Hi Marco,Originally Posted by Marco
Nice buy, Ben. The Sage is a great machine, which Grant uses to superb effect! If I hadn't wanted a Smeg, 'cos I'm a smeggy kinda guy lolI'd also have gone for the Sage
How are you using it, though? If you're serious about your coffee, there's a lot you need to know to get the most from the machine you've invested in. Have you got a proper tamper (not the plastic thing that often comes with new machines), and what are you using to grind your beans?
A cheap electric grinder, won't cut it, as it'll burn the beans, making the coffee bitter, and you also have to get the grind consistency right.
I'm not sure how you made the coffee you've just posted pics of, or whether any milk was added, but you should be getting much more crema than that and an altogether richer espresso, all of which will happen once you learn a few tricks!
Marco.
Its all a big learning curve at the moment and il admit to not knowing how to get the best out of the Sage just yet. But what i will say is that even for a novice the coffee is already much better than our old pod machine so in that respect im happy so far.
The tamper that came with the sage is a metal one so im hoping that will be sufficient for the time being. Well spotted that we are currently using a cheap electric grinder, having spent an hour perusing this thread last night I may look to invest in a better quality one.
At present my coffee making technique is as follows
1. grind beans in grinder for 20 seconds.
2. fill coffee handle / holder thing with ground coffee and tamp down
3. fix into machine and press play, await expresso for 30 seconds or so.
4. froth milk in S/S jug and pour on top.
I am definitely interested in producing better end results so any top tips would be more than welcome
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