Another key feature is that this is a volumetric machine. This means that it accurately measures how much water it’s pushing through each time and does so consistently. Cheaper machines simply run the pump for a set amount of time, so how much water actually makes it through the coffee grounds and into your cup depends entirely on how finely you grind the coffee and how hard you tamp it down. Suffice to say, if you want a consistent espresso, both in terms of flavour and amount, a volumetric machine is a giant leap forward from lesser machines. Getting the most out of this coffee machine means tweaking its settings so that you get the coffee you want, which is great for experienced coffee drinkers. You shouldn’t buy it if… With a grinder built in, you get everything perfectly set up for this machine, delivering the best-quality coffee from bean to cup.

The Sage Barista Pro doesn’t make things particularly easy, so you need to already know what you’re doing to get the most out of it. If you do, then the results are excellent. Even if you’ve never used a manual espresso machine before, then it’s worth pointing out that the Barista Pro’s manual will have you up and running in no time. It explains the whole process in a clear and uncomplicated manner and lets you know what to look out for – both in visual and taste terms. It’s great to see a manufacturer providing a manual that’s genuinely instructional.

Develop your barista skills with this hands-on espresso coffee maker

It isn’t just the grind time that’s adjustable, however. The Barista Pro also allows you to choose how long to infuse the coffee before extraction (this forces water into the ground coffee for a set amount of time to help eke out the most flavour), and you can customise exactly how much hot water you want to push through the coffee for the single-shot and double-shot buttons.

Once I was in the rough ballpark, the coffee was good; once I’d spent some time tweaking the settings, it was exceptional. At around 20 seconds, the coffee’s sour notes were taking precedence; once the timer neared 30, those flavours were balanced with the bitter notes from the final few seconds of extraction. And these sour and bitter flavours were beautifully balanced with the rich body of the coffee. While this process can be rather hit and miss with cheaper machines – and that means you might only get one really good shot for every so many attempts – the Barista Pro delivers the results consistently. If you’re trying to save money or curb your takeaway coffee habit, investing in a quality coffee machine is a great way to keep your monthly costs down and stop unnecessary spending. Sage is a premium and reliable coffee machine brand that has topped our lists on the best coffee makers, best bean to cup coffee machines and best espresso coffee machines. Thankfully, this is easily fixed using the machine’s adjustable infuse time controls. These are accessed by pressing the machine’s menu buttons and scrolling across to the pour settings. Here you can select how long the machine keeps hot water in the coffee before pushing it through, and it’s a key way to tweak the flavour of the end result. Milk The Barista Express is a mid-range model, it builds on the entry-level espresso machine - the Bambino - by adding a built-in burr grinder to dispense freshly ground coffee right into the portafilter. But unlike the more automated bean-to-cup style machines from other brands, this one allows you to flex your barista skills. You’ll need to tamp the coffee yourself, use the razor tool to get it to the perfect level, and steam your own milk, all of which might take a bit of practice to perfect, particularly if you’re a novice.Unlike some machines, the Barista Pro isn’t smart, and doesn’t come with any form of app support. As the name suggests, it’s also fully manual. Newbie users won’t find on-screen instructions for lattes or auto settings for specific drinks. The Barista Pro feels well built, for the most part. The main body and drip tray’s metal finish feels premium and the included portafilter is noticeably sturdier than the versions you’ll find on Sage’s cheaper machines. With a single touch the dose control delivers the correct amount of coffee from the integrated conical burr grinder. Both grind size and dose are adjustable if required. 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.