Thank you for the video. The machine is available in Switzerland since last week, I got mine since a week now and I am perfectly happy with it. It's absolutely fool proof in the handling and you still get barista quality coffee - just what I was looking for.
If I’m not mistaken this machine is around 1400€~1500€, I’m not sure all that tech is worth it for that price, the regular impress (not touch) is 700€~800€, half the price!
I see in your Video you use the Sage Puck Sucker. But normally it works only for 58 Portafilter. But the Impress have 54 mm…do you have a special Version for the Impress touch?
I now have a a better understanding of these machines with built-in tamping systems, thanks for the detailed video. I own a Breville barista max+, it is very "manual" compared to these Sage machines and I was looking into it to see if they could solve my problem of wasting some beans each time I buy a different type or brand. At first I thought it would magically guess every setting based on the drink I choose and maybe sort of "scan" the beans or something :D. However it looks like I would still have to go with the trial & error process. I am not as bad at guessing the grind size, compared to the first time I got my machine. However, do you think it is still worth getting one of these Impress machines? Would it make it quicker for me?
Thanks! With every Sage machine you can easily close and take off the beanhopper to switch the beans (in this video at 1:51 you can see how that works ua-cam.com/video/5Z1PtLl-xFw/v-deo.htmlsi=XLU4x-Xt6fDXGogH). Just remember that you’ll have to calibrate the grinder settings every time you switch the beans. My neighbors do this and it works for them. They even got a spare beanhopper so they don’t have to empty it every time they switch. Alternatively you can consider getting a separate grinder for your decaf coffee (the Sage Smart Grinder Pro is a great option that works very wel together with this machine). Lastly you can grind coffee, keep it in a container and dose manually. That last option can get a bit messy and you will have to of comprise on quality as coffee stales faster once it’s ground.
Great video thank you! I usually will use the regular beans. But I like decaf in the afternoon. Can I bypass the grounding and tamping part and use decaf espresso pods?
I have now ordered my third one, not because I like it so much but because the first two had problems with the display and the brew group. My advice? Go for another machine, I've never had such an inconsistent device. Once you finally have your "perfect espresso", this Sage will make it something else while nothing has changed in the settings. Unfortunately I cannot return it and ask for a refund, otherwise I would have done that immediately. For the more than 1200 euros you spend, this machine does not deliver the expectations I had. I have followed two barista training courses and can make espresso with some knowledge, but I prefer to weigh and tamp the coffee myself as I did before rather than leaving it to this machine. Can he make good coffee? Yes, he can, but the program that runs on the machine, including the grinding degree settings and the tamping of the ground beans (I use quality) never gives me the same taste twice. You should expect that. Constantly different coffee flow times with advice to adjust the grinding degree. Once you have done that, you will receive the necessary advice again and so on. No, I do not recommend this device to a true enthusiast. A plus to mention, the Sage customer service is top notch. I received excellent assistance when contacted.
Great review... This may sound like a silly question, but what is the difference between choosing a flat white vs cappuccino vs latte on the touch display? Since they all require the same amount of ground coffee, the only difference is the amount of steamed milk you pour into your cup afterwards? Thanks!
Different texture in the milk and the amounts of milk latte has more milk vs a cappuccino for Eg the machine knows how to change the type of foam - milk needed for the type of drink
Hi, as I saw in this video you are using Puch Sucker. But as I saw in the product description this tool is only for 58mm coffee portafilters. The coffee machine that you are reviewing is with 54mm portafilters. Can you tell me if I can use Puch Sucker like you with 55mm? Thanks
You mention your machine has a regular coffee preset option? My machine doesn’t have that standard coffee or coffee crème drink option. Is that only on some machines depending on what region they’re sold in?
After using the wizard to dial it does it tell you the settings so when you return to a bean you have used before you can just type them in without faffing
Hello Merijin. For ease for my wife to make her latte in the morning before work, I have to get the Touch. In saying that, I understand that the touch comes with their own tamper but would I be able to use the internal grinder for coffee into the portafilter and then use my own tamper, WDT, Gravity distributer before I pull the shot? Thank you
By now you surely found out. In case you haven’t, yes it is possible but you need to use the Sage dosing funnel in order to keep the ground coffee from being pushed from the basket when taking it out for distribution and tamping after grinding.
Hey @justincro7146! That is "The Pucksucker". Both Sage and Breville sell it. Officially it's designed for 58 mm protafilters only, but as you can see it works with the 54 mm ones too. ;-)
I noticed that the tamping on my machine is not that good, at least never even or straight. There is always somewhat moore coffee on the left side than on the rest of the puck. Is this a generic thing, or is it a problem with my machine?
I've bought this machine and it performs well with the dual filter basket. However using the single basket gives issues with extraction time and the actual end product in terms of ml. Did you test this and what are your experiences with that? With a grind setting that has a run time of about 25 seconds, it will go down to 16 seconds here when switching to the single basket and it produces not more than 15ml of coffee. Which is less than a 1:2 ratio and much less than the 30ml they advertise with. Which is strange, because with a too fast extraction you would expect more ml instead of less.
Hi @TimStruijs, Thanks for your comment! That seems strange indeed. I have to admit that I only use the single walled-double basket. Overall a double basket gives a better and more consistent result. Do you know how much coffee is dosed in your single basket? A gram of ground coffee can hold approx 2 ml of water, so possibly the dose is too high (as in; a different coffee:water ratio compared to the double dose). The machine measures the water inside the machine, not in the cup. What you could try is use the single dose basket and the continuous function of the machine to reach the desired amount and see how many seconds it takes. Hope this helps!
When tassimo machines say "Intelli brew" it's a load of nonsense to help sell their cheap pod machines. When the Barista Touch Impress says "Intelligent brew" it means business. It's the real deal.
Thanks @richardvila3! Fortunately that's still possible with the Barista Touch Impress. But bear in mind most consumers can't (or don't want to) steam by hand. I think the machine produces a fantastic foam for an automated steamer. Nevertheless I hope it will inspire a lot of people to explore steaming manually and trigger their interest in coffee knowledge 😀
Thank you for the video.
The machine is available in Switzerland since last week, I got mine since a week now and I am perfectly happy with it. It's absolutely fool proof in the handling and you still get barista quality coffee - just what I was looking for.
If I’m not mistaken this machine is around 1400€~1500€, I’m not sure all that tech is worth it for that price, the regular impress (not touch) is 700€~800€, half the price!
Nice video. Seems the puck sucker also works with 54mm baskets. Gotta get me one of those
Yes, it does! And such a nice time to complete your setup 😁
Was wondering the same thing. Thought there would be no suction due to 54mm vs 58mm. I'm surprised it's working!
I see in your Video you use the Sage Puck Sucker. But normally it works only for 58 Portafilter. But the Impress have 54 mm…do you have a special Version for the Impress touch?
I have the same question…
Me also
Yep, would like to know that as well
Just purchased this as an upgrade over the original Express. Really great walk through. Thank you.
I now have a a better understanding of these machines with built-in tamping systems, thanks for the detailed video. I own a Breville barista max+, it is very "manual" compared to these Sage machines and I was looking into it to see if they could solve my problem of wasting some beans each time I buy a different type or brand. At first I thought it would magically guess every setting based on the drink I choose and maybe sort of "scan" the beans or something :D. However it looks like I would still have to go with the trial & error process. I am not as bad at guessing the grind size, compared to the first time I got my machine. However, do you think it is still worth getting one of these Impress machines? Would it make it quicker for me?
Very elaborate video, thanks.
I reckon it’s not possible to easily switch between reagular beans and decafinated beans?
Thanks!
With every Sage machine you can easily close and take off the beanhopper to switch the beans (in this video at 1:51 you can see how that works ua-cam.com/video/5Z1PtLl-xFw/v-deo.htmlsi=XLU4x-Xt6fDXGogH). Just remember that you’ll have to calibrate the grinder settings every time you switch the beans. My neighbors do this and it works for them. They even got a spare beanhopper so they don’t have to empty it every time they switch. Alternatively you can consider getting a separate grinder for your decaf coffee (the Sage Smart Grinder Pro is a great option that works very wel together with this machine). Lastly you can grind coffee, keep it in a container and dose manually. That last option can get a bit messy and you will have to of comprise on quality as coffee stales faster once it’s ground.
Does it save grind setting for different drinks, Espresso , Americano, etc?
Great video thank you! I usually will use the regular beans. But I like decaf in the afternoon. Can I bypass the grounding and tamping part and use decaf espresso pods?
I have now ordered my third one, not because I like it so much but because the first two had problems with the display and the brew group. My advice? Go for another machine, I've never had such an inconsistent device. Once you finally have your "perfect espresso", this Sage will make it something else while nothing has changed in the settings. Unfortunately I cannot return it and ask for a refund, otherwise I would have done that immediately. For the more than 1200 euros you spend, this machine does not deliver the expectations I had. I have followed two barista training courses and can make espresso with some knowledge, but I prefer to weigh and tamp the coffee myself as I did before rather than leaving it to this machine. Can he make good coffee? Yes, he can, but the program that runs on the machine, including the grinding degree settings and the tamping of the ground beans (I use quality) never gives me the same taste twice. You should expect that. Constantly different coffee flow times with advice to adjust the grinding degree. Once you have done that, you will receive the necessary advice again and so on. No, I do not recommend this device to a true enthusiast. A plus to mention, the Sage customer service is top notch. I received excellent assistance when contacted.
Great review... This may sound like a silly question, but what is the difference between choosing a flat white vs cappuccino vs latte on the touch display? Since they all require the same amount of ground coffee, the only difference is the amount of steamed milk you pour into your cup afterwards? Thanks!
Different texture in the milk and the amounts of milk latte has more milk vs a cappuccino for Eg the machine knows how to change the type of foam - milk needed for the type of drink
Hi, as I saw in this video you are using Puch Sucker. But as I saw in the product description this tool is only for 58mm coffee portafilters. The coffee machine that you are reviewing is with 54mm portafilters. Can you tell me if I can use Puch Sucker like you with 55mm? Thanks
I saw the answer in the precious comments! Great review I am going for one
So Breville is Sage somewhereelse?
Yes! Same company, same quality, mostly the same equipment, but different brand names.
@@merijngijsbers Yeah, Breville in Australia and Sage in the UK.
You mention your machine has a regular coffee preset option? My machine doesn’t have that standard coffee or coffee crème drink option. Is that only on some machines depending on what region they’re sold in?
After using the wizard to dial it does it tell you the settings so when you return to a bean you have used before you can just type them in without faffing
Hello Merijin. For ease for my wife to make her latte in the morning before work, I have to get the Touch. In saying that, I understand that the touch comes with their own tamper but would I be able to use the internal grinder for coffee into the portafilter and then use my own tamper, WDT, Gravity distributer before I pull the shot? Thank you
By now you surely found out. In case you haven’t, yes it is possible but you need to use the Sage dosing funnel in order to keep the ground coffee from being pushed from the basket when taking it out for distribution and tamping after grinding.
Hi Merijn, at the end of the video you mention temperature setting comparing to Oracle. Is there no temperature setting on the Impress?
No option pre-infusion?🤔😒
😊 hello!! How to make milk from sheep?
I like your video werry much thanks👍😊
Where did you get the pod cleaner ?
Hey @justincro7146! That is "The Pucksucker". Both Sage and Breville sell it. Officially it's designed for 58 mm protafilters only, but as you can see it works with the 54 mm ones too. ;-)
I noticed that the tamping on my machine is not that good, at least never even or straight. There is always somewhat moore coffee on the left side than on the rest of the puck. Is this a generic thing, or is it a problem with my machine?
Still waiting to have this in the Philippines. We only have the Breville Barista Touch currently.
Had je m niet ook ff in nl kunnen doen?😅😉
I've bought this machine and it performs well with the dual filter basket. However using the single basket gives issues with extraction time and the actual end product in terms of ml. Did you test this and what are your experiences with that? With a grind setting that has a run time of about 25 seconds, it will go down to 16 seconds here when switching to the single basket and it produces not more than 15ml of coffee. Which is less than a 1:2 ratio and much less than the 30ml they advertise with. Which is strange, because with a too fast extraction you would expect more ml instead of less.
Hi @TimStruijs, Thanks for your comment! That seems strange indeed. I have to admit that I only use the single walled-double basket. Overall a double basket gives a better and more consistent result. Do you know how much coffee is dosed in your single basket? A gram of ground coffee can hold approx 2 ml of water, so possibly the dose is too high (as in; a different coffee:water ratio compared to the double dose). The machine measures the water inside the machine, not in the cup. What you could try is use the single dose basket and the continuous function of the machine to reach the desired amount and see how many seconds it takes. Hope this helps!
Hi, I have the same problem. I am brewing a double shot in 30 seconds but only get 30 ml volume.
Camera so far away from the display. Can't see any menus. :(
When tassimo machines say "Intelli brew" it's a load of nonsense to help sell their cheap pod machines. When the Barista Touch Impress says "Intelligent brew" it means business. It's the real deal.
Touch screens are so disgusting when they're slow like that.
Eeeeeewww!
There’s nothing worse than a laggy touch screen…FFS 🙈
Like better your milk frothing
Thanks @richardvila3! Fortunately that's still possible with the Barista Touch Impress. But bear in mind most consumers can't (or don't want to) steam by hand. I think the machine produces a fantastic foam for an automated steamer. Nevertheless I hope it will inspire a lot of people to explore steaming manually and trigger their interest in coffee knowledge 😀
$800 machine and the screen looks like 2010 .. and looks slow.
$1,200 machine