# Sage DB - What a machine!!



## Bladevane (Aug 14, 2019)

Over the past xx years I have had a variety of coffee machines culminating in a Fracino Piccino. I bought this about 7 years ago from a newly married couple who had been given it as a wedding present by an employee of Fracino. Unfortunately he had not done his homework as they didn't drink coffee. What a shame. I've had to carry out a few repairs over time - 3 new boiler connections, descale, 'O' rings on the steaming valve - nothing major. However decided to upgrade to a Sage Dual Boiler Black Sesame, currently on offer at eCookShop at £699. What a machine. I had read reviews, company websites, YouTube videos etc so was convinced it would be a nice piece of work and boy I was not disappointed. I am so impressed with the thinking behind the design. Functionality, cable storage, water filling, tool storage, mobility - its all there. And it makes a superb coffee. I just need to polish up my latte art skills, (well develop some really).


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## Coffee Fan Guy (Jun 17, 2020)

£699 is a very good price. The cheapest it is on offer today is £900.

I wonder how relevant dual boilers are today with the emergence of Thermojet (i.e. Barista Pro) at a significant discount. Any thoughts?


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## Twin (Feb 9, 2019)

Agree, the DB is great. Having the luxury of having both the Oracle (non touch) at the same time, I ended up using the DB. The Oracle now sold. The only thing missing from the Oracle is the work light, it was a very useful feature. 
To "Coffee Fan Guy", the Thermo jet is very good, but you still can't brew and steam at the same time. "The boilers" also produce very good steam, consistently. And they do bobbling noises ?... The new BP seems very good, although, the BE will probably hold on still.

On the side.. I have always enjoyed black filtered coffee, and accepted nothing else than making that kind of coffee with Moccamaster from Technivorm. Now, I have just invested in the Sage Precision Brewer, Thermo version. It is absolutely fantastic. The Technivorm vent out.. The special feature where you make small amounts of coffee (450ml or less), is amazing, the way it pour, and then hold back the water in the filter holder, to extract flavours in the best possible way from the coffee, makes my "to go" coffee the best I've ever had. I have yet to try out everything, but each coffee pot has tasted better than ever. The thermo pot holds heat surprisingly well, even with smaller amounts. More to the point, this thing also use the thermo jet element, so it makes pressure pump noise, which is most unusual with this type of machine. It is also what makes the coffee so incredibly good! Only downside, by my means, is that it is not neat, nor pretty. Can I say it is a little "American" in design?.. I would like to see more English/Scandinavian design. next time?


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## Coffee Fan Guy (Jun 17, 2020)

Twin said:


> Agree, the DB is great. Having the luxury of having both the Oracle (non touch) at the same time, I ended up using the DB. The Oracle now sold. The only thing missing from the Oracle is the work light, it was a very useful feature.
> To "Coffee Fan Guy", the Thermo jet is very good, but you still can't brew and steam at the same time. "The boilers" also produce very good steam, consistently. And they do bobbling noises ?... The new BP seems very good, although, the BE will probably hold on still.
> 
> On the side.. I have always enjoyed black filtered coffee, and accepted nothing else than making that kind of coffee with Moccamaster from Technivorm. Now, I have just invested in the Sage Precision Brewer, Thermo version. It is absolutely fantastic. The Technivorm vent out.. The special feature where you make small amounts of coffee (450ml or less), is amazing, the way it pour, and then hold back the water in the filter holder, to extract flavours in the best possible way from the coffee, makes my "to go" coffee the best I've ever had. I have yet to try out everything, but each coffee pot has tasted better than ever. The thermo pot holds heat surprisingly well, even with smaller amounts. More to the point, this thing also use the thermo jet element, so it makes pressure pump noise, which is most unusual with this type of machine. It is also what makes the coffee so incredibly good! Only downside, by my means, is that it is not neat, nor pretty. Can I say it is a little "American" in design?.. I would like to see more English/Scandinavian design. next time?


 Thanks for the reply. Went ahead and bought a new out of warranty SGP for less than a BP at then. Any advice on how to use it or maintain it? What about must have accessories besides a grinder?


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## Twin (Feb 9, 2019)

I do have two Smart Grinder Pro, one refurbished (came at a smart price ), dedicated to filter and press, and the other to espresso grind. Besides that I have only bought a good tamper (with rubber to knock the portafilter with) and a rubber mat. And, yes; ended up with the Sage knock box as well, it too is an excellent design, that works and maintains easily.

I have been pleased with the grinders, I see no reason that a more expensive grinder should do so much better (for me). If the beans are old and dry, no grinder will rectify that. I throw the beans, and buy new freshly roasted, and get great results.

Regards


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## Coffee Fan Guy (Jun 17, 2020)

Twin said:


> I do have two Smart Grinder Pro, one refurbished (came at a smart price ), dedicated to filter and press, and the other to espresso grind. Besides that I have only bought a good tamper (with rubber to knock the portafilter with) and a rubber mat. And, yes; ended up with the Sage knock box as well, it too is an excellent design, that works and maintains easily.
> 
> I have been pleased with the grinders, I see no reason that a more expensive grinder should do so much better (for me). If the beans are old and dry, no grinder will rectify that. I throw the beans, and buy new freshly roasted, and get great results.
> 
> Regards


 Which tamper have you bought?

Have you bought any cleaning product and brushes as well?


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## Twin (Feb 9, 2019)

I bought one exactly like this, in the picture.

No brushes except from those that came with the grinder. Each time I have brewed I run a shot holding the portafilter with the cleaning disk in, just hold it in place, not securing it or turning the handle, with some slight movement during the process. This allows the water to splash over the edge over the portafilter, and also around the bayonet in the group head. I have found this to be very effective, the shower screen and surroundings are kept clean!

Lazy makes creative ?


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## Twin (Feb 9, 2019)

Also.. I do of course use the tablets from Sage, and run cleaning process when prompted, or when I think it's time?


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## Coffee Fan Guy (Jun 17, 2020)

Twin said:


> I bought one exactly like this, in the picture.
> 
> No brushes except from those that came with the grinder. Each time I have brewed I run a shot holding the portafilter with the cleaning disk in, just hold it in place, not securing it or turning the handle, with some slight movement during the process. This allows the water to splash over the edge over the portafilter, and also around the bayonet in the group head. I have found this to be very effective, the shower screen and surroundings are kept clean!
> 
> ...


 Looks good - but 58.4 would be better than 58mm from what I am reading online. How would this compare to the Motta Competition 58.4 for about the same price you reckon?


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## Coffee Fan Guy (Jun 17, 2020)

And which grinder are you using btw?


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## lake_m (Feb 4, 2017)

Post #5 :good:


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## Coffee Fan Guy (Jun 17, 2020)

lake_m said:


> Post #5 :good:


 Time for a cup of coffee to wake-up.


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## Twin (Feb 9, 2019)

Coffee Fan Guy said:


> Looks good - but 58.4 would be better than 58mm from what I am reading online. How would this compare to the Motta Competition 58.4 for about the same price you reckon?


 I have really no idea, this tamper is the only one I have bought, and used, besides the ones that comes with Sage's machines that have a built in grinder, and for some reason the Dual Boiler as well, but not the Oracle. This was for when I did grind and tamp manually with the Oracle - if I wanted other beans than what was in Oracle's hopper. A regular tamper may offer a bit better ergonomics than Sage's, but I'm happy with that one as well. I don't make better coffee with a regular tamper. Sage's requires a bit more strength in your fingers, but I find the design easier to maintain even pressure over the portafilter, so the coffee is pressed level.


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## Bladevane (Aug 14, 2019)

I found the tamper supplied with the Sage DB to be slightly small on diameter as it leaves a rim around the puck. I turned up a new tamper and made it 58.7 mm diameter. This leaves a sharp, crisp puck on the double basket.


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## KingoftheHeath (Nov 22, 2019)

Posted in error and don't know how to delete on Tapatalk

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatal


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

As the thread has popped up I found an amazon prime 58.5mm calibrated one. It's purrrrrfect and was set at 15kg. It's probably still listed but finding it was tricky when I bought it. Amazon's search doesn't always bring up what they actually have available. Really annoying me at the moment.

Before that I used to tamp and then offset the tamper to the edge of the basket and run it around with a firm polishing pressure. Nothing to do with edge channelling, only ever had that when I started. It did leave a tidier used puck though.

? Only thing is that I have recently found good reason to tamp rather harder and that means I need to pack the spring somehow.

John

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## truegrace (Jan 29, 2014)

ajohn said:


> As the thread has popped up I found an amazon prime 58.5mm calibrated one. It's purrrrrfect and was set at 15kg. It's probably still listed but finding it was tricky when I bought it. Amazon's search doesn't always bring up what they actually have available. Really annoying me at the moment.
> 
> Before that I used to tamp and then offset the tamper to the edge of the basket and run it around with a firm polishing pressure. Nothing to do with edge channelling, only ever had that when I started. It did leave a tidier used puck though.
> 
> ...


 I did debate purchasing a calibrated tamper but just opted for a basic 58.4 (especially as I spent £500 on a niche!)

Im going for a lighter and lighter tamp each weekend and still getting good results so all good so far. Need to buy a naked though to keep an eye, but if it tastes good im happy!


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

I bought one and a 2 slope levelling tool down to the BE really. For a lot of the time I used that I didn't realise it was volumetric but was making use of that so got consistent shot weights via a button press. Then woke up one day and nosed on ebay and saw a DB refurb and bought it. Whim really as I was happy with the BE. Then finished up using time and found not surprisingly that my shot weights varied more than I was happy with. Both help but only a light tamp with the leveller. I still use a button press and have spent many hours playing around with grinds prep. Sorted on a Mazzer Mini and ok really now on Niche.  It's character building trying to sort it out but I stick to my 30sec machine timed shots on the DB and have done for some time now. As the scales are out and on I check weigh every shot.

Also tried a 3 wing leveller. Really all either type will really do is help obtain a level main tamp. Problem with the 3 wing is that I mostly got 3 flows going to one when I pulled a shot more or less however light I set it to tamp. They often took a while to turn to 1 as well. The 2 slope as I use it doesn't do that.

 Should have said kg's of beans no hours. It's unusual for me to make more than 3 shots a day.

John

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