista Express Coffee Machine and Grinder, 1700 Watt - Silver

We are delighted with this machine and still believe we got the best coffee maker for the money. It does all that we were looking for and the build quality is great. There are coffee makers out there that cost thousands and you would expect them to be very capable, reliable and well made but this is an excellent piece of kit for £500 and time will tell about it's reliability. I checked out this machine in person and was impressed with the quality of it's finish and features (before I bought from Amazon when the others would not consider a price match) We bought just in time for Xmas 2016 and it saw lots of action straight away. It's easy to use, easy to keep clean and has a good sized water tank. The dimensions are a little misleading if these are important to you - the unit height is 330mm but then with the bean hopper fitted it actually measures 415mm ! The jug is ideal for making a single cappo or latte only. More than that and you will need a larger jug, but hey, try it and see how you get on. We would suggest that you invest in good quality, fresh beans and be careful where you buy from. Some shops that sell them loose may have stored them for weeks! Check out the videos on the Sage website for good operating tips. Finally, use the steamer to make the best, hot, foamy, creamy, rich, drinking chocolate ever! Have fun.

If you're looking into getting into decent coffee similar to what boutique coffee shop offer, then this is a great place to start. I'm not a coffee expert, but I love a good coffee, and this makes just that. In terms of performance, I get a pretty consistent shot with this machine, without too much fiddling around with the grind size/tamp/amount. The more you grind your own coffee, the more you'll realise that there are many external factors to making a great shot. Fresh beans are single handedly the most important factor to this. Try to use beans roasted within the last month, at a max. Steaming milk can take a while, in comparison to industrial coffee machines anyway. You're looking at around 2 minutes per drink. Not too bad. Whilst the machine is only covered in metal (plastic inside), the build quality is second to none. The portafilter carries a lot of weight and feels premium, however it is important to realise that it isn't the standard full size (only by a few mm). The drip tray can scratch fairly easily if you're not careful, but personally this doesn't bother me too much. At the end of the day, this is a fantastic machine. Yes, you're paying a slight premium for the aesthetics of it, but I don't want something ugly like a Gaggia/grinder in my kitchen. It gets a lot of attention and never disappoints. Cleaning is extremely easy and time-efficient for those cold mornings before the commute. Take a punt!

Well... I did write a review on sage-appliances.co.uk - But somehow its not shown among their reviews ? Bought this espresso machine 1,5 year ago. Worked very well the first 3 months, then started losing power and was not able to make a shot "over extracted" - the pin started jumping when almost at perfect ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea6QuPUQW8Y ) Descaling has been done at least once a month. I could live with that. Then after a year the machine starts buzzing extremely loud ! Started a google search and found Breville machines (Same product) did the same. Then emailed Sage and started an email correspondence. I received descale tablet and tried them. Didn't work - emailed again - and again - and again - same answer. Try descaling again. The last answer (after i emailed a video of my machine's extreme buzzing), was that there were no odd sounds on the video - but there is. It's like this only a lot longer and louder : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcyKwpGug00 I can't make coffee in the morning when others are asleep and i must accept that single shots and double shots need to be weak. Sage is willing to repair the machine if i send it to UK, however ! - They won't send it back to me since i live i Denmark. So i really don't know how that would help anything. I made contact with Sage i january 2015 - a little over a year after I bought it because amazon provides a 1 year warranty, and Sage says they have a 2 year warranty on their homepage. I have talked to Amazon who actually said : If you had made contact with us when the issues started we would have made a replacement even though its wasn't under their warranty (1 year). But now it to late - thats understandable though. Oh yeah - And did I mention they still haven't published my review from May 28-2015 at their homepage ?

Absolutely incredible machine. There are too many little genius details to mention - once you've got one you'll know what I mean. Little things, like how everything is precisely sized and designed, such that the filter stands up on its own when left on the side, or how the puck once dispensed is dry and easily disposable, and how the presentation box is premier class and well designed. For months I've tried new things wondering if the Sage will accommodate it - and it almost always does. This makes darn good coffee too. (That is the most important thing after all!) The pressure gauge helps even the most amateur barista perfect his extraction. If I were to make any criticisms, they would only be a few: 1) the heater on the top is pretty useless 2) putting the reservoir in front of the tool tray underneath the machine itself can become a bit messy 3) the steam wand can be a bit tricky to clean due to the steam purge taking the heat away (tip: wait to clean until next use, put it underneath your test extraction of water [which you do every time u use the machine anyway], and clean with a cold wet cloth - works perfectly!) 4) due to European legislation, the standby feature is totally useless But apart from this, it's an incredible machine. I can't praise it highly enough. First espresso machine, and I couldn't be happier. You get many features saved for higher spec items.

I bought this machine nearly 2 years ago with zero experience on how to Barista. It was some what of an impulse buy. It was a lot of money to part with on something I didn't really know how to use but I can honestly say now that it has become pretty much my favourite thing I own. As I mentioned it was a whole new concept so I relied on the instruction manual heavily at first unlike most appliances where you just toss them in a draw never to be seen again. The instructions are extremely thorough and helpful down to cleaning the interior through to what to adjust if the pressure of your espresso isn't quite right. After months of experimenting and learning I have mastered the machine. I doubted several (many) times whether the machine was up to the task; can the steam wand compete with industrial machines? the pressure isn't right but I'm following the instructions, have I wasted my money? It is certainly up to the task, it was just my learning curve (slow learner). Semi-skimmed milk steams perfectly with the steam wand once you perfect the technique (full fat milk is a doddle) and is good enough quality for creating latte art. The problem with the machine is that it's made me a coffee snob. Coffee should be respected and DOES take time to perfect and this machine certainly helps do that. The chrome effect looks great, I did scratch the stainless steel drip tray by accident cleaning it with a scourer but that was my own stupid fault. The coffee grinder works perfectly, I've taken it apart several times to clean residue build up but as previously mentioned the instructions walk you through this very simply. The tamper is nicely hidden away with the use of a magnet, I haven't used the Razr tool, the portafilter is nicely balanced in your hand and feels appropriately heavy (good quality materials) and there are multiple baskets to choose from depending on shot size. I have had several issues with the machine since I bought it and I'm unsure whether they were a mistake I made or a temporary malfunction. Several times when I went to remove the portafilter the pressure had built up so much that when untightened it shot off like a bullet, with coffee granules exploding and covering every inch of my kitchen and with enough force to shatter one of my espresso cups, this could have resulted in quite a serious accident but fortunately I escaped unscathed. I'd be interested to chat to a professional Barista about that at some point. The other issue which only happened once was that when I engaged the steam wand instead of steam coming out of the wand it was coming out of the grouphead. A few things I would add would be a self timer, so I could set it to turn on to warm my coffee mugs before I woke up. Also I think for the price it should come with a knockbox, they are sold sepearly for £20 so would it be too much to ask to just add that as part of the kit?! Also it would be great to have an option to buy additional parts such as a second porterfilter, replacement baskets or another drip tray cover (to replace the one I ruined). In conclusion what seemed like an expensive purchase has more than justified itself and has now become a necessity in my kitchen. It makes perfect coffee and looks great on the sideboard.

Context: I owned two Baby Gaggias and one Saeco espresso machine in the last few years, and an aeropress too, also I bought a burr grinder to get the best of the beans. I bought it a couple of weeks ago. I can say that the flavours and consistency of the extraction is really as good as what you get in a trendy posh cafe in london. I know because I do go to them every day and now I have the same flavours, temperature and foam, only the latte art is lacking. Operationally it is fast to warm up and to steam, it is really clean (though I think the magnetic tamper placed by the side leads to a bit of spilling of coffee powder outside the tray, maybe it should have been placed in the middle so the flow from the grinding to first compacting (possibly a more forceful tamping with my own tamper perhaps) and then to the shower within the tray. But that is absolutely minimal detail. The wand and steaming is as good as I can imagine, the other day I was peeking at a barista doing the foam (As he was teaching a new member of the staff) and it was very much what I can get to do with mine. The coffee puck just falls off there is almost no residue or build up. The programming and such, I do tweak it a bit, but it is easy enough for a casual user to operate without any problem. I cannot comment on long term reliabilty/maintenance, somewhat concern is the future need/price of the filter and descaling products, but it is worth it as so far it is truly a couple relationship enhancing appliance, it puts a smile on our morning coffee. The only thing is that now drinking chain brand coffee is really a step down... I guess it will help save money for the maintenance costs :))) Great product, if you can afford it, get one.

Update March 2017: after owning the unit a couple of years the grinder started to play up (it's only been used 2-3 times a week for two years and couple of months). When grinding the grinder would start making some very unhealthy sounds - like gears crashing together. This got slowly worse until this month it would hardly grind at all. I contacted Sage but as the unit's out of warranty they directed me to their preferred repairer - Coffee Classics Direct, the unit has been shipped to them for repair. Being reasonably mechanically minded I did remove the machine's cover and the grinder to see if I could spot the problem, but I couldn't (despite removing the gearbox). One thing that struck me is how poorly built the grinder is, bar the motor its mostly plastic, all the gearbox cogs too. I would have thought for a product priced like this it would be more robustly designed, especially on the moving parts. In fact what I think Sage have done is make a unit look nice and expensive on the outside but use cheap components inside. In addition to the grinder not working the espresso side also makes odd noises, like electrical contacts shorting together. I don't have the price for the repair yet but will add it. Strong recommendation for any new buyers, do take the extended warranty option which is about £35, it could be worth it (I spent £10 just posting the unit to the repairer). I've had the unit since October, let me start with the positives: it makes great, coffee, it's well built, it fits on the worktop (and under cupboards), you can adjust the grind and the amount of coffee dispensed, the frother is powerful (way better that other units I've had) and it's easy to keep clean. The one think that lets it down is that after drawing and espresso the coffee basket continually gets stuck under the espresso shower head (when you remove the handle the carrier stays stuck). I've phoned support and their response was along the lines of 'yeah it does that and we're looking into it'. Not really that great for £500 worth of kit.

Had it for 6 months. The coffee that is produce is absolutely amazing. I just love it, is taking out the best of the coffee beans. Unfortunately, the grinder is not reliable. On the first unit, after one month, the grinder started to grind the beans to coarse... tried to clean ... no result.. I did ordered a replacement, use it without any problem for 6 months until i heard one morning 2 noises and the smell.... the grinder was still working, but it smelling burned. Maybe for the grinder they are using cheap parts or i was unlucky to have 2 units with a similar problem... I've just ordered another unit without grinder