Which espresso grinder is best suited for beginners? There are several reasons to believe that the Sage Smart Grinder Pro deserves exactly that title.
The question about very good beginner grinders has been on our minds for some time – especially since we receive many emails and comments with exactly this question every day. That's why we've specifically tested beginner grinders in the price range over the past few years. By now, the Sage Smart Grinder Pro has already been through two tests with us. In April 2020, I got to examine the grinder with Vice-Barista Master (1x Germany, 3x Switzerland) Felix Hohlmann. In 2022, the Sage Smart Grinder Pro was part of our large espresso grinder comparison of 24 coffee grinders for home use.
In both test runs, the Sage Smart Grinder Pro impressed us. For us, the grinder is one of the most interesting espresso grinders for getting started in the world of coffee.
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What criteria are important to assess the quality of an Espressomühle espresso grinder?
- Does the grinder grind espresso-fine? Can the grind setting be adjusted so finely that sufficient resistance builds up in the portafilter, so the espresso doesn't run through too quickly. (Guide: how to adjust espresso here.)
- Is the ground coffee homogeneous? Most of the ground coffee should match the target size and not clump. Many smaller or larger particles lead to increased acidity or bitterness in the taste.
- Easy to use? Can the grind setting be adjusted in steps or continuously, and is it easy to adjust the internal burrs.
- Consistency? Does the machine consistently output the desired amount of coffee or does it fluctuate from shot to shot.
- Dead space? How much coffee remains in the burrs after grinding and is thus "old" coffee in the next grind.
- Heating from regular use? Do the burrs and thus also the coffee heat up significantly through use. Can lead to flavor changes.
Espresso-fine!
The grind setting of the espresso grinder can be easily adjusted so finely that a good espresso can be brewed in 25 or 30 seconds. The grind adjustment is done via the wheel on the right side of the grinder. The digital display shows what grind setting is currently set. This helps with orientation.
Digitalanzeige of the Sage Smart Grinder Pro
Somewhat confusing is that when turning the grind adjustment, you can feel the stepwise adjustments of a gear wheel that don't always correspond with the digital display. So for example, I adjust 3 steps of the gear wheel, but the digital display only moves 2 steps further. As a consequence, you shouldn't rely completely on the grind display – although from our perspective, that's not really possible anyway. Coffee is a natural product that changes through external influences. If, for example, the humidity in the room increases, the coffee powder clumps more and the grinder should be adjusted slightly.
Working with an espresso grinder in this sense is never a completed process. Minor adjustments are simply made from shot to shot.
The Matter of Espresso Grinder Consistency
We made 40 espresso shots in a row. The grinder's consistency was remarkable. We set the grinder for a target amount of 18 grams. With the Sage Smart Grind Pro, this setting is done via the grind time. On a programmable button, we set a grind time of 16 seconds. The grind time can be determined through trial and weighing. 16 seconds is relatively long compared to professional grinders, but comparable to other grinders up to 500 euros. (Commercial grinders grind an amount of about 18 grams in 3 – 6 seconds.)
Over 40 shots, the result varied by a maximum of 0.4 grams. This value is very good and actually comparable to professional espresso grinders. In this case, that speaks in favor of the household grinder, because we've been wondering for a long time why commercial grinders aren't more precise.
Large fluctuations in grinders are one of the reasons why at barista championships, participants weigh each individual shot on a scale.
How does the espresso taste and how consistently did it run?
By adjusting the grind setting, we quickly arrived at the setting for a good espresso. This was balanced and met all our expectations for our Dreispitz espresso. Notably, after several consecutive shots, the extraction time became increasingly shorter. While our first shots had extraction times of 29 seconds, the tenth espresso only took 22 seconds. The repeated shots also led to significant heating of the ground coffee.
Restrictively, it must be said that the grinder is not made for such heavy use. This should definitely be kept in mind when using it. By making slight adjustments, the grind setting and thus the extraction can be kept consistent.
However, too frequent grinding in a short period should still be avoided. Coffee that is heated too much tastes significantly different, and the longevity of the grinder would suffer.
Vergleich of particle distribution. The Sage Smart Grinder Pro falls in terms of particle distribution between the Sette 270 wi and Graef on the right side and the grinders with flat burrs on the left side. The grinders were each set so that the espresso runs out in the same time. More on this in the test report of the Graef CM800 and Niche.
Our 2021/22 data also shows particularly good grind quality in the main peak for the Sage Smart Grinder Pro as well as its smaller sister, the Sage Dose Control. Good espresso grinders have a high and narrow main peak. In fact, the Sage Smart Grinder Pro is among the better grinders in the field of 24 tested espresso grinders. The main peak can also be translated differently. The more particles register in this range, the more accurately the desired grind setting has been chosen.
The fine peak is on the higher side with the Sage Smart Control. In terms of taste, this manifests itself in the texture and a certain bitterness. In our tests, however, this did not dominate the coffee.
Operating the Sage Smart Espresso Grinder Pro
Operating the machine is straightforward. The side wheel turns smoothly, making it easy to adjust the grind setting. The digital display gives an impression of what grind setting you're at. The programmable grind time is consistent. Eight programmable presets are possible. This is somewhat excessive – but it doesn't bother us.
Overall, the digital display provides good insight and makes control easier. We also have the Sage Dose Control espresso grinder here with us. It looks somewhat similar in construction but lacks the digital display. Our first impression is: especially for beginners, this is already a practical tool.
As with the Sage Barista Pro and Express espresso machines, the grind setting can be readjusted if the base setting is too fine or too coarse. Because we receive many questions about these two machines, we created a separate Frage-Seite guide. (Disclaimer: just to be clear about this. We don't sell Sage machines. We weren't paid by Sage. We buy our test machines ourselves. And we test these machines because you have many questions about them and we understand answering coffee questions as coffee makers as one of our tasks.)
All grinders have a base grind setting. This works for almost all coffees. Particularly helle or dark roasted coffees can fall outside this range. Then the base adjustment of the burrs can be changed as shown in the following video.
Dead Space is the Residual Ground Coffee in the Grinder
After each grind, a small amount of coffee powder remains in almost every grinder. In small crevices, screw openings, between the burrs – all of these are favorite storage places. The more coffee powder remains in such cavities, the more negatively it affects the next espresso extraction. The more regularly a grinder is used, the less of a problem this is. The longer ground coffee sits in the grinder, the more it affects the taste and the next extraction.
With the Sage Smart Grind Pro, we weighed approximately 2.7 grams of coffee in the dead space. We took the burr set apart and swept everything together for this purpose. This is much compared to a grinder like the Niche Zero. This only comes to 0.47 grams of dead space. Compared to the Graef CM800 and the 8 grams of coffee weighed there, this is a manageable value. The Graef is more the competitor the Sage Smart Espresso Grinder has to measure itself against price-wise, and it wins this comparison.
We would still always advise you: as soon as the grinder has been standing for longer than 15 minutes, just grind a few grams. Then you can be sure that the next espresso is perfect and not brewed with old coffee.
Quality and Conclusion on the Sage Smart Grinder Pro
We're providing a direct correction to our video here. In it, we mention that there is no portafilter holder on the grinder. That's not correct. There are actually two of them, so you can set down the portafilter while the grinder grinds into it. This works with portafilters with a 50 – 58 mm diameter.
With a width of 22 cm, a height of 38 cm and a depth of 15 cm, the grinder is very compact. The housing is made of stainless steel and plastic.
We have a very good impression of the Sage Smart Grinder Pro espresso grinder. So far, we haven't tested an espresso grinder that delivers so much for this price.
Therefore: the grinder is our beginner tip for espresso grinders until further notice.
