Sage the Oracle Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine, Bean to Cup Coffee Machine with Milk Frother, BES980BSS - Brushed Stainless Steel

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With the original Oracle, this is more of a manual thing, by deciding on the shot volume, amount of milk, and milk temp & texture for the coffee you're about to make. Traditional espresso machines paired with capable grinders are capable of producing great espresso in the hands of a capable home barista. The problem is, most “normal” coffee drinkers aren't home baristas and have no desire to become one.

Sage Oracle Review Updated, Plus The Oracle Touch. - Coffee Blog

Using the buttons on the front of the Oracle, you make your selection from single/dual-shot espressos, a long coffee or just hot water. Here we appreciate the two separate outputs: one that puts water through the coffee arm and a separate output for hot water whose stream falls just behind. Many espresso machines don’t have the facility to output hot water, or do so from the steam arm. Making a cappuccino or latte is just as easy. Simply fill the supplied stainless steel jug with milk and place it under the wand. Rather cleverly, the machine is capable of frothing milk and extracting espresso at the same time. While it didn’t make the silkiest froth (it was a bit too bubbly for my liking), it was more than adequate. Sage Oracle Touch: the taste test You could save some money by buying Sage’s Dual Boiler espresso machine along with a separate grinder, but the Oracle is a far neater solution. Sage by Heston Blumenthal’s The Oracle gives you the feel of a manual espresso machine, while automating the functions that require a bit of expertise. To explain, we’ll take you through the process of making a cup of coffee.

Then, there are people who either have a keen palate where espresso is concerned, for whom nothing but well extracted “true” espresso will do, or they just love the idea of being able to produce great quality espresso regardless of whether they currently have the palate to enjoy it (this was me several years ago). Need to move the Oracle around? Removing the drip tray reveals a big round dial which, when turned, results in wheels popping out of the base. This enables you to move the unit around the kitchen-top with no more than finger pressure. Very thoughtful design. I didn't quite have the same enthusiasm for the Oracle Touch, to be honest, and my wife was no stranger to this fact either ;-), as it annoyed me every time I came to use it that I had to swipe the screen first to tell it what coffee I wanted before it would let me start grinding. As I mentioned, though, this just comes down to whether you're the only person using the machine or not, if you're not then the convenience of being able to select your drink with your preferred settings is probably going to be something you'll find helpful, but if you're the only person using the machine this step may become slightly irritating. Is there any other machine on the market that offers the same cup quality and convenience? Not quite, but see my notes below on the Barista Express Impress. The drip tray spans the width of the machine and slots home with a firm thunk and can handle a surprisingly large amount of water before the warning sign floats upwards and requests you empty it. Behind the tray, a small storage area allows you to store the supplied filter baskets and any small tools you might use regularly. Sage includes unpressurised single-wall baskets in both single and double-shot sizes.

the Oracle™ | Sage (UK) - Breville

Most bean to cup machines get more feature rich the more you spend on them, rather than getting better where cup quality is concerned. In fact for most brands, if you take the cheapest model in the range to pieces, and then do the same with one of the more flagship models in their range, you'll probably find that where it really matters (burrs, brewing unit) they're more or less identical, and what you've dropped the additional money on is not reflected in cup quality.LOL I wonder how much coffee in total Hoffman put through the grinder? With fresh roasted beans his mention of a ratio of 1 to 2.5 doesn't surprise me. Actually it wouldn't surprise me on any machine used. Rather than assuming some ratio is always best judge by taste and try a range of ratios. Sage in a round about way suggest a ratio of ~3 as the double is intended to produce a 60ml shot. A usual range of ratio is anything between 2 and maybe a touch over 3, But another option at any of them is to cut the shot time significantly. Say 20secs - a ristretto as a commercial machine would do it. Longer say 40secs has never worked out for me. A lungo. Some commercial machines have buttons for both, These change the volume that comes out not the grind. Bean to cup machines aren't for espresso perfectionists, they're for the “normal” coffee drinker, most of whom will be more than happy with the coffee that these machines produce, as a more sensitive palate and a greater interest in a wider range of tastes are things that tend to develop along with home barista experience. Many people will enjoy this because while it takes away a lot of the home barista faff, it delivers a far more authentic home barista experience than a bean to cup coffee machine. Not only that, but you can create new coffees, by cloning one of the pre-set coffees, and give it a name of your choice.

SAGE the Oracle BES980UK Bean to Cup Coffee Machine - Currys SAGE the Oracle BES980UK Bean to Cup Coffee Machine - Currys

At the heart of the Oracle is a dual stainless steel boiler triple heat system. The Oracle has a dedicated espresso boiler with PID technology to extract the espresso shot to within +/- 1°C of the selected temperature. The Oracle also has a dedicated steam boiler to deliver instant and continuous steam on demand. You can extract espresso and texture milk simultaneously allowing you to capture the delicate aromatics of the espresso in your coffee by having the espresso and milk ready at the same time. For coffee shop-quality coffee without the queuing, consult Sage The Oracle coffee machine. Sage has worked with their coffee boffins late into many nights fuelled only by, you’ve guessed it – coffee, to come up with this commercial-quality machine. The Oracle coffee machine from Sage delivers café quality coffee in your own kitchen. In a world first, it automates several of the processes that are usually done manually to make it easy for you to achieve coffee perfection every time. With automatic grinding, dosing, tamping and milk frothing, the Oracle guarantees the best flavour from your coffee beans, and does all the thinking, so you don’t have to.

In my humble opinion, when it comes to push button milk texture, there's no coffee machine on the market (or at least I haven't seen it, if there is one) which can rival the quality of the milk texture that the Oracle range is capable of. Not only the quality of the texture but also the control over both the texture and the temperature. At this point, they didn't have a machine for the “normal” coffee drinker, only the espresso enthusiast also known as the home barista. The Oracle Touch is similar to the original The Oracle, with automated grinding, dosing, and tamping, as well as automated milk texturing. This Touch model adds touchscreen control for even simpler use. After 20 seconds or so, you’ll perfectly tampered coffee grounds. Remove the coffee holder and put it into the port next door.

Sage The Oracle™ Bean-to-Cup Coffee Machine, Silver

A steel milk jug is included and, since it uses a dual-boiler system, milk can be prepared at the same time you’re preparing the coffee. If you don’t want frother automation then the manual mode outputs a consistent stream of milk for a more traditional approach. Inveterate coffee tweakers will be pleased to see that you can fine-tune the brew temperature from 86c to 96c in one-degree increments – something Sage proudly claims the Oracle can maintain with +/-1℃ accuracy. However, you can’t tweak the amount of coffee used for each shot. You can have a 22g double or an 11g single, and that’s it. I’ve read online you can subtly tweak the dose by taking the automatic tamping hardware to pieces and reassembling it but this isn’t exactly the last word in on-the-fly adjustability. Sage Oracle Touch review: Verdict When I say “almost fully automated”, it's automated where it really matters, which is dose, tamp, and milk texturing (you can steam manually but it does a brilliant job of texturing on auto). The Sage Oracle (and even more so with the Sage Oracle Touch) is not cheap. It's not the most expensive espresso machine on the market, but when it comes to home coffee machines, I think the price of the Oracle and Oracle Touch are pushing the boundaries of what most people would consider being a reasonable amount of cash to throw at a coffee machine. But, personally, I'd say yes, it's worth it. Here's why: Better Espresso The Sage by Heston Blumenthal the Oracle Touch can seem intimidating. It's big and expensive. However, within 15 minutes you'll be set up and ready to go. It’s deceptively easy, and you only need to be half aware of what’s going on behind the scenes.

So if this is you, then you may be tempted by the huge price difference between the Barista Express Impress vs the Oracle, but just be aware that while the Impress does achieve the same end result where espresso is concerned (home barista cup quality without the usual skill requirement) it won't help you when it comes to texturing milk. If you want microfoam, though, for a really velvety flat white and the more modern “third wave” versions of cappuccino & latte, then this isn't something one-touch bean to cup machines will usually produce.