Nothing in the box works until you have run the first use cycle, and it is different on each of the four Sage espresso machines. Find yours below, do the setup once, then the shot routine is broadly shared.
Outside the UK these are sold as Breville, so a BES500, BES870, BES878 or BES880 manual covers the Sage sold here. Where your own manual differs, your manual wins.
What the first hour looks like on each
| Model | First use cycle | Grinder | Milk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bambino Plus | Press 1 CUP and the machine runs it | None, bring your own ground coffee | Automatic, set temperature and foam level |
| Barista Express | You run water, steam and hot water by hand until the tank empties | 16 grind settings, start at 8 | Manual wand and a colour-change jug |
| Barista Pro | LCD shows FLUSH, press 1 CUP | 30 grind settings, default 15 | Manual wand on a steam dial |
| Barista Touch | Press POWER and follow the screen | 30 grind settings, set on screen | Automatic, set per drink |
Before you plug it in
Strip the packaging and check nothing is left inside. Wash the tank, portafilter, filter baskets, milk jug and drip tray by hand in warm water with a gentle dish washing liquid, then rinse and dry them.
Fit the water filter next. Soak the cartridge in cold water for 5 minutes, rinse the holder, click its two halves together around the cartridge, then push the assembly onto the adapter in the base of the tank. Set the reminder dial three months ahead.
Fill the tank with cold water. Sage’s manual for the Barista Express says cold mains water only, and Sage’s Barista Pro manual spells out the reason it does not want highly filtered, demineralised or distilled water: it affects the taste of the coffee and how the machine is meant to work.
On the three with a hopper, lock it into place and fill with fresh beans before you switch on. The Barista Touch manual adds that these grinders take whole roasted beans only: green or under-roasted beans can damage or break them.
The first use cycle
Barista Express
This one is manual, and it empties the whole 2 litre tank. Press 2 CUP to send hot water through the group head. Put the wand over the drip tray, turn the steam dial to STEAM and run steam for 10 seconds. Turn it to HOT WATER and run the hot water outlet for 10 seconds. Repeat all three until the tank is empty, then refill.
Bambino Plus
Fill to MAX, refit the tank, check the drip tray is seated, plug in, and press any of 1 CUP, 2 CUP or STEAM to wake it. Press 1 CUP and it runs its own cycle, which rinses the machine and primes the heating system. All the lights come on when it is ready.
Barista Pro
Fill the tank, fit the hopper and drip tray, press POWER. The LCD shows FLUSH with the 1 CUP button lit. Press 1 CUP and the screen counts down to READY.
Barista Touch
Press POWER and work through the on-screen setup. At the end the screen offers Guide, which walks you through your first coffee step by step and can be replayed from the settings menu.
Choosing a basket
Single wall baskets are for beans you grind yourself. Dual wall baskets regulate the pressure and are for pre-ground coffee. The Barista Express, Barista Pro and Barista Touch all ship with both pairs, four baskets in total.
The Bambino Plus is the odd one. Sage’s Bambino Plus manual lists dual wall baskets only, while Sage’s own UK product page for the machine lists single wall baskets in the box as well. Check what is actually in your carton before you buy beans.
Doses, straight from the manuals: the Bambino Plus asks for 8 to 10 g in the 1 cup basket and 16 to 19 g in the 2 cup, and the Barista Pro asks for roughly 8 to 11 g and 16 to 19 g.
Grinding, dosing and tamping
The Barista Express suggests starting at grind setting 8 of its 16 and moving from there, with the GRIND AMOUNT dial at 3 o’clock. The Barista Pro starts at 15 of its 30, and runs the grinder for 9.5 seconds on a single and 13 seconds on a double by default. The Barista Touch sets grind size and duration on the screen.
On the Pro and the Touch, twist the dosing funnel onto the portafilter before it goes into the grinding cradle, and take the funnel off before the portafilter goes anywhere near the group head. On the Express and Touch, push and release the portafilter against the cradle to dose automatically, or push and hold to dose by hand.
Tamp firmly. The Express manual asks for 15 to 20 kg of pressure and Sage’s Barista Touch manual for roughly 10 to 15 kg; the Touch adds that consistent pressure every time matters more than the figure. Then trim the puck level with the Razor tool and wipe the rim of the basket clean.
The first shot
Run a short flow of water through the group head before the portafilter goes in. Lock it in, put the cup underneath, and press or touch for a single. On the Express that is about 30 ml preset. Aim for an extraction of 25 to 35 seconds with the flow starting after 4 to 7 seconds, which is the window the Express manual calls correct.
Milk is the widest split of the four. On the Bambino Plus you pick one of three temperatures and one of three foam levels, rest the jug on the sensor in the drip tray, and it stops on its own at the set temperature. The Barista Touch does the same per drink from the screen. On the Express and the Pro you steam by hand, keeping the tip 1 to 2 cm under the surface at the 3 o’clock position; the Express manual puts the target milk temperature at 60 to 65 °C.
The Express, Pro and Touch all drop into auto off after 30 minutes idle. The Bambino Plus manual states no such timer; you turn it off by pressing 1 CUP and STEAM together. Once you are pouring drinks you like, go to cleaning a Sage coffee machine and set the upkeep up properly.
