The Sage SES 878 Barista Pro promises good espresso for a reasonable price. An espresso machine with an integrated grinder for €650 or 800 Swiss Francs. That's quite something, and if the espresso tastes good, this combination is truly interesting.
NEW: Also check out our review of the Sage Barista Touch.
As coffee professionals, it's important to us that you can make good coffee with simple means, and that also means without spending thousands of francs. That's why we take a close look at affordable espresso machines. Our goal is to achieve good coffee by all means, making it as accessible as possible. That's why we've already tested the Delonghi Dedica EC 685 and thoroughly examined the Rancilio Silvia. An overview of common espresso machine types can be found here.
NEW ARTICLE: Tips and Questions Sage Barista Pro, Express and co.
Naming Chaos – Who can explain it?
Before we dive into the machine's features, we first need to clarify its type and name. And in this regard, the machine is more complicated than its operation. In Switzerland, the Barista Pro now operates under the corporate name of the Australian manufacturer Sage. It wasn't long ago that Sage models were available as Solis devices. In German-speaking countries, they were also known as Gastroback, while the English-speaking world referred to them as Breville. Under new management in Europe, a standardization process began.
In an increasingly global world, this step was long overdue. You can already see the chaos on YouTube when searching for reviews of the machine. You'll find a lot if you enter the different names – but is it really my machine? This led to a lot of uncertainty for customers.
Compact but with plenty of features
One of the biggest pros of this coffee machine is certainly that everything is under one hood. And that's in just 39.5 cm width, 39.2 cm depth, and 42.2 cm height. An espresso grinder with a conical burr is integrated, as is the entire brewing apparatus. Even the included tamper can be conveniently stored in the coffee machine. The water tank has an impressive capacity of 2 liters. The bean hopper holds 250 grams. In our opinion, this is the perfect amount for a coffee bag – at least for home use. 1kg bags are often opened before use, drawing in air and tending to make the coffee go stale.
The LCD display on the front provides the most important information, and the grinder can be easily adjusted with a dial. You can place the included milk jug on top of the machine. And voilà, the complete setup is ready. In roughly 40 cm square. We call that compact – super compact, in fact!
Tip: If you buy this espresso machine, you can start right away. You'll only need a knock box for used coffee grounds; otherwise, you're all set.
The Conical Espresso Grinder
We regularly preach: a good grinder is the prerequisite for good espresso. The fact that Sage has now integrated a grinder is, in our opinion, both bold and good. Bold, because even established grinder manufacturers fail at making good grinders. Furthermore, a grinder in an espresso machine carries the risk of heating up. The heat from the espresso machine can cause the grinder to warm up and, in the worst case, even become damp.
In terms of heat, a weakness of the Sage Barista Pro is an advantage. Due to its own Thermo-Jet heating principle, the heat is not distributed throughout the entire body of the espresso machine. For example, the cups on the espresso machine are not heated either. This is a disadvantage for the cups, but an advantage for the grinder.
With 10-15 consecutive espresso shots, we observed a slight warming of the dispensed coffee grounds to around 30 degrees Celsius. This is absolutely acceptable. The more coffee was ground, the more the machine clumped. A clean level and tamp are then necessary to avoid the risk of channeling (Channeling).
Mastering coffee powder quantity
The grind quantity fluctuated within an average range over 10 grinds. Average compared to grinders in the sub-€800/1000 Swiss Franc range. For our test, we weighed 18.2 / 18 / 18.4 / 18.1 / 18.6 / 18.5 / 18.3 / 18.4 / 18.5 / 18.4 grams.
The grind size itself can be adjusted in 30 steps using a dial on the left side of the machine. The current grind size is displayed above the display, as is the current grinding time. The grinding time can be set in seconds, but only in 0.5-second increments. Our target quantity was actually 18 grams. With a grinding time of 13.5 seconds, we made the measurements described above. With a grinding time of 13 seconds, coffee powder with an average weight of 17.7 grams was dispensed.
Display Sage Barista pro
The fact that a more precise setting is not possible can be well compensated for by adjusting the water quantity. However, the machine could be improved without much effort by a more precise selection of grinding time. We would like to see this from Sage in the next revision.
Espresso Baskets and Fake Baskets
Four baskets are supplied with the Sage. For serious coffee makers, only the two baskets with actual openings are interesting. Two of the included baskets simulate multiple openings but actually have only one tiny opening. They are intended for "pre-ground coffee." In this case, the brewed coffee is pressed through a double-walled bottom and then through a tiny hole. This creates crema even with old, pre-ground coffee. This visually simulates that the coffee is good. However, crema alone is not a quality characteristic of coffee – precisely because of such baskets. If you use pre-ground coffee in this espresso machine, you're doing something wrong. After all, it has its own grinder built in!
What looks like a normal sieve is actually just one hole.
A "normal" 1-shot and 2-shot basket are also included. We recommend the 2-shot basket. Get used to working with it. In doubt, you'll drink more coffee or always have one brewed for your office neighbor. The espresso quality and reproducibility of the 2-shot basket are significantly better!
Mastering the dosing amount
Sage states the dosing amount for the 2-shot basket as 19 to 22 grams. We only managed to fit a maximum of 18 grams of coffee in there and advise against trying to fit more. You don't gain anything by squeezing in more coffee and having the espresso machine's shower head already pressing on the coffee grounds. As soon as the coffee grounds come into contact with water, they expand further. The risk of channeling is extremely high if you overfill the portafilter like this.
Therefore, work with a maximum of 18 grams or, even better, 17.5 grams. This will also reduce the problem of filling the basket. By pressing the portafilter against the grinder's trigger mechanism, grinding begins. If you don't interrupt it, it will grind for the selected 13 seconds. The portafilter itself has a diameter of 53 mm. Sage states 54 mm here – but our 54s are more like 53s. The powder in such a narrow portafilter has less room to fall and distribute well. This creates a mound on the portafilter and partly falls outside. This is clearly visible in our video, which is embedded at the top of the page (Minute 11:49 in the video).
However, the grinder can be interrupted by pressing the trigger button again. By tapping the portafilter against the countertop, the powder collapses slightly and creates more space for the coffee grounds. Felix performs this process three to four times in the video to fill 18 grams into the portafilter.
Instead of interrupting the 13 seconds, we recommend programming the grinding time directly to, for example, three times 4 seconds. With this method, we obtained more accurate coffee quantities than by interrupting the 13 seconds.
After leveling and tamping, the espresso extraction follows. Speaking of leveling. Sage supplies a "leveler," which we, however, could not use with the high fill levels suggested by Sage.
Brewing and Coffee Quality
The grinder indeed does the most important part of the work. What follows is the brewing process, i.e., the continuous application of water at the most constant brewing temperature possible. The Sage SES 878 Barista Pro works by default with pre-infusion. This means it initially applies a smaller amount of brewing water to the coffee grounds without pressure. The use of such a technique is a matter of philosophy. We like to say: what matters is in the cup. You can make good coffee with and without pre-infusion.
Our coffees tasted inconsistent after we set the machine's temperature to the lowest value. Although we still measured peak temperatures of over 98 degrees, these dropped relatively quickly and settled at just over 96 degrees before falling further. The machine delivered 9.5 bar pressure throughout the brewing process without complaint.
The espressos pulled were too bitter and unbalanced at high brewing temperatures. With adjusted brewing temperature, the taste was acceptable.
The water quantity can be set and adjusted. This is important, by the way, as it allows you to better account for the reduced coffee quantity. The brew ratio depends on the roast and the coffees. For our coffees, we often recommend a ratio of 1:2.5, meaning, for example, 17 grams of coffee are used for the double espresso, and 2.5 times that amount is brewed, i.e., 42.5 grams.
Faster heating is almost impossible
It's truly impressive how quickly the espresso machine heats up. After switching it on, it reports itself ready to brew in about 3 seconds! This is a real added value for anyone who wants to make a quick coffee. However, one thing should be noted. Although the Thermo-Jet heating device of the espresso machine is then ready, the material of the portafilter and the like is not yet warmed up. If you start brewing now, you will lose temperature to the portafilter and the statics. Therefore: always run at least one shot through the portafilter without coffee. This warms up the machine, and the espresso tastes good from the very first shot.
Practical. This makes it easy to tell when the drip tray needs emptying.
Frothing milk and cappuccino
The Sage SES 878 Barista Pro also makes pretty decent milk foam – if you're good at it. This provides the basis for all espresso-milk mixed drinks like cappuccino and latte macchiato.
Here again, the machine's quick changeover speed is impressive. Just brewed the espresso, and the machine is already ready for milk. This can be triggered with a rotary knob on the right side of the machine. The hot water should be briefly drained, then frothing can begin.
The machine has relatively little power. This slows down the frothing process – which is initially good for beginners. You have more time to find the right position and don't have to stress as much as with machines with more pressure. On the other hand, it is also more difficult to get all the milk spinning and thus to break down the milk bubbles again. But it is absolutely possible and our video on Latte Art can help you with that.
The included milk jug is suitable for frothing. However, since the spout is not completely straight, clean and, above all, straight pouring is made more difficult. An upgrade is worthwhile here.
Americano and other coffee drinks
Other beverages, such as tea or an Americano, can also be brewed with the Barista Pro. Right next to the portafilter holder is a small water outlet that delivers around 180 ml of water at a time.
This is practical if you enjoy a lungo espresso, also known as an Americano. Sometimes you want more coffee volume but don't want a milk drink. Then the Americano method is useful. For this, you first add about 100 ml of water to the cup. With the Sage Barista Pro, you can simply place the cup under the portafilter holder and use the dial on the right side of the machine – the milk frothing dial – to add water to the cup. Then, you brew your espresso as usual.
The magnetic tamper holder.
With an Americano, you avoid pressing the entire water quantity through the coffee. While this also results in a full cup, it over-extracts the coffee. In this case, we speak of over-extraction, and that is bitter and unpleasant. Therefore, the Americano method is much better. First water in the cup, then espresso on top. If you do it in that order, a crema will even form.
Conclusion on the Sage SES 878 Barista Pro
It's amazing what's possible in such a compact machine. We think Sage is doing a good job and putting pressure on well-known competitors, even in higher price segments. They've learned a lot from the coffee community in many areas and implemented some things well.
For example, with coffee dosing and specifying the basket size, they wanted more than was necessary or required. High doses are sometimes desirable – but not at any cost. And too much that doesn't fit is anything but ideal.
For the grind amount, we would like more adjustment options, and for the temperature, more precision. The loudly proclaimed 3 seconds until brewing starts in the advertising are impressive – but 15 seconds would be more honest. Because warming up the material is absolutely necessary for a good espresso. 3 seconds sounds better, but 15 seconds is still grand.
All in all, a decent espresso machine with an integrated grinder. The test was fun, and we're already looking forward to more!
Pros:
- The machine's base temperature is relatively low, so the grinder doesn't heat up. This is often a problem with integrated grinders.
- Heats up faster than you can count to 5. Great for spontaneous coffee drinkers, but don't forget to warm up the portafilter.
- Suitable for espresso, cappuccino, Americano, etc.
- Decent coffee quality in a small space thanks to fresh grinding and more.
- Huge 2-liter water tank that can be easily removed and filled.
- Excellent value for money at approx. €650 / 800 Swiss Francs.
Cons:
- Cold cups, as the machine hardly heats up as a whole.
- Basket size confusion. Can't Sage measure?
- Narrow basket diameter, causing overflow problems during grinding.
- Portafilter spouts are close together. Precise positioning of the machine is necessary.
- Temperature is not constant throughout the brewing process and is sometimes significantly too high.
Transparency Disclaimer: We purchased the Sage Barista Pro. This is a fundamental principle for all our tests. Sage also provided us with the Barista Express on loan. We will return it after the test.
We found this to be a good compromise. We test freely and independently, as you can see from this review. We have often been asked to test this and other machines. Our principle of buying everything ourselves gets quite expensive!
*If you buy this machine anyway from an online retailer like Amazon, please do so via our affiliate link. It costs you nothing extra, and we can invest that into more machine tests.
