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Sage Barista Express

keith_d99

After 6 years with a Delonghi Magnifica B2C - am thinking of going upgrading to a semi-automatic machine .... and specifically the Barista Express.
Always buy fresh beans .. so might as well think about using a better machine?

Have read reviews, watch vids etc. ... and the only negative is that the grinder adjustments could be a bit finer.

What I do like ...

- reviews are very positive otherwise
- the gauge ... which genuinely should help produce a good shot
- the price @ 575
- separate grinder and something like the Gaggia Classic would be more expensive
- Looks great (which makes it an easier sell to the missus)
- frother gets good kudos too

Any owners out there that could give feedback?

Also ... any B2C machine owners make a similar upgrade? Can I expect much higher quality shots than the Delonghi?

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Squidgy Black

DaveyDave wrote: »

How often should I be descaling the machine if I have hard water? If it's expensive to repair or parts are difficult to get I want to make sure I maintain it for a long lifespan.

Depends on how hard it is, but I know Breville/Sage recommend once a month, which is likely overkill. You could probably get away with once every couple if you're regularly backflushing and cleaning the shower screen.

Believe there's a cleaning light indicator that lights up solid when the machine says it needs to be descaled, but I wouldn't be too reliant on it.

CWF

Do people think this will drop to £350 for Black Friday? Looks like that's what it was last year on CamelCamelCamel

dubstepper

CWF wrote: »

Do people think this will drop to £350 for Black Friday? Looks like that's what it was last year on CamelCamelCamel

I bought mine around black friday last year. From memory it was around that price a week or so before. Then went back up to around 390 for black friday. I was raging. I waited another week and it went back down. Moral of the story is that black friday will not always be cheapest. If you see the price you, want go for it.

CWF

dubstepper wrote: »

I bought mine around black friday last year. From memory it was around that price a week or so before. Then went back up to around 390 for black friday. I was raging. I waited another week and it went back down. Moral of the story is that black friday will not always be cheapest. If you see the price you, want go for it.

Yeah it think it went to £365 on Amazon, couldn't see DID or Harvey Norman. matching that

dubstepper

I did a good bit of research and DID or HN never came close.

alec76

This year Black Friday would be different to the last year
IMHO . Huge demand on coffee gear due to COVID 19.

CWF

alec76 wrote: »

This year Black Friday would be different to the last year
IMHO . Huge demand on coffee gear due to COVID 19.

Yeah that's true I never thought of that, so you think there could be less sales?

DaveyDave

Brought the internal burr back to 5, pulling shots far too quick and the grind was like sand. Going from 6-7 on the dial to 1 made no difference, same with internal burr 4. Think I'll go straight to 2 and see what's what.

I still think something is off that I need to be 1 with the internal burr and 1-2 on the dial. Every video I watch is 4-5 on the internal bur and might need to bring the dial down to 4-5.

Internal burr on 5, the lowest grind settings was giving me nearly 30g of coffee!

FileNotFound

DaveyDave wrote: »

How often should I be descaling the machine if I have hard water? If it's expensive to repair or parts are difficult to get I want to make sure I maintain it for a long lifespan.

I'd say all the time, can just buy the equivalent descaler any time on amazon for cheap so why not.

Having heard the nightmares re fixing these and the fact scale makes your coffee poor - really you should be filtering your water before adding to the tank. Otherwise your machine will be knackered in no time.

On the extraction front - I had loads of issues until i got the right beans - for a cheap test try (Slumber jack from supervalu - look for bags with best expiry - 6.99 for 500g) - they should give decent pressure with a 9 grind, dose set to 2 beyond the half way mark and solid tamp.

FileNotFound

Anyone found big improvements on adjusting the volume/weight out.

The BE seems to focus on giving 60ml (well closer to 60g) espresso for about 18g of beans. Yet all over online the 1:2 or 1:3 seems to be the obsession.

Have the grind, tamp etc giving me perfect pressure on a few coffee types. But just wondering what the negative effect is on running too much water through it.

If nobody has any info might just give it a whirl and write off a bag of beans

CWF

The Black Sesame version is €499 on Velo.ie
However I have heard that it chips easily when compared to stainless steel? Anyone have the black sesame that can offer their experience?

SneakyDoyle

CWF wrote: »

The Black Sesame version is €499 on Velo.ie
However I have heard that it chips easily when compared to stainless steel? Anyone have the black sesame that can offer their experience?

Just pulled the trigger on this. Saw them side by side in HN the other day and preferred the black finish. Quality seemed excellent, hope it holds up well!

mad m

Ditto with Cloud Picker.

https://cloudpickercoffee.ie/collections/espresso-at-home/products/sage-barista-express

CWF

SneakyDoyle wrote: »

Just pulled the trigger on this. Saw them side by side in HN the other day and preferred the black finish. Quality seemed excellent, hope it holds up well!

Nice one. You don't waste time. I'm hoping it drops to at least 400 pounds on amazon.

SneakyDoyle

CWF wrote: »

Nice one. You don't waste time. I'm hoping it drops to at least 400 pounds on amazon.

I thought about waiting until good Friday, but the lowest it's ever been was around £360 I think. I can't imagine it will drop that much given the current demand. If it did I'd be a little bit sick but I'm happy to pay a few extra quid to shop Irish!

Best of luck hope you get your hands on one!

CWF

SneakyDoyle wrote: »

I thought about waiting until good Friday, but the lowest it's ever been was around £360 I think. I can't imagine it will drop that much given the current demand. If it did I'd be a little bit sick but I'm happy to pay a few extra quid to shop Irish!

Best of luck hope you get your hands on one!

Yeah I was thinking the same about shopping Irish, good on you. Cheers. Enjoy the machine

Marty Bird

CWF wrote: »

Nice one. You don't waste time. I'm hoping it drops to at least 400 pounds on amazon.

When do you think that may happen Black Friday ?

ExMachina1000

FileNotFound wrote: »

Anyone found big improvements on adjusting the volume/weight out.

The BE seems to focus on giving 60ml (well closer to 60g) espresso for about 18g of beans. Yet all over online the 1:2 or 1:3 seems to be the obsession.

Have the grind, tamp etc giving me perfect pressure on a few coffee types. But just wondering what the negative effect is on running too much water through it.

If nobody has any info might just give it a whirl and write off a bag of beans

Not sure if you know but it is possible to program the shot pour amount and to adjust the boiler temperature in +/- 2 degrees increments.

It's in the manual

CWF

Marty Bird wrote: »

When do you think that may happen Black Friday ?

Yeah that's the hope

DilD

SneakyDoyle wrote: »

I thought about waiting until good Friday, but the lowest it's ever been was around £360 I think. I can't imagine it will drop that much given the current demand. If it did I'd be a little bit sick but I'm happy to pay a few extra quid to shop Irish!

Best of luck hope you get your hands on one!

You'll be waiting a while for Good Friday to come around

I was thinking the same though, wonder what deals will be on Black Friday, I'd imagine with shops closed all over the world there should be some very good online offers this year...

SneakyDoyle

DilD wrote: »

You'll be waiting a while for Good Friday to come around

I was thinking the same though, wonder what deals will be on Black Friday, I'd imagine with shops closed all over the world there should be some very good online offers this year...

DOH! Good spot. Yeah there might be some good deals to be had! I'm happy to pay a little more to buy Irish like I said. Got a personal email today thanking me for the business, obviously means a lot to them in these times!

Can't see them going any lower than 400 pounds given the demand for them at the minute anyway.

fits

Mine arrived today. Stowed until Christmas Day. Can’t wait to use it!

CWF

fits wrote: »

Mine arrived today. Stowed until Christmas Day. Can’t wait to use it!

Nice one. Where'd you get it? Stainless version?

fits

CWF wrote: »

Nice one. Where'd you get it? Stainless version?

No the black truffle went down to £399 a couple of weeks ago. Offer was posted in this thread but only available a short time. Anyway I went for it. Was 448 euro on Cc.

dubstepper

SneakyDoyle wrote: »

I thought about waiting until good Friday, but the lowest it's ever been was around £360 I think. I can't imagine it will drop that much given the current demand. If it did I'd be a little bit sick but I'm happy to pay a few extra quid to shop Irish!

Best of luck hope you get your hands on one!

As I mentioned above, it was a good price week or so out from Black Friday and I waited. It went up by £30 on black friday, but was still cheaper than everywhere else. I waited a couple of weeks and it came back down again.

FileNotFound

DilD wrote: »

You'll be waiting a while for Good Friday to come around

I was thinking the same though, wonder what deals will be on Black Friday, I'd imagine with shops closed all over the world there should be some very good online offers this year...

Last few years only seen 30 quid of the Barrista Express - sells too well i suppose

Have seen some of the Breville machines (seems sage name is dead as breville brand showing on same machines now in curries) on sale. As they're the same don't worry about focusing on the sage name.

5500

Anyone got any tips for me, Im using the express and usually turn it on for bout 10 minutes before using to allow heat up.
All is well untill it comes to steaming the milk. Originally I was placing the wand tip at the top of the milk for about 20/25 seconds and was happy with the microfoam ect, but the past week something seems up with it.

I could leave the wand at the tip for 40/50 seconds before dropping to heat up (which also seems to be taking an age all of a sudden) and I'm still getiing a watery texture on the milk. If you try to make a second latte after the first then it tends to be even worse.

The machine in only a few weeks old, always clean and purge the wand ect and no issue with the actual steam coming out, Im wondering if its something boiler related or if its actually the norm for everyone else?

alec76

I would say it is milk related.
In WINTER time not every milk suitable for frothing.
No difference in summer though.

ExMachina1000

5500 wrote: »

Anyone got any tips for me, Im using the express and usually turn it on for bout 10 minutes before using to allow heat up.
All is well untill it comes to steaming the milk. Originally I was placing the wand tip at the top of the milk for about 20/25 seconds and was happy with the microfoam ect, but the past week something seems up with it.

I could leave the wand at the tip for 40/50 seconds before dropping to heat up (which also seems to be taking an age all of a sudden) and I'm still getiing a watery texture on the milk. If you try to make a second latte after the first then it tends to be even worse.

The machine in only a few weeks old, always clean and purge the wand ect and no issue with the actual steam coming out, Im wondering if its something boiler related or if its actually the norm for everyone else?

Change milk brand and only full fat. See if it makes a difference

5500

Will try that, i only ever use premier dairys full fat but will try another brand and see how it goes