Sage coffee machine: which one should you buy?

There’s a Sage coffee machine to suit whether you prefer beans, ground coffee or capsules. Discover the deals and reviews and find your favourite

Sage coffee machine: The Barista Pro SES878BSS on a kitchen work top
(Image credit: Sage)

If you're looking for a Sage coffee machine, you might have visited our selection of the best coffee machines around for inspiration. The Nespresso Creatista Uno capsule Sage coffee machine was number two in our top pick, but it's not the only great Sage coffee machine you can buy. As well as machines that use the convenient Nespresso capsule system, Sage offers coffee makers that take ground coffee and bean-to-cup models. 

So which is the machine for you? Our selection of the top Sage coffee machines will help you decide – and we’ll show you the best deals around right now. Plus, as well as giving you our expert advice, we’ll reveal what other buyers think of their Sage model.

Sage Nespresso Creatista Uno SNE500BKS coffee machine

(Image credit: Nespresso by Sage)

1. Sage Nespresso Creatista Uno SNE500BKS coffee machine

Best Sage pod coffee machine

Specifications

Type: Pod
Water tank capacity: 1.5ltr
Pressure: 19 bar

Reasons to buy

+
Good milk frothing
+
Speedy delivery

The Sage Nespresso Creatista Uno SNE500BKS coffee machine is a great little machine. Here's a rundown.

Milk frother?
This machine has an automatic steam wand with three milk temperatures and three textures to choose from. It also purges after use, saving you a dull clean-up job.

Best features...
This machine doesn’t hang about, delivering espresso in just 25 seconds. As well as the choice of milk temperatures and textures, the size of the coffee can be adjusted, too. It’s also quiet (so early morning espresso drinkers needn’t disturb the rest of the household), and it’s easy to clean. 

The verdict
Editor-in-Chief of Realhomes.com Lucy Searle said, ‘It makes really great coffee, it's super-easy to use and clean and it looks good on a worktop… If you like the ease of a pod machine with good milk frothing too, this is for you.’

Comments from buyers of this machine on Amazon included ‘by far the best Nespresso machine I have ever owned’. The drinks are a hit – ‘makes fantastic coffee’ – and ‘the steaming process is quick and efficient’.

At Currys, shoppers rated this machine 9.3 out of 10 overall and ease of use and appearance scored particularly highly. Praise included ‘delighted with the machine and the coffee’ and ‘luscious’. 

Sage The Barista Pro SES878BSS coffee machine

(Image credit: Sage)

2. Sage The Barista Pro SES878BSS coffee machine

Best Sage bean to cup coffee machine

Specifications

Type: Bean to cup
Water tank capacity: 2 ltr
Pressure: 15 bar

Reasons to buy

+
Quick heat up
+
Excellent coffee

The Sage The Barista Pro SES878BSS coffee machine isn't cheap but it is worth the investment. Find out more below.

Milk frother?
This machine has a steam wand that produces tasty foam that could also have you creating your own latte art – should that be your desire. 

Best features...
Quick heat up at three seconds won’t have you drumming your fingers. Because it’s a bean-to-cup machine, your coffee will be fresh, of course. The machine’s grinder is integrated and has dose control to maximise the flavour of the drink. Temperature control, meanwhile, is digital, promising optimal espresso extraction – again for the best taste.

The verdict
This machine is certainly an investment, but if you’re a coffee aficionado, we think it’s worth the price. You can make excellent espresso plus delicious lattes and cappuccinos with this model, and it gives you plenty of options regarding the brew. 

Those who shopped for this machine at John Lewis gave it five out of five stars. Happy customers said, ‘We just can’t go to high street coffee shops anymore as we always get disappointed with the taste.’ It was also celebrated as ‘a real pleasure to use’.

Some 79% of Amazon’s purchasers awarded five stars for this model. Fans had also given up on coffee away from home since buying: ‘I don’t buy from coffee shops anymore. I prefer my own.’ Buyers also thought ‘the steam wand is very good’ and ‘it’s easy to make coveted micro-foam for latte “art”’. 

Sage Bambino Plus SES500BSS4GUK1 coffee machine

(Image credit: Sage)

3. Sage Bambino Plus SES500BSS4GUK1 coffee machine

The best Sage ground coffee machine

Specifications

Type: Ground coffee
Water tank capacity: 1.9ltr
Pressure: 15 bar

Reasons to buy

+
Brilliant for small kitchens

The Sage Bambino Plus SES500BSS4GUK1 coffee machine is small but mighty. Here's our lowdown.

Milk frother?
There’s a built-in steam wand and you can adjust milk temperature and texture to get different milky coffees just right. 

Best features...
The compact footprint makes this a great professional-style machine for a smaller kitchen – it measures W19.5 x D32 x H31cm. Made from stainless steel it looks the part, too. Like other Sage coffee machines it’s ready to roll in a flash (if one of those lasts 3 seconds). It comes with a stainless-steel milk jug, too. 

The verdict
This is a neat and handsome number that’ll save you costly trips to a high-street coffee shop. It’ll brew two cups in one go and just 25 seconds, so it’s as speedy as a capsule machine. The downside for coffee connoisseurs? It can’t grind your beans, but you could go for a separate grinder to take this on.

Over on Amazon, it’s 4.3 out of five for this compact machine. Buyers cultivated barista skills: ‘it took me a couple of coffees and a few YouTube videos but I managed a tiny heart!’ and praised its ‘fantastic espresso’ and the fact that ‘it does a great job’.

John Lewis buyers of this model gave it an overall endorsement of 4.8 out of five. It was feted as ‘extremely well made and easy to use’. Reviewers also liked the way ‘the steam arm self cleans when you’ve put it back into position’ and noted that ‘it took a while to get the grind setting right, but once it was all worked out the results are excellent’.

Sage Nespresso Creatista Plus BNE800BSSUK coffee machine

(Image credit: Sage)

4. Sage Nespresso Creatista Plus BNE800BSSUK coffee machine

The (other) best Sage pod coffee machine

Specifications

Type: Pod
Water tank capacity: 1.5ltr
Pressure: 19 bar

Reasons to buy

+
Quick heat up time

The Sage Nespresso Creatista Plus BNE800BSSUK coffee machine is another great buy from the Sage stable. Here's why.

Milk frother?
This model has a fully automatic steam wand and a whopping eight texture levels and 11 temperatures for the milk. Auto purge of the wand means less cleaning for you to do.

Best features...
The three second heat-up time of other Sage machines goes for this model, too. It makes three different sized cups: 0.84, 1.35 and 3.72oz and although the display guides you through coffee recipes, you can personalise these to perfect your brew. 

The verdict
Prefer the fuss-free process of making coffee from a capsule, but want a sophisticated take on this style of machine? This model is that. We also like how easy it is to get started with, and that it makes a great range of coffees, while foaming milk is also simple. 

Amazon shoppers awarded a healthy 4.7 out of five overall for this machine – and a sizeable 86% of reviewers gave it the full five stars. They noted that it’s ‘consistent in quantity delivery and very flexible in what it can be programmed to do’, and that ‘the milk foam is smooth and very much like those from coffee shops’. It also ‘looks great on the worktop’.

Those who bought from John Lewis were impressed by ‘perfect coffee every time’, mentioned that ‘the steam wand works really well’ and said it made ‘tasty professional coffee without the hassle’.

Sage Duo-Temp Pro BES810BSSUK coffee machine

(Image credit: Sage)

5. Sage Duo-Temp Pro BES810BSSUK coffee machine

The (other) best Sage ground coffee machine

Specifications

Type: Ground coffee
Water tank capacity: 1.8ltr
Pressure: 15 bar

Reasons to buy

+
A great budget buy

The Sage Duo-Temp Pro BES810BSSUK coffee machine is a great budget buy. Find out more below.

Milk frother?
This machine has a steam wand and comes with a stainless-steel milk jug to use with it. 

Best features...
The key to a great espresso is even extraction that starts with low pressure pre-infusion, according to Sage, so that’s what this machine does. You can control the volume of espresso shots manually, if you prefer. Handily, it’ll tell you when it needs cleaning.

The verdict
This is Sage’s entry-level espresso machine. It still has a high-end look – and the price tag to go with it – but if you want to make good espresso at home, we reckon it’s one for your shortlist. This machine’s less sophisticated than others in the range when it comes to preparing milk, however, so if you prefer your coffee that way, it’s probably not the number one option.

Buyers of this model at Amazon gave it an overall 4.3 out of five score with ease of cleaning and flavour both getting highest marks. It ‘looks the part and makes fabulous coffee’, and ‘makes the best double shot Americano flavour-wise I’ve ever had’, according to the reviews.

For shoppers at Currys, it’s 9.1 out of 10 on average. The verdicts included ‘makes sublime espresso’, ‘compact but still has a large water tank’ and ‘steaming wand requires practice but then excellent’. 

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Sarah Warwick
Freelance Editor

Sarah is a freelance journalist and editor writing for websites, national newspapers, and magazines. She’s spent most of her journalistic career specialising in homes – long enough to see fridges become smart, decorating fashions embrace both minimalism and maximalism, and interiors that blur the indoor/outdoor link become a must-have. She loves testing the latest home appliances, revealing the trends in furnishings and fittings for every room, and investigating the benefits, costs and practicalities of home improvement. It's no big surprise that she likes to put what she writes about into practice, and is a serial house revamper. For Realhomes.com, Sarah reviews coffee machines and vacuum cleaners, taking them through their paces at home to give us an honest, real life review and comparison of every model.