Admittedly, the title is a bit sensational. But the Sage Barista Express Impress aims to combine the sometimes somewhat complicated world of portafilter machines with the simple and clean world of automatic coffee machines. It wants to unite the convenience of an automatic machine with the precision of a barista and promises delicious espresso – almost effortlessly. But is that even possible? Is the machine a jack of all trades or a bad compromise that doesn't really make anyone happy?
What's new about the Barista Express Impress?
Sage promotes the Barista Express Impress as a semi-automatic coffee machine. "No stress. No effort." This makes the target group for the machine clear. Sage is aimed at people who want a stylish and high-quality coffee machine with a portafilter feel, but who don't want to get too involved with the work of a barista. Brew recipe, flow-through temperature, grind distribution, leveling, tamping, channeling? The buyer of an Express Impress hardly has to worry about these things.
On the other hand, the machine is by no means fully automatic. If you have it at home, you can't just press a button and drink a clean cup of coffee in a few seconds. The Sage Barista Express Impress doesn't do all the work for you, only part of it. It tries to position itself between the worlds of a portafilter machine and an automatic machine – and it only succeeds mediocrely.
You can make really delicious espresso with the machine, but to be honest, you often have to put in even more effort than with a classic portafilter machine like the Barista Express, the predecessor of the Impress. You have to work with the machine's fixed automatic settings or even bypass them – and that's not so easy.
However, anyone who uses the machine without thinking much – i.e., in the spirit of "no stress, no effort" – will hardly enjoy a truly delicious espresso.
That's why we decided to write a section with tips and tricks in addition to a normal review of the machine. In addition, we are currently developing an online course that will guide you step by step to get the most out of this machine. So, if the Barista Express Impress is already on your kitchen counter and your espresso doesn't taste good, you should definitely sign up for our online course.
The exterior of the Sage Barista Express Impress
The Barista Express Impress comes in the typical Sage design and is available in silver stainless steel and black. It has a built-in grinder, which is based on the solid entry-level grinder Sage Smart Grinder Pro and holds 250 g of beans in the hopper. The water tank has a volume of 2 liters, while the drip tray holds about 1 liter. A water filter system is included, allowing you to use normal tap water without having to run it through separate filters. This works well!
The machine is a thermoblock machine. It does not heat one or two separate boilers, but uses a thermocoil. This type of instantaneous water heater allows the machine to reach operating temperature in a short time. However, this unfortunately does not work as well as with other thermoblock machines – more on that later.
Sage also uses a 54 mm portafilter system for the Barista Express Impress. So, if you want to buy standard accessories for 58 mm portafilters, they will not fit the Sage machine. This is a pity, but we are used to it with Sage by now.
On the front of the machine, in addition to the power button, there are buttons for a single and double shot, as well as a button and a rotary dial for adjusting the grinder. The machine has a so-called volumetrics system built in, which allows you to set the amount of water flowing through the espresso, so you don't have to weigh each shot. While the volumetrics system is not entirely exact, it works quite well. The manometer is a nice gimmick, but the displayed pressure is not a guarantee of a delicious espresso.
On the left side of the machine is the "tamper lever," probably the machine's biggest innovation. This is where the coffee grounds are compressed after grinding. In addition, it simultaneously analyzes whether the portafilter is full enough or too full.
The grinder in the Barista Express Impress is essentially based on Sage's Smart Grinder Pro. The grind can be adjusted finely and precisely, and it can definitely grind fine enough for espresso. If the preset range on the side wheel is not sufficient for your coffee, you can also roughly adjust the grinder in the grinding mechanism. We have made a video on this.
The scope of delivery is quite satisfactory. There is a milk jug, sieves, a water filter, and all sorts of other useful accessories. Even a cleaning program has been integrated into the device, which is an absolute rarity for machines in this price range. All in all, the workmanship and the scope of delivery are at a normal and very good Sage level. How do I prepare an espresso with the Barista Express Impress?
How do I prepare an espresso with the Barista Express Impress?
You take the warm, clean and dry portafilter and lock it under the grinder. The portafilter is automatically pulled into the correct position, so little coffee grounds fall beside it.
Then press the grind button and wait about 10 seconds until the ground coffee is in the portafilter. The machine then indicates that you should operate the "tamper lever" on the left side. When you press the lever down, the machine shows how full the portafilter is. Ideally, a smiley will light up – then you have the right amount of coffee powder in the portafilter. If the display shows too little or too much, you must adjust the grind time in manual mode with the rotary dial to optimize the filling quantity in the portafilter. This display can be useful and helpful for beginners.
More coffee powder does not automatically mean "better coffee." The coffee swells when it comes into contact with water. This presses it against the shower screen, which, depending on the shower screen and properties, causes uneven extraction. Therefore, you should always make sure not to overfill the portafilter! Incidentally, there is always a minimum fill quantity so that the coffee powder can offer enough resistance.
Now flush the brew group once without the portafilter to clean the shower screen and bring it up to temperature. Then insert the portafilter, place your cups underneath, and press the button.
For a cappuccino, froth the cold milk with the steam wand. With the Sage Barista Express Impress, this is a bit slow, but the steam power is sufficient to produce fine microfoam. Thanks to the thermoblock principle, the temperature change from brewing to frothing and back again is quite fast, which we also liked.
All in all, it is relatively easy and straightforward to make your daily coffee with the machine's automatic functions.
But the question remains: does automatic tamping directly after grinding really guarantee a good espresso extraction? Let's look at the problems of the Express Impress:
Problem 1: Coffee Puck Preparation
The process with a traditional portafilter machine involves tapping the portafilter after grinding to evenly distribute the coffee powder. There are even levelers that create a flat surface, or espresso distributors that loosen the coffee grounds before tamping.
Why is this important? Ideally, the coffee powder should be evenly distributed in the portafilter without clumps. Then, the coffee grounds are uniformly compacted by tamping. If everything is done correctly, the espresso is extracted evenly over the entire area of the portafilter.
However, if the coffee grounds are not evenly distributed, some areas in the portafilter will allow the espresso water to flow through faster, while others will allow it to flow slower. This results in the coffee being partly over-extracted (too long extraction) and partly under-extracted (too short extraction). Under-extracted espresso tastes sour, over-extracted espresso tastes bitter.
Inadequate preparation in the portafilter therefore leads to an unbalanced espresso in the cup. A good barista is primarily recognized by the fact that he takes a lot of time to prepare the puck in the portafilter. What does this mean for the Barista Express Impress?
Since the grinding and tamping process is automated, we have no influence on the result. The coffee powder does not fall evenly into the portafilter, but forms a small hill due to the process. If we then do not shake the portafilter and distribute the ground coffee, but simply pull the lever, the machine tamps an uneven mound. The result is an uneven coffee puck. In addition, the tamper does not fit flush with the portafilter, leaving a rim on the outside that is hardly or not at all compressed.
A quick note on the automatic dosing mode: If you have too little powder in the portafilter, the smiley won't light up when tamping, and the machine will prompt you to press the grind button again. The machine then grinds for another second and, when tamped again, creates a mound on top of the already tamped coffee puck. This surface is then so inhomogeneous that the espresso can never taste good. The automatic dosing thus actually prevents a satisfying coffee experience.
The espresso you prepare with all this imprecision is therefore always a compromise between "too sour" and "too bitter" and never tastes truly rounded and balanced. However, some coffees are very forgiving and taste good despite the imprecise preparation, such as our Apas Organic Coffee
At the end of the article, you will find a small trick to better distribute the coffee powder.
Problem 2: The Temperature
Sage already has several thermoblock machines on the market, including the Sage Bambino and the Barista Pro, both of which are equipped with a thick-film heater. The great thing about these devices is that after a heat-up time of only a few seconds and flushing the portafilter, the brewing temperature for the espresso remains constant and at a good level of about 90 °C or, even better, 92 °C.
The problem with these machines was rather that they were set too hot. Sage argued in the past that they let the machines heat up too high after switching them on to warm up the portafilter. With the Barista Express Impress, Sage is now taking a different approach. And heats up more cautiously.
After switching it on, the Impress indicates after about 40 seconds that it is ready for operation. According to our measurements, however, the Barista Express Impress does not even reach a temperature of 90 °C after 5 minutes. After a flush shot to preheat the portafilter, the brewing temperature for the first preparation after 5 minutes is about 84 °C. This espresso tastes sour and undrinkable. Only after 3-4 brews does the machine reach temperatures of 90-92 °C. Even after 10 minutes, 2-3 brews are still needed until the desired temperature is reached.
To truly ensure that the first espresso can be perfectly prepared, a heat-up time of up to 25 minutes is required. This is how long a large dual boiler machine takes, not a thermoblock machine.
We found a trick to shorten the heat-up time. You can also find it at the end of the article.
Problem 3: Brew Ratio
To brew consistently delicious espresso, one follows a so-called brew ratio or a brewing recipe. The amount of ground coffee powder is put into a ratio with the milliliters of beverage in the cup. We often recommend 1 gram of coffee powder for 2.5 grams of espresso in the cup (brew ratio 1:2.5). Because the machine controls the coffee quantity independently and manual control is rather imprecise, we don't know exactly what brew ratio we ultimately have. So, it's a gamble whether the semi-automatic espresso tastes good. Sometimes an espresso succeeds, sometimes not. This is not really satisfying.
Tips and Tricks
Since we deal with the machines very intensively, measure them and sometimes even disassemble them, we often come across small, hidden functions or hacks. We present two tricks that will surely make your espresso from the Barista Express Impress taste better. To delve into every detail of the machine, however, you should sign up for our online course!
Fast Heat-up
Anyone who buys a thermoblock machine certainly doesn't want to wait 25 minutes for their first cup of espresso. You can bring the machine up to temperature faster with a so-called fast heat-up.
To do this, you switch on the machine as usual. As soon as the machine is "heated up" after 40 seconds, place a milk pitcher under the steam wand and turn on the steam for approx. 2 minutes. Because frothing milk requires a much higher temperature than brewing, this process causes the machine to become "too hot."
If you then insert the empty portafilter and flush it once, you will be at the ideal espresso temperature. Another big advantage of this method is that the temperature curve remains more stable for further espresso brews than without.
However, to be honest, it's not a truly elegant solution. Who wants their fancy new espresso machine loudly steaming and heating up for minutes before it's even ready to go? This hack is useful, but it's not pretty!
Puck Preparation
To prepare the coffee puck better and more homogeneously, you can remove the portafilter from the machine after grinding. Then you tap it with the palm of your hand ("Karate-Move") and gently tap it on the countertop. This closes air channels that were created during grinding and creates a homogeneous surface.
Now you can re-lock the portafilter under the grinder and pull the tamper lever. Or you can tamp outside the machine with an external 54 mm tamper.
This way, the espresso is extracted much more evenly, and you get a more balanced beverage with much more balanced sour and bitter notes.
Conclusion: Automation at its worst
Automation sounds good, progressive, and somehow sexy. We think of everyday conveniences, fewer production errors, and consistent quality. Thus, the step Sage takes with the Express Impress is completely understandable: portafilter quality with little effort.
In our opinion, however, the concept doesn't work out at all. The automation takes the most important processes in espresso preparation out of your hands as a home barista and does them much worse than you could do yourself. This is not automation, but a deterioration.
After extensive testing, we conclude that delicious espresso can only be made with the machine if a large part of the "innovations" are bypassed and the espresso is extracted as traditionally as possible. However, this is more cumbersome than with a normal portafilter machine.
If you already have the Express Impress at home, our tricks and online course will enable you to make good espresso. However, if you are only considering buying the machine, we advise against it!
