Sage Barista Express Review: Heston Blumenthal’s Coffee Machine

Celebrity chef and restaurateur Heston Blumenthal is well known for his inventive cuisine, but his knack for making magic in the kitchen doesn’t stop with his culinary prowess – he has also expanded his brand into a successful line of high-quality appliances as well.

One of the most popular products in Blumenthal’s kitchen arsenal is the Sage Barista Express, a feature-rich bean-to-cup coffee machine that can take you from whole beans to a steaming hot espresso in less than a minute.

Sage Barista Express review

Sage Barista Express

What are you buying?

The Sage Barista Express is a beauty of a machine that creates great tasting espresso by allowing you to grind your beans immediately prior to extraction.

It also features interchangeable filters, and it enables you to choose between manual or automatic operation to provide barista-style results in no time.

The integrated conical burr grinder features 15 different grind settings, and the machine’s dose control functionality allows you to deliver just the right amount of coffee on demand, so that you can maximise the flavour of each cup.

With its low-pressure pre-infusion feature, the machine can gently soak your coffee and allow it to expand before its high-pressure extraction, which leads to a smooth, balanced taste.

One of the things that I found to be most useful about the Barista Express was its digital temperature control (PID), which delivers the water at the precise temperature that you want, so that extraction is optimised for each cup.

And the dosing tool (known as the “Sage Razor”) is a big help as well, because it does a brilliant job of trimming the puck with pinpoint precision in order to deliver a consistent dose every time.

Another feature that I really appreciate about the Barista Express is its high-pressure steam wand, which enables you to texture your milk like a professional barista.

In addition, you can use the separate hot water wand to heat cups in advance, or to make long black coffee (or Americano), without the hassle that I have encountered with other machines that were not as well-designed as this one.

How easy is it to use?

I’ve got to be honest – if you’re a novice coffee brewer, you will more than likely have a little difficulty at first trying to achieve the proper taste with your espressos using this machine.

This is nothing out of the ordinary; just do your best to keep practising, and you will begin to understand more of the nuances that are involved in making consistently good cups of coffee.

That being said, the Barista Express definitely provides you with every feature you will need to succeed at your task by offering automatic hands-free dosing and a powerful burr grinder that enables you to produce finely ground coffee beans in no time flat.

In addition, the push-button controls on the interface leave little room for doubt as to how to work the machine, and its elegant design is intuitive and uncomplicated, which is something that I cannot say for a large swath of comparable coffee machines out there.

What accessories are included?

The Sage Barista Express is a completely self-contained unit, so it doesn’t come with any external accessories. It should be noted, however, that many people who purchase this machine tend to bundle it with associated products, such as the knock box or the temp control milk jug.

Sage Barista Express key features

Pros

• Well-built and solid.
• Tons of excellent features (e.g., 15 grind settings, automatic hands-free dosing, steaming wand, etc.).
• Elegant design that looks good on practically any worktop.
• Makes outstanding coffee!

Cons

• As mentioned earlier, novice home baristas might find the Barista Express to be a little difficult to use at first, but this can be overcome with consistent practice.
• This machine is not cheap, so be sure that you’ve settled on your decision before purchasing the Barista Express.

Anything else you should know?

I really can’t say enough about the simplicity and efficient design of this coffee maker. This really lends to the convenient operation of the machine, which means much less hassle for the end user. Also, you can whip up two lattes in only 2 minutes and 30 seconds with the Barista Express, so this coffee maker definitely lives up to its name.

Conclusion

Although it’s a little higher on the price scale, the Sage Barista Express is well worth the money, because it has a host of excellent features that work together to produce an outstanding coffee experience.

If you’re ready to take your barista skills to the next level and you’re looking for a machine that can deliver consistently fresh and flavourful cups of coffee, the Sage Barista Express should definitely be on your list of potential purchases. If still undecided, you may want to check our list of best bean to cup coffee machine reviews.

Where to buy?

• Amazon UK: Click to check today’s price