Sage Appliances BES100 Espresso Knock Box, The Knock Box Mini

Product Information

Some may see the plastic body as a disadvantage, when compared to the stainless steel that some of the others are made out of, but it does have the benefit of not being as noisy when you are emptying the portafilter.

If you roll your eyes at the thought of faffing around with scales & gadgets, doing this thing called “dialing in”, and “spending half an hour just making a sodding coffee”, but you have a keen palate and you want “proper” espresso and espresso-based drinks at home, then you're what I'm referring to as the more hands off espresso drinker, but a fully automatic coffee machine, known as a bean to cup coffee machine, probably won't cut it for you. We have put this at the top of our list because it is a great base for you to begin your search – compare all the others to this one and you won’t go far wrong. As a lower-to-mid range in terms of price, this is an excellent option. Anyway, the reason I'm not discussing coffee machine accessories for “normal” coffee drinkers, is that I honestly don't think there are any accessories or gadgets that the normal coffee machine user actually needs, that won't come with their coffee machine. The 9 bar OPV mod changes the pressure limit in the basket from about 13.5 bars to 9 bars. In theory, it's not a big deal. All the over pressure valve does is limits the pressure in the basket to whatever the spring is made to allow, so you can achieve the same aim with the grind size. In reality, having a 9 bar OPV is a big plus, it really makes things easier, and it's very cheap and easy to install.Again, if you like you can swap out the shower screen, the metal mesh part where the water drips from, with a compatible shower screen, and as with the baskets, you can do that if you like, but it's unlikely to make a big difference, and whether any difference means an improvement, is down to personal taste. Freshly Roasted Coffee Beans

If you're somewhere in between the home barista and the automatic machine user, but you want mega cup quality, then the Sage Barista Touch , the Barista Express Impress, or the all new Sage Barista Touch Impress may be perfect for you. The next product on our list is this neat little box from German kitchen utensil manufacturers, Cucino. It basically can do everything that you could possibly want it to do. It’s made of ‘ABS material’ which is claimed to be “environmentally friendly, non-toxic, durable”. It’s dishwasher safe, so you don’t need to spend time cleaning it. The non-slip rubber bottom is a handy addition as it means you can have full confidence that it’s not going to move when you’re hammering the portafilter against it. Our range of support options ensure you experience an easy and hassle free process when you need to talk to us about your Product Care ™ plan. Whether you are experiencing a fault, or wanting to redeem your entitlements, we will provide you with guidance and support every step of the way. Advantage Obviously, someone can move from one category to the other. I certainly did, I was a very normal coffee drinker up until about 2014/2015 when I started to dip my toes in the proverbial rabbit hole, which is what prompted me to start this blog, almost straight away, just as a hobby for the first few years.Any extended warranties offered by Peter Tyson are free. We do not include any form of insurance terms such as accidental damage or loan equipment cover. If you have the Sage Oracle or Oracle Touch, or one of the “in-between” machines from Sage that, as I've mentioned, kind of straddle the home barista and hands-off machine user market, then you'll need a milk jug as all of these machines have a steam wand. They all come with Sage milk jugs, though, so you don't need to buy one. You abso-chuffing-lutely need brew scales. You need to know what weight of coffee you've dosed into the basket, and how much espresso you've ended up with in your cup, so you know what your ratio is. If you don't know this, you can't possibly dial in, and you'll never be able to get consistent espresso. You don't need a tamping mat for the likes of the Oracle or Oracle Touch unless you're planning on manually distributing and tamping. The same is true with the Barista Express Impress, but you will need a tamping mat for the Barista Touch.

If you are using a spray bottle, I would recommend being very sparing with the mist. Also, definitely only do this for single dosing. If you have the Barista Touch, you do need to tamp manually, and that comes with a tamper that fits in the magnetic tamper slot. There's nothing stopping you from buying an aftermarket tamper though, there are loads of tampers available these days that are compatible with the Sage 54mm group machines, including hand tampers, and calibrated tampers, but you don't “need” one, as it comes with one.When I say “normal”, coffee drinkers, I mean the majority of the population of the UK at present, who just see coffee as a means to an end. People who just want a cup of coffee because it's part of their daily ritual. OK so now we're probably getting into the stuff most people came here to find out, thinking “Do I really need a WDT tool, an RDT spray bottle, an OEM leveler” and so on, and the answer for most of these is not necessarily. As I've mentioned, if you do want to use a WDT tool, then you'll need a dosing ring to place on the portafilter to stop the coffee going all over the place when you use the tool. Tamping Mat I know from personal experience (I first fell down the home barista rabbit hole only a handful of years ago), that you start off just thinking you're buying a coffee machine capable of making espresso for Americano, cappuccino, latte, maybe flat white – and then next thing you know, you're confronted with a myriad of tools, gadgets & accessories that you apparently need, since everyone else appears to be buying them.