I have owned several coffee and espresso machines, including the Sage Barista (7 years ago), and also the incredibly beautiful E61 Barista machine. For me, this Touch Impress is the best of both worlds. Finally, ease of use combined with fantastic espressos and latte variations.
Setting up new beans is very well supported. The optimum grind size and weight/volume can be found within 2 to 3 tries. The automatic milk programs are very extensive, including for oat and almond milk. Put milk in the jug, select milk type and foam variant, and press the button…. Many coffee programs are pre-programmed and customizable to your own Pre-set. Strangely enough, Cortado was missing, but I was able to add that as a preset myself in just a minute.
The Sage comes very complete, including double-walled baskets (for older supermarket beans), cleaning supplies, and a milk jug.
Ultimately, I sold my E61 machine, mainly because of the enormous ease of use of this Sage. Even non-baristas (my family members) can now make coffee for me.
I am very happy with this machine.