Sage the Barista Express Espresso Coffee Machine Review

Step into the world of elite home barista craft with the Sage Barista Express Espresso Machine (BES875BSS), a bean-to-cup gem that promises to revolutionise your morning ritual. This impressive machine blends professional-grade features with user-friendly design, allowing you to grind, extract, and froth.

With its robust stainless-steel finish, precise temperature control, and a number of customisation options, the Barista Express stands as a testament to Sage’s commitment to coffee excellence. Whether you’re pulling the perfect espresso or texturing velvety micro-foam for your flat white, this machine is engineered to deliver coffee shop quality in the comfort of your own kitchen.

We're a big fan of Sage, and this machine is one of their finest at this price point.

Let's get started with the design of the Sage Barista Express. Its brushed metal design is a pleasant look in any kitchen, and it really looks the part with its dials and buttons on the dashboard.

The square design means it will fit snuggly onto the worktop of most kitchens, and it has a flat top for you to store your beans or favourite coffee cups.

There's a large hopper on the top of the machine to hold your beans. It's not really possible to empty the hopper, so once you add beans, if you don't like the flavour then you're kind of stuck with them, although you can scoop the top handful out easily. That's the same with most machines though.

All in all we score the Sage Barista Express highly on design. It's an aesthetically pleasing machine. It looks great, without being overbearing. You'll want to ensure it is kept clean though, as coffee marks do show up quite vividly.

So what makes the Sage Barista Express a great coffee machine? Let's get started by looking at the features.

The features of the Sage Barista Express are where this machine truly shines, turning the daily grind into a delightful ritual. At its heart is the integrated conical burr grinder, which grinds on-demand to deliver the right amount of freshly ground coffee directly into the espresso portafilter for your preferred taste with any roast of bean.

Grinding the beans

The grind size dial is straightforward, empowering even novices to adjust the grind size with ease—no matter if you're going for a fine espresso or a coarser press. Plus, the digital temperature control (PID) delivers water at precisely the right temperature, ensuring optimal espresso extraction every time.

Milk Frother and Cup

The manual milk frothing arm gives you full control over the milk texturing, allowing you to indulge in the creation of latte art or simply enjoy the silky texture of steamed milk. This hands-on approach to milk frothing may require a bit of practice, but it's undeniably rewarding and a real skill to master for any home barista.

The more modern versions of the Barista Express come with the Sage milk cup, which has a temperature gauge on the side of the metal cup to help guide you into the perfect temperature of milk.

Filters

Additionally, the machine comes with interchangeable filters and a choice of automatic or manual operation, so you can opt for convenience or control depending on your comfort level. The instant hot water dispenser also makes an appearance, perfect for those who enjoy Americanos or pre-heating their cups.

Durability and cleaning

Durability is another feature that cannot be overstated. The Barista Express is built to last, with a high-quality metal exterior and maintenance alerts that keep you informed when it’s time to clean the machine—ensuring that this isn't just a purchase, but an investment in countless mornings to come.

To top it all off, the innovative Clean Me Light is the cherry on top of the feature set, simplifying maintenance so you can spend less time worrying about upkeep and more time enjoying your perfect cup of coffee.

In summing up the features, the Sage Barista Express offers an alluring blend of user-friendly operation and enough advanced features to satisfy the home barista eager to refine their coffee craft. It's this synergy of simplicity and sophistication that truly sets the Sage Barista Express apart in a crowded market of coffee machines.