The Sage SES 878 Barista Pro promises good espresso for a reasonable price. An espresso machine with a built-in grinder for €650 or 800 francs. That is quite impressive, and if the espresso tastes good, this combo is truly interesting.
NEW: Also check out our test of the Sage Barista Touch.
As coffee makers, it is important to us that you can make good coffee using simple means, which means without spending many thousands of francs. That is why we also take a close look at affordable espresso machines. Our goal is good coffee by any means necessary, made as accessible as possible. This is why we have already tested the Delonghi Dedica EC 685 and also took a closer look under the hood of the Rancilio Silvia. You can find an overview of common types of espresso machines here.
NEW ARTICLE: Tips and questions Sage Barista Pro, Express and co.
Name chaos – who can explain it?
Before we get into the content of the machine, we first need to clarify its type and name. And in this regard, the machine is more complicated than it is to operate. In Switzerland, the Barista Pro now operates under the brand name of the Australian manufacturer Sage. It was not long ago that the Sage models were available as Solis devices. In German-speaking countries, they were also known as Gastroback, while the English-speaking world refers to them as Breville. Under new management in Europe, a unification process was begun.
In an increasingly global world, this is a long-overdue step. You can already see the chaos on YouTube when you search for reviews of the machine. You find quite a lot when you enter the different names – but is that really my machine? This has led to a lot of uncertainty for customers.
Compact but with plenty on board
One of the biggest pros of this coffee machine is certainly that everything is under one hood. And all this in just 39.5 cm width, 39.2 cm depth, and 42.2 cm height. An espresso grinder with a conical burr set is installed, just as the entire brewing unit is. Even the included tamper can be practically tucked away inside the coffee machine. The water tank has an amazing capacity of 2 liters. The bean hopper fits 250 grams. In our view, this is the perfect amount for a bag of coffee – at least for home use. 1 kg bags are often left open until consumed, letting air in and tending to make the coffee go rancid.
The LCD display on the front provides the most important info, and the grinder can be easily adjusted via a dial. You can place the included milk pitcher on top of the machine. And there you have the complete setup. In about 40 cm square. We call that compact – super compact, even!
Tip: Those who buy this espresso machine can get started right away. You only lack a knock box for old coffee; otherwise, you are all set.
The conical espresso grinder
We preach regularly: a good grinder is the prerequisite for good espresso. We find it bold and good that Sage has also included a grinder. Bold, because even well-known grinder manufacturers fail at making good grinders. Furthermore, a grinder inside an espresso machine carries the risk of heating up. Due to the heat of the espresso machine, there is a possibility that the grinder itself heats up and, in the worst case, even becomes damp.
When it comes to heat, a weakness of the Sage Barista Pro is actually an advantage. Thanks to its own Thermo-Jet heating principle, the heat is not distributed throughout the entire body of the espresso machine. For instance, the cups on top of the machine are not heated. That is a disadvantage for the cups, but an advantage for the grinder.
With 10–15 espresso shots in a row, we were able to detect a slight warming of the ground coffee dispensed to about 30 degrees. This is absolutely acceptable. The more coffee is ground, the more the machine clumped. Clean leveling and tamping is then necessary to avoid the risk of channeling (channeling).
Mastering the coffee grounds amount
The grind amount fluctuated within an average range over 10 grinds. Average compared to grinders in the under €800/1000 francs 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 to the left of the machine. The current grind size is shown on the display, just like the current grind time. The grind time can be set in seconds, but only in 0.5-second increments. Our target amount was actually 18 grams. With a grind time of 13.5 seconds, we made the measurements described above. With a grind time of 13 seconds, ground coffee 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 easily be compensated for by adjusting the water volume. However, the machine could be improved without much effort by allowing for a more precise selection of the grind time. That is something we would like to see from Sage in the next revision.
Espresso baskets and fake baskets
Four baskets are included with the Sage. For serious coffee makers, only the two baskets with actual openings are interesting. Two of the included baskets pretend to have multiple openings but, in fact, have only one tiny hole. 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 simulates to the eye that the coffee is good. However, crema alone is not a quality feature of coffee – especially not because of such baskets. Anyone using pre-ground coffee on this espresso machine is doing something wrong. After all, it has its own built-in grinder!
What looks like a normal basket is actually just one hole.
A "normal" single basket and double basket are also included. We recommend that you use the double basket. Get used to working with it. If in doubt, you’ll drink more coffee or always have some brewed for the neighbor at the office. The espresso quality and reproducibility of the double basket are significantly better!
Mastering the dosage
Sage states the dosage for the double basket as 19 to 22 grams. We didn’t get more than 18 grams of coffee in there properly and advise you against trying it. You have no added value if you stuff more coffee in and the machine's shower screen is already pressing onto the grounds. As soon as the coffee powder comes into contact with water, it expands again. The risk of channeling is extremely high if you overfill the portafilter like that.
Therefore, work with a maximum of 18 grams or even better with 17.5 grams. Then the problem of filling the basket also becomes smaller. Pressing the portafilter against the grinder's trigger mechanism starts the grinding process. If you do not interrupt it, it grinds for the selected 13 seconds. The portafilter itself has a diameter of 53 mm. Sage specifies 54 here – but our 54 is more like 53. The grounds have less room to fall and distribute well in such a narrow portafilter. As a result, it forms a mountain on the basket and partly falls beside it. This can be seen very well in our video 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 on the countertop in between, the grounds collapse a bit and offer more space for the coffee powder. Felix does this process three to four times in the video to fill the amount of 18 grams into the portafilter.
Instead of interrupting the 13 seconds, we recommend that you program the grind time directly to, for example, three times 4 seconds. We achieved more accurate coffee amounts with this method than by interrupting the 13 seconds.
After leveling and tamping, the espresso extraction follows. Speaking of leveling: Sage includes a "leveler," which we could not use with the high fill heights suggested by Sage.
Brewing and coffee quality
The grinder indeed performs the most important part of the work. What follows is the brewing process, i.e., the continuous application of the water volume at the most constant brewing temperature possible. The Sage SES 878 Barista Pro works with a pre-infusion by default. It therefore gives a smaller part of the brewing water onto the coffee powder at the beginning without pressure. The use of such a technique is a question of philosophy. We like to say: the deciding factor is in the cup. One can make good coffees 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 leveled off at something around 96 degrees before falling further. The machine delivered 9.5 bar of pressure without complaint throughout the entire brewing process.
The espressos extracted at high brewing temperatures were too bitter and unbalanced. With the brewing temperature adjusted, the taste was fine.
The water volume can be set and adjusted. This is also important, by the way, as you can respond better to the reduced coffee amount. The brewing ratio depends on one hand on the roast and the coffees. For our coffees, we like to recommend a ratio of 1:2.5, which means that, e.g., 17 grams of coffee are used for the double espresso and 2.5 times the amount is brewed, i.e., 42.5 grams.
Hardly anything gets warm faster
What is truly impressive is how quickly the espresso machine reaches temperature. After switching it on, it signals that it is ready to brew in about 3! seconds. This is a real value for everyone who wants to make coffee quickly. However, one thing must be noted: although the machine’s heating device, called Thermo-Jet, is ready, the material of the portafilter, etc., is not yet warmed up. Anyone who starts brewing now loses temperature to the portafilter and the statics. Therefore: definitely run at least one shot through with the portafilter clamped in without coffee. This warms up the machine so the espresso will taste great from the first shot.
Practical. This way, you can easily tell when the drip tray needs emptying.
Frothing milk and cappuccino
The Sage SES 878 Barista Pro also makes quite decent milk foam – if you know how to do it. This provides the prerequisite for all espresso-milk mixed drinks like cappuccino and latte macchiato.
Here, too, the machine’s switching speed is impressive again. One moment the espresso was being brewed, the next the machine is ready for milk. This can be triggered with a dial to the right of the machine. A little hot water should be drained briefly, then the 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 yourself out as is the case with machines with more pressure. On the other hand, it is also harder to get the entire milk into a swirl to break down the milk bubbles again. However, it is absolutely possible and our video on the topic of Latte Art can help you with that.
The included milk pitcher is suitable for frothing. Since the spout is not quite straight, however, clean and especially straight pouring is made more difficult. An upgrade is worthwhile here.
Americano and other coffee drinks
Other drinks, such as tea or an Americano, can also be brewed with the Barista Pro. Directly next to the portafilter mount is a small water outlet that delivers at least around 180 ml of water at once.
This is practical if you like to drink extended espresso, the so-called Americano. Sometimes you like to drink a larger coffee volume but don’t want to make a milk drink. Then the Americano method makes sense. 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 to the right 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 amount of water through the coffee. This would indeed lead to a full cup, but it would over-extract the coffee. We refer to this case as over-extraction, and it is bitter and unpleasant. That is why the Americano method is much better. Water in the cup first, then espresso on top. If you do it in that order, you even get a crema.
Conclusion on the Sage SES 878 Barista Pro
It is amazing what is possible in such a compact machine. We think that Sage is doing a good job and putting the well-known competitors under pressure even in more expensive price segments. In many places, they have learned from the coffee community and implemented quite a few things well.
For example, regarding the coffee dosage or the basket size specification, they wanted more than is necessary or has been the norm. While high doses are sometimes considered desirable, it shouldn't be at any price. And too much is anything but ideal.
Regarding the grind amount, we would like even more adjustment options; regarding the temperature, more precision. The 3 seconds to brewing start loudly proclaimed in the advertisements 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 solid espresso machine with an integrated grinder. The test was fun and we are already looking forward to more!
Pro:
- The base heat of the machine is relatively low – this also prevents the grinder from heating up. This is often a problem with integrated grinders.
- Warm 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, and co.
- Decent coffee quality in a small space thanks to fresh grinding and co.
- Huge 2-liter water tank that is easy to remove and fill.
- Price-performance ratio very interesting for approx. €650/800 francs.
Contra:
- Cold cups, as the machine hardly heats up as a whole.
- Basket size mess. Can't Sage measure?
- Narrow basket diameter, therefore overflow problems during grinding.
- Portafilter spouts close together. Precise positioning of the machine is necessary.
- Temperature not constant throughout the entire brewing process and sometimes significantly too high.
Transparency Disclaimer: We bought the Sage Barista Pro ourselves. That is a principle for all of our tests. Sage has additionally provided us with the Barista Express on loan. We will return this after the test.
We found this to be a good compromise. We test freely and independently, as you can see from this test. We were asked very often for tests of this and other machines. Our test principle of buying everything ourselves gets quite expensive!
*If you buy this machine from an online retailer like Amazon anyway, please feel free to do so via our affiliate link. It costs you nothing extra and we can invest it in further machine tests.
