You may be considering purchasing an ice cream machine and there are generally two types: ones that have a container you prefreeze and ones like this where it can freeze itself.
This ice cream machine has an internal compressor that means it’s like a mini freezer inside. Practically this means it can make ice cream from start to finish in just under an hour. You don’t have a tub you put in the freezer and the whole thing is self-contained. The Smart Scoop can make ice cream, granitas, sorbets, frozen yogurts… all manner of frozen desserts.
It’s the same brushed steel as you’ll find in other things in the Sage range. There are no other options it just comes in this colour.
The control panel is simple, just a few buttons and a dial to set the firmness of the mix you’re creating essentially. The dial is a timer how long does this machine churn for.
What’s good
The fact that you don’t have a spare bucket or pail to put in the freezer for a couple of hours beforehand is great meaning when you’re ready to make ice cream it’s ready to make ice cream – just push a button and go. In a pinch I’ve used store-bought custard (good stuff from the from the chilled department) and put that straight into the machine with pretty good results but the best results always come out
when you make your own custard and you customize the flavour exactly how you want it.
What’s not so good
the flip side of being a self-condensing machine is twofold. It’s noisy and makes a hell of a racket so much so I generally make it live in the garage where it does its work so I don’t have to hear it. Furthermore it’s also pretty heavy because it’s got a whole freezer inside it. It also means it has quite a large footprint. It’s also around £400 and only you can decide if that’s worth it for the amount of ice cream you’re going to make. Trust me it’s one of the best machines on the market for doing it.
Watch the video review below. This also includes a recipe for butterscotch ice cream!
When the weather warms up, I get really into sparkling water. I also find that supermarkets seem to run out of it really quickly and I’m not sure why. Having the ability to make my own whenever I want would be great… and here’s where the Omnifizz Drinkmate comes in!
Let’s get something out of the way. The brand name associated with making your own fizzy drinks in UK households is SodaStream. That product that is marketed at carbonating hyper concentrates of juice that you have to buy. Drinkmate has patented technology allowing it to carbonate any cold beverage.
I received a cool blue device, plus a CO2 cartridge to get going. It’s a slim device but it is on the tall side – I have to angle it to fit under my cupboards but once it’s there, it’s there.
Once you’ve locked in the CO2 canister into the back, using is simple. Fill the bottle with water, add the cap and press a button to infuse with bubbles. Depressurize and you have sparkling water. Here’s a video of the process:
As simple as that.
Beyond water, the Omnifizz site also suggests loads of recipes to try. I tried the lime soda and the sparkling margarita and they were lots of fun. But most of the time I used it for adding fizz to any old squash I was drinking which makes it feel more refreshing. It was also fun to ask guests if they’d like their drink fizzy as easy as asking them if they want ice (I admit I didn’t ask if they wanted their cappuccinos carbonated). It’s also a good alternative to sugar-laden fizzy drinks as I can make whatever I want.
So the device is dead easy to use and available in a bunch of different colours. It’s quite pretty and fun to use. The pricing is equivalent to other drinks carbonators, though they do have a good scheme available for recycling CO2 canisters from any brand and then giving you a discount on future CO2 purchases.
I’ve used the device maybe 50 times and I think the CO2 is just starting to wane. A single CO2 canister with no sendback is about £35 so is pricey by itself. It makes a lot more sense to recycle your CO2 and then the price comes down. It’s still quite a lot to shell out when you want more fizzy drinks however. One more tiny negative is carbonating the drink is noisy by itself – not really a problem but I have to make sure my cat isn’t in the room as the sudden whoosh spooks him!
A well made, fun product and worth investment if you go through a lot of fizzy drinks.
Sage’s appliances are known for the high quality finish and thoughtful tricks. This toaster is no exception; as with most of the range this toaster is finished in brushed steel, with a chunky appearance and large buttons. The ‘tricks’ in this case boil down to these features as far as I’m concerned:
The A Bit More button – when pressed the toaster cooks the toast for just 30 seconds longer. Doesn’t sound like much but it removes that “I’ll just pop it in again…” then forget about it and come back to charcoal toast.
Crumpet toasting – this engages the inner elements to heat up stronger than the outer elements. In other words, to cook one side more than the other. In the case of crumpets, this means crispy tops and slightly softer bottoms (!). Also works great on bagels!
Lifting handle – pull up the handle during cooking to take a peek. But crucially the cooking process doesn’t stop. Instead of cancelling the toasting, it just carries straight on.
LED-lit timing slider – as the toaster toasts, this LED timer blinks down to pop-time. Simple but effective for knowing how long is left on your toast.
All little features that add up to inventive design.
As ever with Sage products, these come with a price tag that puts them above run-of-the-mill appliances. At time of writing it’s £99. A lot for a toaster, you can likely pick one up for a little over £10. But it’s the clever gimmicks that end up being more than gimmicks – the LED timer, the ability to look at the toast while cooking. And the button that gives it it’s name – A Bit More is exactly what it needs without sending it straight to burned.
I think it’s a great gadget – if you think about how many times you use a toaster in a week then per use that can make the maths stack up.
Sage have a number of espresso machines in their range. I went through a long process before buying this particular model, so what’s my verdict? Find out with my Sage Barista Express review. (Note: in other regions, Sage are marketed under the name Breville).
I’d be lying if I didn’t say cost didn’t factor into the decision. This is the cheapest machine in the range that is bean-to-cup i.e. has a built-in grinder. The next up (Barista Pro) has a dual boiler which means it can heat the water for coffee and milk simultaneously. The tExpress can’t and This will slow down your routine. That’s not a deal-breaker for me as I usually only make coffee for one. Then you have the Touch and Oracle systems, which are a lot more expensive but almost one button press dispenses the complete beverage. It’s about three to four times more expensive for that. I’ve had the pleasure of using their top-of-the-range Oracle Touch and it does make fantastic coffees, but I actually want some of the fiddly optimising and tweaking that the Barista Express requires.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
What are the features of the Barista Express?
Each time you change the beans you use and try out a new product, you’ll need to tweak your machine to get your perfect espresso. The Barista Express has a number of features to help you brew it to perfection.
Choosing grind size. Add your beans and set your grind size from coarse to fine. The size of the grind will affect how quickly water can pass through the grounds and therefore adjust the pressure.
Choose your dose. Once ground, you can adjust how much is dispensed and keep it the same each time you use it.
Tamper and Razor. You get a tamper with the machine that is designed to work precisely with the portafilter. You align the tamper with the top of the portafilter, apply pressure and this should compact the grounds into the perfect puck of coffee. The tamper also neatly tucks away in a magnetic slot on the machine. The Razor is a tool you use after tamping to scrape away any excess grounds. If I’m honest, I don’t find using this adds or subtracts from the coffee at all.
Pressure gauge. The gauge on the front of the display tells you how much pressure the water needs to force through the coffee. There is a ‘sweet spot’ that gives an indication where you want to get your shot. Not too fast, not too slow.
Steam / water. On the right of the device is a dial relating to hot water and steam. Turn it one way to enable steam. Turn it the other way to pour hot water which is perfect for topping out your espresso into an Americano.
Range of portafilter baskets. You get four baskets in the box to adjust for the type of coffee you use and how you drink it.
Programmable. You can adjust settings for temperature and timing then lock them in, so you can bring them back at a button push.
What are the negatives of the Barista Express?
Fussy. If you want to click and go, this is not the machine for you. You can potentially waste a lot of coffee beans and milk trying to get the perfect drink. The amount of settings can be frustrating.
The manual. This machine retails for £599. You get a 22 page manual in the box. A lot of that is concerned with safety plus two blank pages. There’s a lot of how you operate it, and not a lot of how you make good coffee. There’s one page which is very useful for deciding what to adjust to improve it, but not much more. For such a high ticket price I would expect more guidance to get the right beverage. I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos to perfect it so I knew where to start, but I’m surprised there’s not more.
Mobility. Other models in the series have a lockable wheel to move the machine around. This model doesn’t and it makes it clumsy to get to the back of it. Which leads me to…
Water tank placement. It’s right at the back of the machine, and assuming you push the Barista Express up to a wall, you’re going to need to reach to the back to yank out the water tank to refill. Not very convenient.
What are the positives of the Barista Express?
Customisation. The opposite of the fussy point – you get full control over what happens to your espresso and get it exactly the way you want it. More or less crema, more sweet, more bitter, more concentrated… it’s up to you. And then the milk options are up to you too. Add as much steam as you like, and bring it up to your preferred temperature.
Design. The Sage look is in full force here, brushed steel, block caps and large round buttons. Everything feels purposeful and well-built.
Everything in the box. You get water filters, cleaning equipment, a milk jug and other portafilter baskets. Apart from beans you can get it up and running, flush hot water through the system and you are ready to go. You won’t need to buy anything else. And everything that comes with the machine has a compartment where it belongs.
It makes great coffee. I should highlight that as it needs saying, but it does make great coffee. You need to set up the customisation for your coffee beans, but once you’re there you are going to pull great shot after great shot.
Economical… eventually. Obviously there is a large outlay at the beginning but at some point you will hit break-even on the machine. If you paid £599 for the machine, and spend £2.50 on a barista coffee twice a day, it’ll start paying back in about 120 days or 4 months. Add back on the cost of buying beans & milk and you can probably add a couple more months on to that. So in about 6 months the machine pays for itself. So see it as an investment. It’s also worth pointing out that they hold their value well for resale if you decide to sell it on in the future.
Sage Barista Express opinion
During lockdown I’ve missed having regular cappuccinos. I’ve tried hacks with cafetiere, electric whisks and mini frothers and it just isn’t the same. You need a full-strength espresso shot and steamed, textured milk. And this espresso coffee machine delivers. I’m smitten with this device.
The negatives aren’t deal breakers to me. You should be prepared that on buying this you are getting a new hobby. I fully enjoy the customisation and getting the drink exactly the way I want it. There’s quite an outlay at the beginning, but it should give you satisfaction for years to come.
Top tips for using the Sage Barista Express
Buy fresh beans that have a “roasted on” date. Find a supplier – local to you if you can – and buy little and often. Once roasted the oil that provides beans with their flavour evaporates. You need to get between 4 – 20 days from roasting for best results. Supermarkets never give you this, just an abstract “best before” date. Fresh beans = fresh tasting coffee. (Shout out to CoffeeLink in Suffolk who sell a brilliant decaf Brazilian Cerrado which I love.)
“The single biggest mistake many people make is buying coffee that hasn’t been freshly roasted. Supermarket coffee is generally mass-produced and is often roasted many months before being consumed. Freshly roasted coffee is in a completely different league by comparison!”
Get a container with opaque walls for storing beans. Excess heat and light can allow beans to lose their freshness so store them away from sunlight.
Use your scale. Work out how much coffee you get from a weight of beans, then how much espresso that creates. That will tell you an awful lot about what’s going on.
Keep it clean. Set a reminder once a month and maintain your machine. Check the water filter, run descaling and flush it with espresso cleaner. Pull everything out and flick out all the loose grains of coffee, give it a wipe.
How do I clean and descale my Barista Express?
I’ve made a video for it here:
Are Sage and Breville the same company?
No, Sage and Breville are not the same company, but they are related. Breville is an Australian appliance manufacturer that produces a wide range of kitchen appliances, including coffee machines, toasters, and juicers. Sage is a brand owned by Breville Group Limited, which is marketed in the UK and Europe, and specializes in high-end coffee machines, juicers, blenders, and other kitchen appliances. Therefore, while they share the same ownership, Sage is a distinct brand from Breville and focuses on a more specific range of products.
