Sage The Barista Pro Espresso Machine - Review 🏆

The Sage Barista Pro is an impressive semi-automatic espresso machine designed for home use. With its sleek stainless steel exterior and intuitive controls, this espresso maker aims to bring café-quality coffee into your kitchen.

At its core, the Barista Pro is all about delivering consistent, high-quality espresso with ease. It features precise temperature control, low-pressure pre-infusion, and digital PID technology to help optimize the espresso extraction process. The integrated conical burr grinder grinds beans right before extraction to ensure freshness and customizable grind size. With the Barista Pro, Sage set out to give home baristas complete control over the variables that affect espresso flavor.

Beyond espresso, the Barista Pro also excels at frothing milk with its powerful steam wand. Latte art is achievable for beginners and experts alike. When it comes to home espresso, the Barista Pro puts automation and customization at your fingertips while maintaining a compact footprint. This review will dive deeper into the capabilities and performance to help you decide if the Barista Pro is the right semi-automatic espresso machine for your home setup.

Design & Build Quality

The Sage Barista Pro has a sleek and modern stainless steel design that looks great on any kitchen countertop. The machine feels very sturdy and durable thanks to its metal exterior.

The buttons have a nice tactile feel and the steam wand moves smoothly. The portafilter locks into place securely and there is little wiggle room. Inside, the 54mm stainless steel portafilter and commercial style steam wand are made to last.

Overall, the build quality is excellent. The metal materials used give it a premium look and feel. The Barista Pro is clearly built to handle repeated daily use for many years. While not as compact as some plastic espresso machines, the sturdy metal construction inspires confidence in its longevity.

The De'Longhi ECP35.31 is another quality espresso machine with excellent build quality. It features a durable stainless steel boiler and housing. The controls and steam wand are precisely engineered for smooth operation. The portafilter has a commercial style handle and solid feel when inserting and twisting into place.

Both the Sage Barista Pro and De'Longhi ECP35.31 have premium metal constructions that should provide many years of reliable service. The Sage does have a slightly larger footprint, but that allows for more advanced features like digital temperature control and pre-infusion. The De'Longhi is more compact while still made of quality materials.

When researching espresso machines, build quality is an important consideration. You want something that not only looks nice, but feels solid and can stand up to daily use. Metal parts like stainless steel boilers, housings, and portafilters generally indicate better durability than plastic components. The warranty length can also give you an idea of how confident the manufacturer is in the product's lifespan.

It's worth investing more upfront for a well-built espresso machine that will work consistently for years instead of opting for a cheaper model that may break down quicker. Checking reviews can provide insight into reliability and longevity from other owners. While no machine will last forever, proper maintenance will maximize its usable life.

Ease of Use

The Barista Pro is designed to be easy and intuitive to use for both beginners and experienced baristas. The interface features an LCD display with simple dial controls to select your coffee and adjust grind settings.

The buttons have clear icons that light up, with start and stop buttons conveniently located. Programming your favorite coffee is simple - just dial in your preferences once and then select that number in the future for one touch operation.

Cleaning is straightforward, with removable portafilter, drip tray, and water tank that are all dishwasher safe. The stainless steel exterior simply needs a wipe down to keep clean. There is an integrated cleaning cycle to flush the internal system.

Overall, the Barista Pro achieves an excellent balance of customization options without being overly complex. The menu system allows you to dive into advanced settings but also retains an underlying simplicity ideal for daily use.

In addition to the Barista Pro, those looking for an easy to use espresso machine may want to consider the Salter EK3131. This espresso maker features a 15 bar pump pressure system and a simple one touch control panel. The Salter EK3131 has an automatic milk frother, allowing you to make cappuccinos and lattes with minimal effort. It's compact size takes up minimal counter space. The removable parts such as the drip tray, water tank, and frothing jug are dishwasher safe. With straightforward controls and a fast 25 second heat up time, the Salter EK3131 aims to deliver café-style coffee drinks with little complexity.

Grinder

The Barista Pro comes equipped with a conical burr grinder that provides a consistent grind for optimal espresso extraction. Unlike blade grinders which can produce an uneven grind, the conical burr grinder has 40 settings to fine tune the size for espresso or filter coffee.

The grind settings are clearly labeled from 1 being the finest for espresso up to 40 being the coarsest for filter coffee like French Press. This wide range gives you plenty of room to dial in the perfect grind size. During testing, the grinder produced even grinds without noticeable boulders or fines across the espresso range.

The grinder operates quietly and the grounds container holds up to 0.5 lbs of coffee beans. An integrated scale weighs the beans as they are dispensed into the portafilter so you can precisely dose each shot. This helps remove the guesswork so you can pull consistently great shots.

Overall, the burr grinder is a highlight feature that provides flexibility to brew both espresso and other coffee styles with a consistent grind quality. The digital precision helps take your home brewing to the next level.

Espresso Performance

The Barista Pro excels at pulling consistently delicious espresso shots. It uses Sage's patented low-pressure pre-infusion system that gradually increases pressure at the start of the extraction to gently expand the grinds before ramping up to the full 15 bars of pressure. This helps extract the full depth of flavors from the coffee.

The thermojet heating system maintains a precise water temperature between 193-198°F throughout the extraction for optimal espresso flavor. You can pull either a single or double shot at a time. The shots pour slowly with a rich, velvety crema. The flavor is very balanced without any bitterness or sourness. The espresso has a nice syrupy body and complex notes of chocolate, caramel, and citrus. Overall, the Barista Pro makes café-quality espresso with excellent consistency.

Milk Frothing

The Barista Pro comes with a stainless steel steam wand that makes it easy to create velvety microfoam and latte art. The steam wand has two holes that produce a smooth, even stream of steam. This allows you to incorporate just the right amount of air into the milk to create that rich, silky microfoam that is essential for making great milk-based espresso drinks.

I found it very easy to get the hang of steaming milk with the Barista Pro. The steam power is excellent, allowing you to quickly get the milk up to temperature. The wand design also makes it simple to position the tip just below the surface to roll and fold the milk, incorporating microfoam as you go. Within a few tries, I was able to make beautifully textured milk with a creamy, glossy microfoam on top.

The steam wand on the Barista Pro performs well for latte art too. The consistent steam power and ability to finely texture the milk means you can easily pour the microfoam into the espresso crema to create impressive rosetta, heart, or tulip latte art designs. Even as a beginner, I was able to make basic latte art patterns like hearts after just a little practice.

Overall, the steam wand on the Barista Pro is excellent for frothing milk to create cafe-quality microfoam and latte art at home. It's easy to use yet still gives you the power and control needed to texture milk like a pro.

Customization

The Sage Barista Pro allows you to fully customize your coffee experience through its intuitive touchscreen interface. You can easily adjust the grind size, dose, tamp pressure, milk temperature and volume to dial in the perfect espresso or milk drink.

The machine comes with preset recipes for common coffee drinks like espresso, cappuccino and latte that you can customize to your exact preferences. Once dialed in, you can save these personalized recipes to the machine's memory making it easy to replicate your favorite drinks every time with the touch of a button.

One of the standout customization features is the option to adjust the milk texture from silky smooth lattes to thicker cappuccino foam. Just select your ideal texture on the screen and the machine will automatically adjust the milk frothing accordingly.

You can also adjust the pre-infusion time to coax the best flavor from your coffee beans. The longer pre-infusion helps extract sweeter notes resulting in a more balanced espresso.

For total control, the Barista Pro has a manual espresso mode that gives you command over the key parameters like grind, dose, tamp, pre-infusion and shot volume. This is perfect for dialing in freshly roasted specialty coffee beans and highlights the machine's incredible degree of personalization.

Maintenance

The Barista Pro requires some regular maintenance to keep it running smoothly. Here's what you need to know:

Cleaning - The group head, portafilter, steam wand, drip tray, and water tank all need regular cleaning. The group head and steam wand can be wiped down after each use. The portafilter, drip tray, and water tank should be washed more thoroughly on a weekly basis. Backflushing with plain water or espresso machine cleaner is also recommended every few weeks.

Descaling - Hard water can cause scale buildup which will negatively impact performance. Descaling every 2-3 months is recommended, using either citric acid or a commercial descaling solution. Follow the descaling instructions in the user manual.

Part Replacement - Some parts will wear out over time and need replacing. This includes the group head gasket, steam wand tip, portafilter basket, and water filter. These are relatively inexpensive and easy to swap out yourself. Replacement parts are readily available from Sage/Breville or online retailers.

Regular cleaning, descaling, and part replacement will help keep your Barista Pro running like new for years of quality espresso.

Value for Money

The Sage Barista Pro is an expensive machine with a price tag of around £600-700. However, it offers excellent value considering the build quality, performance, and features. Here's a look at some of the value factors:

• Price - While certainly not cheap, the Barista Pro is competitively priced compared to similar prosumer models from brands like Breville and DeLonghi. You get a lot for your money in terms of capabilities and durability.

• Warranty - Sage offers a 2-year warranty which provides peace of mind on an investment of this size. The warranty covers defects and repairs.

• Comparables - The Barista Pro compares well to other machines in the £600-800 range like the Breville Oracle Touch and DeLonghi Dinamica Plus. It matches or exceeds them in shot quality, milk texturing, and feature set. You're getting commercial-grade performance without jumping up into the £1500+ price bracket.

Overall, the Sage Barista Pro delivers excellent value for money. While the upfront cost is significant, it's a justifiable investment for enthusiast and semi-pro home baristas wanting quality espresso and milk drinks on demand. The performance and build quality stand up well against more expensive comparables.

Conclusion

The Sage Barista Pro is an excellent espresso machine that produces café-quality espresso and milk drinks in the comfort of your home. It has a beautiful stainless steel design and sturdy build quality that looks great on any kitchen counter. The intuitive touchscreen and simple dial controls make it very easy to use, even for beginners.

The built-in conical burr grinder grinds beans on demand to extract maximum flavor and aroma. The espresso shots pull with excellent pressure and rich crema every time. Steaming milk is fast and efficient with the powerful steam wand, allowing you to create silky microfoam for latte art.

Overall, the Barista Pro is packed with commercial-grade features that elevate home brewing. The ability to customize shot volumes, temperature, and milk texture makes it possible to brew your coffee exactly how you like it. While the price is on the higher end, it's a worthwhile investment for espresso enthusiasts who want the best.

The only downsides are the small bean hopper capacity and the need for regular cleaning and maintenance. But for those seeking an automatic, mid-range espresso machine that can rival a cafe, the Barista Pro is a top choice worth considering. It produces exceptional espresso and milk drinks with little effort required.