decisions

Hunts777

Hi all please help,I’m after my first coffee machine was thinking sage bambino plus and df54 grinder,sage express impress or the sage barista pro. Or any others around that price range that you could recommend thanks.

Dusk

Hunts777
I would get normal Bambino, it’s cheaper than the Plus and steaming milk is easy enough without the auto function! If you are patient the you can get a big discount on a new one. The df54 should be a good pairing, it would be a lot better than the Sage grinders.

dfk41

As starter gear rather than end game they are fine. The Sage products are not really suitable for the skilled home enthusiast to tinker with. What price is the Sage, around £600 ish? You may do better visiting bellabarista.co.uk and asking for advice. This might be a better option as a machine

https://bellabarista.co.uk/collections/single-boiler/products/lelit-victoria-pid-espresso-machine-pl91t

and I am sure they will help with a grinder

delta76

I had a not fun time with Sage Barista Pro. It was fun at first yes but I quickly grew out of it. Once I switched to Lelit Elizabeth + Eureka Mignon, everything was easier.
I know you might be constrained by a budget, but try to see if you can buy used gears. Espresso is a hobby and it might not fit you - in that case you can resell with minimal lost

thetravdog

Dusk the Bambino Plus has a 3 way solenoid valve which does help with getting a nice dry puck out. Given the milk steaming is not very powerful, I really like having the auto steam so you don’t have to stand there texturing the milk for ages! I’ve had mine for over 5 years and it’s not skipped a beat, currently at my parents’ house. For grinder I think either the DF54 or the Baratza Encore ESP Pro, Lance did a great review on it recently, I think it will be the better buy long term, Baratza should have good support.

thetravdog

@Hunts777 don’t get an integrated grinder machine. The grinder is so important, and who knows, one day you might want to upgrade it.