Sage Barista Express SES875: machine and grinder in one box

Measure 40.4 cm before anything else

The Barista Express is the tallest espresso machine with a verified height in our UK database: 40.4 cm, with 31.8 cm of width and 35.1 cm of depth. Sage gives the same three figures on its UK, German and French pages, so for once there is nothing to reconcile.

The gap between a worktop and the wall cupboards above it is often 45 to 50 cm. That leaves a few centimetres over the machine, and the bean hopper still has to be filled. If your gap is at the low end, plan on sliding the machine forward to top it up, or find it a spot with nothing overhead.

What the footprint buys is one appliance where there would otherwise be two, and one socket.

Sixteen steps between you and the shot

The grinder has steel conical burrs and 16 settings. For espresso, the number of steps matters because the usable range sits at the fine end of the dial: the fewer positions there, the larger the jump when you correct a shot that ran a little fast. Here is where sixteen stands:

• De'Longhi La Specialista Arte Manual espresso maker EC9155.MB15
• Sage the Barista Express (SES875)16
• Ninja Luxe Café Premier (ES601UK)25
• Sage the Smart Grinder Pro (SCG820)60

A caution we attach to every such chart: steps describe how finely you can adjust, not how evenly the burrs cut. Evenness can only be measured, and we have not measured it. What you are changing when you turn the dial is set out in the grind size guide.

The hopper takes 250 g: one ordinary bag, emptied in whole.

What the gauge and the PID are for

One feature sets this machine apart from the Bambinos on the brewing side: a pressure gauge, which shows what each shot is doing and gives a beginner something to read besides the cup. PID temperature control, which the Bambinos share, means the brew temperature is regulated electronically.

The other brewing figures: a 54 mm portafilter in stainless steel, as on the Bambino Plus; dual-wall and single-wall baskets; a magnetic tamper that lifts off the machine, and a dosing funnel. With a grinder on board, the single-wall baskets are the natural ones to use, and the dual-wall pair remains for the odd bag of pre-ground decaf.

Sage calls the heater a Thermocoil. The power on the rating plate reads 1,560 to 1,850 W, and our table shows the upper value, 1,850 W, the highest stated among the espresso machines we list. The pump has the usual 15 bar rating. The tank holds 2 l, or 33 doubles at 60 ml each before steam and rinsing.

The wand is manual, and for some that settles it

You steam the milk yourself. In this bracket that is a real difference: the Bambino Plus and the Ninja Luxe Café Premier both list automatic frothing. If cappuccinos are most of what you make and you have no wish to learn the technique, the spec sheet argues for one of those two.

The case for two boxes instead

• Bambino plus Smart Grinder Pro. The Smart Grinder Pro has 60 settings and a timer, and each half can be replaced on its own. It needs two spaces and two sockets. The Sage range comparison sets the two routes side by side.
• Ninja Luxe Café Premier. Same bracket, built-in grinder, dosing by weight, automatic frother, filter coffee and cold brew, with the pump pressure and basket type unstated. See Barista Express vs Ninja Luxe Café.
• De’Longhi La Specialista Arte. One bracket lower and narrower, at 28.5 cm, with single-wall baskets only and a 1.7 l tank.

Our machine-and-grinder pairings cover the cheaper combinations.

What Sage leaves blank

Sage states no weight for the Barista Express, and where the Bambinos come with a 3-second heat-up figure, this model has none in our data. Noise when grinding and brewing is unpublished, as it is for every machine here; we plan to measure it. Sage’s UK quick guide for the Barista Express states a 2-year limited guarantee.