With a Sage espresso machine and a bit of practice, you can brew a delicious, well-balanced espresso at home.
Below, we explain how to use a Sage coffee machine like the Barista Express, whether you’ve just taken it out of the box or just need a quick refresher.
How to use a Sage coffee machine
When you use your Sage Barista Express correctly, you’ll get a beautiful, syrupy espresso. You’ll taste that the acidic and bitter notes are nicely balanced.
Here’s how to use your Sage Barista Express to get there:
1. Turn on your machine, fill the hopper with coffee beans, and fill the water tank with water.
Make sure to use a water filter to protect your machine from limescale.
2. Place the single-wall 18-gram filter basket in your portafilter. When setting up your Sage Barista Express, we measure how long a double espresso takes to brew.
Aim for the following ratio: 18.5 grams of ground coffee in, 40 grams of liquid espresso out in 25–30 seconds.
3. Weigh out 18.5 grams of ground coffee using your coffee scale. You can do this by taring your portafilter on the scale or by using a coffee dosing cup.
4. Complete your puck prep using a tamper and coffee distributor.
5. Lock the portafilter into the machine, place your barista cup on the scale, and tare again.
6. Press the button for a double espresso (the far-right button) and start the stopwatch on your scale. (You can also time this with your phone.)
7. Press the double espresso button again once you reach 36 grams of coffee in your cup.
With the final drips after stopping, you’ll usually end up at around 40 grams of espresso.
8. Check the time it took to reach 36 grams. This is your brew time. If it’s between 25 and 30 seconds, your Sage Barista Express is dialled in. Enjoy your coffee!
9. If it’s under 25 seconds, your grind is too coarse and the coffee will taste sour.
Adjust the grinder on your Sage Barista Express to a finer setting using the dial on the left side of the machine. Turn the dial away from you, towards slower extraction.
10.If it’s over 30 seconds, your grind is too fine and the coffee will taste bitter.
Adjust the grinder to a coarser setting (turn the dial towards you, towards faster extraction).
It’s possible that your espresso flows within 25–30 seconds but still doesn’t taste great. Always check the brew advice for your specialty coffee beans and experiment with different doses and brew times. That’s how you’ll quickly discover your own taste preferences.
Setting up the Sage Barista Pro
Setting up a Sage Barista Pro works almost the same as setting up a Sage Barista Express.
With the Barista Pro, it’s a bit easier because the machine shows the brew time on the display. That saves you from hurriedly pressing buttons on your coffee scale.
Follow the steps above to set up your Sage Barista Pro and aim for the following ratio: 18.5 grams in, 40 grams out in 25–30 seconds.
You adjust the Sage Barista Pro using the dial on the left side of the machine. When you turn it, you’ll see the grind size change on the display.
How to adjust the grind size on your Sage Barista Pro:
- Extraction too slow: set the grind size coarser by turning the dial to a higher number.
- Extraction too fast: set the grind size finer by turning the dial to a lower number.
Important: Include the pre-infusion time in your brew time. During the first 5 seconds, the Sage Barista Pro wets the coffee puck with water, but you won’t see coffee flowing yet. Still count this time as part of the total brew time, just like the Sage Barista Pro does.
Good to know when using Sage coffee machines
A great espresso depends on many different factors. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can fine-tune your coffee by playing with these variables.
Adjusting the temperature on Sage Barista Express
An ideal espresso is brewed with water between 90 °C and 96 °C. The exact temperature also depends on the beans you’re using and the type of machine.
If you’re using lighter roasted beans (light to medium roast), it’s definitely worth upping the temperature on your Sage Barista Express.
Here’s how to adjust the temperature on your Sage Barista Express:
1. Press and hold the PROGRAMME button.
2. Press the POWER button. You should hear a beep.
3. Within 5 seconds, press POWER or PROGRAMME again. The machine will beep twice.
4. Press PROGRAMME. You can now adjust the default water temperature.
5. Increase temperature: Press the 1-cup button to increase the temperature by 1 °C, or the 2-cup button to increase it by 2 °C.
6. Lower temperature: Press FILTER SIZE to decrease the temperature by 1 °C, or POWER to decrease it by 2 °C.
It’s also important to use fresh, limescale-free water. Read more here about descaling your Sage espresso machine.
When to dial in your Sage Barista Express again?
You should adjust your Sage every time you open a new bag of beans or switch to different beans.
Even if you always use the same coffee, fresher beans will often need a different grind size. With each new bag, it’s a good idea to set the grinder on your Sage Barista Express slightly coarser to start with.
As your beans age, you’ll usually need to grind a little finer to maintain the right brew time.
So, setting up your Sage Barista Express is an ongoing process, one that deserves a bit of attention with every espresso.
How to recognize a well set-up Sage Barista Express
Besides brew time and good taste, these signs indicate a properly dialled in machine, according to Sage itself:
✓ Coffee starts flowing after 4–7 seconds
✓ Syrupy texture, similar to warm honey
✓ Golden-brown crema with a mousse-like texture
✓ Dark brown espresso
✓ No wet espresso puck when knocking it out
