Who are they for? I would be sarcastic & say “people who want to drink filter coffee” ;-), but there's more to it than that. Sage only make one filter coffee machine, and it's really quite a special filter coffee machine. These are for people who are really particular about their filter coffee. That's why I'm here to give you an honest review and comparison of the Sage Barista Pro vs Barista Express vs Barista Touch. Quite often I'm asked whether I'd go for the Gaggia Classic Pro vs Sage Bambino Plus, that's a very common comparison question, but I think the Duo Temp Pro is a much more obvious comparison to the Classic.

Not only can you tweak and save the milk texture and temperature for each drink, but you can choose a default milk or milk alternative type (Moo, Oat, Soy, Almond) and the texture levels and temperatures are automatically tweaked accordingly. The dedicated hot water spout is another design improvement on the Breville Barista Pro vs Express. The Pro has an angled spout that dispenses hot water right under the portafilter, while the Express hot water outlet is a little to the right and dispenses straight down, slightly behind the portafilter. It’s easier to make Americanos with the Pro. Aside from its ease of operation, the Barista Touch has three other unique features: hand-free milk texturing, a purge function for the steam wand, and a preset cafe menu. Who are they for? People who want to get more involved when they have the time, but want assistance when they're rushed, and for homes where there are people who want a more “one touch” type experience and also people who want to explore the home barista hobby. The LCD interface on the Breville Barista Pro is easier to make sense of, especially if you’re an espresso beginner. You hit the menu button, then use the dial and the shot buttons to make changes. The combination of a dial to navigate left and right and buttons are intuitive.The machine assists you on getting the perfect dose volume (the height of the ground coffee) in the basket the first time you use it (or whenever you change beans or substantially change the grind size), and it then learns how long to grind for each time so you can forget about it.

This is one of Sage's least sketchy machine in terms of longevity and repairability out of warranty period, as there's just so little in terms of electronics or non-standard parts, but the Gaggia Classic is very difficult to compete with where longevity and durability is concerned. They last decades, as I know as mine is 20 years old. If you're looking for the best value for money Sage espresso machine, this is probably it, in the short term at least. The Duo Temp Pro costs a bit more, so in the short term that isn't quite as good value for money, but that's such a basic machine internally that I think most people will end up getting more years out of the Duo Temp Pro, so that machine may produce more value or money in the long term. The Bambino doesn't have the auto steaming feature, and that's a good feature for anyone who doesn't want to texture their own milk, but if you're not bothered about that then you'll save some money by going for the Bambino, and the shot quality is the same. The Barista Express, Barista Pro and Touch all feature low-pressure pre-infusion followed by 9-bar extraction.This small feature ensures the exact temperature and pressure are achieved during extraction of espresso. It doesn't have a 3 way solenoid valve, it has a brew valve instead, so what this means is that it doesn't fire all the pressure and excess moisture out of the basket into the drip tray. If you started out with the Sage Dynamic Duo for example, the Dual Boiler paired with the Smart Grinder Pro, anyone who's come from using bean to cup machines or a more entry-level home barista setup, will probably find that the espresso quality they can produce absolutely blows their minds. Not only is the Touch Impress cheaper (almost half the price!), I think it the assistance works better, and I think the overall user experience is also better, and although the Oracle touch has the edge for espresso quality, there's really not a huge amount in it due to the fact that they both have the same grinder.