Yep, back in the saddle. Now, I know I am in the minority on here where high end machines are the order of the day but I love to swim against the tide! I bought my first DB about 11 years ago, mainly as a joke so I could slag it to bits over on cfuk. It was one of the rarer red models
I soon realised that these, in the right hands were very capable machines. The main problem they faced was longevity. The problem centred around a lack of authorised dealers and the use of O rings. These always perish eventually. Back in 2023 Sage switched to compression fittings and a lot of the issues went away. Then with the help of a chap on cfuk called Gary Dyke he helped me understand the advanced menu and settings and how to increase the pump pressure effectively allowing you to pull a shot using pre-infusion….what a difference!
So, I have probably owned 5 or 6 of these but never since the new mods. Despite the machine not appearing on the DPD system anywhere it turned up a couple of hours ago. The box was enormous and in the Sage packaging was the free grinder, meaning this was a Sage promotion. It was easy enough to set up. These have small boilers and whilst I have not timed it mself, from turning on for the first time to the brew boiler reaching 93 took less than 5 minutes. I believe the group has a cartridge heater meaning that within a few more minutes it is also up to speed. You can always pull a little water through if you cannot wait. The machine has a wheel under the drip tray that allows you to raise it up for easier movement on the bench. The ample water reservoir can be accessed from the rear and also the front lid pops open revealing a waterproof shelf that you can pour water into.
The machine has 4 buttons, on/off, manual and 1 and 2 cup. If you press and hold the manual button it pre-infuses until you release. It then pulls the shot and you manually stop it. I made the first shot using this method with some beans that were two months old. 6 seconds pre-infusion, 33 seconds total for 36 gms or so…..not far out! You can also program the one or two buttons in the same manner for volumetric shots but I favour the manual way. I had a very pleasant americano considering the beans were on the edge of being usable date wise. I tightened the grind slightly and made a cappa. The milk texturing although not the most powerful is easy to use with good results.
The machine is very intuitive, especially considering it was introduced in 2011. I suspect that globally it is the top selling machine in the world! I like machines (and grinders) that I can use with my eyes closed, and once you use this a few times, I can honestly say I went over to my garage and found a dusty old bike…….