# Hello Coffee Lovers from the Cotswolds - New Sage Barista Machine



## Priceyy (Apr 17, 2021)

Hi everyone,

having been a pour over and aeropress fan for a long time, I've now upgraded from a cheap nasty espresso machine to a Sage Barista (The one about £550 if there's multiple models)

Have been enjoying the process of dialling in, tasting the variences and enjoying making my trusty flat white.

I am finding the grinder setting difficult to get to the desired effect. At the finest setting, I am getting 37 out from 18 I'm at around 21 seconds, I am worried if I tamp any harder I nah cause channeling? Coffee takes pretty good, but not great. Any advice? Currently using a freshly roasted medium bean from a local place, about a 4/10 apparently.

Also seen some things about best results waiting an hour for the machine to heat up? Seems a little excessive, anyone else have any a experience ?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Welcome to the forum...

Just try going a little finer with the grind...You shouldn't need to tamp too hard.

I wouldn't have thought it needs an hour to heat up...probably a few minutes or so...then push a bit of water through the group before making the shot should get the temperature of everything up....mainly the portafilter which will be quite cold. The thermoblock will also be hotter, as one of the problems is generally the water being a bit cool for espresso.


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

On that machine, flush a bit of water through the grouphead. Run a bit of steam - just the pump pulsing should be enough. Steam off, then fit the portafilter and pull the shot as soon as the machine lets you. It does benefit from getting the thermocoil hot. The difference is only really apparent normally when more than one drink is made on the trot.

With tamping makes sure you have either a central heap of grinds or that they are even with the basket. If they are lopsided it will interfere with tamping = channelling etc. I'd suggest aiming for 10kg at least. That's not much really. If you can tapping the portafilter down a couple of times into the mat firmly can also help. Lighter ones will settle the grinds but remember to keep them even.


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## GrahamSPhillips (Jan 29, 2021)

Actually the Barista can make excellent coffee; take a look at Hoon's Youtube Channel or Lifestyle Labs. You can adjust the INNER burr (it comes factory set around 5) to around 3 and that should solve your problem!


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## ajohn (Sep 23, 2017)

GrahamSPhillips said:


> You can adjust the INNER burr (it comes factory set around 5) to around 3 and that should solve your problem!


 The inner burr is conical. The outer burr has the adjustment. Ok so go ahead and adjust it. End result one day grind at the finest setting for some reason and the burrs rub - whoops need new burrs, both of them. If people do adjust it carefully check that can't happen. Unless adjustment is needed all it changes is the numbers that produce the same grind size before adjustment.



Priceyy said:


> Also seen some things about best results waiting an hour for the machine to heat up?


 I wondered where that came from so looked at Hoon's video. Oh dear. His hit the button and stop when a shots size has come out is "interesting" as well. If people want ~20sec shots fine but 30 is used far more often by just about all people.

There is a catch in the Sage BE manual in terms of the pressure gauge readings. They suggest a grams of grinds in to grams out of shot of 3 which I found often does work out on this machine with many beans. They mention ml, shot glasses when most use scales as 1ml is rather close to 1g. The catch is pressure gauge needle being vertical. That will produce a ratio of 3 in well under 30secs from when the button is pressed. If some one wants a ratio of 2 - no chance. Grind finer and then 30 sec or even longer is achievable but the needle will go past the vertical position. I put many kg through mine and a wide variety of beans.

The crazy thing is that the gauges dial is marked with the espresso brew pressure range. It's the whole of the grey sector. In practice the machine can still function as it should a little way past it. This is the range where the programmable buttons can work as they should. Go more past the grey sector and it wont. It wont anyway if grinds prep is too poor. It can only cope with so much variation.

Take a dual wall basket and add preground and the dial will behave as they suggest.  There is more info on these baskets in the manual. Historically it's how many might use the machine. Initially they only supplied dual wall with the Bambino. The other point is that the dual wall baskets can cope with crap none fresh roasted beans as per many out of super markets etc. Just set the grinder as needed and use the dual wall baskets.

Hoon's flushing through a basket is similar to what I did to get over the initial thermocoil heating problems. I used an empty dual wall basket. The single and pulled a short shot - 10 or 15sec is plenty and uses little water. The needle will go more or less vertical. It preheats everything to the correct temperature. Then fitted the basket I wanted to use. The dual wall will be very hot, a portafilter extraction tool on amazon gets around that problem. This only needs doing before the first shot if some one is making several. The tool only cost a few quid and once used I wont be using anything else for taking a basket out. I also use it to get the grouphead seal out.

Or as I mentioned some have selected steam briefly to do the same thing. Running some hot water might works as well. I liked the dual wall basket approach as it uses little water so the drip tray doesn't fill quickly and it give the machine a clean water backflush every time it's used.

It's easy to see if these steps are needed - make 2 drinks one after another and taste them.  However if your grinds prep is questionable they may not taste the same anyway.

Tamping - I'd suggest 15kg as per the manual. Channelling is mostly down to tamping uneven grinds and that sort of problem or air spaces in the grind etc. Stirring can add those as well as remove them. It's also a good idea to tap the grinds down on the tamping mat keeping the grinds level / even. If tamped out of square it's best to correct using a bit more pressure.

 Leave the machine on for 2hr? I suspect it will turn itself off long before that. Might be wrong and I'm not convinced it will get round the preheat problem if there is one. Mine was only on when I used it. The whole idea of machines having quick heat up times. The problem is down to PID and that area also causes problems in some boiler based machines but the opposite way around - brew water cooling as a shot is pulled. If they did anything else the water may get too hot. TBH I wonder why they don't set out to keep it in some range rather than trying to be exact but even that would have limitations.


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