Sage the Dual Boiler Espresso Machine, Coffee Machine with Milk Frother, BES920UK - Brushed Stainless Steel, Silver

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If you're concerned about longevity, though, I should probably point out that the machine I've bought is over 6 years old, and has pulled around one thousand one hundred shots! This is why it's so important to refresh the filter often enough depending on your water hardness, and to keep on top of descaling, or better still if you're in a hard water area don't use tap water. This goes for all espresso machines. Any espresso machine engineer will tell you that the biggest cause of damage is scale. Any espresso machine can develop bigger issues requiring major repair jobs, but from looking through the huge thread on the Home Barista forums and from speaking to engineers, I don't believe you're any more likely to encounter such an issue with a Sage Dual Boiler than any other dual boiler espresso machine.

There's just one boiler, which is used for steam & hot water, and there's a copper pipe running through this boiler. Coldwater is pulled through this pipe & heated up to the desired temp for espresso. Heat Exchanger Pros It has proven in many SCACE tests to be similar in temperature stability to saturated group espresso machines including the La Marzocco GS3, which is about six grand! Unfortunately your average home barista doesn’t have that long to wait in the morning so Sage developed a 3 second heat up time to optimum temperature so you can pretty much turn on and go. Where it differs from the other Sage coffee machines that have auto milk frothing, though, is that it allows you to queue up the milk to steam after the shot has finished brewing, or the other way around if you prefer.Just having PID control doesn't give you this level of accuracy. You can fit a PID to a Gaggia Classic or Rancilio Silvia, for example, but having a PID alone doesn't give you the temperature stability or accuracy that this combination of technology and engineering inside the Dual Boiler provides. Also, the entry-level Sage machines including the bambino plus, duo temp pro, barista express and barista pro all have a PID, but they won't provide this level of precision. Lastly and most importantly for me the digital temperature control or PID (proportional Integral Derivative) is another key difference between the two machines. Easy (via LCD) adjustment of brew temperature with a range of 86 – 96C | Allows you to get the best result with different roast profiles Who are they for? People who want to get more involved when they have the time, but want assistance when they're rushed, and for homes where there are people who want a more “one touch” type experience and also people who want to explore the home barista hobby. If you compare the Sage Dual Boiler to other dual boiler machines when it comes to these areas, warm-up time, size & cost, the Dual Boiler would usually come out on top.

Who are they for? As with integrated grinder espresso machines, this kind of machine is best suited to people who want to develop home barista skills. You can reduce the skill requirement by using the dual walled baskets they all come with as well as the traditional baskets, but if you don't want a learning curve, you'd be much better looking at the assisted machines. If you mainly drink espresso and have little requirement to steam milk, or if you drink milkies but only have one or two per day, then this isn't really a big deal in my humble opinion. I reviewed the Sage Oracle not long after starting the blog, but that was because Sage had a demo machine doing the rounds at the time, and they were kind enough to trust me with it for a couple of weeks on loan. Not only have Sage done this, but they've done it really well! This was the next thing that suprised me, as I was expecting it to give really vague guidance, but it's actually really quite specific. I quite often hear from people who've clearly done this, who have ended up being what I refer to as “set and forget” users, which means they're attempting to use Sage integrated grinder traditional espresso machines as if they're bean to cup machines. Using a Sage coffee machine like this will cause hit and miss results with each bag of beans, especially when people select to use the single walled baskets because they hear that they're the best.

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Sage would have sent me a demo model, but buying one myself means I can use it and review it over a longer period of time, and also means I can do some modding, which I'm planning to feature in some future youtube videos and blog posts, but more on that shortly.

If you take espresso and milk-based drinks seriously, there is no substitute for a double-boiler espresso machine. It is the only way to achieve the precise temperature control needed to get the best from your specialty coffee. Vibration pumps are smaller and less expensive. But as you might guess from the name, they vibrate. So espresso machines with vibration pumps are usually louder. That said, advances in sound-dampening technology have improved this in recent years. Do you have enough space for a dual-boiler machine? But Breville being Breville, they weren't just going to leave it at that ;-). They designed and patented a way to control the power of this pump, similar to using a dimmer switch, which allows the user to control not only the pre-infusion time, but also the pre-infusion pressure.

Partly Assisted Coffee Machines

So just be aware, any coffee machine selling in the UK with “Breville” on the box, will not be a Sage coffee machine, it's a completely different brand. These machines work differently, and the espresso they produce is different. It's actually closer to cafe crema, a very popular drink in Germany, Austria & Switzerland, which may be why bean to cup coffee machines are hugely popular in these countries in particular.

There are a few important factors to consider when choosing the right dual boiler machine for your home or business. These include how much espresso you brew daily, how much space you have, and whether you plan to plumb it directly to a water line – among other things. This buyer’s guide will walk you through the decision. Why are Boiler Size and Material important? When things can go wrong, however, is when people buy Sage integrated grinder espresso machines believing them to work just like their previous bean to cup machine. Crucially, though, it produces a tasty espresso with a minimum of faff, and Sage’s helpful user manual makes it really easy for users to learn how to get better results or troubleshoot any issues they might be having. Stanley, Z. (2022, June 20). How does temperature stability affect espresso extraction? Retrieved from https://perfectdailygrind.com/2022/06/how-does-temperature-stability-affect-espresso/ It's also possible to go further than this and do what is known as flow profiling, with the help of a scale which gives you flow data such as the Acaia Lunar, and with a very simple (and free, and completely reversible) mod to the machine which enables you to control the pump pressure via the hot water knob.Easy (via LCD) adjustment of pre-infusion time from 0-90 seconds | Gives you further control of the shot Taking everything into account, I think the Sage Dual Boiler is an incredible machine, and that it's potentially the most perfect espresso machine I've ever used.