Sage - The Barista Express Impress, Brushed Stainless Steel

Product Information

We liked having the pressure gauge during the initial setup process, the correct pressure range is very clearly marked and it’s a helpful indicator that you can watch as your espresso pours, to see whether it’s being extracted at the correct pressure. The manual then advises what adjustments you’ll need to make to correct an under or over extracted espresso, which is usually either the grind size or the amount of pressure you use when tamping.

You don't need to go mad with it, you will probably find that with new burrs with no wear if you just take it down to five, you'll be absolutely fine. Less noise The LCD display on the pro features a shot timer, which also displays what part of the process the machine is in, preinfusion or pulling the shot. This, for me, is a big thing, because it means you don't have to faff around using the scales as a timer. The main reason for this is that this gives you more choice where the grinder is concerned, and as long as you go with the Dose control pro, smart grinder pro or upwards from there (upwards from there meaning the likes of the Barazza Sette 270, Eureka Mignon La Specialita) then you're going to have better ability to dial in, and therefore better espresso.

This bean-to-cup coffee machine with a smart dosing system delivers delicious barista-style espresso at home

The easiest way to describe the Oracle is the Dual Boiler with an integrated grinder and an onboard Barista, and this is Sage's characteristically innovative answer to fully automatic bean to cup machines. The Barista Pro also makes a bit less of a song and dance about cooling the heater after steaming milk. With the Barista Express (and the Express Impress, as it has the same original Sage thermocoil) it hisses for 10 seconds or so after steaming milk, which is the sound of cold water flushing the heater to cool it down. It has the over-pressure valve set to 9 bars, it has 30 grind settings (plus the additional internal burr adjustment) and it has the Etzinger burrs. On the plus side, this newer faster ThermoJet means the Barista Pro has a faster 3 second heat up time, faster steam ready time, faster shot ready time after steaming milk, and I think it's probably a bit more energy efficient if you're only making one or two coffees within the same 20-30 minute window.

I prefer the look of the La Specialista Arte to the Breville Barista and Barista Max +, I might even prefer the look slightly to the Barista Express, being honest, it does look nice, and the build quality feels better than the Breville Barista Max & Max+ in my opinion.

Grind dose and extract all in one.

OK, the bean hopper has a tight-fitting lid, but still, you'd be better storing your beans in an airtight container and just putting beans in the hopper that you're about to use.

a faulty solenoid valve is in no way down to a portafilter, simply a bad part or bad qualiry control. I'll be aiming to answer the question “Is the Sage barista Pro worth it?”– or more specifically, is the barista pro worth throwing the extra money at vs something like the Barista Express, and also would you be better off going for the Barista Express Impress instead, for reasons I'll explain shortly. Sage owns the US-based grinder manufacturer Baratza, Baratza use European Etzinger burrs in their grinders, and Sage now use the same Etzinger burr set in all their integrated grinder espresso machines, except the Barista Express. Many people have expected it to simply because it has an integrated grinder and is often sold in bean to cup coffee machine categories by retailers, but it's no more assisted than any other espresso machine, integrated grinder or not. So again, if you know you're going to be using freshly roasted beans and standard baskets, that's another reason to choose the Barista Pro or one of the other integrated grinder options.

So if you know you're going to be using freshly roasted beans, using the traditional single-walled baskets, you're going to find things a bit easier with the Barista Pro, which has the OPV set to 9 bars. I actually think a lot of people who look at the Barista Express and the Barista Pro probably assume there is some assistance, mainly because many retailers market them as bean to cup machines due to the integrated grinder, but these aren't assisted machines – with the Barista Pro and Barista express, everything is down to the user, including the dose and tamp.

I say “isn't bad” because the Express Impress is leaning more towards the home barista user than the normal coffee machine user, so if you were wanting a machine that both types of user could use but putting the importance on the user experience of the more normal coffee drinker, the Barista Touch Impress would probably make more sense. then invailidates the warranty. Which means a LOT of people likely will have issues with their setup if a problem occurs while in warranty.This is partly due to the 4 hole steam tip that comes with the Pro, while the Express has a one hole steam tip, but it's not only that, I tested this too and although the Express is a bit faster with the 4 hole tip attached, it isn't as fast as the pro – so it's partly down to the new thermojet water heater.