Everybody wants a Sage coffee machine - but what does our barista say about this icon?

The Sage Oracle Touch: it’s the ultimate emblem of coffee prestige. Brandishing brushed stainless steel, a slick touch screen, and weighty accessories worthy of coffee royalty, the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine is widely known as the best of the best in Sage’s repertoire of five star machines. You’ve probably got one on your wish list, or you know a coffee lover frothing at the steam wand to get one in their homes, so our team asked me “is Sage really worth it?”

When I trained as a barista, I learnt a lot about coffee. For example, a barista is only as good as their tools. It’s not an excuse: a bad grinder will ruin your cup of coffee, as will a machine that doesn’t let you tinker, tamper, and get your coffee just how you like it. So, with brands launching coffee machines on every corner, how do you know which coffee machine is the best?

You ask me. I’ve tested over 170 coffee machines. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the burnt cups of coffee a thousand times over. I know what’s good marketing and what’s a genuinely well-researched, expertly-made machine, so let me tell you about the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine.

Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine review

Who would Sage Oracle Touch Coffee Machine suit?

As one of the most expensive coffee machines on the market, The Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine has to earn its keep. It's part of Sage's premium range, which they've been refining for over a decade - and you can tell. It's kitted out with special technology that lets you enjoy convenience and control in one, smart machine.

On the side of convenience, a 5.7-inch screen offers 15 different coffee drinks at the touch of a button. If you choose to be in 'auto' mode all you have to do is grind the beans, brew the coffee, and steam the milk. For the baristas who want control, swiping up on the screen gives access to total manual settings. We're talking pre-infusion, blooming, and more control over the brewing. The people who really benefit are the coffee enthusiasts who want a machine that works like the ones you'd see in a coffee shop, but it's also great if you grow in confidence in how you make your coffee. A complete beginner could start with their espressos and lattes and develop skills worthy of a barista qualification.

There's a lot of clever work going on behind the scenes (PID extraction, triple heating systems, and dual boilers) which might sound scary, but they actually mean that you get genuinely good coffee from the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine. As a self-confessed coffee snob, this is hard to fault on the fundamentals. I just wish it was a little cheaper.

Unboxing the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine

Sage sells more than a coffee machine, they sell an experience. It’s clever, because they know how important it is. That’s why we go out and spend £4.30 on a flat white when it would cost 4p made with the same beans and the same milk at home. With that in mind, they bring all the luxury of your local, independent coffee shop onto your counter from the get-go.

The first impressions start with your box. The Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine comes in a big, carboard box, but it’s a little thicker, printed with nicer ink, and made to feel that little bit more luxurious than the others. Once unwrapped from it’s (mostly) recyclable packaging, and it stands well on the counter.

Sage kits you out with everything you need, from a good-quality portafilter, different baskets,, a water filter (and accessories that add up to £70 in RRP) as well as some nice extra coffee accessories, including the famous knock-box that has long been coveted by the whole woman&home homes team.

What is the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine like to use?

Getting started with the Sage is a really nice experience. You don’t need any skills to start your machine: the slick, touchscreen panel takes you through connecting to the internet and setting your language and preferences through to working out what kind of beans you have, how that will affect the grind size, and the flavours too.

You’ll end up running a few test cups of coffee and tweaking settings, which takes you through the motions of being a barista, but doesn’t require any previous knowledge or skill. All through your brewing, the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine will also be using an auto dial-in system which adjusts the brewing depending on the results that your extracting, so that you get a consistently good cup of coffee.

If you want more controls over the kind of coffee you're brewing, you can swipe up on the screen to have access to all the more niche adjustments to tinker and tamper with until your heart is content (and your coffee cup is full).

I have a series of telling tests that I put the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine through to check whether it’s got the basics (and then the more elaborate functions) down to a tee. Here’s the results:

Test 1: espresso

The first test for the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine is making an espresso. These little shots give the coffee machine nothing to hide behind. It’ll show whether the machine is using the optimal pressure and temperature to extract the right balance of flavours from your coffee beans and it’ll also put the grinder under scrutiny. A good espresso relies on an even grind size.

Luckily for the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine, its integrated conical burrs did a wonderful job of grinding the coffee with minimal heat and maximal consistency. The flavours in every shot that I brewed were spot on: the perfect balance of florals and nuttiness.

The double espresso shots brewed in 26 seconds, which is the average for an espresso machine. You can see that I got a rich, thick crema on top of my shots. This is proof that the oils have been well-extracted, because, whilst the crema tastes chalky, it’s all the flavours of the coffee oils showing their face.

My espresso averages out at 92°C, which is spot on for a small shot that can be drunk instantly. You can adjust the size of the shot, making it a double, single, somewhere in between.

Test 2: Americano

The Americano test is essentially making your classic black coffee. This relies on all the base flavours of the espresso, but adds in hot water. If it’s too hot, it’ll scald the coffee and make it taste bitter. If it’s too cold, it’ll cool the coffee and make it acidic. There’s only a few degrees between an optimal and an off temperature, so you can see it’s a fine line to walk.

Naturally, the Oracle Touch does this beautifully. My Americano, which I had plenty of size choices for, diluted the espresso to the perfect black coffee. All my floral, nutty notes were nicely intact, just made more subtle by the 92°C water. Unlike some espresso machines, you won't need to move your cup to make sure the hot water is going straight into your coffee either. It didn't splatter or create any mess either. My only note is that the brew head is a little low for a tall travel coffee cup to fit under, so you need to brew in a different cup.

Test 3: latte

The final test is steaming milk. This is for your creamy coffees, like your lattes, cappuccinos, and flat whites. I work using both dairy and non-dairy milks, so that every kind of coffee drinker can find out what works for them. This is especially relevant to the Sage Oracle Touch which offers special settings dedicated not only to plant-based milks, but to the specific niches within that category, including almond, oat, and soy. This is a rare treat, because most don’t even offer a special setting for plant-based options. It’s actually an important distinction to make because these milks all have different temperatures at which they serve optimal milk.

I made full use of the steam wand, working with whole milk, almond milk, and oat milk. The jug effortlessly steamed milk that was perfect for my different coffees. It was silky and glossy, like wet paint, which is the gold standard for a barista. Even on my almond milk, which is the most temperamental, this was perfect.

The different levels of texture were well-reflected in how this was steamed: my cappuccino had a good layer of foam, whilst the latte had a nice, lighter layer.

Extra functions

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One of the big appeals of the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine is that it makes over 15 different drinks. You can see in the gallery above that there's an espresso martini option, hot chocolate, tea, iced coffee, and plenty more variations on different kinds of coffee too. As per the performance of the Sage so far, each drink was flawlessly executed.

Cleaning and storage

The Sage Oracle Dual Boiler Coffee Machine is independent when it comes to cleaning. In the background, it’s keeping tabs on everything. It asked me to empty the drip tray, automatically purged the steam want to prevent a build up of burnt, old milk, and notified me about running rinses on the system. If you have a filter, which it recommends and includes in the package, the machine also keeps you in the loop about when to change that to make sure your coffee is in perfect condition.

The brushed stainless steel is also very forgiving when it comes to milk and coffee splatters. Some machines show up every last drop, but this one didn’t really ;ook like it needed a wipe down, even after hours of testing coffees back-to-back.

How does the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine compare?

If you hadn’t already guessed, even after pressure testing the Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine on the nitty gritty details, this performed exceptionally well. However, it’s a big cost, so is there anywhere you could save or any machine that comes close? Yes and yes.

First up is the Sage Bambino Plus. This nifty little machine uses all the same clever technology as the Oracle Touch, but they take out lots of the luxuries, like the touch screen, integrated grinder, and hands-off extras. It’s the one that lots of baristas end up buying, because the temperature and extraction capabilities are exceptional, but you just need to be prepared not to have the guidance of a screen and grinder, leaning on your own intuition (and learning) instead.

For a similar amount of money, you could go for the more techy looking De’Longhi La Specialista Maestro. This doesn’t use a screen, instead you have dials. Again, this means you lose a layer of communication with your machine - it can’t give you words and instead uses icons to flag filter issues and water refills - but it does have some cool extras. For example, the De’Longhi can make you a cold brew, which is my favourite kind of coffee.

It’s not on the menu for the Oracle Touch which means you’d need to set aside 18 hours to brew this instead of just 5 minutes for the De’Longhi - if you get acid reflux with coffee, it’s an important distinction. Beyond that, there’s also the element of appearances. The La Specialista Maestro looks more like a barista’s machine whilst the Sage is a little more sleek and choc.

Should you buy Sage Oracle Touch Dual Boiler Coffee Machine?

As a barista and coffee snob, I have no qualms about recommending this to any coffee enthusiast. It’s got the right amount of training wheels for a less confident newbie, whilst also offering plenty of freedom for more advanced brewers and baristas if you want to play with flavours.