# Sage Barista Touch Problems- New Member. Please help.



## jimdoc

I recently got a Sage Barista Touch as a birthday present. I have wanted one on these machines for a while and was delighted in getting it. The instructions say that when you press the brew button it should not start to pour until 8-12 seconds and it should run like warm honey. I have been messing about with settings and double and single filters but don,t get anywhere near this. Mine start to drip at 3 seconds and runs for 25 seconds. this leaves about a centimeter of coffee on the cup (for a latte). I use fresh coffee beans and pre-heat the filter and cup. I think I may have a faulty machine but don't want to make a fool of myself and take it back to John Lewis if I am not doing something right. Please help.


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## Dumnorix

How does the coffee look/ taste? What you have described doesn't sound like a total disaster- maybe try adjusting the grinder one notch finer and see if that helps. If there is little crema and the coffee tastes sour, a finer grind should help. I used to own a Barista Express (less automated version of the Barista Touch), so a more manual approach might help as you learn to get to grips with the machine. If you don't have scales which measure ideally to 0.1 of a gram, then get hold of some as your first priority! Try to weigh out 18g of beans, add them to the grinder and just grind that amount. Tamp and lock the portafilter into place. I believe there should be some sort of manual override to be able to start and stop the brewing process when you choose. Try to extract 40g of coffee and time the extraction from when the pump starts, not when the first drops of espresso appear. If it takes much longer than 30 seconds, adjust the grind to be coarser and try again. If much less than 25 seconds, then adjust the grind finer. Try to use the same tamping pressure every time to take away that variable. The numbers I have quoted are not absolutes- they are just a starting guide- different coffees will taste better at different brew ratios/ extraction times and you will have a personal preference as well.


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## ncrc51

Excellent advice from Dumnorix.


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## jimdoc

Thanks for the tips Dumronix. I will get a set of scales and see how I get on from there.

Thanks once again.


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## Dumnorix

No problem, let us know how it goes.


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## JenniRP70

Hi there, I've just got myself a Barista Touch and from John Lewis, experiencing the same issue. No matter how much I adjust the grind and/or grind time the coffee starts to drip at 3-4 seconds. How did you get on with the advice given here?


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## urbanbumpkin

JenniRP70 said:


> Hi there, I've just got myself a Barista Touch and from John Lewis, experiencing the same issue. No matter how much I adjust the grind and/or grind time the coffee starts to drip at 3-4 seconds. How did you get on with the advice given here?


Hi sounds quick. what beans are you using?


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## MildredM

It doesn't look like the op came back to the thread. Maybe start a new thread, give a good description of what's happening etc and someone will no doubt be able to help.


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## Welshlady

JenniRP70 said:


> Hi there, I've just got myself a Barista Touch and from John Lewis, experiencing the same issue. No matter how much I adjust the grind and/or grind time the coffee starts to drip at 3-4 seconds. How did you get on with the advice given here?


Hi, I have the same problem. Did you get any advice? I'm . diving myself a little crazy trying to fix it.


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## vaderag

Same problem too - just posted a new thread before coming across this... any help?!


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## Stevebee

I think everyone mentions the same issue and the general advise (correctly) has been weigh how much coffee went in the portafilter, then weigh the coffee in the cup in grams. Use a scale the weighs in 0.1g. Note time of shot from when first started .

Then post results for further help - this stage doesn't seem to happen which makes any further advice just guesswork


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## Paul Stocks

Can you change toFahrenheit on a Barista Touch


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## Dalerst

Paul Stocks said:


> Can you change toFahrenheit on a Barista Touch


 No I cant on mine.


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## Kevin Davies

I had the exact same problem. This is how it was solved.



The default grind setting is too coarse. I bumped mine up to 9. This gave finer coffee which produced a far better outcome.


The default of 8 seconds is for the two cup size. We use a smaller cup size (the Touch has multiple sizes) for single coffees. These take about just over 6 seconds to begin.


Pressing the coffee too hard. I was originally forcing the coffee into the cup as hard as I could with the tap. Now I press the tap and my fingers slide down use the edge of the cup as a guide to keep the tap level while I am pressing. So its gently firm but not mashing it in hard. I usually always lift it off, tap the side of the cup to make the edges fall in (there is always edges on first press) then press it again.


Doing the above solved all the problems for me.

1 Cup Filter Settings - 8 Second Grind, 25 second brew.


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## Robski

Hi,

First question: Is the Glenn Watson who started this saite the same Glenn Watson of Glasgow who was so kind to me after my dad died in 1999?

Second question: I love my Barista Touch like life itself (bought last month) BUT how do I get my portafilter to lock consistently?

Time and again I try to manoeuvre it into the lock position, and on the whole I am successful more often than not, but I have no idea why it works sometimes and not others. To say this is mildly frustrating is an understatement.

Any suggestions welcome, thanks.

Bestest

Rob Steen


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