I got my Sage DB and my initial feeling is a little underwhelmed! I thought coming away from E61 would feel better but there it’s definitely a classic element to it that I’m initially missing. Along the same lines it also feels so plasticy to touch and use, more so than I thought. Locking in the portafiler kind of feels like I’m gonna break it if I go too much. It’s also huge compared to my MaraX. The auto-off feature is just an annoyance. I got into a routine of setting my MaraX to come on via smart plug and the basket would be nice and hot when I came to use it. I also hugely overestimated the saving on steaming at the same time - I used to clean my basket out, put tools away/to the side and wait for the MaraX to get to steam temp after a shot. All of which I have to do now but just after I make the entire drink, so not really saving any time - more doing things in a different order. And the steam wand needs more cleaning because it’s not insulated and the milk clings to the outside. It also tops out at around 10-10.5 bar which seems odd. The clearance from the grouphead to the cup is also very small compared to an E61.
The pros are that it heats up quickly (internals, not the group), has the pre-infusion features, has the finite temperature settings, some nice touches like the hidden castors and front water fill… Maybe that’s it?
I still have my MaraX and might end up keeping it yet! Have I missed something obvious?
