On trial: Sage’s new Oracle™ Dual Boiler coffee machine

When it comes to coffee, I’m a one-cup-a-day kind of girl. I have no skill when it comes to the process, but you best believe I have strong opinions about the result (when you’re only having one, it has to be worth it, right?). That’s why I usually trust the coffee connoisseurs in my life or a qualified barista to craft my sacred mug of energy. Well, no more. Sage has transformed this rookie into quite the professional… Here’s how.

With more than a decade of innovation dedicated to the Oracle™ series, this is Sage’s most advanced machine to date. And boy, can you tell. If you’re a novice like me, then enjoy the wonder of pouring whole beans into the built-in grinder, selecting your desired drink and letting the machine do most of the work in three easy steps – grind, brew and milk. 

Want to feel like you’ve earned your coffee? No problem. Swipe up for manual mode, where you can customise pre-infusion, blooming, brewing and milk texturing. You can even save your preferences as a custom setting for future use. A handy feature if you’ve honed your perfect brew but haven’t always got the time to make it manually.

The chic stainless steel machine (which is also available in a Black Truffle colourway) has 15 preset drinks to select from the highly responsive 5.7" touchscreen, including classics such as the latte and cappuccino. But, if you’re feeling adventurous, there are plenty of other recipes that take you through a step-by-step process; I can personally vouch for the delicious espresso martinis. 

First things first, and brand new to Sage’s Oracle™, is the Auto Dial-In system. Essentially, it’s a super-smart feature that monitors each extraction and makes grind-size adjustments automatically, improving the quality of your next espresso shot. The Baratza® European precision burrs provide 45 grind settings, meaning you’ll get consistency and customisation at every stage.

If it’s not obvious from the name, another excellent pro to this machine is the powerful dual boilers. Designed for simultaneous espresso extraction and milk steaming, this feature is one you’ll find on many commercial machines. Plus, the heated group head stabilises temperature, so you get café-quality flavour with every shot.

Auto MilQ™ provides silky microfoam without the need for expertise, and you can choose dairy, soy, almond or oat to optimise the settings. There is still the option to adjust to your own temperature and desired frothiness if you prefer.

It’s also worth mentioning that it’s Wi-Fi-enabled and, with the new Sage+ Coffee App, has a neat feature that allows you to remotely power on and pre-heat your machine. Ideal if, like me, you take every opportunity to spend an extra minute in bed.

To make your coffee go from ‘Mm that’s nice’ to ‘I can’t believe I just made the best coffee in the world’, the right machine needs the right ingredients and the right know-how. Sage has the answer, with specialist-roasted beans and expert tutorials to have you whipping up your favourites to specialist cafe standard in no time. And, from 1 October, you can get 2 free bags of coffee, 25% off fresh beans and save up to £650 on coffee in total. Find out more here.

Turns out, with Sage’s new Oracle™ Dual Boiler, friends and family think I’ve magically turned into a professional barista. So, I would give a resounding yes. But, all jokes aside, the intuitiveness of this machine is astounding. The flexibility between auto and manual modes means it caters to the whole household and can be adapted to suit every taste (even the fusspots). Now, who wants a coffee?

★★★★★