The Sage Dose Control espresso grinder is one of the affordable espresso grinders in our test series. The grinder, also known by the abbreviation SCG600BTR, is the little sister of the Sage Smart Grinder Pro. We already looked at both grinders back in 2020 and found them good in principle. However, even back then, the Smart Grinder Pro clearly won the comparison. No wonder, since the Dose Control is also in the price range of 150 CHF/185 euros the more affordable and less refined grinder. In our test comparison of over 24 espresso grinders for home use, the Dose Control confirms the impression from back then. The Dose Control is similar to the Smart Grinder Pro in many respects, especially when it comes to espresso and coffee quality. However, when it comes to ease of use, the Smart Grinder Pro clearly has the edge.
Good espresso for little money
When it comes to espresso quality, Sage "the Dose Control" is perhaps the best grinder on the market in terms of value for money. The grind setting adjustment is relatively easy to make and the results are sensorially similar to the Sage "the Smart Grinder Pro". In fact, both grinders also appear to be built into Sage's more expensive espresso machines such as the Express or Sage Barista Pro.
The espresso grinder was delivered pre-set in a good range. Once the range is too coarse or too fine, as shown in our blog post, the setting can be easily adjusted. The grinder is too coarse or too fine if, in the finest grind range, the espresso flows out of the portafilter too quickly, for example in less than 20 seconds. The basic adjustment is too fine if, despite the coarsest setting, the espresso still takes 30 seconds or more for extraction.
Unlike many of the cheaper coffee grinders advertised as espresso grinders, the Sage Dose Control allows you to set the grind size not only almost arbitrarily in the espresso range. The basic adjustment is also much easier to make if the grind size does deviate, than for example with the Graef CM800.
The grinder is available, for example, on Amazon, see here*. [Affiliate link]
The espresso that, when the grinder is properly adjusted, makes its way out of the portafilter machine into the cup, was consistently in the good range in our tastings.
We brewed with our Apas espresso, which we also use in barista training courses and serve in gastronomy. The coffee can be ordered online in Switzerland and in Germany.
Weaknesses of the Sage Dose Control
The biggest weakness of the Sage Dose Control is indeed the operation. While the grinder does a decent job on the inside, the exterior frustrates when it comes to adjustment.
With the Dose Control, the dosing amount can only be adjusted in 1 second increments. One second more grinding time means up to 2 grams or more of coffee ground. Precise adjustment of the grinder is thus barely possible - unless you're lucky. Constant re-weighing therefore makes sense.
The grind adjustment below the bean hopper is also not easy to handle. The grind can easily be adjusted when removing the bean hopper.
Particle distribution and precision of the grinder
Particle distribution refers to the size arrangement of the ground coffee. Every grinder does not grind coffee powder in one size, but covers smaller and larger particles. Good grinders, especially in the range of the selected grind size, grind particularly many particles, thus having a high and narrow peak there. At the same time, they should not have too many fine particles.
The Sage Dose Control has a surprisingly narrow main peak for its price range of only 202. This keeps the grinder in the range of better grinders. However, the fine peak at 25.5% is in the higher range. The smaller particles contribute to the texture of the espresso, but can also over-extract more quickly and thus leave a bitter impression. They also tend to result in a somewhat dusty feel.
The Dose Control placed itself in the middle of the espresso grinders in terms of precision. Overall, we extracted the same espresso four times with the same grind setting and the same recipe. Each time the curve looked slightly different. In the following diagram, you can see the initial espresso setting (T4). In T5, a ristretto was set. For T6, we chose a café crème grind size. For T7, the grinder was set back to the initial grind size. It is easy to see here that the main peak swings considerably higher than it did at T4.
This swing also describes well what we experienced taste-wise with the espresso. We drank many decent and good espressos, but experienced sensorially larger fluctuations.
Filter coffee grinder?
However, the Sage Dose Control behaves when brewing filter coffee. We also looked at this in the comparison of the four espresso grinders in the 6 price group. Even with very coarse grind settings, a filter coffee was not good to brew. The grinder tends to throw out very many fine particles despite coarse grind. When brewing filter coffee, these float up and cannot be mixed with the rest of the ground coffee even with pronounced swirling. The fine particles settle on the rest and prevent both the vertical drainage of the brewing water and the lateral drainage. However, the water should be able to drain vertically so that it can continue to extract soluble coffee components from the grounds.
Taste-wise, a filter coffee prepared with coffee from the Dose Control tastes like this: it is overall weak and watery, because too little can be extracted from many particles due to the lack of water flow. At the same time, the high fine particle content contributes to a noticeably unpleasant bitterness.
So is the Dose Control able to brew filter coffee? Yes, absolutely. It's just not particularly good. The coffee will always be better than filter coffee made with pre-ground coffee.
Conclusion and summary
With a volume of 82.1 decibels, the small Sage grinder is one of the louder grinders. In return, it makes a relatively good showing in terms of retention and comes in at 3.4 grams. Of course, there are significantly better grinders in the test field - yet that is relatively little.
The Sage Dose Control is one of the slow grinders. It grinds 17.2 grams in 10 seconds. This makes it faster than its sister, the Sage Smart Grinder Pro - but still slow.
It showed no noticeable heating during six consecutive espresso extractions. The ground coffee remained relatively cool and at a temperature below 37 degrees also in the positive range.
Over 10 extractions, the Sage Dose Control showed considerable variation. At a target grind size of 18 grams, the grinder threw out the following weights: 18.2 - 18.4 - 18.1 - 18 - 17.7 - 17.8 - 17.5 - 17.4 - 17.5 - 17.2
As a single-dose grinder, the Sage Dose Control can in principle be used. When used with an empty bean hopper, an average of 0.3 grams of coffee remains. To achieve precise extractions, it makes sense here to work with a scale and re-measure the ground portion.
With a retention of 3.4 grams of coffee, the grinder is one of the espresso grinders with lower retention. On the other hand, 3.4 grams is still a lot of coffee that remains in the grinder from one grind to the next.
Overall, the Sage Dose Control is an entry-level grinder that meets all expectations for coffee quality at the beginning. Only the ease of use leaves something to be desired. If you really want to grow into the preparation of espresso with joy, you're better off with the Sage Smart Grinder Pro. The additional investment of around 60 CHF/50 euros seems worthwhile to us.
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