Talking of my coffee, fruitcake blend is just one of currently 16 different coffees currently available from The Coffeeworks, which is my brand of high quality, freshly roasted coffee beans, that started off as a little project to bring my fellow coffee botherers (coffee blog readers, so that's you now, too) the coffee they most wanted to drink. If you decide to give them a try, use this discount code below for 25% off, and after that, use the discount code coffeebotherers for a permanent discount of usually 10% (sometimes more). While the Sage machines do, as I'll explain, score more points in the areas that I believe really matter, the Breville machine does come close in all but 2 of these areas, so there's no doubt at all that this machine from Breville offers very good value for money.

Is your worktop a mess after you’ve used your coffee grinder? No home barista is willing to waste precious coffee. That’s why we designed the Barista-Essentials dosing ring. Now all coffee will end up where you want it, neatly in the filter basket and there’s nothing left to clean up. This makes your coffee routine more enjoyable!

There's a common misconception, actually, among speciality coffee folk, that the domestic espresso machines listed as “15 bars” don't have an overpressure valve, and this is a misconception I previously shared. OK, this isn't quite as sophisticated as the Barista Pro, which tells you when you're in preinfusion mode and then changes to “shot” once out of pre-infusion, but there's a basic shot timer which starts as soon as you start pulling the shot, it works well, it's very easy to see the time, and I like this feature. Given that Newell Brands who owns Sunbeam also owns the brand Breville in the UK, it would be silly of them not to sell these coffee machines which sell as “Sunbeam” in Australia, as “Breville” in the UK, I mean – if I owned the company who owned both of these companies, I'd certainly make that move, wouldn't you? What's the point in owning such a brand name if you can't make the most of it? The Sage/Breville Confusion I was expecting to find the Barista Max Plus to be a bit rough around the edges, or as one person commented “cheap and nasty”– but in my humble opinion, it's not rough around the edges at all, and I certainly didn't find it to be cheap and nasty. To me, it looks and feels really good for the money. Yes, it's all plastic on the outside, and this will be one of the ways they've brought the manufacturing cost down, but overall I'm quite impressed by the look and feel of this machine given the very low cost. The not so good stuff

dosing ring: Perfect for E61 machines like ECM, Bezzera, La Marzocco, Rancilio, and Vibiemme (VBM).Using the dosing funnel is a simple and convenient process that can help achieve precision in coffee-making. First, attach the funnel to your portafilter by twisting it on. Place the portafilter on your coffee machine's built-in grinder and trigger the grinder button with your portafilter. The grounds will flow directly into the portafilter without any spillage, thanks to the funnel's design. While the storage compartment in the drip tray seems similar to the Sage machines, they've put individual storage places for everything, which I think takes this feature to the next level. This funnel is 3d-printed with food-grade PLA. PLA plastic or polylactic acid is a vegetable-based environment-friendly plastic material.♻♻ If you've had your machine repaired twice and require a third repair, you can ask them for a new one instead

We specifically designed the dosing ring with the home barista in mind. Due to the curvature in the dosing ring, it has a nice grip to easily place it on your portafilter and of course to take it off. This machine comes only with standard baskets – and this is a good thing if you consider yourself the home barista type. If you're definitely not a home barista and have no intention of becoming one, and you thought this machine was a bean to cup machine, then just see the “standard baskets” section below in the not so good stuff to see why this may be an issue for you. I was a bit confused by the grinding timer to start with, as I assumed it was in seconds as the Sage machines are, and I commented that they seemed like slow settings, however, it then dawned on me that these aren't seconds, this is an estimated number of grams. While these features do look spookily like the convenient features found on the Sage machines, I think in some ways they've actually done a better job with a couple of these than Sage has.Some may say that Sunbeam coffee machines are pitched in Australia as a cheaper alternative to Breville coffee machines. I'm not saying that, because I don't want to be sued ;-), I'm just saying… some may say that. Next, take the portafilter out, shake it gently to fluff and distribute the grounds evenly, and tamp directly through the attached dosing funnel. Once tamped, remove the funnel and brew your coffee as desired.