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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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FileNotFound

Issac wrote: »

Ok thanks for the heads up. Seems a pretty big oversight for such an expensive piece of kit...
Is there something we could all use as a reference? A particular bean, a particular weight in/out, extraction time for the "perfect" espresso?
That way we could all dial in our machines to give similar results

Sure, you will need a scales with at least 1 decimal Place - 3fe momentum blend (in the machine right now). I grind at 8 on mine (yours will be different but the rest should be similar)

Recommended 2:1 (coffee out/beans in) ratio, my basket ends up with between 18.2g & 18.6g (has little effect due to the time range) so I am for 36.4 - 37.5g out (extra on the end for drips) in the range of 25 - 30 seconds.

3fe have a brew guide on their website.

I find that due to the limitations of the grinder (its mediocre v their standalone) you need to develop a tamp technique. Have a light, medium and heavy (for me light is tamp holding porta, heavy is a bit of body weight with porta supported by counter)

Rave were good for me starting all coffees had specific advice. Due to brexit the shipping is pricey but might help starting off.

Took me a while. Fresh beans a key. Bell Lane coffee roasters do 1kg house blend for under 25 - good for getting going.

Once I had my one set up for fresh beans I haven't had to change it much, + or - a grind setting then play with tamp pressure.

Havent a clue if what I do is right but the coffee tastes good. 1 tip is go to a local coffee shop, if they sell beans ask for a bag of what they are running and an espresso shot of the same - now you have a reference point.

DaveyDave

alec76 wrote: »

Have you done advanced cleaning? Have you removed bottom burr and cleaned under it ?
( 10 mm socket , reverse thread )?
You might find few washers under bottom burr . Adding/removing washers would shift grinding range .
That the way it is calibrated at factory.
shim kit they call it . You could ask Sage to post it to you , free of charge.

Yeah done the full clean, removed everything. Surprised to see a felt washer down there. I'm going to set the dial to 1 and see what happens. If I can't choke the machine properly at 1 then they'll have to send some sort of shim kit.

At the moment it's lower burr, spring washer, flat washer, star/fan piece, felt washer and another flat washer I believe (didn't remove the last piece).

All very clean now.

Machine was bought in May/June.

alec76

DaveyDave wrote: »

Yeah done the full clean, removed everything. Surprised to see a felt washer down there. I'm going to set the dial to 1 and see what happens. If I can't choke the machine properly at 1 then they'll have to send some sort of shim kit.

At the moment it's lower burr, spring washer, flat washer, star/fan piece, felt washer and another flat washer I believe (didn't remove the last piece).

All very clean now.

Machine was bought in May/June.

Well done ,try to choke it.
As for the cleaning. It is really depends on beans you grinding.
If it is regular beans from reliable roaster shouldn’t be an issue.
If you grinding Super market , DARK ROAST , oily looking beans, then yes , you have to clean it often.

Lombardo123

I seem to be one of the lucky ones, have the machine nearly 2 years and no issues to report. I think it might depend on picky you are.

I am happy with fresh beans, that taste good - with roughly 28-32 seconds from button press and the dial getting roughly centered. I stopped chasing perfection.

I do think cleaning the grinder, descaling and running the clean cycle are important. I don't really change water filter very often

DaveyDave

Dial 1 - 19.3g, 22.90 seconds, 65.3g out.

The Machine is descaled and backflushed thoroughly whenever the light comes on but I haven't been able to pull a proper shot since I got the machine. I'll keep in mind not to use oily beans from now on.

I'll email them back and see what they say now that I 100% can't choke the machine. I know the pressure gauge isn't worth looking at but for reference it barely gets out of the pre-infusion range.

alec76

DaveyDave wrote: »

Dial 1 - 19.3g, 22.90 seconds, 65.3g out.

.

I have a feeling that one small washer ( 0.2-.0.4mm thick ) might fix your issue.
Then again , maybe it is safer just return machine under the warranty.

mossie

What's the cheapest place to get the water filters for sage machines?

FileNotFound

mossie wrote: »

What's the cheapest place to get the water filters for sage machines?

Never really found any particular cheap place just wait for a deal to come up somewhere. Velo coffee have 10% off this weekend. Code "NEWYEAR". Will be 15 each at that point.

mossie

FileNotFound wrote: »

Never really found any particular cheap place just wait for a deal to come up somewhere. Velo coffee have 10% off this weekend. Code "NEWYEAR". Will be 15 each at that point.

Thanks. Code isn't valid for the items in my basket though, actually not valid for any items so maybe too late.

mighty magpie

FileNotFound wrote: »

You should get in the espresso range with the single shot double wall filter basket no matter what when you just hit the relevant single preset button.

Any manual work should not impact the pressure. Not sure what your issue is but first step would be a full descale - do it 2 or 3 times if you can (Harvey norman stock the descaler - cheaper online but if you cannot wait). Maybe there is a blockage.

If that and doing the grouphead/showerhead (bit you attach the portafilter to) clean doesn't fix your issue it may be mechanical. Sage support time then - your under warranty so will be fine.

Machine is fine, i was getting mixed up between single wall and double wall, then i started to grind finer instead of coarser. :rolleyes:

When i rang Sage, their pressure test was to run a single shot with rubber cleaning insert inside single shot single wall basket. Pressure showed at MAX past expresso range. I haven't used double wall baskets at all.

New beans came today roasted on 5th, shot flowing again as usual.

Settings are currently 5 on upper and 5 on side burr.
18g, shot finishes around 30 seconds which includes pre-infusion.

mad m

Barista Pro.

Burr @ 7
Grinder at 6
Beans: B&D Blackwater blend Roasted 16/12/20

18g in got yield of 38g out at custom setting of 28seconds.

Getting nice results as B&D recommend 18g in with 40g out at 28seconds. Nice cup I have to say.

Klopp

Barista Express

Burr 4
Grinder 5
Beans: Indian Monsoon Malabar from Art of coffee roasted on 4th January.

18g in with yield of 41g out at 29 seconds.

I have stopped messing around with the Grinder and settled on the internal burr at 4 from factory 6. I also now give the Portafilter 3 taps on the work counter to help distribute the coffee grinds more evenly at the bottom, maybe just me but noticed a difference already with previous beans and new batch today.

juansheet

Is this a good price ?

https://www.did.ie/sage-the-barista-touch-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-black-truffle-ses880btr4guk-ses880btr4guk-prd

Klopp

juansheet wrote: »

Is this a good price ?

https://www.did.ie/sage-the-barista-touch-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-black-truffle-ses880btr4guk-ses880btr4guk-prd

I bought my Sage Barista from these guys NorthxSouth and I found them to be offering the best value in Ireland when I was searching.

The Sage Pro is cheaper here compared to DID.

FileNotFound

Klopp wrote: »

Barista Express

Burr 4
Grinder 5
Beans: Indian Monsoon Malabar from Art of coffee roasted on 4th January.

18g in with yield of 41g out at 29 seconds.

I have stopped messing around with the Grinder and settled on the internal burr at 4 from factory 6. I also now give the Portafilter 3 taps on the work counter to help distribute the coffee grinds more evenly at the bottom, maybe just me but noticed a difference already with previous beans and new batch today.

Maybe someone with more experience can comment but I understood that you should not tap the portafilter on the counter, gentle shake when under the grinder to spread should be enough, then just tamp (if there is any gaps just use your finger to spread some of the heap over there).

Think my internal is set to 1, then grind setting 7-9 for pretty much all beans.

Then again seems to be no consistency between machines.

fits

We absolutely love our barista express. Best timed purchase ever!

zweton

Anyone know if the black/truffle sage bambino plus is back in stock anywhere?

batman1

Two questions on the barista express, more curious than anything ?

How much coffee should you drink to justify the cost ?

What's the life span of these machines? They're not cheap

FileNotFound

batman1 wrote: »

Two questions on the barista express, more curious than anything ?

How much coffee should you drink to justify the cost ?

What's the life span of these machines? They're not cheap

Well the first question really depends on the second haha.

I have had mine for 3 years I think and it's still working away. I would have used it once a day (maybe twice at weekends) for the first 2 years, but since working from home it's doing 4 doubles a day minimum.

1kg coffee beans gives approx 50 doubles - so thats 50 cappuccinos. 1kg beans delivered approx 30 euro plus 10 euro for milk = 40 euro. 50 cappuccinos in the shop = 150 euro (more in most coffee shops). So even if you only consume 2 coffees a day you'd save 100 quid v coffee shop over a month and get high quality coffee.

carq

Anyone have experiences they cannot explain ?
Where the machine behaves inconsistently ?

Got some new beans yesterday - Bell lane Black tie
First cup was 18g / grind 3 and hey presto got a nice 36g yield and nice cup.
Same for a second cup and same result. Sorted.

Did the exact same today and the pressure went through the roof! barely got 10g out and clogged up.
Same for second cup with adjusted lighter tamp.
Had to reduce the dose to 17.5g to get it going again.

Whats going on!?

ShadowSA

carq wrote: »

Anyone have experiences they cannot explain ?
Where the machine behaves inconsistently ?

Got some new beans yesterday - Bell lane Black tie
First cup was 18g / grind 3 and hey presto got a nice 36g yield and nice cup.
Same for a second cup and same result. Sorted.

Did the exact same today and the pressure went through the roof! barely got 10g out and clogged up.
Same for second cup with adjusted lighter tamp.
Had to reduce the dose to 17.5g to get it going again.

Whats going on!?

I suspect your grind is way too fine. Should be around 8 - 10.

Keep the grind amount at 12 o'clock for now and just tamp enough so that the coffee is right where it should be.

Also remeber when you adjust the grind size you still have a small amount of the previous grind size inside the machine.

fits

batman1 wrote: »

Two questions on the barista express, more curious than anything ?

How much coffee should you drink to justify the cost ?

What's the life span of these machines? They're not cheap

No idea on lifespan.

We are both at home much of the time since March and we’re enjoying our morning coffee breaks together. We were drinking instant a lot of the time with French press coffee at main coffee break using ground coffee.

Now we have freshly ground coffee at touch of a button and husband is enjoying his lattes which he’d only ever get from cafe before. So it’s just incomparable.

Takes a bit of getting used to at the start. We tried a few different beans as well. We like Tra roasters, ponaire and badger and dodo. I’ve just ordered 1kg of ponaire for 27 euro and we will easily get through that in a month. It’s not cheap any of it - but it’s a real pleasure when there are few available.

( I haven’t opened the jar of instant since before Christmas).

RentDayBlues

I got one for my hubby as a Christmas gift, we were easily spending €60-€70 per month between us on take away and nespresso. It’s been fantastic, it’ll pay for itself in no time and even after we get back to the office we’ll still get use out of it

carq

ShadowSA wrote: »

I suspect your grind is way too fine. Should be around 8 - 10.

Keep the grind amount at 12 o'clock for now and just tamp enough so that the coffee is right where it should be.

Also remeber when you adjust the grind size you still have a small amount of the previous grind size inside the machine.

All my grinds are 2/3 .
with any bean i have tried i have not been able to get pressue unless grind is that low.
Have not adjusted the internal burr.

I dont fill the bean holder, i only put in 18g at a time only for each cup i make.

skerry

Folks, any experience of pulling 2 consequitive shots and having pressure go far too high on second shot? I have machine dialled in pretty much as good as I can get it for the first shot and pressure is within espresso range. But when I do a second shot the pressure goes to max and only drops come out. I run a shot of hot water through the portafilter between shots. Is there anything else I should be doing between shots as currently I have no consistency between the 2 shots despite no settings being changed.

carq

skerry wrote: »

Folks, any experience of pulling 2 consequitive shots and having pressure go far too high on second shot? I have machine dialled in pretty much as good as I can get it for the first shot and pressure is within espresso range. But when I do a second shot the pressure goes to max and only drops come out. I run a shot of hot water through the portafilter between shots. Is there anything else I should be doing between shots as currently I have no consistency between the 2 shots despite no settings being changed.

Yes!

i have my doubts on the water volume being consistent.
i did some tests there i pressed the double cup button with empty portafilter and measure output with digital scales, different volumes of water each time!

skerry

carq wrote: »

Yes!

i have my doubts on the water volume being consistent.
i did some tests there i pressed the double cup button with empty portafilter and measure output with digital scales, different volumes of water each time!

I haven't investigated it fully myself. The inconsistency on the second shot is pretty much.....consistent I guess. No idea why though, and it's been an issue I've encountered since pretty much the start and I've had the machine a couple of years now. First shot is fine and if I pull a couple of shots within maybe an hour or 30 mins of each other they are pretty much the same so settings don't seem to be drifting there but there is definitely something changing if I pull 2 shots one after the other. Maybe its something I'm not doing between the 2 that I'm not aware of but, apart from running water though the empty porta filter between shots I'm not sure what else I should be doing.

carq

The only thing I can think of is the heat of the water, maybe the machine has warmed up between the first and second and maybe that impacts the output/ pressure.

That or the Volume is not consistant.
Just did a retest and even removed the protafilter

Double shot 1 - 74.27g
Double shot 2 - 71.5 g
Double shot 3 - 68.5g
Double shot 4 - 67.4 g
Double shot 5 - 68.8 g

Seems it take a good few shots to get consistency in output.
Volume of water seems to drop the hotter it gets.

alec76

I would say Thermoblock system probably causing this.
This machine doesn’t have a boiler ,I wouldn’t expecting temperature/pressure consistency , not at this price range. It is much easier to control temperature/pressure with the boiler machine.

DaveyDave

Sage are now asking me for a video of me making a coffee, from the point of turning on the machine to the end. They really don't want to send a shim kit...

I'll post it here beforehand and see what people think. I could be doing something wrong or there's something I could improve on, but I'm pretty sure I'm following all the instructions from videos.