Coffee machines (sage barrista)

[RobM]

Bringing this thread back from the dead… I’m considering buying the Sage Bambino (not the Plus) and wondered if anybody had experience with it?

I’m looking for something compact and fast to use, but which produces consistently good results. I’m not a connoisseur nor will I be buying the finest coffee known to man, I just want better coffee than I’ve been getting from pod machines, Hario V60, cafetière, etc.

One specific question is how well the Bambino produces hot water? It would be great to have a single machine do everything for long drinks such as Americano, rather than boil the kettle as well.

Any experiences and opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Pretzel]

Bringing this thread back from the dead… I’m considering buying the Sage Bambino (not the Plus) and wondered if anybody had experience with it?

I’m looking for something compact and fast to use, but which produces consistently good results. I’m not a connoisseur nor will I be buying the finest coffee known to man, I just want better coffee than I’ve been getting from pod machines, Hario V60, cafetière, etc.

One specific question is how well the Bambino produces hot water? It would be great to have a single machine do everything for long drinks such as Americano, rather than boil the kettle as well.

Any experiences and opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

I purchased a Sage Bambino last year, whilst I'm sure it's more than capable of producing great coffee I couldn't get it to work for me. The whole process of using a separate grinder, varying grind size and then weighing the coffee meant the effort time and patience required was greater than the reward. I sold the Sage and replaced it with a Moccamaster Cup One which delivers an acceptable coffee to my taste with very little effort.

[hansblix2001]

Bringing this thread back from the dead… I’m considering buying the Sage Bambino (not the Plus) and wondered if anybody had experience with it?

I’m looking for something compact and fast to use, but which produces consistently good results. I’m not a connoisseur nor will I be buying the finest coffee known to man, I just want better coffee than I’ve been getting from pod machines, Hario V60, cafetière, etc.

One specific question is how well the Bambino produces hot water? It would be great to have a single machine do everything for long drinks such as Americano, rather than boil the kettle as well.

Any experiences and opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

I’ve got the Bambino and love it. It produces hot water quickly and espresso comes out at the right temperature quickly. The milk frother is also really good and it’s pretty easily to steam milk for cappuccino with a bit of practice and watching some YouTube videos. I don’t use it for Americano but it heats up really quickly so I doubt you’d need a separate machine for it.

The Bambino doesn’t have a solenoid on steam wand (the Plus does) so some water does come out of the spout initially, all you do is let it run for a few seconds before adding it to the milk and it works fine.

You’ll need a grinder or to buy ground coffee but it’s not a big deal.

I love like and can make a decent cup of coffee really quickly in between meetings!

[RobM]

I’ve got the Bambino and love it. It produces hot water quickly and espresso comes out at the right temperature quickly. The milk frother is also really good and it’s pretty easily to steam milk for cappuccino with a bit of practice and watching some YouTube videos. I don’t use it for Americano but it heats up really quickly so I doubt you’d need a separate machine for it.

The Bambino doesn’t have a solenoid on steam wand (the Plus does) so some water does come out of the spout initially, all you do is let it run for a few seconds before adding it to the milk and it works fine.

You’ll need a grinder or to buy ground coffee but it’s not a big deal.

I love like and can make a decent cup of coffee really quickly in between meetings!

Huge thanks - that last line in particular is my use case defined nicely! Really appreciate your thoughts.

[hansblix2001]

Huge thanks - that last line in particular is my use case defined nicely! Really appreciate your thoughts.

Glad it helped! I tried making an Americano yesterday using the hot water function from the steam wand and confirm it came out hot! It took about one-two mins to fill the cappuccino cup I use.

[dougair]

Resurrecting this thread as I’m on the look out for a Sage Barista Express or Pro but waiting on a good discount!

[gorrie]

I’m on a Sage FB page and personally I’d steer clear of any of the models with screens. Your mileage may vary.
It seems to be those owners who post up the the most issues. I’m not saying that owners with Express models never post up with an issue… but generally they are to do with a seal gone or a replacement L bend required or something mechanical… the screen model owners have those same things, but I’ve seen many posts from people with screen models where the machine just won’t function for whatever reason.. say, after a descale/clean.
I’m assuming they’ve got a bunch more sensors to contend with.
I did consider the Impress model.. but went for the Express. Just buy a dosing funnel for the Express.

[dougair]

I’m on a Sage FB page and personally I’d steer clear of any of the models with screens. Your mileage may vary.
It seems to be those owners who post up the the most issues. I’m not saying that owners with Express models never post up with an issue… but generally they are to do with a seal gone or a replacement L bend required or something mechanical… the screen model owners have those same things, but I’ve seen many posts from people with screen models where the machine just won’t function for whatever reason.. say, after a descale/clean.
I’m assuming they’ve got a bunch more sensors to contend with.
I did consider the Impress model.. but went for the Express. Just buy a dosing funnel for the Express.

Interesting, thanks. The Express is cheaper too so that’s good! Hoping for at least a 20% discount. The sage website has some decent discounts on some models but not the Express yet!