Sage oracle – Review after 4 Months Use

I will go over the Breville Oracle espresso machine in this article after I have used it for 4 months. Great review, and definitely worth a read.

Sage Oracle, or Sage the Oracle, is also called, is one of the finest coffee machines when talking about semi / fully automatic espresso machines.

It is made with the well-known chef Heston Blumenthal.

In this article, I will try to get around and the good stuff, and of course, the bad stuff that is on this machine.

I have been drinking coffee for years.

It actually started in my study time, where I took night watches where I needed to stay awake.

Most places have easy access to coffee, whereas tea can be a bit more “hassle”.

Today I drink coffee daily in the form of Cappuccino or an Espresso / Cortado.

If you are not sure if this coffee maker is a good investment, and that´s why you are here, let me tell you right away. It is 🙂

Best coffee-related purchase I ever made!

You can order it on Amazon right HERE; you will 100% not regret it!

..Or keep reading.

A few months before I wrote this review of Sage The Oracle, my Sage Barista Express had a minor issue with the grinder.

That is why I started searching for the best alternative.

And since I run this site, I thought I should get the oracle and write a few reviews.

I always loved a completely manual espresso machine, with a grinder next to it, but it wouldn’t work in my everyday life, and space would probably be a challenge.

A good friend recommended the Sage Oracle Espresso machine, and the more I read about it, the more interested I became …

Design and quality

Sage Oracle has an aura of quality.

It is really lovely and made from super sturdy materials.

It is available in 2 colours: Stainless steel and Black.

I have it in Stainless steel, and I love it – but the one in Black is really nice too.

On the left side of the machine, you have grinder and pistons. You fill the beans lightly at the top.

How finely you will grind the beans is easily adjusted on the small round handle outside the machine.

You can follow the small display as you drive up and down.

On the right side, you have the milk steamer. A small stainless steel milk jug is included and an extra stud for the milk steamer.

The pitcher works great for the automatic milk steamer function.

Daily use

At the time of writing, I have had the machine for approx. 4 months.

It is set to turn on at automatically. 05.45 where it fits with it is warm some minutes after when got up.

Next, I grind the coffee beans directly into the portafilter.

While the beans are being ground, I fill milk in the pitcher and set it to foam to 65 degrees cappuccino milk/foam.

Moves the portafilter into the brewing unit (centre) and presses one cup of espresso.

Runs easily, and approx. 25 seconds later, the coffee is ready.

The puck is knocked out in the knock box.

It works SO well.

My husband is more into regular coffee in the morning.

For him, I have coded the button on the far right of his morning coffee.

It’s super easy.

The beans are ground and inserted into the centre.

Press the button, and the water runs through the ground and pressed beans for approx. 25 seconds, then fill with warm water (Americano).

Super easy.

You can adjust too long and amount on the menu to get it exactly as you want it.

The milk steamer can operate either manually or automatically.

At the steamer’s tip is the temperature gauge, so you can make sure the milk doesn’t get too hot.

The recommended temperature is 60-65 degrees. You can set it to stop when it reaches it automatically.

If you prefer to do it manually, you can tip the steamer out and push the lever on the right side up.

Then the steaming begins.

Once you have used the milk steamer, it will purge/blow steam through the bounce as you tilt it back.

Super smart.

Noise level

The grinder noises a lot when grinding the beans, but fortunately, it is only short-lived.

The rest of the brew is almost silent.

Cleaning

Daily cleaning

Sage recommends that the small rubber round into the portafilter daily and then press “double cup”.

The portafilter is then filled with hot water (as it cannot be pushed through the rubber plate), and the pressure builds up.

After approx. 20 seconds, press the button again and the pressure is removed, and the bit of water in the filter empties back into the system and the tray.

In this way, coffee residues/oil are dissolved, which should stand where the water flows.

It is recommended to do this 4-5 times every night.

In practice, I probably only do it every 2-3 days, and it has not caused any problems yet (and probably only 2-3 times at a time).

After using the milk steamer, you should also wipe it off with a damp cloth.

Otherwise, you have milk remnants sitting on the steamer, and they can be hard to get off if you don’t do it right away.

Monthly (approx.)

Approx. 2 times a quarter, the display writes, “Clean Me.”

This means that it must have an extra cleanser in addition to the above.

Here you get a small cleaning loss directly on top of the rubber plate in the portafilter.

Then go to the menu and press the Clean Me program.

It then runs a cleaning cycle of a few minutes.

That’s it!

Half-yearly (approx.)

Once in a while, water channels and boilers (water heaters) must be decalcified.

It should only do approx. Semi-annually, and is easy.

It requires a screwdriver, as you have to “open” so that the water can run out of the water heater.

This is easy, and the actual descaling operation takes approx—1 hour time.

Lime cleaners (either the ones from Sage itself or another one for espresso machines) are filled into the water tank.

Then follow the instructions.

The water is now pumped through the system after starting the descaling program.

It takes 20 minutes. Then you repeat the same “program” only with clean water twice so that the boilers are clean again and free of “limescale.”

See below for a video on how to loosen the boiler water/descaler screw.

If you are interested in this amazing coffee machine, you can always get it on Amazon at the best price. Link Here.

Price

The model I tested is Sage the Oracle.

There is a new model Sage Oracle Touch, with the touch screen.

As a result, the previous model’s price without a touch has dropped slightly, and you may be lucky to find it for USD1000-1500.

The price is slightly higher than many other semi/fully automatic machines, but you get both a grinder and an almost “manual” espresso machine in one – incl—automated features.

I think the price makes sense compared to what you get.

I have included the cheapest offers from Pricerunner below, so you can see the price is incl. Freight.

Click directly to the dealer for more pictures/info.

Specifications

• Automatic grinding, dosing and stamping with integrated conical grinder
• Automatic/manual milk temperature and foaming
• Dual boilers in stainless steel
• Brewing and foaming at once
• Safe brew temperature control within +/- 1 ° C
• Low-Pressure Pre-Infusion – ensures better flavour/depth from the coffee
• Pressure relief valve (OPV) for limiting the pressure to a maximum of 9 bar
• The brew head maintains a constant temperature from the water tank to cup

Hard data

Espresso machine type: Manual (automatic grinder and pestle, automatic milk steamer)
Number of heaters : 3
Automatic switch-on and on: Yes / Yes
Hot water function: Yes (for tea etc.)
2 cups per brew: Yes
Digital display: Yes
Steam function: Yes, automatically
Built-in bean grinder: Yes
Bean container: 280 grams
Adjustment of the degree of grinding (bean): Yes (and thus strength)
Adjustment of pestle pressure: Yes
Removable water tank: Yes (and the possibility to fill via a channel on the front) Milk
container: Milk jug for steaming included
Setting the temperature (milk frother): No.
Setting the thickness of the foam (milk frother): Yes
Cup warmer: Yes
cup light: Yes
Automatic cleaning program: Yes
Programming the water hardness: Yes
Weight : 19 kg.
Pump pressure (bar) 15 bar
Size (HxWxD): 45.3 x 37.3 x 40.9 cm
Water tank : 2.5 liters
Power : 2400 watts
Color : Stainless steel / Black
Warranty : 2 years

Contents in the box

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• Knock-box (to knock the coffee puck in)
• Stainless steel milk jug
• Water filter holder with water filter
• Brew head cleaning tool
• Brush for cleaning the tapered grinder
• Brush for cleaning grinder drains and magnet for removing the pestle
• Steam head cleaning tool
• Hex
• Steampipe cleaner
• Espresso cleaning tablets
• Strips for testing water hardness

My overall assessment

Sage Oracle is the top.

You can easily make a perfect espresso/coffee EVERY time.

You can set it exactly to the type of coffee beans you use – brilliantly.

You get a super robust machine that lasts for many, many years.

Not much maintenance and so it’s super nice.

Café-coffee at home – easy and straightforward.

Sage the Oracle has my warmest recommendations even though the grinder is not silent.

I love it.

Good things

• Design (silver and black)
• Large water tank
• hours
• Setting options
• Pre-infusion
• Automatic painting and stamping of beans
• Brygge Quality
• Automatic/manual milk steamer
• Portafilter inserts (1 or 2 cups espresso)
• Supplied equipment (all included)

Bad things

• The grinder is loud.

If you are interested in this amazing coffee machine, you can always get it on Amazon at the best price. Link Here.

I honestly believe that this is an amazing coffee maker, and anyone that owns this machine will never regret their purchase.

This Sage Oracle review is written by a Danish blogger, called, Lars Koch Hansen, and you can find more articles from him on his site: Drkoch.dk