Sage - The Oracle Touch, Brushed Stainless Steel

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To me, it makes perfect sense that someone who would want a touch screen and on screen guidance would want that assistance and guidance from start to finish, but now there is the Barista Touch and the Barista Touch Impress, there's more choice, and I'm sure there are some people out there who do only want assistance with steaming milk and are happy to be unaided where espresso is concerned, and if that's you, then the Barista Touch may be the machine for you. Assisted Espresso: Intelligent machine learning dosing + assisted 10Kg calibrated tamp + dialing in guidance The touch impress automatically froths milk and milk alternatives, and it does a flipping good job of it too!

They also can't have known anything about me, including whether they could trust me with their very expensive coffee machine. They were really nice, they took me seriously, sent me their Sage Oracle, and let me tell them when I'd done the review so they could have it collected (as they were sending it to someone else for review). This was Sage's first machine in this category, it's their most expensive coffee machine, and it really is a premium machine. It's based on the Sage Dual boiler, my home espresso machine, in my opinion one of, if not THE best espresso machine on the market at anywhere close to what it sells for, at least where performance and flexibility is concerned.

Theoretically the Oracle Touch has the edge (quite a big edge, to be fair) over the Touch Impress where potential shot quality is concerned too, due to the superior temperature precision and stability of the dual boiler with heated group and dual pids, but in practice what allows an espresso machine to reach its full potential, is the grinder, and the Oracle Touch and the Barista Touch Impress have the same grinder. At the time of writing, all machines in the Sage range except the Barista Express, have the European Etzinger burrs, so the Oracle has better-shot potential due to the superior temperature stability and precision, but mainly via bypassing the integrated grinder and pairing with a premium espresso specialist grinder. Machines like the Barista Express and Barista Pro don't have any assistance, they're no easier to get great espresso and great milk texture from than any other traditional espresso machine, integrated grinder or not. If you like to split a shot for two cappuccinos or lattes as I've just mentioned, then this will allow you to create two slightly more intense drinks without pulling two separate shots, in which case you may see this as a pro.

Another big difference, and not really a plus or minus either way as it's subjective, is that the Oracle and Oracle Touch double basket is a 21/22g basket, which is what I'd refer to as a triple shot.

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Many people will enjoy this because while it takes away a lot of the home barista faff, it delivers a far more authentic home barista experience than a bean to cup coffee machine. The Oracle touch does have more grind settings, 45 vs 30, which gives you a bit more ability to finely tune the grind size, in reality though I've found the touch impress does a really good job of dialing in, and the fact that it tells you what to change the grind size too is a big plus for the Touch Impress. If you're looking for the best value for money Sage espresso machine, this is probably it, in the short term at least. The Duo Temp Pro costs a bit more, so in the short term that isn't quite as good value for money, but that's such a basic machine internally that I think most people will end up getting more years out of the Duo Temp Pro, so that machine may produce more value or money in the long term. The only real issue that I can see when it comes to the suitability of the Express Impress for people who were considering the Oracle, is that most people considering the Oracle are partly considering it for its ability to auto steam milk. The Oracle and Oracle Touch are capable of true microfoam automatically, which really is something. It's very uncommon for a bean to cup coffee machine, for example, to be able to deliver true flat white quality microfoam.

Who are they for? People who want to get more involved when they have the time, but want assistance when they're rushed, and for homes where there are people who want a more “one touch” type experience and also people who want to explore the home barista hobby. But the interesting thing is that while I'm the same Kev, several years later I'm a very different person where espresso machines are concerned. Secondly: I’ve had a Sage dual boiler for 5 years and replaced it a year ago with the Oracle Touch. Previously before that I’d had a Rancilio Sylvia for years, so I’m fairly experienced with manual home coffee making. The oracle will give you great consistency jug after jug, which won't make learning to pour latte art any easier, but it'll make it less difficult in terms of removing texture consistency which is one of the biggest hurdles to learning to pour latte art. The Bambino and Bambino Plus come with the same portafilter, it's not the same higher quality more pro looking portafilter that you get with all the other Sage machines, it's a cheaper portafilter with more plastic, and with stubby spouts, and I'm just not a big fan.So overall, the Oracle is great, I really rate it, and personally, I prefer it to the Oracle Touch simply because I prefer analogue buttons, and for me (for the way I use espresso machines) the touch screen gets in the way and actually slows me down, vs the Oracle.

If you pull your first shot with the Oracle as soon as the machine displays that it is up to temp and then pull your second shot 20 mins later, for example, just keep in mind that you're likely to encounter some differences in the shot. For the best consistency, I'd recommend leaving your machine to heat up for 10-15 mins before pulling each shot, and then flush hot water through the group and the portafilter into your cup (to warm everything up including your cup) for the same amount of time before each shot. I'll go into more detail on the touch a bit later on in this review, but for this really brief nutshell version, I'll just say that the touch is the touchscreen version of the oracle, a bit more flashy to look at, a bit easier to use initially, although in the long term once you find your feet with it, I think the standard Oracle is just as easy to use. Who are they for? People who value cup quality as highly as convenience. If bean to cup machines and pod machines don't quite cut it for you, but you want the kind of convenience and user experience of using a premium bean to cup coffee machine, then you're one of the people Sage have made these machines for.If you are trying my coffee beans, I'd highly recommend the blends, Chocolate Brownie blend, Fruitcake blend, Fruit & Nut blend & Classic Italian blend.