I've been using the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction for two weeks — making barista-grade drinks at home has never been easier

This review puts the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction to the test to see whether it deserves a spot on our list of the best bean-to-cup coffee machines.

This model is Sage’s most feature-packed coffee machine yet, and after using it to make a variety of drinks over the last couple of weeks, I'm definitely impressed.

In a nutshell

Sage's latest coffee machine includes all of our favourite features of the Sage Barista Touch Impress, but now boasts pre-programmed cold café favourites as well, including cold brew and cold espresso. This is an impressive upgrade to what was already a top-tier bean-to-cup machine.

My favourite thing about this machine is that it really does make it easy to make the perfect drink. Everything from grinding and tamping to milk frothing and temperature control is taken care of for you, allowing you to create barista-grade coffee at the tap of a button.

There's also the option to create and save customised drinks as well.

It won't be necessary for everyone, and does come with a hefty price tag of £1,195. But if you’re looking for a sleek, high-spec coffee machine that takes the guesswork out of making barista-quality drinks at home, the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction could be the ideal choice.

Specifications

• Coffee type: beans
• Dimensions: 36(W) x 34(D) x 41.5(H) cm
• Coffee options: 14 café favourite presets, and option to create and save up to 6 customisable drinks
• RRP: £1,995.95
• Water tank capacity: 2L
• Pressure: 9-bar
• Weight: 10.3kg

Who tested this coffee machine?

Katie Sims

I'm Katie, and I've been writing digital content for Ideal Home for the past three years. I've tested a variety of home appliances, including vacuums, dehumidifiers, BBQs, blenders, and coffee machines.

I love coffee, and my favourite way to drink it is a flat white, though I am partial to a cappuccino as well. In the warmer months, I enjoy an iced latte or matcha.

Unboxing, set-up, and first impressions

The machine arrives in a large box which is fairly heavy, though I was still able to carry it around on my own. Most of the packaging materials used were recyclable, which was nice to see, but there were a few sheets of protective plastic wrapped around the milk jug, portafilter, and the machine itself.

Once I've got everything out the box, I'm really impressed with the machine's design. I'm testing the silver stainless steel version, but it also comes in black stainless steel, and white and black colourways. I think there's something authentic about silver stainless steel coffee machines, and I'm definitely a fan of how the Sage Barista Touch Impress looks in my kitchen.

Weighing just over 10kg, it's definitely not a lightweight appliance. Like most bean-to-cup machines, it's also fairly large, and I did need to shift a couple of things off the counters to make space.

To get started, I peeled back the blue sticky tape used to hold the machine's components in place, as well as the sticker covering the touch-screen display panel. There's a comprehensive instruction booklet included to help you set up the machine, but once I'd switched it on, I just followed the instructions on the touch-screen display instead. The screen walked me through each step, and I enjoyed this interactive way of setting the machine up.

The screen prompts you to select your default milk choice out of dairy, oat, almond, and soy. This allows the Auto MilQ™ to optimise the milk settings and create silky smooth microfoam, whatever your milk of choice.

The machine comes with a water filter and a water hardness strip for you to test, allowing you to get a visual of how hard the water in your area is. The harder the water, the more often your filter will need replacing. After dipping the strip in tap water and waiting for one minute, it indicated that my water was hard, so I was glad that a water filter was already included with the machine.

The filter needs to be soaked for five minutes, after which I inserted it into the water filter holder. The holder slots into the water tank easily, and reduces the need to use a separate descaler (though one of these is also included).

Next, I added the bean hopper to the top of the machine, which locks into place via the internal dial lock. All of these steps were indicated to me via the touch-screen instructions, which as mentioned, made the set-up process feel like a breeze.

All that's left to get started is to fill up the water tank and add your coffee beans to the hopper. Sage offer your first two bags of coffee for free when you purchase the machine, after which you can set up a monthly coffee subscription. I didn't receive any coffee with the machine, so I used Birch coffee beans (from £17.00) instead. These beans are roasted on the Isle of Skye and I found them to be really good quality.

What's it like to use?

Now that I've set up the machine, I have to say that I'm pretty excited to make my first drink. From the touch-screen menu, you can select from 14 drink options, including: Flat White, Latte, Cappuccino, Espresso, Long Black, Babyccino, Café Crema, Hot Chocolate, Tea, Cold Brew, Cold Espresso, Espresso Shakerato, Latte Shakerato & Espresso Martini.

I've never used a machine that makes it so easy to create such a wide variety of drinks. I really like how all of the settings - including grind dose, brew time, and milk temperature and texture - are automatically adjusted depending on the drink you select. But it is easy to customise each setting as well. I know that when I'm using the machine for the first time, I'm going to take longer than usual, given that I'm taking notes and pictures as I go. So, I increase the temperature of the milk to 75° to ensure my drink is still piping hot at the end.

I of course have to make a flat white as my first drink. I select this on the menu, and the screen prompts me to add hot water to my cup before I begin. Pressing the small water icon on the top right of the screen releases water from the hot water spout, and it's up to me how long I let this run for.

I'm then prompted to set the grind size of the beans via the adjustment dial on the side of the machine, which I leave at 20 for a medium-fine grind. I like how the screen displays the grind size scale, and how easy it is for me to adjust the setting via the dial.

Next, the screen recommends the best 'basket size' for my drink. Three filter baskets are included with the machine: a single wall, one cup filter basket for single shot drinks (around 8-11g of coffee), and two double wall baskets, one for single shots and one for double shots. I'll admit that I'm pretty confused about the difference between single and double wall baskets, but after referring to the instruction manual, I learned that single wall baskets are used for fresh beans, and double wall baskets are for pre-ground coffee and older beans that are past the 30-day roast date.

The screen asked which category my beans fell into, giving me a choice of either 'fresh beans' or 'beans that are past the 30-day roast date or not sure'. As I wasn't 100% sure, I did select the latter option, at which point the machine recommended for me to use the dual wall, double cup basket.

Aside from auto correcting the dose of beans, the Impress™ Puck System also includes assisted tamping via a tamp lever on the side of the machine. The previous coffee machines I tested both used a separate tamper, and I have to say that I'm a fan of the built-in tamper mechanism. It means that when I pull the portafilter out of the grinding cradle, there's already a perfect puck and zero coffee fallout.

There is also a precision dose trimming tool to use if the machine overdoses, or if you're making a customised drink and setting the dose yourself. Cleverly, the machine knows if it has overdosed the beans and will automatically reduce the auto grind for the next cycle.

Throughout the process, I'm seriously impressed with the auto dosing function of the machine. The next step is to insert the portafilter into the group head, which locks in place easily enough, if with a little bit of effort.

The espresso is extracted when you touch the coffee icon on the screen (handily, there are three icons for grinding, extraction, and milk). The coffee volume and extraction time is automatically set according to the selected drink, but you can easily customise these if you want to. I'm more than happy to trust the machine's auto settings and simply tap the coffee icon and watch as my espresso starts to pour.

Once the double shot of espresso has finished pouring, I can instantly tell that the machine has extracted it to a high standard. There's a perfect layer of golden crema on top, which stays almost fully in tact as I move my mug out of the way and prepare my milk.

I use my best judgement as to how much milk I need to add to the jug, settling for just under the halfway point between the minimum and maximum lines. I insert the steam wand into the milk via the rubber handle, then place the jug and wand on to the milk temperature sensor on the drip tray. I then tap the milk icon and watch as the wand starts to texturise and heat up the milk.

I mentioned that for my first drink I wanted to increase the temperature of the milk, but going forward, I know I'll be happy to keep the settings as they are. It's easy to update the milk being used, and I do think it's clever that the machine will automatically adjust its settings to give the best results.

Once the milk is finished, I add this on top of the espresso and if I was any good at latte art, I feel like I'd actually be able to create some with the milk the machine has created. It pours over the coffee in a silky smooth consistency, finishing with a frothy layer at the top.

After drinking my first flat white from the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction, needless to say that I'm impressed. I honestly can't tell much difference from the drink I've made and one I would be served in my local coffee shop, which is no mean feat for someone that likes to drink coffee but isn't skilled in the art of making it.

The machine has done all the hard work for me; thanks to the auto settings, I didn't need to do much at all to create the perfect drink. Sage outlines four key formulas for making speciality coffee at home: the right dose of freshly ground beans, precise temperature control, optimal water pressure and true microfoam milk. It's a relief to use a machine that takes care of all of these elements for you.

Because the machine is so easy to use, I'm able to serve up three lattes in quick succession when I have family round to visit, and this is only my second time using the machine.

I don't feel like I have to rush through making the drinks in order for them to stay hot, which isn't always a guarantee with espresso machines. I take an extra minute at the start of making each drink to add hot water to the cup, but the machine also has a ThermoJet® heating system, which achieves the optimum extraction temperature in 3 seconds. There's also the milk temperature sensor to boot, which can make the milk as hot as 75°C.

Each person I served a latte with commented on how much they enjoyed their drink, and they were able to sip from their cups slowly, without worrying about them going cold.

The machine also gives feedback if it thinks the grind size needs to be adjusted. For example, after I'd made the the third latte the screen recommended to decrease the grind size because the brewing time had been too fast. It said the opposite after I'd made a cappuccino on a different day. I found this to be helpful given that the grind size is the only setting I'd manually chosen.

Finally, I of course have to try making an iced latte with the machine. I tap for the cold espresso icon, and again, let the machine do the hard work for me. After the beans are ground, I trigger the espresso extraction, which takes longer than it does for hot drinks. After a minute or so, there's a perfect shot of cold espresso in my glass, again with the distinct layer of crema on top.

I add my milk, ice, and syrup - the touch-screen display even gives recipe recommendations - and my iced latte is good to go. It's delicious, and I've no doubt that cold coffee fans would relish being able to make their favourite drink at the tap of a button.

What's it like to clean?

Handily, the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress will prompt you when a cleaning cycle is required. This is a back-flushing cycle (separate from descaling) which the machine takes care of for you. All that was needed from me was to follow the instructions on the screen.

There's also a descaling cycle, which again the machine will prompt you to do when it's detected significant limescale build-up. Even with the added water filter, the machine will still requiring descaling, especially if you live in a hard water area.

The water filter also needs replacing every three months. You can set a reminder on your machine via the date dial, which I thought was a nice touch.

When it comes to cleaning the machine manually, it's recommended to regularly clean the conical burrs to achieve consistent grinding results. I emptied the hopper of bean residue after every few uses, and ran the grinder until empty as per the instruction manual. There's a small cleaning brush included for the inner conical burr, which you can also use to clean the tamp system.

After each use, I wiped the steam wand down with a damp cloth to remove leftover residue. It automatically releases hot water after each use as well, but it's recommended to flush the wand regularly via the machine. Again, you can do this easily via the touch-screen display by tapping on the settings icon.

The drip tray can be washed with warm soapy water, and it's easy enough to reattach the tray and grill into the machine afterwards. There's a handy tool storage box that latches on to the back of the drip tray, to keep all the cleaning tools in one place. I thought this was a nice touch as I often find small accessories awkward to store. You just need to make sure the tool storage box is attached to the drip tray; pushing it back into place when it's not attached makes it very tricky to get out again (I ended up having to tip the whole machine forwards when I did this).

How does it compare to similar models?

Compared to the Sage Barista Express Impress, which we’ve reviewed and rated as a top mid-range pick, the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction has several additional features, warranting an extra £400 on the price tag. Both offer assisted tamping and a built-in grinder, but the Touch Impress’s touch-screen and built-in milk temperature sensor provide an elevated experience. You also get Cold Extraction Mode, ideal for iced coffee lovers.

The Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction is also nearly £650 more expensive than the Dualit Espressivo Pro, a machine which definitely impressed me in my review. But, the Sage boasts smart features, assisted tamping, and auto milk frothing compared with Dualit's model, and it does feel easier to make the perfect drink with the Sage model.

Interestingly, the Sage Barista Touch Impress without Cold Extraction costs the same as the latest version, making it an easy choice if you do have the budget for a premium bean-to-cup machine. I think that this machine's price tag can be justified if you're looking for barista-level results at home, with minimal effort and with the flexibility to make both hot and cold drinks.

Should you buy the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction?

If you're looking for a bean-to-cup machine that makes coffee-shop quality drinks with minimal effort, the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction is one of the most advanced models on the market. The touch-screen interface, assisted tamping, and automatic grind, extraction, and milk settings all work together to make the coffee-making process feel seamless. Plus, iced coffee fans now have the option for Cold Extraction Mode, which the previous model lacked.

That said, this machine is a serious investment. With an RRP of £1,195, it won’t be the right choice for everyone - especially if you're not planning to use all the features. It’s also quite large, so might not be suitable for kitchens short on counter space.

In all, if you want a machine that delivers excellent results, looks the part, and takes the guesswork out of making the perfect cup of coffee, the Sage Barista Touch™ Impress with Cold Extraction is a standout choice.