Sage Barista Express

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ironictoaster wrote: »

Genuinely pulling my hair out trying to dial in the barista pro. I got a bag of cloudpicker Sam as a gift and I nearly gone through the entire bag before I got something that tastes good.


Could not get consistency using a palm tamper/distributor and scales.

Will need to practice on cheaper coffee!

Having had my BE for a few years and dialled in plenty of beans I was not able to get SAM consistent. Went through the whole KG with hit and miss shots.

Bought HENRY next and no issue - dose was very large for a 18g basket but worked lovely and 19.5g in/39g out

So I put it down to the beans - maybe need a better grinder than the ones on the sage machines to get it right. Maybe switch to HENRY for a go.

Klopp

I notice with me, the extraction is almost perfect with a nice pour but the last 10 seconds it starts spitting out towards the end?

Klopp

Klopp wrote: »

I notice with me, the extraction is almost perfect with a nice pour but the last 10 seconds it starts spitting out towards the end?

Does the water break through the coffee and start channeling?

Klopp

Badly fukt wrote: »

Does the water break through the coffee and start channeling?

I don't use a bottomless portafilter, i can't see if any channeling, i am using the one that came with the Sage. I have tried 17g, 17.5g, weigh it all and still see a spluttering. I do think it is probably is channeling but this only happens the last 10 seconds or so, from the first few seconds its perfect a pour.

Klopp

Klopp wrote: »

I don't use a bottomless portafilter, i can't see if any channeling, i am using the one that came with the Sage. I have tried 17g, 17.5g, weigh it all and still see a spluttering. I do think it is probably is channeling but this only happens the last 10 seconds or so, from the first few seconds its perfect a pour.

I have the sage Duo temp pro and separate sage pro grinder so it's a pretty similar setup. I'm putting 19g in mine for ~40g out after 27secs. I had a pretty similar experience always suspected channeling but I've invested in one of the double sided distributor tampers and it's made a massive difference to the consistency of my coffee.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CR9W3BH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_1Y3ZG7KZ3238CPMY69HQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

FileNotFound

Badly fukt wrote: »

I have the sage Duo temp pro and separate sage pro grinder so it's a pretty similar setup. I'm putting 19g in mine for ~40g out after 27secs. I had a pretty similar experience always suspected channeling but I've invested in one of the double sided distributor tampers and it's made a massive difference to the consistency of my coffee.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CR9W3BH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_1Y3ZG7KZ3238CPMY69HQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I'd second the tamper'distributor - helped no end for me.

I have seen a lot of videos online where they use bottomless filters, the pours tend to channel a bit towards end of shot. Haven't got one myself so no advice but youtube might have more info.

Klopp

Badly fukt wrote: »

I have the sage Duo temp pro and separate sage pro grinder so it's a pretty similar setup. I'm putting 19g in mine for ~40g out after 27secs. I had a pretty similar experience always suspected channeling but I've invested in one of the double sided distributor tampers and it's made a massive difference to the consistency of my coffee.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08CR9W3BH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_1Y3ZG7KZ3238CPMY69HQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

FileNotFound wrote: »

I'd second the tamper'distributor - helped no end for me.

I have seen a lot of videos online where they use bottomless filters, the pours tend to channel a bit towards end of shot. Haven't got one myself so no advice but youtube might have more info.

Thanks, i have this distributor and agree it made a big difference. I think it might be channeling, I'll have to make a few more tweaks, its difficult to see without a bottomless portafilter.

FileNotFound

Klopp wrote: »

Thanks, i have this distributor and agree it made a big difference. I think it might be channeling, I'll have to make a few more tweaks, its difficult to see without a bottomless portafilter.

Mine stays pretty consistent with the coffee i have right now.
Mind you I am dosing 19.5 for 40g out. Standard Sage 2 cup basket.

Have stopped changing beans so often now, just getting ones that seem to work well and taste good and sticking to them.

Klopp

Klopp wrote: »

Thanks, i have this distributor and agree it made a big difference. I think it might be channeling, I'll have to make a few more tweaks, its difficult to see without a bottomless portafilter.

Try upping your dose to about 19g

I also try stick with the same coffee

DaveyDave

How long does this machine take to heat up? I see people say leave it 30 minutes to heat up. When I turned mine on, water was 59C from the moment it was ready to start and 59C a few minutes later. Upping the temperature a bit brought it up to 72C instantly, this was no more than 10 minutes.

Espresso should be around 90C which should apparently be 68-74C when it's in the cup? To measure the water I should try get a measurement at the group head without a portafilter?

alec76

DaveyDave wrote: »

How long does this machine take to heat up? I see people say leave it 30 minutes to heat up. When I turned mine on, water was 59C from the moment it was ready to start and 59C a few minutes later. Upping the temperature a bit brought it up to 72C instantly, this was no more than 10 minutes.

Espresso should be around 90C which should apparently be 68-74C when it's in the cup? To measure the water I should try get a measurement at the group head without a portafilter?

You do aware this machine doesn’t have a boiler or boiler with heat exchanger?
It is only thermocoils , so no need to preheat it as such . It almost impossible to get consistent temperatures with thermocoils though.

DaveyDave

alec76 wrote: »

You do aware this machine doesn’t have a boiler or boiler with heat exchanger?
It is only thermocoils , so no need to preheat it as such . It almost impossible to get consistent temperatures with thermocoils though.

Wasn't aware of the specific hardware types, I've just seen so many people saying to let the machine fully heat up for 30 minutes. I only had it on 10 minutes yesterday when increasing it from 59C to 72C and didn't want to change too much as I wasn't sure if it was still warming up or not but if that's not the case then it seems I'm ok to crank the temperature higher.

NATLOR

Trying to help out a friend who has bought this machine and hasnt a clue

first problem, the puck has a lot of water on top after pulling a shot its that wet you can nearly pour it out

Machine is on factory settings for the moment but have adjusted the grind settings numerous times but still happening

what are we doing wrong?

alec76

I won’t be worried about it.

what is your brewing ratio ?

probably too little coffee , gap between shower screen and portafilter too big.

NATLOR

Thanks. Haven't got that far yet only been using factory settings with cheap beans to show them the basics will have a proper go at it tonight

skerry

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117639375#Comment_117639375

Probably a silly question but are you definitely using the right portafilter basket and have machine set to correct shot accordingly. I've never had much success using the one shot setting. I always use 2 shot and 2 shot regular basket. Weigh the portafilter before grinding and weigh again afterwards. If using a double shot you should have 18g or so of grinded beans in the portafilter

Sponsorgate

Cheapest I have seen it for a while now

https://www.did.ie/collections/coffee/products/sage-the-barista-express-bean-to-cup-coffee-machine-black-sesame-ses875bks2guk

caviardreams

€451.50 at velo - €525 plus 14% off this weekend with EARLYBIRD14

https://velocoffee.ie/collections/sage-bean-to-cup-coffee-machines/products/the-barista-express-by-sage?variant=32166123339857

DaveyDave

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118158460#Comment_118158460

Even without discount that's a good price. We bought ours last year for €550 but I've seen a few places charging €650 now.

fits

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118163749#Comment_118163749

We got ours this time last year and it’s been a great addition to the house.

youngblood

This is a great price! Seriously considering!

testtech05

Has the code expired? Tried to use just now but no joy.

Zymurgist

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118158460#Comment_118158460

Managed to snag one yesterday thanks for the tip!

caviardreams

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118167997#Comment_118167997

Think it was the weekend only - maybe sign up for the newsletter for future codes. They may run one again.

Worth picking up some coffee too maybe! The 1kg bags are the best value. Smaller bags of single origin are pricey.

ablelocks

£417 on amazon, with the Jug included

Fruks

has anyone used Java Republic Munkey beans? I like the taste for a reasonably priced bean, but cannot get any acceptable crema. Any thoughts very welcome in terms of grind, volume etc if anyone else has been using them, thanks

Skill Magill

Have one a few days now and find that a neat espresso is extremely bitter, you wouldn't drink it, but it calms down when I throw some hot milk on it (hot milk, defo not froth, might be using the wrong type of milk)

SO, its either the bean or the grind or how hard I press the grindes down or how much grindes I use. Simple :)

I'm going to try and find a sweet bean known for its un bitterness, any recommendations? In Dublin?

TIA

Sync

This post is worth a quick look to anyone with the Sage BE, the plastic on the stock portafilter can be removed, and has (well, mine had anyway) quite a bit of gunk there.

https://www.reddit.com/r/espresso/comments/rxdqi7/psa_for_bbe_users_remove_the_black_insert_from/

I removed mine yesterday and gave it a good clean. I cleaned the showerhead too, and my shot this morning was much nicer than it has been the past couple of weeks (placebo effect maybe, but I was happy)

I'd definitely recommend this all the same for anyone using the stock filter, but hang onto the plastic piece too as it may still be needed when it comes to using those cleaning tablets on the machine.

skerry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118431565#Comment_118431565

Just removed mine and was pretty grim in there behind it. Pulled a shot and seems to taste nicer which is understandable with all the muck that was in there. Gonna leave it out if only function is to prevent cooling of the shot as I generally always heat the portafilter anyway. Thanks for the tip.

DaveyDave

Also worth taking the trays out of the drip tray, usually I just empty it and rinse the top but the bottom tray gets nasty!