The water tank is bigger at 2L, which doesn't really impress me, but it has a colour touch screen interface, and a hot water spout, which allowes the Plus to deliver one-touch Americano. It also has adjustable coffee volumes, 7 of them in total, and 7 hot water volumes. Breville Worldwide is the manufacturer, and they sell their coffee machines all over the world, but the Breville brand name was sold in Europe in the 80s, so they can't use that name here, which is why they sell under the “Sage Appliances” brand in the UK and most of Europe.

One of the reasons it's great for beginners is its intuitive touchscreen interface. With clear visual instructions, you can follow your progress through the brewing process with a simple touch. I will notice a difference in the 11 setting versus 12 for the Pro, which means nearly twice the precision has an impact on espresso extraction. To me, it makes perfect sense that someone who would want a touch screen and on screen guidance would want that assistance and guidance from start to finish, but now there is the Barista Touch and the Barista Touch Impress, there's more choice, and I'm sure there are some people out there who do only want assistance with steaming milk and are happy to be unaided where espresso is concerned, and if that's you, then the Barista Touch may be the machine for you. I say “one touch”, this isn't quite the same one touch as with one touch bean to cup machines where the milk is delivered directly into your cup, you do have to pour the milk into the espresso, or the espresso into the milk for latte macchiato, but for me that's even better, as it gives you the ability to learn to pour latte art, which is frustrating but fun. Some additional features of the Barista Pro that you'll find useful are its 1.9L capacity water reservoir, 250g bean hopper, and 30 precision grind settings. Pros & Cons of Sage Barista Pro

You have way more control over the temperature, with 11 settings vs 2, and a bigger texture range with 8 vs 3. Each of these espresso machines has unique functionalities that make them stand out, from sleek designs to intuitive barista controls. This ensures that you always have the freshest ground coffee available to make the perfect cup of espresso. Durability Assisted Espresso: Intelligent machine learning dosing + assisted 10Kg calibrated tamp + dialing in guidance

These things are relatively small, and overall if the Barista Express cost the same as the Barista Pro, I'd probably say the Barista Pro is the better choice. With all these features, it's no surprise that the Barista Pro is a top espresso machine from Sage. Pros & Cons of Sage Barista Express In addition to these features, the machine also comes with a steam wand and a range of other accessories, allowing you to explore more complicated methods of coffee brewing. The Barista Pro is more sophisticated than the Duo Temp Pro with programmable shot buttons, an LCD screen, a shot timer and the ability to change the brew temperature, but pairing the Duo Temp Pro with the Smart Grinder Pro is a very similar setup where shot potential is concerned, but with the ability to get slightly better shot quality from the Duo Temp Pro by upgrading the grinder further down the line.

Grind dose and extract all in one.

The Barista Express is constructed with stainless steel, making it easy to clean, maintain, and durable. All buttons and knobs are designed for ease of use and are clearly labelled, so it's easy to find the right setting for your espresso shot. The design principals between the two heating elements are similar, but the Pro’s heating is just… better. -Seattle Coffee Gear It is an easy-to-use espresso machine built with brushed stainless steel, providing long-lasting durability. As I said when talking about the Oracle Touch, having the dual boiler at its core does give it more potential for shot quality, but it's not quite the same as having the Sage Dual Boiler where shot potential is concerned. If we're comparing with the Gaggia Classic Pro, as many people do, then it's a very different machine, Tesla Vs Landrover Defender (the original defender I mean). If we're comparing with other machines at this price point, and you're wanting the kind of user-friendliness that the Bambino Plus provides, the Bambino Plus doesn't really have any competition, other than the Bambino.

It is installed with the technology for you to be able to hook up an app operated by BILT to guide you through the process in 3D. Will you get better tasting Nespresso as a result of buying one of these machines, no, they all use the Nespresso brewing unit, so you're not going to find much difference in cup quality regardless of which Nespresso machine you go for, but where the Creatista machines really come into their own is their ability to produce cafe quality microfoam, for better milkies than I'd ever expect from a Nespresso machine. The reason I don't think the Barista Express is the best choice for home barista use, is that it's really designed more for mainstream beans and dual walled baskets. Unlike the Barista Pro and most other Sage coffee machines, the OPV (over pressure valve) is set to 13/14 bars, which is better for use with dual walled, pressurised baskets than it is with standard baskets.It features a thermojet heating system with PID temperature control and 30 grind precision setting, and its bean hopper can take up to 250g. Who Should Use This (Beginner, Expert or Intermediate) This ensures that you extract the maximum flavour from your coffee grounds while creating a perfect cup of espresso. 5. A Powerful Steam Wand

This was Sage's first machine in this category, it's their most expensive coffee machine, and it really is a premium machine. It's based on the Sage Dual boiler, my home espresso machine, in my opinion one of, if not THE best espresso machine on the market at anywhere close to what it sells for, at least where performance and flexibility is concerned. Each machine also benefits from excellent tooling and design from a sturdiness standpoint. They come in at about 20 pounds each, given the heavy steel in the body. There’s certainly enough heft to support the high-quality internal components. Where it differs from the other Sage coffee machines that have auto milk frothing, though, is that it allows you to queue up the milk to steam after the shot has finished brewing, or the other way around if you prefer. Every Sage espresso coffee machine uses the 4 Keys formula, optimising each aspect from grind to extraction and microfoam milk texture. Our espresso machines are designed to use the right dose of freshly ground beans, ensure precise temperature control, optimal water pressure and create true microfoam milk to deliver a harmonious blend of golden espresso and velvety textured milk.

Sage Barista Express In-Depth Review

I class the shot quality potential of the Oracle & Oracle Touch to be about on parr with that of the Sage Dual Boiler paired with the Sage Smart Grinder Pro, which is good – but not as good as if you paired it with a more premium espresso specialist grinder costing 2-3 times the cost of the Sage Smart Grinder Pro. In addition, the Pro features a four-hole steam wand configuration, compared to the single-hole wand on the Barista Express. The four-hole configuration on Barista Pro espresso machines delivers more steam throughput than the single hole. You can steam milk in about 45 seconds on the Pro versus 90 seconds for the Express. This might not bother you, I've not actually heard this complaint from many people at all, my dad has the bambino and he's more than happy with the portafilter. I'm just so used to using heavier weight portafilters with metal splitters, that it feels a bit weird using the lighter weight portafilter with the little spouts. The other plus for the Oracle Touch vs the Barista Touch Impress is that there's more room for cups on the drip tray, which seems trivial but it's important to some people.