# Barista Pro



## -Tristan- (Jan 2, 2020)

Goodness me.

I have just been gifted another £250 John Lewis voucher.

As some of you know, I recently bought the Sage Duo Temp with a £250 John Lewis voucher.

I am now wondering whether I should return the Duo Temp, then use the £500 with £79 cash to buy the Sage Barista Pro.

I am really tempted.

Do I do it...


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

What is it you are hoping to get from the Barista Pro, that you won't get from the DTP?


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## Dodds25 (Dec 19, 2019)

Shame they don't sell the Niche Zero. What did you do about a grinder in the end?


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## -Tristan- (Jan 2, 2020)

Dodds25 said:


> Shame they don't sell the Niche Zero. What did you do about a grinder in the end?


 That is a shame. I have the Smart Grinder Pro.


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## Dodds25 (Dec 19, 2019)

Was that in your signature when I posted?? Better have another coffee...

Personally I'd spend it on something else.


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

Having just got a pro. I'd say keep the DTP.

Im still tempted to return my pro. 
haven't even used the grinder yet!

So far it's not producing as consistently good shots as my DTP. The steam wand is great but if anything is too powerful, I am having to steam more milk (more waste) for my small FW. otherwise it just over heats too quickly. I'm sure I'll learn this in time, but for now it's a tad annoying!

Honestly I'd stick with the DTP and get a better grinder. Or save up and get a much better machine.


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## -Tristan- (Jan 2, 2020)

TomHughes said:


> Having just got a pro. I'd say keep the DTP.
> 
> Im still tempted to return my pro.
> haven't even used the grinder yet!
> ...


 Oh man. So you have the DTP and got the BP and are going back to the DTP?

Why do you think the BP isn't as consistent?


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## -Tristan- (Jan 2, 2020)

Dodds25 said:


> Was that in your signature when I posted?? Better have another coffee...
> 
> Personally I'd spend it on something else.


 It has been in my signature for a few days now, get some coffee in your system fella


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## HVL87 (Dec 17, 2019)

How does the coffee puck from a DTP compare to the BE or Pro which both have a 3 way solenoid valve? Is it messy to remove?

Otherwise I wouldn't say you are gaining too much other than faster heat up, quieter operation and automated/programmable shots.

The steam wand is significantly more powerful/faster (assuming DTP is the same as BE) and switching between brewing and steaming is slightly quicker. This is a factor for me as I make a lot of milk based drinks.

With a separate grinder and espresso machine you can upgrade your grinder in the future without taking up extra space, if that's a consideration.

Would be interesting to see Tom's reply on shot consistency.


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## TomHughes (Dec 16, 2019)

The DTP was dead simple.

Once it was up to temp and you stuck to that routine. 
Mine was -

On for 5 mins. Flush head with PF in. purge steam want till the thud thud thud. Stop. Let it purge. 
Purge group head again. Wait a few mins. Pull shot.

With this and a naked PF the shots on my beans were very consistent. I even learnt how to quickly switch between beans and use dose and grind to quickly dial in the new shot. Because I knew the DTP was consistently putting out the same variables (although a little low on temp).

The pro has a few more variables. I think this uber thermocoil is temperamental to pressure and flow. So I am finding if I don't get the variables all right I am getting a terrible shot, thats cold. Not even a substandard one like what would happen on the DTP:

I think if I was buying say a kilo of someone elses beans I would be ok, I could dial in the settings on the BP and nail it each time. 
But I small batch roast, 300g a time, and every roast is different. So you don't have much time to dial in! Hence why I haven't even gone near the grinder yet and it's adding another variable.

What I might do is return the BP and get a rancilio Silvia. More manual and not as techy!


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

AvidBean said:


> Goodness me.
> 
> I have just been gifted another £250 John Lewis voucher.
> 
> ...


 A better idea would be to add some more and swap for a DB. My personal view of the BP is that it's well over priced compared with the BE and also that this style of machine without a pressure gauge isn't a good idea for some one that hasn't used one of them before. I'm assuming it can brew at 15bar and excess water from the OPV goes into the drip tray. Also that it's volumetric rather than being just timed shots. Too high a brew pressure messes up the volumetric aspect on a BE. I also found that generally the ideal gauge pressure was higher than Sage suggest in the BE manual. I understand they now mention time to coffee flowing. There have been some comments about people not achieving that, I'm not surprised.

Problem really is there is no way of knowing what their machine variants do in practice other than by owning one as they could change all sorts of things. I just suspect they haven't. No gauge means keeping an eye on how much water goes into the drip tray to make them work as they should if the same as the BE.

Brewing at 15bar ? Not a problem, main effect is that less coffee can be used. Things can still be balanced in the usual way including flavour.  Sage's usual comments on over and under extracted are so bad I often think that the terms should be banned on this forum. The web is often not much better.

The problem with the DB is that looked at logically it's rather hard to upgrade from in a number of areas. It can also brew in unusual ways. It would take for ever to go through the changes that could be made. "Curiously" it too can be set to be volumetric. They come with the OPV set at 10bar. The idea for volumetric use is that people don't open it. There is even an ideal brew pressure sector on the gauge as their is on the BE. The OPV water goes back to the tank on a DB and most people use it timed like that. If some one wants a volumetric machine that isn't like this buy a commercial machine with a flow meter and buttons. This might change at some point as it seems that there are now ones around in plastic that will take higher brew pressures. China though and no signs I have noticed of them being used. It might turn out to be used as a reason to persuade people to upgrade at some point probably on bean to cup machines.

 Never know but maybe JL have a DB that has been returned, package damaged etc. Some one picked up a bargain Oracle like that.

John

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