Sage - The Barista Touch - Bean to Cup Coffee Machine with Grinder and Milk Frother, Brushed Stainless Steel

This is an awesome coffee machine - As with most purchases of this expense I researched the market fully comparing a lot of different types as well as brands, I even went in-store for a demo with the Sage representative to make sure that this is what I wanted.It is beautifully made & very aesthetically pleasing to the eye (as per the image), it feels a quality product straight out of the box as you would expect, it comes with all of the sized filters that you would need for pre-ground, single or double shot as well as to grind beans into, a tamper, a cleaning kit, tablets & a portafilter.Now, if you’re expecting to plug this in & hey presto a great cup of coffee comes out then I suggest you go purchase a Nespresso machine - you need to use quality beans, you need to get the grind setting right (as per the image), you need to put some time into the machine in order to understand the various settings, time wise for me, this only took a couple of attempts in order to ascertain the right grind setting for the Starbucks (Blonde Roast) beans, as you will see from the image, I managed to produce a beautiful rich honey like coffee with a lovely crema layer, froth the milk & hey presto a great tasting double shot latte.The menu is already setup for a whole variety of coffee to suit, you can make changes based upon your preference (grind, milk temperature & micro-foam) & save it all as your desired pre-set option, so that once this is all set it is then a simple exercise to produce great coffee, consistently, so much so that I already have my 10 year old son making the perfect latte given he’s put the few hours effort with me in which to learn how to use it properly.Keeping it clean is easy, like everything else it’s automated, it’s worth flushing the brew head between use as well as the steam wand, again, it is automated but I always blast it though so as to ensure it’s kept in perfect working order.Take the time to use the water hardness strips & set it for your water type, it makes a difference.I am absolutely delighted with the Sage Barista Touch, put the time in so as to set it up correctly, practice with the beans & the grind, play around with getting the milk right to suit & it will make awesome coffee time & time again.

I considering this machine vs the Barista Pro.For me, the fact that this is is smaller in size was important.The settings are the same as the pro, however the touch and on screen guidance makes it very easy to use.Milk fothering is amazingly good, it has a temperature sensor for the milk and it is very hard to distinguish between it and an expert barista ...It ramps up quickly.U will have some learning curve if u have not done this before...But u will get there.I received it to Israel in 5 days from order - fatser than local :)I still haven't been able to dial it perfectly to single shots, but the coffee is very good.For those who like coffee with milk, this is a better choice than the Barista pro.It also sits quite nicely in our kitchen, and since bought, more coffee is being consumed .I also got a bonus of 75 pound worth of coffee, waiting for my 1st shipmeng to arrive.Do make sure u use fresh coffee, as it impacts the taste :)

This fantastic sage coffee machine is very compact and quite heavy, the functionality is very easy to use just touch the digital screen to select what strength you want and the machine will grind the coffee beans automatically to get you the best tasting coffee, the water capacity is very good, the build quality is second to none, and the noise level is not bad either,

The footprint of this machine is much smaller than what I was expecting and takes up very little kitchen surface. I’ve gone from a Nespresso machine with a milk frother to this. I wanted the same amount of hassle free, mostly automated coffee making abilities but without the wasteful pods. This machine ticks all the boxes and then some! You also still have full manual control should you want it; water temp, milk temp, milk froth density. The machine heats rapidly and could be used to make tea and even replace your kettle.It looks and feels classy and everything you touch is either metal or just feels solid. The screen is crystal clear and for the most part easy to use. Some icons such as those for changing water temp and froth density are quite small. So those of us with sausage fingers may have to give it a couple taps before we get it, but I won’t hold that against the machine as it’s still easy to use.Set up was simple, literally takes a couple minutes, when it does it’s first purge water does spray around a bit, so just have a towel ready. After that you just follow the on screen instructions and it pretty much holds your hand through the whole process, even giving tips on how fine to grind your coffee.It heats up quickly and can switch from coffee to milk almost instantly, negating the need for a more expensive dual boiler setup.Great machine, would recommend. However, -1 star because certain accessories are NOT included when they should be. A tamping mat - a small rubber / silicone mat to tamp your coffee on, protecting your work surface. Is NOT included. Why? Also a bin for the spent coffee grind, this too is NOT included.. why? Both items are cheap and the machine would be the whole package if these were included. SAGE does make a bin, and this is what I purchased. It looks great but is also considerably more expensive than alternatives.As I said it’s a great machine but would have been an all singing all dancing complete solution with the addition of a couple more accessories. A Sage branded cloth would have also been a nice touch but alas this is not included either.It makes great coffee, this is entirely subjective and also entirely based on your coffee bean and grind settings. Get the freshest coffee you can and ensure it has a roasted on date. The use by date is not a signal of freshness.Edit: I’ve been using this everyday for about 5 months now and still love it. There are a two annoying points though. The first: sage customer service are terrible. You have to chase them on everything. You get three free water filters. They give a delivery date but don’t tell you to contact them, otherwise they won’t send them out. Crazy.Secondly; the drip tray fills up very quickly because the machine purges as soon as you turn it on and when you turn it off. This still doesn’t mean it’s worth less stars as it is a top machine and very easy to use.

Can make some decent coffee with this. Easy to use and maintain. Sadly, like many Sage products, look good, but poor reliability. Mine completely stopped working by 3-4 months at a usage of 2 coffee's per day. Warranty highly recommended.