Sage The Barista Express Coffee Machine and Grinder, 1700 Watt - Silver

This machine is originally manufacture by BREVILLE. So the Sage Barista Express sold in UK is the same as BREVILLE BES870XL in north America. I bought it for my home in Paris, so i'm using a UK to French plug adaptor.Delivery very quick from UK to paris (2 days), Good packing condition.The instructions are very easy to understand, i don't see very tricky use for this machine. There is a filter inside the water tank, that i recommend to change every 2 month (the 6 units package, 1 year of filters, is sold 12£ by Sage website). But to increase the lifetime of the filter (so i dont change it too much and save money) i'm using water from Britta water filter so i change the filter every 3 month instead of 2.I grind the coffee beans with level 4 (French café Carte noire, 100% Arabica, 1Kg for 9£), quantity setup knob at 3'oclock so the pressure indicator goes to the prefect range of extraction.I love it i love it ! It provides also immédiat hot water (for tea), and water steam to froth milk. Very good conception, nice design, very heavy and stable, 1 cup and 2 cups filters are supplied, cleaning tools as well. All you need for the first 2 month of use. Then, don't forget to buy replacement filters for the water tank and Decalcifying Tablets.Update: Aug 1st 2017: After 9 month of daily uses, the machine still works perfectly. No issues at all ! I bought green un-roasted Arabica from Ethiopia. I Roast every sunday morning the café beans in a pan until i got a black italian roast, so i got fresh coffee every week. :) I'm in love with this machine, and my friends too !

We are delighted with this machine and still believe we got the best coffee maker for the money. It does all that we were looking for and the build quality is great. There are coffee makers out there that cost thousands and you would expect them to be very capable, reliable and well made but this is an excellent piece of kit for £500 and time will tell about it's reliability.I checked out this machine in person and was impressed with the quality of it's finish and features (before I bought from Amazon when the others would not consider a price match)We bought just in time for Xmas 2016 and it saw lots of action straight away. It's easy to use, easy to keep clean and has a good sized water tank.The dimensions are a little misleading if these are important to you - the unit height is 330mm but then with the bean hopper fitted it actually measures 415mm ! The jug is ideal for making a single cappo or latte only. More than that and you will need a larger jug, but hey, try it and see how you get on.We would suggest that you invest in good quality, fresh beans and be careful where you buy from. Some shops that sell them loose may have stored them for weeks!Check out the videos on the Sage website for good operating tips.Finally, use the steamer to make the best, hot, foamy, creamy, rich, drinking chocolate ever!Have fun.

People of Great Britain, this is a great espresso machine at an amazing price! Set aside your opinion of Heston Blumenthal, positive or negative, because he did not design or manufacture this machine. The credit goes to engineers and designers in Australia and factory managers in China.Sage is made by Breville Australia. Breville in Europe is a different company from the Breville based in Australia. These machines are identical except for the voltage and name plate to those sold by Breville (US, Canada, Australia, etc), Gastroback (DE), Catler (CZ, SK) and Bar & Riviera (F) In particular, this is the equivalent of the BES870XL model, with only a different voltage/plug as well as VAT (hence the much higher price).Note that the slightly different older model had a square bean hopper, no PID temperature control, no water spout.Compare feature for feature and you will discover that no other machine comes close. Where else can you find PID temperature control, timed grinding, timed shots, automated cleaning, a pressure gauge?Is it reliable? This is my third machine from the same origin. I am now living in Italy and left the other two back in the US, both working perfectly, because of the voltage mismatch. No one sells these machines in Italy. I chose this machine over something local, with local service.Italy is the birthplace of espresso and the availability everywhere means that home espresso is not well developed. The Italian machines are either sturdy and primitive in comparison or flimsy and deliver poor results. Before my Dual Boiler and my Barista Express in the US I had a Rancilio Silvia for ten years. Sturdy indeed, but very difficult to control temperature, and very slow to warm up.Did I not ever have problems with these machines? Three very minor things. First, the metal cap on the tamper came off and it was not possible for the magnet to hold the tamper in position. With one phone call, I received a replacement in a few days. Second, I have noticed that the grinds that spill in the drip tray can land on the 'Empty Me' float and prevent it from floating up to tell you that it is time to drain the tray. Now, I lift up the cover and peek once in a while. Third, the beans sometimes need a bit of help to fall down into the grinder, especially the oily ones. You can hear the grinding sound change when there is no flow of beans. A couple smart taps on the rubber lid of the hopper during grinding fixes that.My advice: Buy one. Read the manual. Get freshly roasted beans. Follow the cleaning/decalcifying instructions.You will be another happy customer.