SageThe Barista Express - Bean to Cup Coffee Machine with Grinder and Milk Frother, Brushed Stainless Steel

This isn't a one push button instant coffee machine. If that's what you're looking for, click away now.This coffee machine does most of the hard work for you. It will allow you to pour a bag of freshly roasted beans into the grinder and have it dispensed into a cup within a few minutes. There is some manual attention to detail required for best results. This can make awful coffee. This can also make some fabulous coffee. I'm not here to tell you the exact answer, because it's something you will learn through using it. I'm here to tell you that it's entirely possible to learn how to make great coffee within just a few weeks of using it and what I personally discovered.So, what did I learn?1. Buy fresh beans - no supermarket shelf stuff, not even M&S. It isn't fresh enough and your coffee will taste flat. Waitrose do a few types that have the roast date printed on the bag, if it's within a month, that'll do.2. The included levelling tool isn't all that precise - I always find that slightly above that mark is actually better3. The amount of pressure you tamp with has a huge impact on the pressure dial - you have to press quite hard, and ensure the level of coffee still sits high enough, yes you can add more and re-tamp.4. The best shot comes from the double filter with single skin - the biggest one with the most holes. Learn on this one as the single skin ones cheat a bit. They have a single hole which artificially maintains a set pressure so you can't really mess up. The trick is to learn from the start. The single one is very fiddly and easy to get wrong.5. Milk frothing is still quite hard for me, I think the best thing to do is get the wand deep in the milk to start with, then froth it when it's hot. Latte art is not as easy as the spotty weekend barista makes it look.Since using this, I don't buy coffee from shops anymore. I prefer my own. You can make whatever drink you want from it, single or double shot cappuccino, latte, frapawhatever. Be as pretentious as you want in the comfort of your own home. It also has a hot water dispenser for the green tea drinkers.Cleaning is a bit of a faff. Tray comes out in three pieces laced with coffee dust and water, but that's the price of fine art I guess. Keep it clean and it will keep making nice drinks. Also run the group head with nothing in it from time to time to clear it out. Changing the filter is absolutely vital if you live in a hard water area. Put it in your phone calendar or something.It's a nice product to have, changing beans keeps things fresh for me. I recommend an online subscription of some sort. I look forward to seeing your results on Instagram.

The item arrived, well packaged, and works well, a few things worth knowing before you buy, this is a small scale machine and you will struggle to make large quantities of latte or flat white for a group of people, the milk frothing capability works well but in small amounts at a time. This machine won’t turn bitter beans into decent coffee, so bean choice is important, the machine is analogue and hands on, this won’t suit some people, if you just want to press a button and get coffee, look for a different type of machine. For the amount of money this machine costs it really should include a knock box which is an essential piece of kit.

This coffee machine really is les testicules de chien.The build quality is a joy to behold. Everything feels so well designed and well constructed; lovely and solid. It feels like a piece of engineering from a bygone age, compared with so much of the flimsy machinery you get nowadays. The instructions are comprehensive, it's easy to care for and clean, and it looks darn smashing on your workshop (while you want to hide ugly machines like microwaves). It's like a nice vintage car or something!Certainly, it takes a bit of faffing and experimentation to get your coffee right and achieve the desired crema, but it's all the more satisfying when you do. Personally, I enjoy the process, the steps, the theatre of it. I enjoy the sound and smell of the grinder, the grumbling of the machine when you switch it on and the deafening hiss of the milk frother. You can of course get machines that do everything for you at the press of a button, but I find this more satisfying that's it's not an instantaneous thing. A little effort (not much) is required. I couldn't justify all those little plastic pods on my conscience, so this machine felt like the right one. Definitely feel we made the right choice with this, and manual tamping is fine and part of the process for me, so I don't consider that a drawback. I also think the digital display of some of the more expensive models ruins the timeless aesthetic, for me anyway.And this from someone who doesn't really love coffee unless it's really nice coffee! Bloody great and very bonnie piece of kit. Definitely good value.

Very hot coffee, which is a must, easy to use and clean, even my wife likes it!

Had previous model which lasted 6 years with daily use up to 3 times a day . Small improvements but essentially the same . Great little machine